On a break!

Posted by on Apr 28, 2009 in Site News | 0 comments

Just letting everyone know that I’ll be taking a break from Frugal Pinoy – in case you haven’t noticed it already. I’m just so busy with my freelance work and other projects, that I have to invest more time in them for a while.

I hope to be back with fresh new posts mid-May. :) Still, I might post a few times when I find the chance – I just won’t be posting as often. If you want to be automatically updated when I have a new post, then feel free to sign up to receive Frugal Pinoy posts via email.

Thanks for the patience :) If you want to contribute a guest post while I’m on a break, feel free to reach me via the contact form.

Thanks again,

Celine

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4 Must-Visit Websites for the Frugal Cook

Posted by on Apr 27, 2009 in Food | 0 comments

I’ve always loved cooking my own meals at home. Not only is it cheaper, but it’s a great way to bond with your family, experiment with different ingredients, and personalize dishes according to your taste.

If you love cooking just as much as I do, you’ll benefit from checking out the following websites listed below. They prove to be good references whenever I need answers to my storage, preparation, and other cooking questions.

Still Tasty is a website that tells you the shelf life of food items in your house. Apart from telling you the shelf life, you also get some tips on how to store these items properly so you can keep them fresh.

I’ve mentioned Super Cook in the past, but I’m including it on this list because it’s one of the most useful cooking sites out there. Basically, you input the ingredients you have and the site tells you what you can cook with it. It comes in handy during those late night snacks or rainy days where you can’t go out to the grocery.

Want to cook your main meals just once a month? The Freezer Cooking Guide contains the basic things you need to do to plan once a month batch cooking. This site is especially helpful for busy professionals. The guide doesn’t contain recipes though. For those recipes, you can visit the batch cooking section of BigOven.com.

How about you, do you have any frugal cooking sites to share? Please post them in the comments section :)

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Online money-making opportunities: April 2 to 9

Posted by on Apr 9, 2009 in Online Job Listings | 2 comments

Hi :)   Sorry I wasn’t able to post job ads earlier – I’m having a very busy month. Below are some online job opportunities this week.

Note: I try to list legitimate job opportunities as much as possible, but some illegitimate ones might fall through the cracks.  Please use your best judgment when communicating with prospective clients, and make sure you get a signed contract before doing any work.

Blogging and Online Writing:

Web Design & Development:

Miscellaneous:

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Recipe: Spicy Kani Linguine

Posted by on Apr 6, 2009 in Food | 1 comment

 kani_fettucine_big1.jpg

My partner and I celebrated our 29th monthsary the other day, which called for a romantic dinner for two. She was craving a cream-based pasta with crab sticks, so she “invented” the Spicy Kani Linguine, which ended up being really, really good. I’m posting the recipe here as it’s a relatively cheap dish that is easy to prepare.

This recipe serves 2 to 3 people.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • half a pack of kani/crab sticks – Cost: P42.50 (a whole pack costs P7o to P85)
  • 100 grams Mushrooms – Cost: P30
  • 200 grams of linguine – Cost: P28 (P60 to P70 for a 500 gram pack)
  • 250 ml cream – Cost: P37
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 3 to 4 pieces of red chili peppers – Cost: Free from garden
  • garlic
  • salt and pepper
  • parsley – I got this free from my garden as well.

Remember that you can change the quantities of the mushrooms, pasta, and crab sticks based on your preference.

Estimated total cost of meal: P140 to P260. Not bad, considering that pasta dishes for 2-3 people can cost more in restaurants.

Directions:

  1. Boil the pasta in water with oil and salt.
  2. Mince the garlic and slice the kani sticks crosswise.
  3. Saute the garlic, butter, and  chopped kani in 1 tablespoon of butter. Set aside.
  4. Finely chop the red chili peppers.
  5. Heat the cream in a sauce pan and gradually mix the remaining butter in. Throw in the chopped chili peppers. Salt and pepper the sauce according to your taste.
  6. When the pasta is done, mix it in with the cream sauce and the sauteed mushrooms and kani. Top the dish with chopped parsley.

Notes:

  • The mushrooms and kani are sauteed separately and then thrown in with the pasta in the end to avoid the dish from tasting too monotonous. If you throw in the kani too early into the sauce, the seafood taste will dominate the sauce, making the dish predictable and flat.
  • If the cream sauce tastes too sweet, add a bit more butter until it has the “saltiness” you need.
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