Four Easy Holiday Recipes Using the Samsung Smart Oven

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The convenience of quick fixes such as food deliveries and instant dishes has made families choose that over home-cooked meals. It’s tempting to just take the easy route and go for something fast, especially during the holidays when Filipinos are juggling many things at once.

One of the most important parts of Christmas in the Philippines is Noche Buena. Those preparing the Christmas Eve feast will want to prepare special food for their loved ones, but may find the idea of cooking several dishes intimidating.

Samsung developed the Smart Oven for those who want to enjoy healthy and delicious meals, which can be prepared for any type of occasion. Designed as an all-in-one kitchen partner, it works as a convection oven and a microwave that can be used for baking, grilling, slim frying, defrosting, steaming, and even making yogurt. It’s a do-it-all device that can whip up something special for Noche Buena.

Below are some recipes that families can enjoy with the Samsung Smart Oven:

Samsung Smart Oven 35-liter

1. Baked Baby Back Ribs with Coleslaw

Yield: 4 servings

Cooking time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

1 kg. baby back ribs, cut into 3-rib portions

1 sachet 8g. Maggi Magic Sarap

¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pc. small onion, minced

1 pc. small red chili, sliced

1 cup water

2 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. tomato catsup

2 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. peanut butter

1 tbsp. chopped parsley

Slaw:

1 cup shredded cabbage

1 cup shredded red cabbage

½ cup shredded carrot

½ tsp. fine salt

⅛ tsp. freshly ground pepper

¼ cup Nestle All-Purpose Cream

2 tbsp. mayonnaise

1 tbsp. lemon juice

Directions:

1. Season ribs with Maggi Magic Sarap and pepper. Place meat side down on a deep baking pan.

2. Mix garlic, onion, chili, water, soy sauce, tomato catsup, sugar, and peanut butter. Pour into the pan and mix well with pork.

3. Bake on high rack using Microwave + Grill Mode. Set aside.

For both MC32K and MC35J: Select Microwave + Grill. Set at 600W for 60 minutes. After 45 minutes, flip and continue to cook for the remaining 15 minutes.

4. Prepare slaw by mixing cabbage, carrot, salt, pepper, Nestle All-Purpose Cream, mayonnaise, and lemon juice. Mix well and refrigerate.

5. Brush pork with the reduced sauce, transfer on a serving plate and garnish with parsley. Serve with cabbage slaw.

2. Parmesan Crusted Baked Salmon

Yield: 4 servings

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pc. lemon

¼ cup breadcrumbs

1 tbsp. minced parsley

2 tbsp. parmesan cheese

1 tbsp. olive oil

½ bar cream cheese

1 pack 125ml Nestle All-Purpose Cream

¼ cup water

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp. sliced spring onion

⅛ tsp. ground nutmeg

1 ½ sachets 8g. Maggi Magic Sarap

½ kg. skinless salmon fillet

¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 can corn kernels, drained and rinsed

2 pcs. red and green pepper, diced

Directions:

1. Cut lemon in half lengthwise. Cut half of the lemon into wedges and set aside. Zest and juice the other half of the lemon. Mix lemon zest, breadcrumbs, parsley, parmesan cheese, and olive oil.

2. Combine cream cheese, Nestle All-Purpose Cream, water, garlic, spring onion, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Season with ½ sachet of Maggi Magic Sarap. Mix until smooth.

3. Season salmon with ½ sachet of Maggi Magic Sarap and pepper. Place salmon on a Crusty Plate. Spread ½ cup of the sauce on top. Gently press the breadcrumb mixture. Mix corn and bell peppers and season with ½ sachet of Maggi Magic Sarap. Place around the fish.

4. Cook salmon on low rack using the Healthy Cooking Mode.

For MC32K: Select Healthy Cooking. Set program code to 3-4 (Grilled Salmon Steaks). Select Serving Size. After beep sounds, press start to continue.

For MC35J: Cook using Auto Cook Mode. Select Auto. Set program code to A9 (Grilled Salmon Fillets) and select Serving Size. After beep sounds, press start to continue.

