Savings

No I don't have any.

BPI Savings Account charges my account 300php each month for getting below the maintaining balance of 3,000php. That happens every month since my hubby M opened this account for me so he can easily transfer money whenever the need arises. I simply don't have money to keep it above 3,000php.

But I proudly congratulate myself for keeping this at least 3,000php this December.

At least I have a start.

100 Peso Meals: Adobong Sitaw

Ingredients:

Justbought:

40php roughly ¼ kilo Ground Lean Pork (160php/kilo)
30php string breans

Pantry/Ref Stash:

Soy Sauce
Vinegar
Onions

Total: 70php

Breastfeeding: Malunggay Recipe: Munggo

Breastfeeding: Malunggay Recipe: Omelette

Breastfeeding: Malunggay Recipe: Ginataang Gulay

Breastfeeding: Malunggay Recipe: Tinola

I'll post the photos first to make a compilation of my Breastfeeding Malunggay Recipes. 

Breastfeeding: Malunggay Recipe: Corn Soup

I intend to compile things that you can do with Malunggay. I don't know how to take fabulous photos of food, but I'm sure they will suffice.

This can be done in two ways:

I. The hard but fresh way

Ingredients:

Fresh uncooked corn
Fresh Malunggay Leaves
Garlic

Procedure:

Boil the corn, using just enough water. (For this I used 4 cups of water for 3 cobs of corn) then once cooked, remove the corn from the cob. (I used only one cob since the other 2 were for the merienda of M and S).

Then bring the corn stock to a boil, including minced garlic and fresh malunggay leaves.

II. The instant way

Ingredients:

Canned Corn
Fresh Malunggay Leaves
Chicken Cubes

Procedure:

Boil everything together. 

Leftover Meal Ideas: Adobo Rice

It is simply impractical to make Adobo Rice from Adobo Leftovers if you don’t have Leftover rice as well. 

Ingredients:

Leftovers:

Leftover Pork Adobo
Leftover Rice

Pantry/ Ref Stash:

Eggs

Margarine

Cheese

Cucumber

Procedure: 

Scramble eggs with cheese. Then cook.

Flake the Leftover Adobo. Stir Fry with the Leftover Rice. Add the Adobo Sauce for additional color and taste.

Notice that my used-to-be-non-stick-pan still has some scrambled eggs in it. I ony have one pan at home and after cooking the cheese scrambled egg I don't wash it anymore for added taste. Less effort  and less soap and water consumption as well. 

M and I share the same plate on breakfasts without S. This happens on weekends when S is on Day Off. Sweet and less plates to wash. 

Leftover Meal Ideas: French Toast

No one really likes to eat pan de sal from yesterday’s breakast. Nor does anyone like the ends of a loaf of sliced bread. But instead of throwing them away I make them into French Toast. 

Ingredients:

Leftovers:

Leftover Pan De Sal

Leftover Ends of Sliced Bread

Pantry/ Ref Stash:

Angel Kremdensada

Eggs

Procedure:

Mix eggs into Angel Kremdensada. Soak the leftover bread.

Cook in oil.

This recipe can be made better if you use butter instead of oil, and cook it on Teflon to avoid sticking. 

Enjoy Quezon City: UP Lantern Parade 2013

Our family seldom goes to the mall. In fact we visit only the malls to buy things that cannot be bought in the nearby groceries. We spend weekends at home simply because we don’t have the extra money for splurging ~ gas, parking, bottled juice, movie, small trinkets for the little girl, lunch/dinner, dessert, merry-go-round. 

So I take advantage of events such as the Annual UP Lantern Parade for my daughter C.  It was just M, C and I. We left J with S at home.

The Lantern Parade is a long-standing tradition of the university that started back in 1922. It was inspired by the folk practice of carrying different kinds of lanterns to light the way to the early morning December Masses or misa de gallo, according to google. 

The UP Lantern Parade 2013, according to my husband M, is not as extravagant as it was years before, to tone down careless spending and just turn them into donations for the Yolanda victims. 

True enough after we got home and watched the evening news, we learned that this year, students from various colleges and organizations creatively and laboriously made lanterns and floats that featured components made from materials used in relief operations. These items include, for instance, eco bags and canned goods.

This our first time to watch the UP Lantern Parade. We left the house at 4pm, parked at the Asian Center (hubby takes classes there), and walked to the UP Oval. We did not finish the whole parade. We left at 7pm.

These photos are taken using my Cherry Flare 2.0. Looks like it cannot shoot good pictures at night, or I just don't know the right settings. I still cannot afford to buy a camera to replace my recently broken point and shoot Samsung Camera.

Total damage: 210php

90php for C2, Kikiam and Orange Quail Eggs
15php for Taho
30php for Manggang Hilaw
25php for Avocado Ice Cream
50php for Minion Balloon for Ate C

100 Peso Meals: Meatballs in Misua

Ingredients:

Justbought:

50php roughly 1/4kilo Ground Lean Pork (190php/kilo)
25php 2pieces carrots

Pantry/Ref Stash:

Misua
Eggs
Onions
Salt and Pepper

Procedure:

Dice the carrots and onions until very small.

Make meatballs with the ground beef, carrots and onions using the eggs as binder.  

Saute onions, add water and misua.Season to taste

Cook meatballs in this soup.  

Total: 75php

Misua is a very thin variety of salted chinese noodles made from wheat flour. It gets cooked in just a minute.

My daughter C, who is a picky eater, likes Misua as she associates this with her favorite pancit. Serving this at least hides the carrots in the meatball.  

100 Peso Meals just cover the cost of the main ingredients, not taking into consideration the gasul consumption, the cost of depreciation of the stove, paid labor by the household help, and other pantry items such as cooking oil, water and spices.  Nor does it account for the opportunity cost that I am staying at home blogging about this ulam.

100 Peso Meals Summary

100 Peso Meals just cover the cost of the main ingredients, not taking into consideration the gasul consumption, the cost of depreciation of the stove, paid labor by the household help, and other pantry items such as cooking oil, water and spices.  Nor does it account for the opportunity cost that I am staying at home blogging about these ulam. 

Meatballs in Misua 
Adobong Sitaw 

Hello World!

1. It is the Christmas season and I am not Christmas spending because I don’t have disposable income. In fact I don’t have income to start with. I am unemployed since the last quarter of 2012. 

2.  I live with my husband M who works as a teacher, our daughter C who recently turned 5 years old, our baby daughter J who is the reason I am a Stay At Home Mom (SAHM), and our household help S who has been with us for almost 4 years. 

3.  My time at home is spent mostly on taking care of baby J who is 4 months old as I write this. She is purely breastfed ~ my only excuse to be a SAHM. 

4.  This blog is created to chronicle my day to day concerns, feelings, thoughts and ramblings which have no audience. I don’t want to disturb my friends’ newsfeed on Facebook with my children’s faces or on Instagram with our budget meals or on Twitter with my irrelevant status updates.   This blog is created for myself, but your comments, suggestions and criticisms are all welcome. 

5.  I am incoherent and inconsistent. This is my Nth attempt at keeping a journal. And if you are reading this, thanks for your time, I hope you pick up something.

Keep your feet soft and smooth

I bought myself socks.