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My “Keep Calm and Carry On” Reminders

Do you want to make posters of the things you believe in or things you want to remind yourself all the time?

Let me share with you one way of making virtual posters online thru the Keep Calm and Carry On Image Generator.


What is “Keep Calm and Carry On”?
Keep Calm and Carry On was the third in a series of World War 2 posters drawn up by the UK Ministry of Information in order to boost the morale of the British people by passing on a message from King George VI. The posters were a stark white text on a red background, with the only image on the poster being the royal crown of George VI.

The first two posters, “Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution will Bring Us Victory” and “Freedom is in Peril” were widely printed and distributed. However, the third poster, which carried the simple message “Keep Calm and Carry On” although printed, was never distributed, as it was intended only if invasion was imminent.
At the end of the war, the posters were collected up and pulped. It is believed that only two original posters out of a print run of over a million survive to this day.


The story would have ended there were it not for Stuart and Mary Manley, who run a bookshop called Barter Books in Northumberland. Whilst sorting through a box of old books, they found one of the few surviving original copies of the ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ poster. They liked it so much that they had the poster framed and placed near the till in their shop.


They soon found that customers were very keen on the poster – even to the point of asking if they could buy it! So, Stuart and Mary started selling and printing facsimilie copies of the poster. The rest, as they say, is history…
In the nine years since 2000 the poster has become world famous, having been mentioned in news articles, on TV and having been seen in many disparate places from country pubs to the Houses of Parliament.


For more on “Keep Calm and Carry On”, you may continue reading here.

So this was what I did yesterday afternoon when I arrived home–made my own virtual posters via the Keep Calm and Carry On Image Generator.


I made a poster for when I’m feeling overwhelmed with so many things to do or if I need patience in dealing with something…


I made one that will give me courage, inspiration and that extra push to make things better not only in my life but also in others…


Third and last (for now), I made a poster of one of my Ibyang-isms and my most favorite affirmation…



I had so much fun doing these virtual photos. One day soon, I will print some of them and place them on my office desk or maybe post one poster on our refrigerator door. I might even make a poster for our bathroom! hehe.


Later, I will make funny quotes that will give me an instant cheer. For now, these three posters will do.


Thanks to Yasmine for sharing this “Keep Calm and Carry On” posters in her blog.


Why don’t you try it? Click this: Keep Calm and Carry On Image Generator and share your virtual posters on your blog. Let me know if you do so I can visit your site.

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Recipe: Brownies

2 March 2010 9 Comments Category: Food, Recipes, Tips

This is a recipe shared to us by one of our good friends. Simple, easy-to-do and a hit whenever we bring these to parties. Anyone can can create this delicious brownies by just following the recipe.

What you need:
250g unsalted butter
200g dark chocolate, broken up
150g chopped nuts
80g cocoa powder, sifted
65g plain flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
350g caster sugar
4 large eggs
What you need to do:
  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
  2. Line a 12 inch baking tin with grease proof paper.
  3. In a large bowl, over simmering water, melt butter and chocolate until smooth.
  4. Add nuts.
  5. In a separate bowl, mix cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and caster sugar.
  6. Add to the other mixture and stir together well.
  7. Beat the eggs and mix until you have a silky consistency.
  8. Put mixture in the baking tin.
  9. Place in over for 25 minutes. May vary depending on oven. Test with toothpick to ensure that brownies have been baked through.

 
My Husband is the one who bakes at home and he has been baking brownies for quite some time now that he had somehow made them a bit more special. Aside from following the recipe above:

(1) He makes sure that the dark chocolate he uses are of good quality. There are cheaper brands of chocolates that taste alright but we always choose brands that we know would deliver the taste we are aiming for even if it means paying more.

(2) He puts the baking tray on the lowest level of the oven to achieve a more moist and chewy texture for the brownies.

(3) He sprinkles icing sugar on top of the brownies.

Happy baking and enjoy the brownies!

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The Magic of Talbos ng Kamote (Sweet Potato Leaves)

26 February 2010 17 Comments Category: Food, Recipes, Tips

Took a different route going home this morning after my errands today and I passed by this Filipino store and noticed they were selling some vegetables. At first glance, I thought it was Kangkong but I noticed color in the leaves and I realized it must be Talbos ng Kamote..and it was! I bought a bunch for only $1.50 and since it’s Friday today, I decided that this will go well with our Flounder Fish which I planned to cook for dinner.



Talbos ng Kamote, also known as Sweet Potato Leaves or Camote Tops (scientific name Ipomoea Batatas) is another one of my favorite vegetables but I never get to eat them all the time as they are not always available in Asian Markets or Filipino Stores here. Other than buying them from markets, sometimes friends give them to us straight from their garden.

I love Talbos ng Kamote for its health benefits:

(a) Excellent sources of antioxidative compounds, mainly polyphenolics, which may protect the human body from oxidative stress that is associated with many diseases including cancer and cardiovascular diseases. source

(b) High in iron. I grew up being anemic for a long time and part of my doctor’s suggested diet then was to eat lots of ampalaya, liver steak and talbos ng kamote so my mother made sure we had a steady supply of all these.

