SmartPH Celebrates Simplicity Day

Mobile services provider Smart Communications, Inc. is celebrating Simplicity Day on July 12 as it embraces its commitment to provide Filipinos with simple solutions and amazing experiences to enrich their life – a powerful message that it conveys in its “Simple, Smart Ako” campaign.

Simplicity Day is an annual celebration in honor of poet, philosopher and leading transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau, who championed simple living and created a legacy grounded on the importance of stepping back to recalibrate our lifestyle. This way, we get rid of unnecessary burdens that weigh us down, something timely and relevant these trying days.

“Simplicity Day resonates with us at Smart as our thrust has always been to simplify the life of Filipinos with our products and services, so they can live out their passion and purpose,” said Smart SVP and Head of Consumer Wireless Business Jane Jimenez Basas.

“We want to remind everyone, particularly during these times, to give importance to the people that truly matter and value the things that simplify our life and change it for the better,” Basas added.

To celebrate Simplicity Day, Smart is encouraging subscribers to share their practical tips on sustainable living and impart simple ways to save the world from July 10 to 12 using the hashtag #SmartAko.

Since Simplicity Day also promotes self-care, subscribers may also share their own self-care and fitness tips using the same hashtag on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Subscribers with the best posts get a chance to win exciting premium items from Smart.

For more details, follow Smart’s official social media accounts on Facebook (www.fb.com/SmartCommunications), Twitter, and Instagram (@LiveSmart).

#MakeEveryMomentPlayful with your Families, #SayItWithOREO!

In a time when we are constantly connected via technology, it is ironic that families have become even more disconnected. Let’s bring back the ease of connecting with each other. There are plenty of simple yet heartfelt ways to foster closeness among family members, including fun, lighthearted gestures that effectively convey how much you care.

 

Spark the spirit of playful connections with special edition OREO embossed cookies! Each delicious piece is crafted with embossed letters and emojis that families can use in joyful and whimsical activities to strengthen their bonds with one another. Here are some fun suggestions on how to use the new OREO Embossed Cookies:



    As a fun educational tool for learning letters
    To spell out cute and scrumptiously edible notes for both kids and adults alike
    Inject a thrill into your partner’s day with some OREO cookies spelling out “I Love You!”
    Put a smile on your child’s face with some “XOXO” cookies for them to find.

 

You are only limited by your imagination in crafting your sweet OREO messages!

However you use them, these embossed delights are sure to enrich family emotional bonds and create lasting memories that will sustain parents and children for a lifetime!

 

Starting June 2020, get the special edition OREO embossed cookies from your favorite stores nationwide. Available in chocolate and vanilla flavors in varying pack sizes (Slug 133g, Multipack 9×28.5g, LUP 28.5g, Half Slug 66.5g, Double Slug 2x133g), families can now enrich their quality time together with sweet, playful OREO messages that spark deeper connections between parents and children.

 

Share these lighthearted OREO moments with your family with the OREO Emoji Digital Competition and be one of the 100 winners of Sodexo Gift Certificates! A total of PHP 500,000 will be given away so grab your family members and snap away! Joining is simple: capture your most creative photos using the special edition OREO cookies with letters and emojis and post it on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #SayItWithOREO. The contest runs from July 1 to September 11.

 

For more playful and exciting announcements on OREO, please follow the Official Facebook Page of OREO!

 

Pork & Napa Cabbage Soup

I ordered too much napa cabbage from my supplier. Hence I decided to cook some for early morning meryenda. Perfect for this gloomy weather.

Ingredients

•     1 teaspoon ghee or fat of choice
•     1 small onion, diced
•     Kosher salt
•     1 pound ground pork (ground chicken thighs, beef, and turkey also work)
•     6 large fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced (dried and reconstituted ’shrooms work, too)
•     2 garlic cloves, minced
•     6 cups bone broth or stock
•     1 head Napa cabbage (2 pounds), cut crosswise into 1-inch segments (bok choy or Savoy cabbage are good alternatives)
•     2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
•     1 large russet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
•     Freshly ground black pepper
•     3 scallions, thinly sliced

Equipment

•     Large pot or Instant Pot pressure cooker
•     Chef’s knife
•     Cutting board
•     Silicone spatula

Method

• Heat the ghee in a large pot over medium heat. When the fat is shimmering, toss in the diced onion with a sprinkle of salt.
• Adding diced onions to a stockpot to make Pork and Napa Cabbage Soup
• Sauté the onions, stirring occasionally, until softened (about 3 minutes).
• Sautéing diced onions until they are soft.
• Add the ground pork and break it up with a spatula.
• Adding ground pork to the diced onions in the stockpot
• Stir in the sliced mushrooms and another sprinkle of salt.
• Sliced shiitake mushrooms are added to the pot with the ground pork and diced onions
• Cook the pork and mushrooms until the meat is no longer pink and the shiitakes are tender (about 5 to 7 minutes).
• An overhead shot of the cooked ground pork, mushrooms, and diced onions in the pot.
• Stir in the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Stirring in minced ginger into the pot.
• Pour in the broth and crank up the heat to high. Bring everything to a boil.
• Pouring broth into the pot of Pork and Napa Cabbage Soup
• Then, stir in the cabbage, carrots and potato, and bring the soup back to a boil. Don’t worry about cramming too many veggies into the pot—the cabbage will cook down!
• Stirring in sliced Napa cabbage and carrots into the pot.
• Lower the heat to medium or medium low to maintain a simmer, and partially cover the soup with a lid, leaving a crack so it doesn’t boil over.
• Putting the lid on the Pork and Napa Cabbage Soup, but leaving it open a crack
• Simmer the soup, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are easily pierced with a fork (about 15 minutes). Peek under the lid to make sure that the soup isn’t boiling over or barely percolating, and adjust the heat up or down as needed.

If you want to make this soup in a Instant Pot or pressure cooker, sauté the ingredients in the pressure cooker as directed above. When you’re ready to simmer the soup, close and lock the lid; then, cook it under high pressure for 3-5 minutes. Release the pressure manually when the soup is finished cooking.

Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh scallions.

Sprinkling sliced scallions on a bowl of Pork and Napa Cabbage Soup

If you’ve got leftovers, you can store ’em in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for several months. Try this soup for breakfast on a chilly morning, and you’ll never crave a soggy bowl of cereal again!