HOW TO CLEAN SILVER JEWELRY: A HOME MADE CLEANER

My mom and lola (grandma) used to tell me that toothpaste are used for cleaning jewelry. Well they were right. One of the main ingredients in cleaning our gold and silver is actually Baking soda which is a primary ingredient of many toothpaste.

Here are the things you could use:

Small Bowl

Sheet of aluminum foil enough to line the bowl.

2 to 3 heaping tablespoon of baking soda

1 cup boiling water

Soft cloth

Put small sheet of aluminum foil lining the bowl, pour some baking soda into a bowl and boiling water and dissolve the baking soda into it.

Submerge the silver jewelry in the hot water for about 5 to 10 minutes, but it shouldn’t be long before you start to see tiny yellow or black flakes in the water or the aluminum foil turning black. What’s happening is that the hot solution of baking soda and water is separating the sulfur from the silver and transferring it to the aluminum. This easy homemade tarnish remover takes advantage of the fact that sulfur is more chemically attracted to aluminum than silver.

Using a soft wet cloth, scrub the silver free of tarnish with more baking soda.

Just be gentle, so as not to scratch the silver. Once the silver is clean, you should rinse it in clean water to remove any traces of baking soda, then dry it with a soft clean cloth. You may find that you can take off even more tarnish by rubbing at any remaining dark spots with the cloth.

Most silversmiths, jewelers, and collectors discourage this method because baking soda is abrasive and can leave tiny scratches on the surface of silver. But if you have a piece that’s heavily tarnished and doesn’t have a lot of monetary or sentimental value, this is a good option.

If your silver is severely tarnished, you may have to repeat the process several times.

Enjoy life…  MWAHUGZ!!!

SIOPAO

Because of heavy Chinese influence, Philippines has develop a liking for Chinese food which has since became an integral part of Filipino cuisine.  One of this is siopao – a Chinese inspired Pinoy style soft white bread with meat fillings – an indispensable pinoy delicious snack.

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 2 kilo all purpose flour
• ½ kilo all purpose flour
• ½ kilo white sugar
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 cup cooking oil or lard
• 10 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoon vinegar
• 2 cups boiling water

Filling:   Pork or Chicken Asado

• 1 kilo pork meat (from pig’s head) or chicken
• ½ kilo brown sugar
• 3 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 cup water
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 onions
• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 4 teaspoons oyster sauce
• 4 teaspoons light soy sauce
• 5 pieces star anise
• 10 hard-boiled eggs

PROCEDURE:

Siopao Dough:

• In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder, vinegar, set aside.
• In another bowl liquefy yeast in lukewarm water then add 1 cup of the flour mixture. Mix thoroughly.
• Cover with a cloth and let rise 1 hour.
• In the meantime, soften the white sugar in the boiling water.
• Stir well then let cool to lukewarm.
• Pour into the yeast mixture, and then add the rest of the prepared flour mixture.
• Stir to blend well. Grease a large bowl.
• Turn dough out onto a floured board and knead for 3 minutes, you want your dough smooth, not sticky.
• Put ball into bowl, turn once and cover with a damp cloth.
• Let rise 2 hours or until doubled.

Siopao Filling: Pork Asado or Chicken Asado

• Stir fry the garlic and onions in oil in a wok.
• Add pork (preferably meat from pig’s head), or chicken and stir fry for 1 minute or until meat is no longer pink.
• Add soy sauce, oyster sauce and brown sugar.
• Transfer in the dissolved cornstarch and stir fry quickly until meat is glazed well.
• Remove from heat and let cool.

To make Siopao:

• Knead dough further on a floured board for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Divide dough and roll further
• Cut each into 50to60 grams a piece using a weighing scale.
• Roll each piece into a ball using your hands then rolling it flat into a 3 inch diameter circle.
• Powder with flour if needed to prevent sticking.
• Place 1 slice of egg into center of dough round, then 1 Tablespoon of filling with sauce.
• Gather sides of round pinch together and twist.
• Put pinched side down on parchment paper and place in steamer. Repeat until done.
• Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for 1 hour. Steam Siopao for 20 minutes. You can freeze cooked Siopao, simply re-steam for 10 minutes.
• Makes about 50 pieces of siopao

Enjoy your meal

MWAHUGZ!!!