(c) Good source of vitamins A, B and C, calcium and phosphorus. source

I love Talbos ng Kamote because it’s so easy to cook. Just boil in hot water for a few minutes, transfer to a bowl, squeeze lemon or calamansi on top and serve. Then magic happens as the acidity of the lemon/calamansi will make the soup turn red. That’s why I call them my magic vegetables because they turn red with just a few drops of lemon and magic too because it does make my blood healthier.

You can also make Camote Tops Salad. Blanch leaves in boiling water and drain. Add cherry tomatoes and feta cheese. Then pour a few teaspoons of Vinaigratte dressing.

Tonight, I cooked them the old-fashion way (by just boiling) and dipped in Bagoong (shrimp paste).


I hope one day, when we have a house, I’d get to grow some Camote Tops in our own garden so I would always have a fresh supply of this wonderful magic vegetables.


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How Do You Like Your Ampalaya (Bitter Gourd)?

Amplaya (or Bitter Gourd) is one of my favorite vegetables. When I lived in Manila, my mom and I used to cook this every week. This dish was usually a Saturday treat for me.

Now that I’m married and cooking for our meals at home, I cook this in bulk once every fortnight which usually equals to 3 servings. I keep the other two servings in containers, put them in the fridge and we eat them in the next coming days as a siding to any meat or fish dish during dinner.

I’m grateful that my Husband generally eats vegetables. Although he eats Ampalaya, it is not his favorite vegetable which I understand. As we all know, Ampalaya is not a loveable vegetable because of its bitter taste. However, I was able to find a way to make it more likeable to my Husband’s taste buds—by adding in a few teaspoons of honey. Yes, honey makes it a little more sweeter. And according to my Husband, it is healthier than adding sugar (which I used to do).

Other ways to make Ginisang Ampalaya a little less bitter and boring:
(1) Before cooking, soak in water with salt for 10-20 minutes and squeeze some of its juice out. Some people don’t squeeze it anymore but I squeeze it at least once coz it does lessen the bitterness a bit.

(2) Add egg. When I was a kid, my mom used to add egg and it made it bearable for me.

(3) Add tofu or shrimp instead of pork. My Husband loves it too when I add tofu, so once in a while I saute the ampalaya with tofu.

(4) Use other seasonings like soy sauce, fish sauce or a teaspoon of shrimp paste (bagoong). One of these days, I will try using herbs to give it some other flavor and aroma.

(5) If you don’t have honey, you can use sugar as a substitute.

As for me, my favorite kind of Ginisang Ampalaya is one that has Okra. I know Okra is another vegetable that not so many people like, but I really really like Okra and I usually add it whenever I saute any vegetables. I don’t mind the taste of these two vegetables whenever I eat them. I love them because of their healthy benefits and I focus more on the good nutrients they give to our body.

What about you? How do you like your Ampalaya?

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Don’t Panic

The first two words that my Husband said to me this morning was…

Woke up an hour late because I forgot to turn on the alarm of my mobile phone. For some reason, I somehow disabled the alarm yesterday instead of enabling it. I think I was too tired and sleepy last night I wasn’t thinking straight anymore.

When I opened my eyes, it was already 7am! So I sat up and nudged the Husband to tell him that we’ve slept in. All he said was, “Don’t panic” like there was an emergency or something. It amused me amidst the shock of waking up late.

Good thing I always get everything ready the night before I retire to bed: our clothes for work, bags and lunch boxes (they’re inside the fridge so we just have to take them out and put into our bags). I also get our breakfast ready on the table: bowls with spoons and cereal boxes so that all we have to do is bring out the milk, pour it in and eat. It takes awhile for me to rest after dinner because I get everything ready. Other than it has become a habit for me, it’s a good safety net for days when things are running late.

So there’s really nothing to panic about, and we really didn’t, but I appreciated my Husband’s first two words this morning. Maybe he was also shocked so his instinct was to say “Don’t panic” so both of us will come out of the shock as calmly as we could.

The truth of the matter is, there is no logical reason to panic. We love going to work early so we normally wake up before 6AM. However, our work actually lets us come in late (we can come in as late as 10:30AM) but we like being early at work so we can also come home early. And if we do get late for work, so what? It is not the end of the world and it is very seldom that we’re late for work anyway (in my case, never…yet), we’re pretty sure our respective offices will understand.

What also helped was the public transportation here in Sydney tries their best to be on time. It’s not perfect, anyone who lives here know that, but public transport here have a timetable they try to follow. Most of the time I’m grateful that they are efficient and I’m glad today nothing happened in order for the trains and buses to get delayed (at least in my area).

Running late can make us crazy in the morning. But what saved us this morning are two wonderful words spoken by my Husband, the practice of preparing for early morning rush and public transport that thankfully didn’t get delayed.

Hope everyone’s having a great Thursday…TGIT!!!

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