FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY for FINANCIAL WELLNESS

                                      

                                            GREAT CHANCE FOR ENTREPRENEURS!

On July 20, 2012, the 22^nd Kapihang Entrepinoy, with its theme, Puhunan, Investment, Savings at Opportunidad “Piso ng Negosyo, Susi sa Pag-asenso,” will focus on providing practical tips on how to grow and expand one’s business even with limited resources and detecting the early signs of financial crisis in business through appropriate financial planning and capital management program at the Senden Hall, Asian Social Institute located in Leon Guinto corner Escoda streets, Malate, Manila.

Reserve your seat(s) NOW and let's look at the different tools that your business might pursue and address the challenges of business sustainability and financial wellness.

For confirmation of seats and group inquiries on discounts, please get in touch with our Business Development Unit at telephone numbers 524-1879/523-9776 or mobile nos. 0918-652-1111/ 09277501935 and look for Ms. Lourdes S. Virtudez and Mr. Gil Kelly C. Garcia, will be more than willing to assist you. You may also write us at bdo@csentrepinoy.org.ph.

Lampshade made of disposable spoons.

I really could not get the idea why my mom kept and washed disposable spoons after every birthday party she hosted. I know she saved them for the next parties. Although, she temporarily stopped doing it after I bought her sets of stainless ones. It may look "untidy" to some but keeping them really matters to her. Her heart bleeds with every spoon and fork wasted. Little did I know that it was also her way of saving Mother Earth. Until now, she reminds us to bring our spoons and forks every time we eat outside.

Everyone talks about green movement...about saving mother earth....but only few really understand the real meaning of it. And it is really worth appreciating to see other people taking extra effort transforming non- biodegradeable materials into another work of art rather than showing them by joining FUN RUN or Bingo Games.

Here is another work of art from disposable spoons....

Photo from Facebook

HEAVENLY STRAWBERRY MACAROONS

The past days were filled with preparing the menu for an intimate dinner with 6 friends. Google has proven its worth with my constant search for easy to prepare menu. Being a non-culinary expert and an expert with anything processed food (from pancit-canton to canned goods), easy-to-prepare menu became a staple topic for research.

With less help from my “kusinera” friends – a three-course menu with five mixed concoctions were all set not until my niece asked for the dessert.  Tension suddenly broke out with less than three hours prior to the event. 

Good heavens must have heard my cry and showed me a post from facebook about Strawberry Macaroons.  It was a both a bliss and a discovery that the dinner ended with lots of plans for the Strawberry Macaroons. 

Photo from Facebook

Here is the recipe of this heavenly dessert.

Strawberry macaron
Ingredients for the macarons shells (around 30-40 macarons):

200 g dried almonds powder
200 g confectioners’ sugar (or ice sugar)
200 g sugar in powder
2 . 75 g eggwhites
50 ml water

Put the almonds and confectioners’ sugar together in the blender and mix. This «pasta» is called the tant pour tant (TPT) because there is as much as sugar as almonds powder. Reserve in a bowl.
In a pot pour 160 g of sugar in powder, add the water but do not mix. Bring to a temperature of 115°C.
Meanwhile beat the eggwhites (75 g) with the remaining sugar until stiff (the mix should be consistant but not too much, just avoid the beaten eggwhites form a beak)

Still beating the eggwhite, pour the boiling sugar. Mix until the temperature reaches down 40°C (or no temperature sensation on your finger). This process (2 to 4) is the so called meringue italienne.
At that moment add the remaining eggwhites (the unbeaten ones) to the TPT. Mix gently. Add a third of the meringue to make it more supple. Mix gently and add the rest of the meringue. Mix softly. The final TPT should be quite soft but not liquid (literally it has to do a ribbon)! a tip from tartelette : Test a small amount of pasta on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.

Fill a pastry bag with a piping nozzle of size 6 or 8 (diameter in mm). Pip small rounds onto parchment paper. Space the shells (coques) by 2 cm at least (as seen in the following picture). Let them sit out at least 15-20 mns

Meanwhile warm up the oven at 150°C.
After 15-20 mns, put the macarons in the oven for 12-15 mns, depending of the size (1 parchement paper at a time or the shells break). Let cool before removing.
Strawberry ganache

300 g of white chocolate
300 g strawberries

 
Slice finely the white chocolate and reserve in a bowl.
Wash and clean the strawberries. Put them in a pot and mix into a purée.
Over low heat cook the purée (makesure it does not boil!)
Sieve the purée over the chocolate and mix gently.

 
Refrigerate the strawberry ganache for at least 3 hours(it takes quite a time to get thick)
When it is cold and constant, fill a pastry bag with the ganache
Pipe the ganache on the center of the shell and top with another one (if you don’t put enough ganache the shells will dry!)

Keep the macarons in the fridge for a couple of hours

Photo from Google

REAL BUSINESS WITH BEADS.

Last night – while I was packing (actually re-packing) unused new stuffs for storage and gift-giving, I chanced upon an old gift from a friend, an old, rusty personalized bracelet. I am not really keen on wearing them but I always find the idea of “personalized” gift as a potential business venture. 

Early this morning, while my sister and her family was busy watching Harry Potter, we had a short chat on the possibility of starting her own small business in the small town of Kokomo, Indianapolis. Capitalizing on her kikay daughter, I suggested she will get her hands busy with “kikay” accessories – like bag tags, hair clips and bracelets. The ever non-artistic member of the family – she had this abrupt abhorrence of the idea – not until I showed her some of the tips.

