Treasure Jar

If you were able to join Electrolux’s annual clothes donation drive last year where the collected pre-loved clothes were washed before given away, this year, Electrolux made the clothes donation campaign better.

How?

Electrolux and Gawad Kalinga’s Trese partnered to have these donated pre-loved clothes transformed into beautiful and colorful quilts for the newborn babies from orphanages and other communities. Now, if that advocacy touched your hearts, then sort through your closets now and look for clothes that you might want to give to help keep warm these babies as the -BER months usher in cooler winds.

Why quilts?

Quilts are traditionally made to preserve a story told by each piece of fabric sewn to form it. In Delightful-E Simple to Share, these quilts will document a story of underprivileged moms helping newborns in need.

This new twist to Electrolux’s advocacy aims to show that sharing goes beyond donating clothes.“Through Delightful-E Simple, we hope to mark the difference between giving and sharing. For when we share, we freely impart a piece of ourselves—our time, effort, and concern. Hence, we are able to give more,” explains Andrea Pionilla, marketing Manager of Electrolux Philippines.

But wait, there’s more in the Electrolux Delightful-E Simple to Share campaign with Simple to Share Instagram and Twitter Contest:

Here is what you have to do when you share your pre-loved clothes in the Simple to Share Instagram and Twitter Contest:

1.  Take a photo of a special piece of clothing you are willing to donate
2. Write why this piece of clothing is special to you and why you wish to donate it
3. Do not forget to use the hashtags #DelightfulE and #SimpleToShare and tag @ElectroluxPh

ElectroluxPh on Twitter and ElectroluxPh on Instagram

The Simple to Share Contest will run from August 1 to September 30, 2014.

To know more about Electrolux Delightful-E Simple, visit www.facebook.com/thelittlewhitebook or follow @ElectroluxPH on Twitter and Instagram.

Tags: Contest Alert, Electrolux, Electrolux and Gawad Kalinga's Trese, Electrolux Delightful-E, Electrolux Delightful-E Simple to Share, Electrolux Simple to Share, ElectroluxPH, Simple to Share Instagram and Twitter Contest, www.facebook.com/thelittlewhitebook

Electrolux will launch Delightful-E Simple to Save contest  that will run from August 11 – September 15, 2014

“Electrolux understands that every peso and second counts,” said Andrea Pionilla, Marketing Manager of Electrolux Philippines. “This is the reason behind Delightful-E Simple. We want to help moms save not just money but also their precious time by making their everyday tasks delightfully simple and easy.”

For every money and time well-spent and save, we feel good, right? Imagine how, with the chores we (love or dread to) do, we are able to save BOTH money and time, wouldn’t you just say “It is indeed Delightful-E Simple to Save“.

With this in mind, Electrolux Philippines Facebook Page has created a Savings Calculator app where you get help in adding up your savings. It also enables you to keep track of your laundry expenses and savings at the same time.

What more, this Savings Calculator is very easy to use. It can help you track down your weekly laundry expenses based on a few things: number of family members, average weekly load and how you wash your clothes.

After tracking your expenses, the Savings Calculator will show you how much you can save in a year when you use an Electrolux washing machine.

And what do you do with the money you saved for a year?

If you are a mom or a dad, you might think of school expenses, a weekend family getaway, utility bills and grocery items with which those savings might go to. If you are single, then perhaps you can now get that new pair of shoes you have been saving up for, a new gadget perhaps or a weeklong vacation?

Wait… didn’t I just say how much you can save when using an Electrolux Washing Machine and you say you don’t have one?

HERE IS THE GOOD NEWS:  Electrolux is giving away not just one but 4, yes FOUR!! washing machines to four very lucky people.

Here are the four easy steps on how you could be one of those four winners (claim it now!)

1. Like the Electrolux Facebook page facebook.com/thelittlewhitebook

2. Calculate your laundry savings using the Savings Calculator

3. Hit the Share button found in the result page

4. In the caption, type in what you plan to buy using your laundry savings and do not forget to include the hashtags #DelightfulE and #SimpleToSave and post it on your Facebook page.

Follow ElectroluxPH on Twitter and Instagram.

