Downgrading Windows 7 64-bit to 32-bit for SONY VPCE Series

One of my bosses asked me to format her Sony Vaio VPCEA 14″ laptop. Because I was loaded with paperwork during work hours, I took it home with its original box, charger and an authentic Windows 7 Arabic 32-bit operating system CD.

I asked if there was a need to back-up any file, and she said “No, I just want it back to its original, clean slate.”

The CD booted just fine, the setup ran, I deleted all the old partitions and created new partitions, the system restarted — everything was okay until the desktop displayed. Looking at the screen’s resolution, I realized I still had to download a graphic driver. I checked from device manager and found out the same goes with PCI and Ethernet controllers. Tsk. *slaps forehead*

So I googled, “sony vaio vpcea drivers for windows 7 32-bit” but Google returned to me a bunch of links that all had download links for 64-bit drivers. For the sake of trying, I still ran the 64-bit drivers I’ve downloaded but as expected, the driver wasn’t compatible with the new OS I’ve just installed.

I checked the original box and found out the machine was pre-installed with a Windows 7 64-bit, which further means that the machine is designed with 64-bit drivers and utilities in mind in order to perform optimally — which further verifies why I could not get a single link for 32-bit drivers for this model. Yay! At this point, the only solution I could think of is obtain a copy of Windows 7 64-bit, re-format, download the readily available 64-bit drivers and get this done and over with! But…….. there was no Windows 7 64-bit that I could get my hands on and I’m stumped.

Now, it dawned to me that downgrading the operating system (say in this case, from 64-bit to 32-bit), also means having to use downgrade drivers to go with it. I could no longer remember how I came to this link : (http://www.sony.co.in/support/download/417681) for the Windows 7 32-Bit Downgrade Drivers and Utilities for VPCE series but when I did, I felt like a heavy burden was just lifted off my shoulders. Thank you to the website of  Sony India!

Home-made Munchkins (Choco balls)

I’ve always wondered how some acquaintances way back in college were able to come up with something as cute and sweet as munchkins. I mean, they make them at home, bring them in school and even sell them! I googled a bit and found out the tiny little secret behind this recipe and boy was I surprised! I didn’t know they were THAT easy to make! I gave it a try, except that I was the only one so thrilled about it. The hubby, apparently, is not a big fan of selected dark-colored foods (i.e. these choco balls, ube, etc.) But it was alright because I figured I could finish them all anyway, haha.

Ingredients:

8 individual packs of chocolate graham crackers, crushed
1/4 to 1/3 can of condensed milk
dessicated coconut

Crush the graham crackers and pour the condensed milk gradually while mixing. It should form a dough-like mixture which should not be too runny, otherwise, you will have a difficult time forming them into balls.

Take a tablespoon of the mixture and form them into a ball using your hands. You can also use cookie cutters of desired shape.

If  you want to add a filling (nips for instance), flatten the ball first, put in the filling and roll them back into balls.

Roll them on dessicated coconut. Chill or eat right away! 🙂

Roasted Chicken Pinoy Style

I miss how my family in the Philippines are fond of ordering lechon manok (roasted chicken) along with pansit take-out every salary time. It’s like our golden tradition. Now that I’m far from them and with no Sr. Pedro or other manukan stations around, this recipe is as close as we can get to that tasty, juicy lechon manok I’ll probably never get tired of eating. :)And the ingredients are…..

1-1.2 kg of dressed whole chicken
3 tbsp of white or brown sugar
3-5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
3 tbsp of lemon or calamansi juice
ginger root
1 or 2 stalks of tanglad (lemon grass)
ground black pepper
3 bay leaves
cooking oil
salt
1 cup of soda (Sprite or 7up)
3 tbsp soy sauce

Directions for Cooking:

Marinate the whole chicken in soda, soy sauce, calamansi juice, garlic, ginger, onions, pepper and sugar for an hour or more. Best if you can marinade the chicken overnight.

Preheat the oven to 325°C. Chicken cavity should be stuffed with the following before roasting: lemon grass tied together, garlic, bay leaves and some peppers.

Rub the chicken’s skin with oil, salt, pepper and garlic. And inject the marinade mix unto the inside of the chicken. Finally, roast the chicken for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until the chicken appears to be golden brown.

How to Prepare the Sarsa or Gravy

Ingredients

½ kg pounded chicken liver
2 cups chicken broth
1 onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, pounded
3 tbs sugar
3 tbs soy sauce
3 tbs cornstarch
¼ cup vinegar
cooking oil
salt
pepper

Gravy Preparation:

Saute garlic and onion in a deep pan. Add the pounded chicken liver, and mix thoroughly. Season it with some pepper and salt. Pour 1 ½ cup of the broth, mix and allow it to simmer for about 30 minutes. Add your sugar and soy sauce. Mix. Then add the vinegar. Add more salt or sugar according to your taste.

Dissolve the cornstarch on the remaining chicken broth before adding to the mixture to achieve a thicker kind of sarsa. Prevent your sarsa from having lumps, mix well.

