Going Green

I have a brown environment-friendly Envirosax bag that I bring whenever I go off to the butcher.

I love this bag since it folds up to a neat 4" x 1.7" rectangle that can fit into my jeans pocket. The full expanded size of this bag is 19.7" x 16.5" and can carry several kilos worth of meat. (The Envirosax website claims that these bags can carry a maximum weight capacity of 44 lbs or 20 kilos but I don't think I want to test that heavy a load.)

I got this as a prize when MacGyver and I were the first to arrive at one of our High School batch meetings. It was donated by our batch president (and my good friend) R who had announced ahead of time that wonderful prizes awaited those who attended the meeting. Of course whether or not there were door prizes, MacGyver and I would be there to support her and the batch but getting the bag was a bonus.

I have a similar bag that came from Eldest Sis. The beauty of that one is that it comes in a small bag with a plastic biner clip that would enable the bag to be attached to one's belt hook.

I never found the need for these bags in Manila so they were in one of my drawers until we left for Australia. During our move, the drawers got shipped and the bags were among the things included.

When we arrived here, we found that they were much more environmentally conscious. Had I known that green bags were such an IN thing here, I would have brought my two Shopwise canvas bags (yes, the big ones that give you double points if you use them) as well.

There is a Coles branch in the mall nearby which we visit regularly. Over time, I succumbed to buying Junior LandCare green bags from there. We have one in olive green and another in blue. (MyGirl would have preferred the purple one but I told her that the boys would probably be more willing to carry the grocery if the bag was green or blue.)

As much as possible, we bring these when we go there to do the grocery. We'd like to think that using these bags help even just a little bit.

We definitely bring those bags, plus other bags which we have collected over the past months, when we go to Aldi (another grocery chain). At Aldi, they DO NOT pack your grocery in bags ... period. Most of the people are aware of this policy and bring their own bags. You can cart your grocery off in the trolley cart or pick up one of the empty boxes in the store and use that to carry the grocery out. But if you want your grocery in the conventional plastic bag, you have to pay for it.

This is not a new concept for me. If I remember correctly, that was how Makro worked. However, back in the Philippines, people didn't really go out of their way to bring green bags to the grocery with them. (I remember our grocery rolling in the trunk of our car after our Makro trips whenever we forgot our bags.)

Hopefully, things will change and more people will use enviro bags on a regular basis.

As for me, aside from the positive environmental impact these bags have, the Envirosax bag has the added perk of bringing back memories of people and places.

So, don't leave home without one ... especially if you are going to the grocery!

Dream Come True

I am a firm believer of the teachings of The Secret. One has to want good things to happen and attract the positive. Don't get me wrong, I also live by "do your best and God will do the rest." So if you really know me, you know that I try to do my best but continue to strive for better and I do like to dream. I do hope that wishes come true. And yes, I do believe in miracles.

I have written about how I am forever trying to get the perfect waffles and how much I wanted to get a Belgian waffle maker. Well, my wish came true last Saturday (just in time for an early Valentine's Day gift).

This is what happened.

MacGyver's US-based uncle arrived here last Tuesday. He and his wife had gone on a cruise that started from Auckland, New Zealand and ended at Circular Quay in Sydney. They stayed at Mumoffive's place and were due to leave on Saturday. We went there to say our goodbyes, aside from some chocolates, the kids got some cash from their granduncle.

GI was not around since he had just woken up as we were about to leave the house so the $50 note and the coins were given to RD with the instructions that the money was to be divided among the children. The spiel included "we're going back to the States and I'm trying to get rid of my Aussie dollars." (Oh! Certainly, we can use some of that here.)

RD dutifully handed the money over to me for safekeeping since he didn't trust the pockets of his pants. I stuck the money in a separate pocket of my knapsack and counted it on our way home.

There was $10 in coins making the total a very decent $60. When I told RD that they each had $20 from their lolo, he was quite happy.

I am not sure how it came about but somehow RD's thoughts went towards pooling their newly acquired funds in order to get closer to my getting a Belgian waffle iron. He said that with the money they had, I would need to shell out less than $20 for the waffle iron.

When MyGirl said that she didn't mind giving up her $20, RD immediately made the decision for GI in absentia. MacGyver said it wasn't too late to go straight towards Supa-Centa instead of left towards home, so he changed lanes and we went and got ourselves a Belgian waffle maker.

RD was really pleased with himself (and he should be for being so thoughtful). Of course he made it clear that this was their Valentine's gift, birthday gift and Mother's Day gift to me already.