5. Transfer on a serving plate and serve with the cream sauce and lemon wedges.

3. Chicken Parmigiana with Roasted Tomato Sauce

Yield: 4 servings

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

4 pcs. boneless and skinless chicken breast

1 sachet 8g Maggi Magic Sarap

¼ cup all-purpose flour

2 pcs. eggs, beaten

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. chopped basil

1 cup grated mozzarella

Roasted tomato sauce:

¼ kg. tomatoes, halved lengthwise

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 pc. onion, cut into wedges

½ small can anchovies

2 tbsp. butter, diced

1 sachet 8g Maggi Magic Sarap

¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 tsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. Italian herb seasoning

Directions:

1. Season chicken with Maggi Magic Sarap. Coat with flour, dip in egg, and coat well with breadcrumbs. Set aside.

2. Prepare the roasted sauce by spreading tomato, garlic, onion, anchovies, and butter on Crusty Plate. Season with Maggi Magic Sarap, pepper, sugar, and Italian herb seasoning. Cook vegetables on Crusty Plate on high rack using the respective modes:

For MC32K: Select Microwave + Grill function. Set at 600W for 10 minutes.

For MC35J: Cook using Auto Cook mode. Select Auto. Set program code to A-13 (Roast Vegetables). Select serving size.

3. Puree vegetables using a blender. Adjust consistency with water. Set aside.

4. Drizzle chicken with olive oil and cook on Crusty Plate on low rack using the respective modes:

For MC32K: Select Healthy Cooking button. Set program code to 3-1 (Chicken Breasts). Select serving size and set cooking time to nine minutes.

For MC35J: Cook using Auto Cook Mode. Select Auto. Set program code to A8 (Grilled Chicken Breasts). Select serving size. Turn over as the beep sounds. Press start to continue.

5. Remove from the oven. Top with tomato sauce, basil, and cheese. Continue to cook chicken using Hot Blast mode.

For both MC32K and MC35J: Select Hot Blast. Set to 200°C for three minutes.

6. Transfer into a serving plate and serve with more tomato sauce.

4. Easy Baked Apple Cobbler

Yield: 4 servings

Cooking time: 35-40 minutes

Ingredients:

4 pcs. gala apples, peeled and sliced

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ cup brown sugar

1 tbsp. cornstarch

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

⅛ tsp. fine salt

Topping:

½ cup all-purpose flour

¾ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. fine salt

¼ cup sugar

6 tbsp. Nestle All-Purpose Cream

1 tbsp. sugar for topping

Whipped Cream (optional):

1 pack 125ml Nestle All-Purpose Cream, chilled

⅓ cup condensed milk

 I

Directions:

1. Mix apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, cornstarch, butter, and salt. Divide into 4 ramekins.

2. Bake apples using Hot Blast Mode. Stir the mixture to make sure all apple slices are evenly coated with the sauce. Set aside.

For both MC32K and MC35J: Select Hot Blast. Set to 180°C for 10 minutes.

3. Whip Nestle All-Purpose Cream until it thickens. Whisk in condensed milk. Refrigerate until use.

4. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Stir in the whipped Nestle All-Purpose Cream. Mix until dough is formed. Divide into 4 portions.

5. Cover each ramekin with dough and sprinkle each with sugar. Bake using respective modes and set aside to cool:

MC32K: Select Hot Blast button. Set to 180°C for 25 minutes.

MC35J: Bake using Convection Mode. Select the Convection button. Set to 180°C for 30 minutes.

6. Top Apple Cobbler with whipped cream if desired.

Note: Recipe includes automatic pre-heating once baking details are entered in the oven.

Pair the Smart Oven with Samsung’s lineup of refrigerators, which are packed with innovative technologies such as SPACEMAX technology that has thinner walls compared to traditional refrigerators, and  FlexZone technology that preserves the optimal freshness of different kinds of food. This makes it the perfect holiday companion to ensure food is properly stored during gatherings and Noche Buena.

French Door No Frost w/ Food Showcase, 3-Door Side by Side No Frost Space Max Interior w/ Flexzone, and Side by Side No Frost Space Max Interior

Get the Do It All Cookbook upon purchase of MC32 and MC35 Samsung Smart Oven. This recipe book is a collection of 35 easy to follow, tasty, and healthy recipes that anyone can do. Offer is valid until December 31, 2019.

Know more details on Samsung’s Smart Oven and newest refrigerator models by liking SamsungPH on Facebook or visit https://www.samsung.com/ph/cooking-appliances/microwave-ovens/ and https://www.samsung.com/ph/refrigerators/

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Baby Shark’ comes to PH for the first time

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Baby Shark’s simple “Do Rut Dut Dut Dut Do Do” song, believe it or not, has been played over 3,700,000,000 times. (3.7 billion times as per You Tube). Why?

If You are a recent Mom, Pop, Grandpa or Grandma you’ll know what this means and the good thing about it is, it will be performed for the first time in the Philippines by non-other than the guys behind it themselves led by Pink Fong.

Pink Fong is the sly Pink Fox in the story. The story revolves around the loss of Baby Shark and the recurring missteps of the entire Shark family till they employ the services of the all magical Pink Fong. Of course, included in story is the whole Shark family singing the ever so popular sing-along of Baby Shark. 

