Sunflower of UP Diliman

Summer is remarkable in UP Diliman as soon as the sunflower starts to bloom. It also reminds university students to rush up everything and finish their works be done on time such as thesis, clearance, and requirements. Graduation march is almost near. You can't resist the charm of sunflower; every passerby will stop on University Avenue to capture a nice photo of the rising sunflower.

Sunflowers symbolizes end of college days come April and welcomes freshmen. It is planted annually between January to February so it will be in full blown during graduation rites on April.

The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant; its name comes from the flower's shape and image, which is often used to depict the sun.  The plant has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads of flowers.

A sunflower is not just a single flower. It has a large flowering head, also known as a "composite flower" which holds numerous florets (small flowers). Ray florets are the outer petal. The florets inside the circular head are called disc florets, which mature into seeds and is arrange in a spiral pattern. Sunflowers commonly grow to heights between 1.5 and 3.5 m (5–12 ft.).

Filipino Style Macaroni Dish

Craving for pasta recipe? Here's one easy to cook that I'll be sharing with you. My kids loved its taste, precious and priceless as compared to restaurants and fast food chains. Instead of using spaghetti noodles, I used elbow macaroni. It's been one of the favorite foods during parties and any occasion. I consider this as a comfort food for children, especially to my youngest that is very choosy and extremely difficult to feed.

*History of Macaroni

Macaroni is a variety of dry pasta made with durum wheat. Elbow macaroni noodles normally do not contain eggs, (although they may be an optional ingredient) and are normally cut in short, hollow shapes; however, the term refers not to the shape of the pasta, but to the kind of dough from which the noodle is made. Although home machines exist that can make macaroni shapes, macaroni is usually made commercially by large-scale extrusion. The curved shape is caused by the different speeds on either side of the pasta tube as it comes out of the machine. The name derives from Italian maccheroni, however Italians use maccheroni to refer to any form of pasta, whatever the shape, whether it is straight, tubular, two-inch or longer pasta. A different name, chifferi orlumaconi, refers to the elbow-shape pasta of this article.

According to legend, macaroni was brought to Italy by Marco Polo, returning to Venicefrom China in 1292. This hypothesis has long been disproved, since it seems that macaroni was already used in Italy at least a century before, like pasta in general; Moroccan geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi, who lived in Sicily, documented macaroni in Sicily and in particular in Trabia.
*Source: Wikipedia

Ingredients:

• 200 g Elbow Macaroni (snack pack)
• 1 Can 150 g Corned Beef
• Hotdog or Chicken Franks, sliced
• 250 g Spaghetti Sauce (sweet style or Filipino style)
• Onions, minced
• Garlic, minced
• Basil leaves
• Oregano leaves
• Grated cheese (cheddar of parmesan)
• Cooking Oil
• Sugar (optional, for added flavors)

Cooking Procedure:

1. Pour water in a medium sized pot, put in the stove then bring to a boil.
2. Put some salt and 1 tbsp of cooking oil.
3. Cook pasta according to instructions seen at the back label of the packaging.
4. Stir pasta to prevent from sticking, cook until tender or 'al dente'.
5. Drain then set aside.
6. In a separate sauce pan, sauté garlic and onions.
7. Add corned beef and hotdog, cook for 2 minutes.
8. Seasoned with pepper, basil leaves, and oregano (I used McCormick).
9. Put spaghetti sauce then simmer for 5 minutes.
10. Remove from heat.
11. Put sauce on top of macaroni and add grated cheese.
12. Serve and enjoy!

Straw Less KFC: A way of reducing restaurants waste

Is there a straw less society nowadays? I was surprised last night when I ordered for some food in a known fast food chain (KFC) located in a leading mall in the metro. I asked the lady dispatching my order for straw since it was for dine out. She told me that they are “straw less”.  Really? How my child was supposed to drink a cup of soda that is covered without a straw? Ironically, the cup cover has a perforated portion at the center, which is intended for punching the straw. I understand your advocacy of reducing the use of plastic nowadays but hey – have a little common sense.

I know how much waste is produced by restaurants daily and one of the culprits is drinking straw. Imagine those plastic cups, eating utensils, Styrofoam containers, wrappers and napkins that are thrown in the waste bin. With the overwhelming amount of waste produced by fast food restaurants, I am wondering if our government regulated the law concerning the issue on how it affects our life, if landfill is enough or not. Gee, my fault for not bringing my reusable drinking bottle. I should start using it also for ordering drinks over the counter.

As expected, the soda spilled as he was opening the cover every time he drinks from the cup. I've checked with the other branch of the same fast food joint, they are using straw for their drinks. How come this branch doesn't have any? My son told me that “ants” consumed all of their straw because they are saving for rainy season. It was a joke of course, a result of his imaginative and creative innocent mind. Anyway, we should learn to love more our environment by cutting down our wastes, reuse, recycle and refrain from using plastics.