Mga Pahina

Sunday, November 2, 2014

THE CUTTING EDGE AT SM HOME



A good knife is any cook’s most important tool.  And rock star chefs will tell you using the right knife has a great impact on one’s culinary skill.  In an article in Details Magazine,  April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig, said that she liked using the Misono Western style Japanese knife because “because it has a strong, thin blade, and it’s easy to maintain”; while Marc Forgoine loves Korin’s Deba knife because “it’s perfect to fillet a fish and can be used on my cuts of meat.”

Jesse Schenker even has a tattoo for his favorite Misono slicer, which he says he can use for anything; Stuart Brioza of state Bird Provisions is ecstatic over his new Asai chef’s knife, which he describes as ‘durable, sharp, and beautiful”; and Christ Shephered of Underbelly swears by his Takamura Japanese chef’s knife, whose sleek design and thin blade makes slicing with it much like holding a razor.

These knives, of course, are quite expensive, and not within our household budgets, we can all prepare healthy, hearty, and delicious meals at home by choosing the right knife.  Here are some tips on how achieve that cutting edge in the kitchen from SM Home.

Whether you are preparing a gourmet dinner for friends, or simply prepping up ingredients for your family meal, SM Home has wide selection of knives to choose from.

  • Choose the correct knife to get the right slice. You should have set of knives which include a paring knife, a chef’s knife and a bread knife.  However, some chefs believe that you only need a chef’s knife that is less than five inches to chop it all.
  •  Learn to use a knife. Hold your chef’s knife as if you’re going to shake hands using your dominant hand. Your index finger should be on the top and side of the knife rather than on the bottom of the handle. This will allow you to learn the “rolling chop’’.
  • Always keep the tip of the knife down on the board. Make the knife blade go forward and down at once on the food. Form a claw with your subordinate hand and place the claw on the food you intend to cut. This will make you less likely cut your own fingers.
  • Sharpen your knives to cut correctly and sharply. Remember that a dull knife will slip off the item. Use a whetstone, ceramic or steel sharpener to effectively sharp your knife. Most chefs suggest the use of ceramic sharpener and they suggest sharpening at an angle between 10 and 30 degrees.
  • Always store your knife in a block or in a magnetic rack. Never store them in drawers they are most likely to become blunt when bang with other stainless utensils.
Complete your kitchen cutlery at home and use the right set of knives everyday with SM Home’s quality brands of knives from Scanpan, Wusthof, Tescoma, Chef’s Classic, Masflex, Hosh and Touchstone, available at the SM Home section at all SM Stores.


 Chef’s Classic Cook’s Knife has a wide range tasks such as chopping, slicing, and mincing

Ergonomically designed Wusthof Silverpoint Paring Knife set is a perfect collection for slicing and garnishing. Take note of their points – the spear point is best for removing the corn from the cob and breaking up heads of lettuce; while bird’s beak or curved point is best for peeling round fruit and garnishing

  Scanpan Classic soft cheese cleaver is carefully crafted to cut soft cheeses. The holes in the blade will prevent the cheese from sticking to the knife.


 Masflex Kitchen Pro Serrated Knife. Serrated edge knives easily penetrate the outer crust or skin of the product being cut while protecting the soft inner part from tearing. It is ideal for cutting fruits and bread.


Tescoma Presto Chopping knife. This knife’s cradle has an ergonomic grip, and is made of high quality stainless steel for easy and quick chopping of herbs, tops and vegetables.

Masflex Kitchen Pro Fillet Knife has a flexible, streamlined narrow blade that can debone, probe, deskin and separate tissue for fillets, roulades and escalope. This is also great for slicing processed meats and raw fish.

Hosh Napoli Cleaver knife is wide-bladed and thick-spined. It is suited for the heavy work like chopping meat and poultry. The cleaver uses its weight to cut through rough food with a chopping motion.

These Wusthof Gourmet Steak Knives from Germany are the ideal tool for slicing steaks and chops. The high-carbon-steel blades are designed to preserve their finely honed edges.

 Wusthof Classic Parmesan Cheese Knife has a short and sturdy blade that is ideal for cutting even the hardest parmesan cheese knife with no worries.


This Scanpan Classic Tomato and Cheese knife has serrations that allow the user to make a clean cut through a tomato’s skin even without crushing the fruit. The blade is also ideal for cutting firmer cheeses and the forked tip allows for refined serving.


 Touchstone Butcher, Utility and Steak knives in wood handles requires more care. It’s best to wash it with mild soap, rinse and dry. If the wood seems to be drying out, apply a small amount of teak or rosewood oil with a paper towel, soak for 20 minutes and wipe off the excess. This will leave the handles looking good for a long period of time.


This Scanpan Classic 5-piece Knife block set are the quickest way to get the most essential knives and have them beautifully stored and ready in your kitchen counter.