This “Baby Shark” special has been touring the world since last year (2018) and this is the first time they come to the Philippines, under the auspices of Circles Entertainment, organizer.

Baby Shark will only appear four times. Twice on December 21 2PM and 5PM and December 22 2PM and 5PM at the Theater in Solaire.

Tickets to the show are available online at Ticket World and its outlets.

Civil Society cites TWG Irregularities; Congress, Senate asked to step in

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Transport and mobility advocates the Lawyers for Commuter Safety and Protection (LCSP), KOMYUT, LEADER, Move Metro Manila, and Transport Watch (TW) issued a joint statement decrying this irregularity.

Despite regular follow-ups and requests for updates on urgent issues like the pilot run of a motorcycle taxi app, original members of the Technical Working Group (TWG) that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) previously convened were not included in recent discussions of the TWG on the fate of the pilot run of motorcycle taxis.

This has prompted the excluded TWG members to file a petition for Congress and the Senate to look into the irregularities surrounding the procedure in deciding on the pilot run and to call for transparency and inclusivity in the decision-making process.

The TWG recently convened several meetings on key issues such as updates on the pilot run and possible extension, as well as the entry of new players without consulting original stakeholders outside of the DOTr. Only the DOTr, the LTFRB, the Land Transportation Office (LTO), and the InterAgency Council for Traffic (IACT) have convened to decide on the said issues.

(L-R) Jason Salvador, Managing Director of LEADER, Atty. Ariel Inton, LCSP representative, Ariel Lim, Adviser and Consultant and Daryll Mann Caisip, Staff of the Office of Senator Grace Poe and Atty. Victor Trinidad, Head Executive Assistant and FOI Decision Maker of the MMDA.

The lack of updates and proper consultation with stakeholders were the reasons the excluded TWG members filed a petition calling on Congress and the Senate, from which the original directives to conduct a technical working group assessment last year came, to look carefully into the matter and hasten the passage of a law legalizing and regulating motorcycle taxis.

The petition stated, “The TWG is supposed to monitor the safety of the riders and the riding public using data collected, by Angkas, within a six-month period. Despite repeated requests from the sector for the TWG to convene, a secret meeting was conducted, last November 2019, with solely government agencies in attendance, to make an assessment. Hence, the consumers, advocacy groups and other stakeholders, were excluded from decision-making. This prompted us to ask for updates from those who were present and pleaded that the complete TWG be convened in the future.”

In a press briefing Monday, transport and mobility advocates the Lawyers for Commuter Safety and Protection (LCSP), KOMYUT, LEADER, Move Metro Manila, and Transport Watch (TW) issued a joint statement decrying this irregularity.

Jason Salvador, Managing Director of the Legal Engagement Advocating for Development and Reform (LEADER), stated that lawmakers had enough time to act on the proposed motorcycle taxi legislation. “When we were doing the first TWG assessment, we were very strict about the parameters that needed to be met before any service can be done,” Salvador said.

“We even went to the sites of the proposed motorcycle taxi training area. Sumakay pa ako mismo sa motorcycle taxi para malaman ko mismo kung pwede ba talaga,” he added.

Also present in the press briefing was Atty. Victor Pablo Trinidad, Head Executive Assistant and FOI Decision Maker of the MMDA. He acknowledged the importance of the motorcycle taxi test run, saying that he wasn’t able to attend any TWG meeting as well because the invite for the meeting came just one day before the meeting date.

“The MMDA is one of the law enforcement agencies included in the TWG so it is in our best interest to find out what is happening in the test run,” Trinidad stressed. “We started out the TWG with strict parameters. We need parameters or else there would be problems with graft and corruption, which is a serious offense. Papasukin natin sila sa test run pero ayon sa parameters na ginamit namin nung umpisa at naaayon sa traffic. We must level the playing field,” he added.

Ariel Lim, adviser and consultant of the office of Senator Grace Poe and head of the transport advocacy group Usapang Transport Poe, stressed, “During the TWG, the office of Senator Poe questioned and clarified so many things about Angkas’ operations and recommended adjustments before we recommended the test run.”

“Nagtaka lang kami kung bakit ganito dahil ang talagang layon namin ay hindi maging maluwag sa pagbibigay ng approval ng motorcycle taxi,” Lim asked. “Parang negosyo na ata ang iniisip dito, hindi po ganon ang tingin ni Sen. Poe dahil buhay ang nakasalalay dito,” he added.

“No single agency can just decide on allowing others to join. Both congress and senate should approve,” Lim stressed.