Tags: Electrolux, Electrolux Delightful-E, Electrolux Delightful-E Simple to Save, Electrolux Little White Book, Electrolux Simple to Save, Electrolux Simple to Share, Win Electrolux Washing Machine

Grab another chance to savor the dishes of the famed Lolo Dad’s restaurant as chef-owner Ariel Manuel dons his culinary garb once again for a cooking demo on June 21, Saturday, 9am-1pm at the Maya Kitchen.

Chef Ariel plays on the theme ‘Simplicity of Flavors’ as he prepares:

• Salmon Sardine with Fresh Garlic Croutons
• Romaine Caesar Salad
• White Onion Soup
• Shellfish Open Lasagne
• Mediterranean Duck Rice, Mixed Fresh Fruits with Vanilla Ice Cream, Rock Salt and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Don’t be taken in by the seemingly simple dishes. The Caesar Salad, for one, comes with a dressing that is cooked and keeps for a week! The onion soup comes with a gruyere topping and for a real knock out flavor, Chef Ariel recommends French Muscovy duck breasts.

Chef Ariel to this day cannot explain how he ended up becoming one of the country’s renowned chefs. He took up architecture in college but spent all his professional life in the kitchens of international hotel chains Mandarin Oriental Manila, Shangri-la Hotel Makati, Westin Philippine Plaza and Heritage Hotel.

His very own Lolo Dad’s Cafe was a culinary landmark earning accolades from diners and critics. It was one of the very few that offered patrons a chef’s table that gave a close up look on how Chef Ariel painstakingly created his masterpieces. When Lolo Dad’s bowed out of the dining scene recently, some were apprehensive that Chef Ariel was hanging up his apron for good. On the contrary, he has other culinary marvels up his sleeve that will soon regal all of us. We just have to wait and see.

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Visit The Maya Kitchen Culinary Center every Tuesday to Saturday at 8F Liberty Building, 835 A. Arnaiz Avenue (Pasay Road), Makati City or call 8921185 / 892-5011 local 108.

This week marked the first week of our Back to School days. I say “OUR” because even if I do not have to be in school like my children do, I wake up way earlier than the rest of the household. Wait, let me rephrase that… I go to “school” too, in my little room where I am called Teacher Julie which is a world different from my children’s school.

Anyway…

There are days when the going gets rough and even though I have all things prepped down to the last minute details, there are those little things that I forget: that folder in the home library that the youngest is supposed to bring with her to school, the supplements that children should have taken before going to bed, or that change of shirt for PE days. The list could be endless depending on the circumstances.

In all these things that keep me very busy, I am in need of a break, in particular, a chocolate break for which I can derive not just sweet indulgence and pleasure but a kick and boost in my system. Having said that,  I nod my head in agreement to the tagline: Have a break, have a Kitkat.

So for this question…

Did you know that taking a KIT KAT Break can unlock hidden skills in you that make it seem like you can break the impossible? If so, what skill would I like to unlock and why?

a. Type faster and flawlessly.
b. Never forget any detail.
c. Create awesome presentation decks.
d. Multitask at any given time.

My answer to this question would be: Never forget any detail.

Why? Here’s why.

My day begins at 4:30am (or earlier) when I prepare breakfast and packed food for the children to bring to school. The children need to be up half an hour later because the school service arrives before 6am. Then we bring the eldest child to where she can get a ride to go to her university before the husband and I can have our breakfast and prepare for the day’s activities ahead of us.

The activities I need to do are varied, depending on my work schedule though the busiest days I have are three days of work. I have to be home before the children gets home from school though to get dinner ready. Good thing I have small kitchen appliances that make cooking and preparing food easier. So yey!! Laundry is taken cared of by the eldest daughter though when she goes back to school next month, this will again be my responsibility. Ironing is something I don’t do so these clothes that need ironing goes to the laundry shop. The backyard is being tended to by a cleaning lady because yard work is not really my thing.

We haven’t had any household help for more than 11 years.

So tiring just to read about our day huh? That’s why I need to Never Forget any Detail.

As for the skill  “Type faster and flawlessly”, I only need this when I have to make an Assessment Report or  a Progress report that i have forgotten to encode and need to bring to a doctor or to the parents of my student.

For “Create awesome presentation decks”, I don’t see the reason for the need of that skill since I do not work in the corporate world.

“Multitask at any given time”? Multitasking is my other name when it comes to running a household and working at the same time.