Here are some of the ideas I got from the net that made her really enthusiastic.

Photo from Google

Photo from Google

Photo from Google

Photo from Goggle

Starting your business with little faith of yourself matters most to the success or failure of the venture.  Oftentimes, we gauge the success of the enterprise based on the success or failure of others. 

In my sister’s case – she loves doing it but has little faith to herself. She feels like being non-artistic and a full-time mother is all about acting like “maid”.  

I remember when she was in elementary and I was in college when I started doing some “kikay” stuffs and I asked her to model for her classmates.  We had a good income. We “manufactured”  the accessories in our room and she wore them in school the following day. 

With that simple beginning, she is now excited to start her own line.  You are a big girl now sis... 

HEALTHY PASTA OPTIONS

“ARE YOU GREEN AND GROWING OR RIPE AND ROTTING?” I was reading an old magazine when this phrase hit me big time. But just like interesting phrases – they are always left written on a piece of tissue paper. But this one had its way on my cork board.

For the past months, I have been drinking pure barley (from Sante).  Although the smell never attracted my senses at first, but the thought of getting healthy made the smell inviting. I wrote about it in my previous blog but the idea of dipping my hands into “the green lifestyle” started when an office mate gave me a malunggay pasta after his trip from Bicol.

Malunggay noodles from Tabaco City

 As a certified pasta lover (well, I tried my own versions of pesto) but this malunggay pasta blew me away. I claimed I had the first try of malunggay pesto but when I shared my experience to my peers- the idea never astounded them. “Where have you been?” I quoted one asking me with disbelief. Where am I?  Nah – I have been busy eating pancit canton done in less than 5 minutes. I have been addicted with ready-to-cook spaghetti.  Grocery stores have been my refuge for the so-called “fast life.”

Bagoong Pasta - a blockbuster at the recently concluded TiangGREEN in Pampanga

 But anyway, I am hoping an entrepreneur will soon build a PASTA PLACE that only serves vegetables-based pasta. I will not get amazed one day someone will prepare a squash pasta.

Japanese Dining at its Finest

My weekend witnessed an all-out Japanese Dining Experience.  It all started after a recent trip from Tokyo where my interest to Japanese cuisine was re-introduced.  Although in the past my familiarity with this cuisine was exclusive with eating maki and sashimi. I had few re-introductions to sushi but the thought of eating raw fish was repulsive.

But my frequent dining with my bff Liza and her husband gave a new meaning to Japanese cuisine.  The preparation may take time but the presentation was nothing but a piece of art. Here are the best Japanese restaurants I highly recommend:

Friday: 

(Photo taken from Google)

 After a "heavy" week, Friday is always a welcoming feat. Energized for the day's job- a call from your best friend for a light dinner was nothing but heaven.

A short walk from Robinson's Place Manila down Jocobo street, one can find an imposing Pan Pacific Hotel which houses MIYABI - a dependable and authentic Japanese Restaurant.

The dinner opened with a miso soup - traditional Japanese soup consisting of a stock called "dashi" into which softened miso paste with local shell are mixed. Followed by Maguro - freshly cut tuna. It simply melted.

Not to exempt from the list of favorite is the wagyu beef. Cooked just enough to thaw without muching- the meat is known worldwide for its marbling characteristics, increased eating quality through a naturally enhanced flavor, tenderness and juiciness, and a high market value.

Since I am a bit wary about taking too much rice - their "fried" rice was a teaser and sinful. My bff ordered some yakiniku and yakitori but I decided to take them home over another round of Maguro.

I know I was expecting for a light dinner but having it in Miyabi is worth escaping. It was truly a piece of experience worth sharing.

Next time - I'll have sake with Maguro.

Saturday:

(Photo taken from Google)

 The rain was heavy and so was the traffic. It was nearing 6 p.m. and the cab could not get through Pasay Road. But the thought of checking Tsujiki was a feast in itself.

Located along Pasay Road (at the back of Greenbelt Residences), TSUKIJI is at the 3rd floor of Milky Way (I forgot the name of the building). The building houses four dining experiences - each caters their own specialty. The Milky Way is an ice-cream parlor (i just read the signage) - there is Circulo, a Thai Resataurant and Tsukiji - an authentic Japanese restaurant.

The meal opened with an array of sushi platter. I love the Tako Sushi. Its freshness is addictive. There was also a clam sushi. The meat is tender and juicy. After feasting on the different sushi preparations - the main course was heavenly. Yako Onigiri are handheld, portable rice balls that are Japan’s equivalent to the sandwich. The golden brown color was so delectable that you would not dare bite it.

I love the Tarabagani or Red King Crab. According to the chef - Tarabagani is caught in Autumn and Winter. It is the most coveted of the commercially sold king crab species, and is the most expensive per unit weight. It was named after the colour it turns when it is cooked rather than the colour of a living animal, which tends to be more burgundy.

We also had the all-time favorite wagyu cooked tenderly perfect. I could not stop myself till I had the last slice. The sukiyaki just made the dinner ended perfectly. It consists of meat (usually thinly sliced beef) which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin.

The service is fine. According to the attendant, the place gets crowded on weekends. To get the best service - visit Tsukiji on weekdays.

You will never regret paying high because you will get the value of your money. And the experience is simply amazing.