When we got home, we immediately embarked on our maiden voyage with the waffle iron.

The waffles were PERFECT! They were crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

Now all we need is whipped cream and fresh fruit. Yum!

Who Stole the Cookies?

As a reward for my hard work (pat on the back), I got a certificate of excellence and some Myer's gift cards from the office last December. I decided I would use the gift card to buy myself a new hand mixer. And as luck would have it, when RD, MyGirl and I went around the mall before Christmas, we found out there was a 3-day 15% discount on electronic appliances up to 18 December. We figured it was the perfect time to use the gift card. We purchased the mixer and a couple of other items.

A couple of days after we purchased the mixer, we decided to make white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies.

This is what happened on that day. Who stole the cookies?

Our inaugural cookies had just come out of the oven. There were three trays of cookies. The first two trays had a dozen each and the last one had seven. So all in all, our yield was thirty-one.

Unfortunately, not all our cookies were created equal. After the initial rotation of cookie sheets, the ones in the bottom rack of the oven were not quite done, the ones on the top were kind of burnt, while the ones in the middle were just right. (Does it sound like cookies made for Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear?) Sadly, MyGirl classified our cookies as the good ones, the bad ones and the burnt ones.

As I was taking out the 'not quite done ones', the two cookies on the corner of the cookie sheet looked kind of raw so I put them back in the oven even if I'd already turned the oven off. I figured the residual heat would bake them a bit more.

We called the boys since the cookies were ready. RD immediately asked how many he could have. Since there are five of us, with 31 cookies, we could each have six cookies but one of us (that would be MyGirl) could get seven.

MyGirl the Just decreed that everyone could get 2 good ones, 2 bad ones and 2 burnt ones.

As people started getting their cookies, I double checked that there would be enough for everyone.

"RD, you got your six. MyGirl, how many have you gotten? Four so far? OK. Dad has two. GI hasn't gotten. I've had one."

Let's see now ... two... four... six... eight ... ten ... twelve... fourteen... sixteen.

Hey! I'm missing two cookies.

Let me count again. 2 - 4 - 6 - 8 - 10 - 12 - 14 - 16. Gosh. We're short by 2 cookies!

"Didn't we have 31 cookies, MyGirl?"

"Yes, Mom, there were 31 cookies."

Who stole the cookies?

WHITE CHOCOLATE AND MACADAMIA COOKIES

125 g butter, softened

225 g soft brown sugar

1 egg lightly beaten

1 t vanilla extract

225 g all purpose flour

1/2 t baking powder

1 pinch salt

200 g white chocolate chips

150 g macadamia nuts, roughly chopped

Preheat oven 350F / 180C

Line baking sheet

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until pale and creamy

Add egg and vanilla, stir to combine

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt

Stir into butter mixture until just combined

Fold through chocolate and nuts

Place heaped tablespoons on lined sheet (allow for room to spread)

Bake 15 - 20 minutes until lightly golden

Let cool 5 minutes on sheet

Transfer to wire rack to cool

No, it was not the Cookie Monster who stole our cookies. Apparently, Mom the Forgetful left them in the oven.

Belgian Waffle Iron

Yes, my quest for the perfect waffles is not yet over.

I still dream of owning a Belgian waffle iron in the hopes that it will one day yield me waffles the way I like them. I like my waffles crispy on the outside and light on the inside.

My future Belgian waffle iron need not be as high-tech as the one artist Chris Dimini made, which sports a QWERTY design.

I had made waffles for MyGirl's birthday the previous day and waffles were still fresh in my mind. I didn't use my usual Betty Crocker recipe because I wanted to experiment on other recipes to see if other recipes work better. The waffles hadn't come out the way I like my waffles although the recipe I tried was warmly accepted by the family.

WAFFLES (makes 11.5 waffles)

3 c self-raising flour

1/2 c sugar

1/8 t salt

2 eggs, separated

2 c milk

1/2 c water

1/2 c melted butter

Beat egg whites with half the sugar until stiff peaks. Set aside.

Beat egg yolks with rest of the sugar until creamy.

Add milk and water into egg yolks and beat well.

Add sifted dry ingredients and mix to combine.

Add butter. Mix well.

Fold in egg whites.

Cook waffles.

Belgian waffle irons are expensive here (as are other things). We were at a Blacktown mall when I mentioned this to RD. He asked me how much they cost and when I said they cost about a hundred dollars, without hesitation he replied, "Get it, Mom. You can get $100 from my $700."

I was deeply touched.

"I can't do that, sweetheart. I have $100 but there are other more important things to spend that money on," I explained.

