Quipshere on Windows

Hi Been years since I posted this dying blog of mine, I though I will revive it today and post something techie for the social media fun of Quipspehere. As we all know it is a mobile app only, means it only runs on mobile device based on iOS and Android. but there are still times where we still likes our mouse and keyboard or our phones are not withing our reach or LOBAT (beacue we use it to much). So here is an alternative solution. How to install the popular Quipshere mobile app to your windows machine And to all that knows what I mean, please share and forward this to the rest that knows what I mean.

The Only Fruit with a Heart

The only fruit with a heart is a banana. In the Philippines the flower of a banana tree is called the heart of the banana because it looks like a heart.



There are many folk tale about this flower there are said that if you would stand under it during the full moon there will be a droplet that would fall from it that if you we're able to catch it mouth you will gain extra ordinary powers.

I would not wait for that I'll just go get the heart and cook it. Here is a recpie for it
Source: http://www.phamfatale.com/id_612/title_Banana-Flower-Salad-Goi-Bap-Chuoi-Chay


3 banana flowers (see tips)
2 lemons
1 lime
1 shallot
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canned straw mushrooms in water, drained and sliced lengthwise
1/4 cup peanuts
1 (1-inch) chunk ginger
2 cloves pickled garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon mushroom seasoning salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 tablespoon Vietnamese mint, chopped
1 tablespoon Thai basil, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar cane vinegar (or more lime juice)
1 tablespoon rau răm (see tips), chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh coconut (optional), freshly grated
1 red Thai bird chili, stemmed, seeded and thinly sliced
1 drizzle toasted sesame oil (optional)
Directions
Pickling the shallot: Peel and thinly slice the shallot; mince finely. Place the minced shallot in a bowl, sprinkle with a tablespoon of brown sugar and drizzle with the juice of half of a lime. Toss well. Set aside.
Making ginger paste: Clean the ginger. Peel the ginger root with a paring knife and finely chop it. Place the chopped ginger in a mini-blender, adding about 2 tablespoons (or more) of water for a smooth flow. Gather about 2 teaspoons. Set aside.

Prepping the banana flower: Trim the root. Remove and discard the outside layer if the leaves are wilted and keep the younger leaves. Cut the banana flower in half, lengthwise.

Steaming the banana flower: Fill a pot filled with water and bring it to a boil. Add salt and the juice of 2 lemons. Add the halved banana flowers. Bring back to a boil, then immediately lower the heat to a gentle boil. Cook for about 30-40 minutes until tender. Remove them for the water and let cool a bit until you can handle them without discomfort. Cut them into little shreds. Set aside. Drizzle with about 1 tablespoon of lime juice.

Peanuts: In a mortar and pestle, slightly crush the peanuts. You still want to have visible pieces of peanuts for a crunchy texture.

Gỏi sauce: In a bowl, combine the rest of the lime juice, sugar cane vinegar, mushroom seasoning salt, pickled garlic, ginger paste, the remaining brown sugar, soy sauce and the canola oil. Mix well.

Assembly time: In a large bowl, combine the shredded banana flower, the straw mushrooms, fresh coconut, red Thai chili and pickled shallot with its macerating liquid. When you're ready to serve, drizzle the gỏi sauce. Add all the chopped herbs. Toss well. Season with more salt -if needed and white pepper. Sprinkle the peanuts. Finish with sesame oil.

Serve immediately.

Eat with chopsticks and enjoy!
Tips

You can add any other crunchy ingredients such as bean sprouts, but I think the banana flower and peanuts already have a nice texture by themselves.

Soy sauce brings saltiness to the dish and a nice amber color. My favorite soy sauce is Da Bo De. It has a very nice flavor and is not too salty. You can find this particular sauce in downtown San Jose, at Dai Thanh Asian market on 420 S 2nd St, in San Jose.

Make ginger lemongrass drink with the remaining ginger paste.

You can use fresh garlic instead of the pickled garlic but the garlic flavor is going to be a lot stronger. You can find pickled garlic in any Asian store.

Mushroom seasoning salt brings a very distinct, earthy flavor to the sauce. You can find it at gourmet specialty stores or in most Korean stores. I get mine at Marina Foods -10122 Bandley Drive -Cupertino, CA 95014.

The lemon juice prevents the banana flower from blackening.


You can find banana flowers in most Indian and Asian markets. It looks like a corn husk. It's also sometimes called banana heart or banana blossom. For a sweet and non-bitter taste, pick young-looking banana flowers with fresh leaves for an easy shredding (bắp chuối bào).

You can use the same sauce / "vinaigrette" and drizzle it over shredded hearts of palm or even artichoke hearts, which are more popular ingredients than banana flowers in Western cuisine.

You can find straw mushrooms in Asian stores or online.

If you don't have a mortar and pestle to slightly crush the peanuts, just use a rolling pin.

To prevent the herbs from darkening, chop them at the very last minute, toss them into the salad and serve immediately.

