{cherry} EVERYDAY

Have you noticed how your dishes come out more delicious when the radio or your iPod is blaring full blast? Go try it. I guess with music, particularly the ones you love listening to, you tend to get more focused and have this general happy disposition. Just don’t listen to heartbreak songs as they won’t help make your Kare-Kare more savory even if you use these state-of-the-art metro phones at Musician’s Friend. So what are the songs I listen to when I’m cooking? They’re mostly 80′s pop such as songs from Duran Duran, Wang Chung. Bruce Springsteen and Human League. I also love listening to songs of Incubus, Blues Traveler, Mumford & Sons and songs from the soundtrack of the movie Up in the Air.

So when your dish lacked that certain flavor, cook it with music blaring in the background.

Yes, our kitchen is always a mess but not this kitchen. I’m talking about Our Kitchen. There are times when I find myself not in any mood to cook. Not even an egg. Not even steamed rice. My best solution to this problem is to go out and eat at some restaurant. But there are also times when I don’t want to eat out. I don’t want to take a bath and dress up, much more drive to another city for a meal. So what do I do? I reheat cooked food. Not my own creation but from someone else’s kitchen. I’m talking about Our Kitchen by Manila Catering. I can now eat gourmet dishes without leaving home. Just thaw and reheat. Best served with rice.

Now, I never stay home without it…

These ready-to-heat meals are available in two serving sizes and our favorites so far are Iberian Chicken, Bicol Express, and Bistek Tagalog. There are other dishes as well. The ones I have yet to try are Chicken Cordon Bleu, Callos, Lengua and their pasta.

OUR KITCHEN Examiner
47 Examiner St.,
West Triangle, Quezon City
355-57-55 loc. 121

OUR KITCHEN Visayas
47 Visayas Ave. cor.
Congressional Ave., Q. C.
929-06-99

OUR KITCHEN Kapitolyo
D’Ace Plaza, United St.,
Bgy. Kapitolyo, Pasig City

With the economy in rough shape, and people understanding the need to cut back on expenses, one of the most common areas that people have been looking into is saving money on grocery shopping. The reason is that food expenses tend to make up a large part of every household’s budget. Here are some simple ideas to save money when grocery shopping.

Coupons

This is probably the most popular and the most talked about way to save money grocery shopping. With shows like Extreme Couponers, cutting coupons and using them has essentially become a sport for people.

However, for normal shoppers, coupons can still be a great way to save. Look in your local paper and find the inserts for coupons each week. Only clip the coupons you will use – don’t just go buy a new product because there is a coupon. This will just lead you to spend more money than you need.

You can also look for coupons in store (i.e. from the retailer), or even directly on the product itself. You can also look for net voucher codes, which can be used in some grocery stores.

Shop Online

The other option is for you to shop around online. More and more places are offering grocery shopping online, and even places like Amazon offer a huge variety of dry goods online that can be shipped to your house. You can be saving money online at Asda or other shops by using vouchers or other coupon codes.

Use Rewards Clubs

Finally, make sure that you are taking advantage of rewards clubs or other store programs to save. At many grocery stores, the best savings are only offered to those that have a rewards membership or club card. These cards are usually free, so make sure that you are signing up and taking advantage of the savings offered by these programs.

Don’t forget that you can typically combine multiple ways to save, so don’t just think you can only use one or the other to save money on your next grocery shopping trip.

So what are your plans for the weekend?  My little girl has been looking forward to this weekend to play and watch all day.  Everyday has been a tug-of-war with her about school. Me pulling her to like school and her pulling herself in the other direction.  So this weekend is a welcome break.  As much as I want to show her how fun school can be, she never sees it.  Perhaps I should enroll her in music school and let her learn a musical instrument.  I don’t really care if it’s guitar, drums or Casio organ or piano, I just want her to enjoy learning again.  And I do think she’ll enjoy learning and playing music.  It’s the same thing, right?

Anyway, we plan to have lunch at this new Thai restaurant in Quezon City, watch Vampire Hunter and do a movie marathon for the rest of the weekend.

We have all had those days where we’ve thought, “Geez, this just can’t get any worse”. And then, after a long stressful day at work, sitting in traffic for over an hour on the way home and missing the season finale of your favorite sitcom, you realize, “Wait, I forgot to eat dinner!”

After pouting your way into the kitchen you realize that the refrigerator is empty and you really don’t feel like a microwaveable cup of soup.

We want you to leave the stress at work. We’ve created a helpful list of essential items to try and keep on hand in your kitchen to save you from stressful evenings.

Fruits and Veggies

Your favorite fruits and veggies are key items to restock with each grocery run. They’re perfect for post-gym smoothies and great to throw in your bag for a snack on the way to work.

Dairy

Yogurt, specifically Greek Yogurt is a versatile item that can be eaten alone or added to a variety of other things to spice up a snack or meal. Add a dollop to salads with a little bit of lemon or oil to make a creamy dressing, dip red pepper slices in it for a healthy snack, or cover it with fresh fruit and honey for breakfast.

Milk, whether it’s for baking or for your morning coffee, there is little explaining that needs to be done here.

Butter makes everything taste better. From covering your baking needs to adding it to your pasta, you’ll most likely reach for the butter in the refrigerator a few times a week.

Eggs are a must have, as the possibilities of things to cook with them are near endless!

Baking Supplies

Baking supplies are easier to keep on hand because they usually need to bought and bulk and unless you’re an avid baker – you might not use most of these ingredients all that often. However, try to keep staple items like chocolate chips, sugar, flour, canola oil, baking soda, baking powder and oats on hand for when a craving calls!

While it’s great to have all of these items on hand, sometimes what really makes a meal delicious is the perfect concoction of spices you add. Again, these are the easier items to have on hand as you typically use small amounts at a time and they last much longer than other kitchen goods.

Spices

You always need your salt and pepper. Garlic is a must have too! If you can, try to keep fresh garlic readily available. Cumin, basil, and onion salt are other tasty must-haves.

If you have a love for cooking consider learning more through an online cooking school. We hope this list helps and that you’ll never have to come home to empty cabinets and a bare kitchen again!