Even after we'd gone around the mall a bit more, the waffle iron was still on his mind. He offered me other options, "We'll get it for your birthday, Mom. Everyone can give $25, or else!"

I smiled. He is really such a sweet and thoughtful boy.

The thought of giving his own money or taking up a collection to come up with the funds to make one of my dreams come true is enough to make me go off and buy the thing myself so that I can make the Belgian waffles for him. (Come to think of it, RD makes my stay in the kitchen worth my while. He always appreciates my experiments and encourages me by saying, "I'm sure they taste great. They're mom-made.")

That night, I googled Belgian Waffle Iron and found a recipe I wanted to try. I thought MAYBE, just maybe, even if I didn't own a Belgian waffle iron, I could get the crispy outside and soft fluffy inside kind of waffles I desire.

The next morning, while the family slept, I started on my waffles.

BELGIAN WAFFLES (makes 14 using a regular waffle iron)

1/4 + 2 3/4 c milk

2 1/4 t yeast

3 eggs, separated

1/4 + 1/4 c sugar

1 1/2 t vanilla

3/4 c butter, melted

4 c flour, sifted

3/4 t salt

Warm 1/4 c milk

Add yeast to warmed milk and let stand for 5 mins

Beat egg whites to soft peaks

Add 1/4 c sugar slowly and beat until stiff peaks

Set aside

In separate bowl, beat egg yolks and rest of sugar until light and creamy

In measuring cup, combine rest of milk and vanilla

Alternately combine dry ingredients (flour and salt) with wet ingredients (milk and vanilla) into egg yolk mixture starting and ending with the flour.

Add melted butter and mix to combine.

Fold in egg whites and let rest for 45 mins.

Pour about 1/2 c per waffle on iron and cook.

Remember to (a) heat the waffle iron before starting, (b) grease the waffle iron before pouring the batter and (c) keep waffles cooking until the steam stops.

Before the time the 45 minutes cut-off, Z and MyGirl were up. I sent them off to buy some cream and strawberry jam for our waffles. As the waffles were cooking, RD and MacGyver got up. By the time GI woke up, everyone else had eaten breakfast.

The waffles were good on their own. They still didn't have the texture I wanted but the base recipe was great and it yielded a decent number of waffles to make everyone happy.

Till the next waffle experiment or the Belgian waffle iron acquisition, whichever comes first.

T-Shirt Folder

My brother-in-law announced one evening that his two youngest boys are in charge of folding clothes nowadays. (The boys are 7 and 10.) He had found a youtube link on how to make a T-shirt folder and had made two for home use -- one for the adult-sized shirts and another for the kiddie-sized ones.

The below is not the version they have but I think if ever I venture into making such a contraption, I would use this particular version, mainly because it lays flat and has the option for portability.



When I mentioned this at home, GI immediately referred me to Sheldon of The Big Bang Theory. (The Big Bang Theory is a funny TV series. We enjoy watching this even if it is rated PG. ) He showed me this clip which introduced me to the commercially available T-shirt folder Flip Fold.

(Gosh, the inventions people think up. Wish I'd cooked up something like that.)

Yes, one might think this product is something people can live without, which in all honesty IS something people can live without. However, having such a contraption is quite cool.

I found out from Z that Eldest Sis has something like this. She had gotten it when her two kids were much smaller and unable to fold clothes on their own. By getting the Flip Fold, her children were able to help her with the chores. (My sister has always been a smart one.)

Call me weird but having a perfectly aligned stack of T-shirts, folded in practically the same manner all of the time, goes with my grain. I like there to be order (even if the house is an absolute mess). If I could get all the clothes, towels and linen piled up perfectly ... wow! ... I'd be impressed at myself.

Anyway, since I didn't see myself buying a Flip Fold nor constructing a home-made one any time soon, I settled for the next best thing I could think of ... a placemat.

I mean really, when we buy t-shirts from the department store, it is just a piece of cardboard that comes with the t-shirt. I didn't see any reason a placemat couldn't do the trick. The placemat I picked had the advantage of rigidity, in fact.

Yes, since MacGyver purchased a new set of plastic placemats for us, the set we had with flowers on one side and "cork"on the other has been laying idle in the dining room. I pulled the one I used to use (the one with the tulips) and folded shirts that had been washed earlier that day. It worked great as a guide for foilding the t-shirts. The only problem was that our drawer space is too narrow for the now perfectly aligned shirts.

Not to worry, MyGirl has volunteered to assist me if ever I decide to build a t-shirt folder in the future. Until then, my placemats will have to do.