Vietnamese mint has a very different flavor from regular mint. It also has darker vein marking on the leaves. It's commonly used in Asian salads such as Vietnamese chicken salad (gỏi gà in Vietnamese) and in spring rolls (gỏi cuốn in Vietnamese).

Rau răm are a Vietnamese coriander leaves used in South Asian cooking. I buy them at the Asian market. If you don't have any, just double the amount of regular cilantro.

Did you notice the Thai basil flowers in the picture? Basil flowers are not edible but they are perfect for garnish. I get them from my herb garden.

We just happened to buy a lot of fresh coconuts from the Asian market. Everyone drank the delicious juice and I gathered all the coconut "meat" for the gỏi bắp chuối chay salad.

The Best Mango Fruit

The best mango fruit you can ever taste is found in the Philippines. I'm not saying this because I'm a Filipino, it is base on what I heard from other country that had tasted Philippine mangoes. Now a days mangoes are being planted not on it's native soil. The fruit is being exported throughout the world, so some that likes it very much would attempt to plant the seed that comes with the fruit. But unfortunately for them even the seeds find its way to a place with the right climate it will still not taste the same since the element in the soil seems to play a major role also for the delicious taste found in the Philippine.

So the next time you buy Philippine mangoes make sure it was harvested in the Philippine.

Gardening Time Again

Save money on gardening this year. Here a list to do to save money.
Save on potting soil by making a compost - Rake and gather all fallen leaves from fall, cut grass and gather clippings and green waste from the yard or lawn. Set them aside on a well ventilated area. Throw in kitchen scraps (scrap veggies, egg shell, coffee grounds but not meat by products) and mixed it well. If not so gross with you adding urine to the compost will boots the decomposition process and

Save on seeds-Get tomato seeds, pepper seed and other seeds before eating or cooking, wash it and place it to a clean tissue paper, let it air dry, keep it on a cool dry place until ready to plant. Or follow this video for a more advance way.

Make pots - save all large plastic containers from milk, orange juice and other food container. Wash it till it is clean them cut the top part so it will have a large opening and ready for planting. 
Save on water-Plan ahead where to place the plants it should be close to a water supply, if you have plans to have a summer vacation it is wise to have an automatic watering system. Make a rain cath

Comparing International Rates

I have been checking out and comparing international rates of Verizon, AT&T, Google Voice, Magic Jack and Vonage of course to see where I could save money.

Here are the links to their international calling rates.
Verizon
AT&T
Google Voice
Magic Jack
Skype
Vonage

There are big difference on the prices. But I found Google Voice the cheapest to call the Philippines. It is not the most convenient method unless you have an iPhone or Android phone to install the app. But if you could settle on using your PC in placing international call then this will save you a lot of money.

Lower Your Credit Card Interest to Save Money

This will blow you mind, especially if you have a raging credit card interest with big dept on the card. I just found out that you can lower your credit card interest with a simple phone call to the credit card company. Call them them and make an inquiry, a simple question "Can you lower my interest rate?" will impact your monthly credit card bills. Just be polite if the first time you call they say no then ask them how can you make it low. If the first time you did not succeed call again and if you need to call them everyday then do it, there are thousand of agents one of them will agree with you.

You could also ask to talk to a manager and ask him to lower it and if he say no then ask him how can you lower it.

Just remember to be polite and give due respect to the agents. Ask and you shall received... I just did.

Share this to all you friend, it might help them save money too. (Just click the Facebook icon on the upper right corner for easy sharing on Facebook)

Discount Coupons from Safeway

At Safeway coupons are at the back of the receipt. My favorite coupon that became available on the nearest Safeway on our location was the Mc Buy one take one Frappe. It is a good deal so I always check the backof my receipt from Safeway.

Today I went to Safeway just to buy Bok Choy, I just needed fresh vegetable to be topped when I reheat our meal for lunch.. I just cost me .70 cents, but I was supprized when I saw that I have a $10 off discount for a car wash from a local shop, I was just in time because I was really thinking to have our car washed.

My bottom line here is, it is good to be aware of coupon around your area. I'll probably save just $10 but it is better than nothing.

Save Money on Telephone Bills and International Calls

I have a previous post about Magic Jack, how it cheap it is compare to conventional phone services. Well I have another one here but it is not about conventional telephone it is only about making a free call, specially international calls.

The best way I find to make a free international call is by using VOIP or voice over internet protocol. Basically it is using a computer to make calls. Skype is one of the famous name when it comes to VOIP. My problem with Skype is, it is only free if you are calling another Skype user but if you are calling a regular phone the are charges and it varies depending what country you're calling.

Whistle phone, it is also a VOIP, but it could also place free calls on US landlines and mobile phone, all you have to do is download the software from their website and register to open an account. In this way friends and family outside the US can a call to my landline and mobile phone for free instead of placing an international call which is expensive.

Update:
We are now using Google Voice see my post about this Here

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Save on Gardening

Having your own garden saves you money more than you know it if you're doing it right. This is my own guide line to check if I am saving money on my gardening or spending more.