I multitask because I have to, with of course, the help of these little things I use at home. Example of one of my fun multitasking skills with a kitchen aid : While I (and the rest of the family) am having a good night rest, my slow cooker is cooking our food for the next day. Now… if I forgot to turn on the slow cooker, imagine how it would be if we wake up with the food uncooked? The horror!

Never forget any detail, is my mantra. This is what digital calendars, alarms, notepads, post-its and children’s sharp memories are for, to not forget details. As long as you don’t forget to make notes of the details you need to remember of course 😀

“Like” KITKAT Facebook page here.

Tags: Have a Break, Have a Kitkat, KitKat Break, KitKat Break Movement

For a main dish (we had this for dinner just last night) My Great Food 15 Second Cooking Challenge is Slow Cooked Monterey Country Style Pork (or Liempo) and Purefoods Classic Honeycured Bacon with mango salsa. Mangoes are best when eaten during summer 🙂

Mangoes are a sign that summer is definitely here and our family just love these fruits especially if coming from our home province, Zambales.

Here is the detailed recipe of my Slow Cooked Monterey Country Style Pork with Mango and Bacon Salsa.

Ingredients:

1. 1 kilo of Monterey Country Style Pork or liempo. For every strip, cut in 3 or four pieces.
2. Dry Rub: 2T salt and pepper, 2Tpaprika and 1/4 cup muscovado sugar. For the sauce: 1 cup Oyster Sauce and 1/2 cup Hickory Sauce.
3. Purefoods Honeycured Bacon. You can use as many bacon strips as you like.
4. 2 pieces ripe but still firm mangoes, cubed in small pieces. Ours came from Zambales.
5. 2 pieces tomatoes, cubed in small pieces. Ours are homegrown.
6. 1 piece cucumber, cubed in small pieces
7. 1 or 2 pieces of calamansi (which I got from our tree)
8. Balsamic Vinegar for drizzling on the salsa

Here is the YouTube Video

And here is the Instagram video link.

Cooking Procedure in details:

1. Wash and cut the Monterey Country Style Pork. Pat dry.

2. Put together the dry rub for the meat.

3. Massage the meat with the dry rub. Refrigerate, covered, for an hour or two.

4. Mix the sauces for the Monterey Country Style Pork for the slow cooking step. See NOTES below for some cooking style tips.

5. Arrange the Monterey Country Style Pork with dry rub and half of the sauce in the crock pot.

6. Cook for two hours high and two hours low. OR cook for six hours on low.

7. Prepare the mango salsa by cutting the mangoes, tomatoes and cucumbers in small cubes. Put the juice of one or two calamansi on it.

8. Refrigerate the salsa until you need it. You can also add onions and cilantro before serving. Fry or bake the Purefoods Honeycured Bacon before serving the Slow Cooked Monterey Country Style Pork.

9. Serve the Slow Cooked Monterey Country Style Pork with the Mango and Bacon Salsa drizzled with balsamic Vinegar.

NOTES:

1. If you don’t have a slow cooker, I suggest you get one, haha. Kidding aside, you can grill the Monterey Country Style Pork or bake in the oven. Use the remaining sauce to baste the grilled or baked pork. If you are going to grill, better not cut the pork in three or four pieces.

2. You can opt to not add calamansi in the salsa but the balsamic vinegar should be included because it adds a different twist to the ripe mangoes. It may just be me but no harm in trying, right?

3. For the salsa, you can also add onions,cilantro,and avocado before serving.

4. You can cut the crispy Purefoods Honeycured Bacon in bits and add in the salsa. My kids said they preferred it whole so I didn’t do the bacon bits.

I hope you enjoy doing this recipe as much as I did.

By the way, if you do not have time to go out and buy meats, Monterey will deliver to your home. My go-to Monterey branch is the one along Mindanao Avenue.

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For more recipes, register at My Great Food website AND “Like” the My Great Food Facebook page.

Tags: Monterey Country Style Pork (or Liempo), My Great Food 15 Second Cooking Challenge, Purefoods Classic Honeycured Bacon, Slow Cooked Monterey Country Style Pork with Mango and Bacon Salsa, Slow Cooked Monterey Country Style Pork with the Mango and Bacon Salsa, slow cooked recipe, slow cooker recipe