In an earlier statement, Dr. Grace Jamon, convenor of Move Metro Manila, a group of policy advocates organizing policy discussions on mobility, stressed that their group's position is that they are urging Congress and Senate to deliberate the proposed bills legalizing motorcycle taxis. “In principle we agree with the need for the motorcycle taxi safety protocols to be extended to and applied to other motorcycle taxi service providers. Competition is good and should be a welcome development. We are just concerned with the process through which this decision was made without us having been called into a meeting at all,” said Dr. Jamon.

Toix Cerna, spokesperson of the commuters’ group KOMYUT, said in a previous interview, “Since August, we have been seeking for the TWG to be convened to discuss the initial data, and experience of Angkas, but to no avail.” Cerna added, “Our task was also to monitor and assess the results of the pilot so that we are informed of what to recommend for the legislative measures pending in Congress.”

Atty. Ariel Inton, Atty. Raymond Fortun, and Atty. VJ Topacio of the LCSP earlier filed a petition for injunction with application for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and/or Writ of Preliminary Injunction against five motorcycle taxi companies, some of whom were included in the DOTr's list of new companies allowed to participate in the extension of the test run. The petition stated that their operations are unauthorized and may cause grave and substantial damage to the public.

Inton, a former LTFRB member, said that the LCSP’s main thrust is to promote commuter safety and uphold the rights of commuters, road users and pedestrians to a safe mode of transportation. As such, Inton stated, it has an absolute right to prevent respondents from organizing its fleet of motorcycles for hire and avert its operations which prejudice the riding public. Inton also revealed that they too have not been included in the recent meetings.

Topacio also stated in an earlier statement said, “It seems this exclusion from the recent decision-making process also involves many other critical members of the TWG and we are just wondering why this was the case.”

According to Topacio, because they were not included in the recent decision-making process they have not been able to hear from and coordinate with motorcycle taxi app Angkas. “We also need to coordinate with Angkas in order for us to find out their official data that was gathered during their six-month test run operations,” he stressed.

“We have requested an immediate restraining order to prevent grave and irreparable damage to the riding public in general, and to the pilot program in particular,” stressed Atty. Raymond Fortun of LCSP. “Moreover, any accident during this critical period will also sabotage the pilot program.”

Inton, Cerna, Jamon and the rest of the excluded TWG members are asking for greater transparency in the TWG’s procedures and asking Congress and Senate to intervene in this regard. “Transparency in the decision-making process of the TWG is very important so that the decisions do not look suspect,” noted Dr. Jamon. “It is very curious that at this crucial stage in the TWG, non-government members were completely sidelined,” he added.

Beauty Made ISSY with Alex Gonzaga ! The New Beauty Brand to Fall in Love With – Issy & Co. Cosmetics

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The new beauty  brand to fall in love with – Issy & Co. Cosmetics – is all about  bringing ease to self-care.

Issy & Co. Cosmetics (Officially launched on Nov. 5) focus on high-quality products  that can help users achieve their beauty goals with minimal effort and at minimal cost.

All Issy & Co. formulas are dermatologically tested, and thoughtfully developed to be vegan, cruelty-free, gluten-free and paraben-free.

With her carefree and easy-going attitude, TV host and vlogger Alex Gonzaga is the  perfect partner to help kickstart the launch of the brand. 

Issy & Co. Cosmetics is assortment of lip and multi-purpose makeup products. At the heart of the brand is a sincere desire to unburden users of concerns about cumbersome application techniques, high cost and harmful ingredients. To be made exclusively available at BeautyMNL and Shopee, Issy  & Co.’s must-have products will be sought for ease of mind, ease of application, and ease on  the pocket. 

The brand has partner TV host and vlogger Alex Gonzaga, whose carefree and easy- going spirit matches the ethos of the brand. A series of videos featuring her will be released after the official launch. The videos will give viewers a closer look into Issy & Co. products, as well as contain helpful makeup application tips. 

The debut of Issy and Co. comes at a time when makeup is increasingly becoming an integral part of daily self-care routines. Offered in skin-loving formulations, the brand’s ranges of makeup products are perfectly suitable for everyday use. They are created from quality raw materials and made in a GMP- and ISO-certified manufacturing lab based in Taiwan.

In addition, Issy & Co. products will provide users with the opportunity to enhance their natural look or step outside of the box by trying the latest trends. 

Five beautifully packaged products that come in six different shades each will be introduced within the launch at prices ranging from Php299 to Php399. Customers should also keep an eye out for Issy & Co.’s holiday promos, and upcoming drops of new makeup collections, including a special collaboration with Alex.