 Hone your knives regularly using this Chef’s Classic Steel Sharpener.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

GIFT OF HEALTHY HAIR: HAIR DONATION CAMPAIGN FOR CANCER PATIENTS




SM Valenzuela in partnership with Cuts Against Cancer and Human Nature, organized a mass campaign to collect record-breaking amount of hair for the benefit of children and women battling cancer.
Dubbed as #GiftOfHealthyHair Campaign, the drive aims to promote cancer awareness, and ways people can help out. 

We wanted to help cancer patients to feel normal and beautiful” said SM Valenzuela Assistant Mall Manager Emmanuel S. Gatmaitan. “By way of conducting this event, we hope to collect many hairs as possible to be sewn and weaved into natural wigs” added by Mr. Gatmaitan. 

The hair collected for donation to charity within 6 hour-drive will be made into wigs and will be donated freely to cancer patients. First 50 walk-in hair donors will get free HOT OIL gift certificates from David Salon and other freebies from participating sponsors. Likewise, free hair cut will be given to all hair donors. 

Apart from helping cancer patients and providing them wigs, SM Valenzuela also hopes to beat the Guinness World Record for “Most Hair Donated to Charity in One Day”. As remembered, 881 people donated their hair at the Mississippi Institute for Aesthetics, Nail and Cosmetology in Clinton, Mississippi, USA, last 21st of May 2007. At least 48.75 kg or 107.4 lbs of hair was collected in support of the Pantene Beautiful Lengths Campaign.

Israel, on the other hand, broke the Guinness world record in November 2013 with 117 lbs or 53.1 kg of donated hair. More than 250 women participated in the haircutting event hosted by Zichron Menachem- the Israeli Association for the Support of Children with Cancer and their Families, together with Pantene Products Israel.

#GiftOfHealthyHair Campaign in SM Valenzuela will be on Thursday, October 23 at 2pm to 8 pm. The event is proudly supported by Papemelroti, When In Manila, Perfect Rhythm Multimedia Productions, David’s Salon and Jollibee.

Cuts Against Cancer is an international organization that donates high quality medical wigs for kids and women with cancer in economically disadvantage countries where people cannot afford to buy medical wigs.


Sunday, August 3, 2014

MONDAY

TODAY IS MONDAY AND I CHOOSE ...

to live an awesome week 
to love with expanded heart 
to embrace my strength within 
to move with focused mind 
to thank God for all I have 
to work with limitless source 
to create a life desired

TODAY IS DAY OF THE WEEK BETWEEN SUNDAY AND TUESDAY. 
I THANKED GOD FOR MONDAYS.

Thursday, July 3, 2014

COBALT BLUE: BOLD FASHION STAPLE TO SNAG

I got a plethora of black dress, black pants and black tops; name it… I got everything in black. I fell into trap of buying almost everything in black perhaps because of its being easy- neutral color to wear and specially its slimming effect. So before the year ends, I vowed to challenge myself to add color in my wardrobe and try wearing one of the season’s coolest shades: COBALT BLUE. 

Taking inspiration from the aqua blue waters and sky, cobalt blue is a bright and bold color guaranteed to get you notice. It is a medium blue, lighter than navy but bluer than the lighter sky blue colors; almost similar to royal blue. Because this color is so vibrant and striking, it is popularly incorporated in pottery, porcelains, tiles and ceramics, making it the most used color in centerpieces.

Last month, I bought a cobalt blue blazer from Zara (lucky me I got one half price). I totally fell in love with this blazer the minute I saw it, though I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get a lot of use out of it. After several mix and match, I have to tell that I honestly enjoyed wearing it because it energizes me. As a matter of fact, it has become my newest obsession and fashion staple for this month as seen on my instagram @giadre.


This brilliant shade is surprisingly easy to pull off. It flatters every skin tone and looks great from day to night; all it takes is a little creativity, style savvy and an open mind to own this color trend.

Because I am a firm believer of getting extra mileage out of my so-called investment and wearing the fall piece year round, here’s a recap of how I pulled it off with my favorite pieces. 

Sticking to tried and true style, I paired my cobalt blazer with all-time favorite denim and leopard print for an easy breezy summer frock. You could also take a classical feminine turn on cobalt blue when paired with subdued and softer color





It could be fun sophisticated blazer for the office when paired with neutral and classic white or black pieces. Match it dainty accessories for a chic finish.






There are so many ways to rock this color; the trick here is to match it with your personality to recreate your style.  Also, don’t be afraid to wear this shade head-to-toe as it comes off looking very polished and put together. Below are a few picks to start winning you over.







Stay chic! Giadre!








Monday, June 30, 2014

PASSION

Passion is when you put more energy into something than is required to do it. It is more than just enthusiasm or excitement, passion is ambition that is materialized into action to put as much heart, mind, body and soul into something as is possible.

Do it with passion or not at all- because almost nothing great has ever been achieved without passion.