Recipe courtesy of http://www.filipinofoodonline.co.uk/

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Our oven is only up to 250 °C but the temp. seemed okay anyhow. I also wasn’t able to make the gravy but soy sauce and vinegar combined was quite enough. There’s a distinctly sweet taste I couldn’t get over with, perhaps because of the sugar and the smell, oh I loved how it smelled, thanks to lemongrass. Maybe it could have tasted even better if we had a syringe so we could have injected the marinade to the chicken flesh.

 

 

 

Modified Buko Pandan Recipe

No shredded young coconut (or buko) but we have coconut sport strings (macapuno).
No pandan essence / flavoring / leaves but we have vanilla powder.

Green gulaman? Check!
Tapioca pearls (sago)? Check!
All-purpose cream? Check!
Condensed milk? Check!
Cheese? Check!
Nata de coco (kaong)? Check!

Cook the gulaman according to package instructions, let it cool and slice them into cubes of your desired size.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix.
Note: Remember to put lesser condensed milk than the usual because bottled macapuno is already sweetened.
Chill and serve!

Modified Ginataang Halo-Halo Recipe

At the moment, we don’t have plantains (saba), purple yam (ube)  and taro (gabi). The only tuber root we have is sweet potato (camote) and we have plenty of whole corn kernel in the pantry. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Yes, this recipe is almost Ginataang Mais being corn as the majority of the ingredient, hehe. This is my first attempt on making ginataan and thank God I’ve pulled it off with some help from my hubby.

Here’s my modified ingredients :

4 1/2 cups thin coconut milk ( 75g powdered coconut milk + 250 ml water = 1 1/2 cup thin coconut milk)
1 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
2 cups water
1 med-size sweet potato (cubed)
1 can whole corn kernel (drained)
1 cup shredded sweet jackfruit
20-30 pcs glutinous rice balls (1 cup glutinous rice flour + 1/2 cup  water)
1 cup uncooked tapioca pearls (cooked to boiling water, drained and rinsed with cold water)

(same procedure with Panlasang Pinoy’s recipe):

    Pour water in a large cooking pot and apply heat. Let boil.
    Add 1 3/4 cups of coconut milk then wait until it re-boils.
    Put-in the sweet potatoes, purple yam, corn and taro roots (whichever is available) and simmer for 8 minutes.
    Pour-in the remaining coconut milk, sugar, and glutinous rice balls then stir. Simmer for 7 minutes.
    Add the plantains (If available) then cook for an additional 2 minutes.
    Put-in the jack fruit and cook for 2 minutes more.
    Slowly slide-in the cooked tapioca pearls then stir. Simmer for 1 minute.
    Turn off heat and transfer to a serving plate.
    Serve either hot or cold. Share and enjoy!
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Hubby’s Bangladeshi friend liked it! He even said if he’d go to the Philippines, he’d eat ginataang halo-halo everyday! Isn’t that sweet? 🙂

Filipino Cheese Cupcake

One night, I was feeling so nostalgic and I remembered how during my grade school years,  I used to be so fond of cheese cupcakes sold in the supermarkets. The dense, compact, cheesy bites just delight me a lot. I was so crazy about them that I even used to connive with our house help back then so that she’d always get me some when she goes out for the weekly grocery.

I saw a simple, do-able recipe with lesser proportions so I thought of trying one batch and see how it goes.

Here’s the recipe:

    2 cups all purpose flour
    1 tsp baking powder
    1/2 cup butter, softened
    3/4 cup sugar
    2 eggs
    1 tsp vanilla
    1/2 can condensed milk
    1/2 cup grated cheese plus more for topping

   

HOW TO PREPARE PINOY CHEESE CUPCAKES:

    Preheat oven to 350 deg F.
    Combine all purpose flour and baking powder. Set aside.
    In a bowl, cream butter and sugar together using a mixer.
    Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
    Add vanilla and beat to blend.
    Mix in flour, alternating with the milk, starting and ending with the flour.
    Fold in the grated cheese and mix just until well incorporated.
    Pour batter into prepared pan lined with paper cups until 2/3 full. 
    Bake for 15 minutes, top with grated cheese, then bake again for 10 minutes or until sides and cheese topping are slightly brown.
    Cool on wire rack.

from : http://www.pinoycookingrecipes.com/pinoy-cheese-cupcake.html

I didn’t completely succeed in this recipe, because yours truly, being a big fan of substitutions (hehe), used vegetable oil instead of softened butter thus making it too moist that the baked cake had to sink somewhere in the middle. I was thinking it also sank because I poured the batter altogether in one small-size baking pan instead of individual muffin pans with cupcake liners. Also, because we have so much excess mozzarella cheese in the fridge from pizza nights, I used it with the batter and as toppings instead of cheddar cheese.

I think I’ll give this recipe another try some other time, following each ingredient and step to the dot. 🙂

Here’s the pic, by the way. It was still finished despite the flaws mentioned. The cheese cupcake taste is still there, but perhaps waaaaay better without the substitutions.

Pregnancy Journal : Pink or Blue?