Usually we just buy potting soil and pots for our garden, but this is not saving this is spending. To make a saving on pots and potting soil improvising is a must. For potting soil, instead of buying just pick a place where you could dig out good soil or the best thing is make your own potting soil by preparing a compost before planting season.

For improvise pots, recycled materials are the best choice, empty plastic milk or orange juice bottles works greate. Cut the top part and presto you have a recycled pot, it does not look nice but it does what it suppose to do. Just don't forget to poke some hole at the bottom to allow excess water to drain out.

Magic Jack

Magic Jack really works like magic for me. Why? Because it would provide you with a phone service that is phenomenal. The only requirement is high speed internet connection. But if you’re using dial up just forget it.

What is Magic Jack? it is a PORTABLE gadget th at you plug in to your computer through the USB port so you can have a telephone service. You can plug any telephone on the Magic Jack and use the phone just the way you use it or just use your computers audio out and microphone to make a call. It is better than any phone service provider here in the US when it comes to price, nobody can beat the 19.95 dollars PER YEAR that magic jacks offer. The thing with magic jack is your are going to be given a new US telephone number so therefore wherever you bring it the number goes with it. So if you have a laptop you can take you phone with you when you travel (but off course there should be an internet connection from where you’re going ) that you cannot normally do with any phone service.

If you always make international call to any country why not just send them a Magic Jack (But then again if they have internet connection) so that you can call them using your Magic Jack or any regular US phone line, could be your cell phone or the phone line at your office or they can call back on your cell phone or at your office or just any telephone as if they are here in the US. This is also what makes it better than Skype, Yahoo messenger or any Voice chatting software there is.

For more details you can visit Magic Jack's website or search the web....

Reverse Late Charges

Avoid unnecessary expense by avoiding to being charge by late fees. But did you know that late fees can be reversed? Yes it can be if you would just ask. How many times that you have been charged by a late fee and you just pay it and did not even ask if it can be reversed back? Most of us had never done this before we just simply pay because we know it’s our fault and that is what the contract says. More often is we complain about how high is the late fee and that the service is no good, more often we just quarrel and not achieving what we should have which is to have the late fee reversed.

This is the story how I have learned it. This month we just received a bill that stating we have been charge with a late fee of $5. Normally we would just pay it since that what is stated in the contract. When I reviewed the bill we just owed them $8.20, regularly we are billed around $40-$80 but this time we haven’t used the service quit often. But the thought of we owing them $8.2 only and will pay them $5 for the late charge has kept me thinking because it somehow feels like that we’re paying 60% interest. So, I pick up the phone and call them and ask them nicely if the late charges can be reversed, they asked me why and I just honestly told them that I was not able to pay in time due to my negligence and then ask them again politely that if still if they can reverse the late charges since I have been a loyal customer for more than a year. The conversation went well and they reversed the late charges. The funny thing is I didn’t know that the bill was already paid by my spouse so when the agent is reversing my late charges it shows that it was already paid. But anyway they say that the reversal will just reflect the next bill which means I have a $5 credit.

It is only $5 dollars, but now I know that late charges or other charges similar can be reversed. It could be more than $5 dollars next time or maybe more in your case. You have nothing to lose but your time talking to the agent so if seems it’s not worth of your time just let it go. I just put this in my blog because this is the Filipino style, $5 means a lot in the Philippines, It could be a whole day meal of a family of 5.

This may not be applicable to all companies that bill for late charges but most of them just wont tell if not asked, so just ask so they would tell.

Cook Adobo and save money

Lots of people now wants to save money but sometimes it seems so hard specially here in the US where everything seem so expensive that is why I made up this blog and see if I could pull Filipino people to contribute their idea on how to save money and still enjoy everyday life. Not only Filipino would benefit from the shared idea basically it will be applicable to anybody.

So I'll start this blog rolling with the famous recipe of the Adobo. Why Adobo? It's simple to cook, has a long storage life and the ingredients are not expensive. Since Adobe is full of flavor it is always serve with white rice but white bread will also do as a substitute.
The money saving part is when you cook extra serving and take advantage of the storage life so you would cook once and have a supply that would last for couple of weeks in the fridge or the freezer and the best thing about it is taste even better after storage.

Adobo Ingredients:
1/2 kilo pork cut in cubes + 1/2 kilo chicken, cut into pieces or
1 head garlic, minced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup vinegar
1 cup of water
3 laurel leaves (bay leaves)
4 tablespoons of cooking oil of your choice
1 table spoon whole corn pepper
Optional:
4 Boiled eggs

Sauté the minced garlic and onions on a sauce pan with 2 tablespoon of cooking oil.

Add the pork and chicken to the pan.
Add 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1 cup of vinegar 1 table spoon pepper and laurel.
Cover and bring to a boil, simmer for until meat is tender (20 min to 30 min).

Remove the pork and chicken from the sauce pan and fry with 2 table spoon of cooking oil for about 5 minutes then put it back to the sauce pan. Bring to a boil then simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Add the un-shell the boiled eggs and add them.

Serve hot with white rice.