Third Prenatal Check-up
Date: January 16, 2013
Gestational Age: 20weeks 5days (Oh dear, we’re halfway already!)

After a month and a half of waiting, my appointment day came for my third prenatal check-up. But imagine how it would feel if you’ve waited that much time, only to find out that you overlooked your appointment sheet and completely missed out the given schedule because you thought 10:45 am was 1:45 pm? (By the way, it was written in Arabic).  For the life of me, I couldn’t, just couldn’t miss out on this check-up because I’m about to have a significant ultrasound that would confirm my little one’s gender!

So yeah, one and half month passed and I didn’t even bother to double-check the time written on it. I felt sooooo stupid. I called up my nurse friend and was told I can still try to come and if the slots aren’t full for the day yet, I can be accommodated. I did come anyway, and thank God, I was given a slot after two patients.

Like in every check-ups that I have, I always feel nervous and excited. Nervous, because doctors can break a news which isn’t very positive (i.e. complications found) and excited, because I get to take a peep of my little one.

My turn came, Dra. Nur asked me to lie down, and after a few minutes of checking out the monitor while pressing the wand in my tummy, she blurted, “What do you want?” At first I thought she meant what information I wanted, so I answered, “I want to know the gender. ” She answered back, “No, I mean, do you want a boy or a girl?” Haha, tricky question, huh. I laughed a little to myself, as I wasn’t expecting she was already checking out the gender and wanted to know what my expectation is. I said, “My husband’s hoping for a boy….” She cut me off and said, “IT’S A BOY.”

I was teary-eyed then, because I was also secretly hoping to have a boy for our first born. Maybe I’m biased too because I have two nephews with whom I am so fond of. My girl friends were all hoping I’m carrying a girl but I’m pretty sure they’ll be happy for me as well with either gender.

I blanked out and all the questions I was supposed to ask were all gone with the wind. I was in cloud 9, and I couldn’t wait to share the news to my husband. I sent him a message, and he said his name will be Abdullah [an arabic name which means servant of Allah (God) ].

The past few days, Abdullah already started being very active in my tummy, kicking and moving around most of the time, especially after a full meal. I was given calcium tablets (which are by the way so huge, I always feel they’d get stuck in my throat whenever I take them) and more iron. I’ll see him again in my next appointment on March 4, God-willing. We will be  27weeks 3 days by then. 🙂

No Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dinner was already finished but I could feel the urge to grab something chocolate-y. We bought Hershey’s semi-sweet chocolate chips during our last grocery because I  was really hoping to make chocolate chip cookies and “now” felt like the right time to do it. However, the woman who always run out of butter (that would probably be me), as usual, ran out of butter again. Off I went to google no butter chocolate chip cookies recipe and this one came out :

No Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe from cookiemadness

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups chocolate chips (adjusted to 1 cup because I felt they’re enough)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Stir together flour, soda and salt. Set aside.
Whisk together both types of sugar, oil, egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture to oil mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.
Using a tablespoon measure, scoop up dough and shape into tight rounds of about ¾ to 1 inch. Space them about 2 inches apart on two ungreased cookie sheets. The mounds should be bursting with chips. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes on cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Makes about 2 dozen. (mine yielded to 16 medium-sized cookies)

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I’ve made this recipe twice, and I’ve observed the batter is not so runny nor sticky when I let it sit overnight. It was easier to remove from the tablespoon measure, and didn’t come out flat after baking. It’s important to let them cool after baking (as much as you want to dig in and grab a bite already). That is, if you want to enjoy the crunchiness of the cookies. A couple more minutes of waiting would give so much difference. 🙂

Below is my first attempt where my cookies were irregularly shaped and flat.

Here’s my second attempt with rounder and firmer-looking cookies 🙂

Home-made Mini Pizza

Previously, I did attempt to make home-made pizza from scratch, but I failed big time with the dough. I used boiling water with the yeast (instead of warm water), causing the active yeast to die and my dough not doubling in size. I went on but even after the baking process, it still came out as the worst dough I ever tasted, hehe.This blunder made me allergic to any recipe with yeast on it.  I used cheddar cheese too, instead of mozzarella, which is a big no-no because it didn’t melt at all.

But one day, hubby bought a box of 12-pc small-size pizza crusts, so that the only work that has to be done are the toppings, yey!

Our toppings:
chicken franks
minced chicken meat
pineapple tidbits
green bell pepper
red onions
red tomatoes
shredded mozarella cheese

 Let’s eat! 🙂

Basic Pancake Recipe

Life could have been a lot easier if I have a pancake mix in a box where I only have to add egg/s and milk, but since I don’t have one, I’m pretty sure there are ways to go about a great pancake craving without it – like making one from scratch. Hehe.  So I googled for a basic pancake recipe and adjusted it to my own liking.

Ingredients :

1 egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup milk (adjusted to 1 cup because I find the consistency too thick)

1 tbsp sugar (adjusted to 2 tbsp for our sweet tooth)

3 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

Yielded to 4 medium sized pancakes.