Shepherd's Pie

I made pasta the other day and had some of the meat sauce left so I kept them and decided to use it for Kimi's dinner. I made Shepherd's Pie with it. And Kimi loved it!

I just line an oven safe dish with the sauce and top it with fluffy mashed potatoes and sprinkled it with mozarella and dinner is ready!

I don't have a recipe for mashed potatoes cos I guess-timate what I add in. To make good, fluffy and smooth mash, you need to make them in the pot with the lowest fire on. That will ensure that everything blends nicely together and the potatoes absorbs all the goodness.

This is what I use for the mash:-

• 1 potatoe (russet)
• Some butter
• Milk

Method

1. I normally boil the potatoes and once it is soft, I will pour all the water away and heat it over the stove to get rid of the moisture. Being careful to keep shaking the pot so that the potatoes don't stay in 1 place and get burnt. Normally about 1 min.
2. Then I add in the butter and mash (either with fork or masher). Keep fire on low. Once the potatoes have absorbed the butter and it becomes like a piece of dough, I will add milk and mash till texture is smooth and fluffy.
3. I normally don't add salt cos I use salted butter.

Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Porridge

For the above, I used 2 small bananas

Wow! So quickly and the 1st month of the year has gone past in a whiz. We are into February now! It's so scary how everyday just flies past!!

So here's a quick, easy, yummy and nutritious breakfast recipe to start the month rolling! You can make this for your tot or for yourself! Cat, here's the oatmeal I was talking about.... especially for your eyes :) .... keke!

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp of Nestum
• 2 tbsp of Instant Quaker Oats
• 1-2 small ripe banana
• Handful of blueberries
• 1 scoop of formula milk OR some fresh milk **

Method

1. Mix nestum, oats and formula milk together and add 1/2 - 1 cup of hot water


2. Stir till all combined. Adjust consistency of porridge by adding a little more hot water to make it more diluted.


3. Mash half of the banana and stir into porridge


4. Slice the balance and add to it together with the blueberries


5. Serve and ENJOY!

** If using fresh milk, boil milk and add to the dry ingredients. You can use all fresh milk or 50 milk, 50 water. It all depends on your tastes and needs.

Notes

• Be careful not to add too much or the whole cup of water all at once as oats do absorb water and after about 3 mins res, it will expand and thicken up. Do it bit by bit or it may be over watery. Adjust to your child's prefernce or your preference. I like mine slightly thick. :) But should you add too much water/liquid, you can just stir in another scoop of nestum or oats to thicken up. No hard and fast rules, just play with the texture!


• I like adding more nestum as it is more fragrant so kids are more encouraged to eat this.


• If you like, you can use ALL nestum too! This was my favourite breakfast when I was growing up! A bowl of nestum, hot water & condensed milk or hot milk and sugar! I could eat this everyday and I made it myself when I was in Pri 1.


• Banana is naturally sweet so there is no need to add any sugar.


• Experiment with different fruits or use the fruits of your choice.

BB Honey Glazed Chicken

You can also serve this for the whole family on top of steamed white rice. I paired this with steamed sweet beans and sweet potato. Up the portions if serving for the whole family.

Ingredients

• 2 pc chix fillet
• Some sesame seed toasted lightly

Marinade

• 1/2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp dark soya sauce
• Dash of pepper and ginger powder
• 1/4 tsp of minced garlic
• 2 tsp of lime/lemon juice

Method

1. Cut chix into thin strips and add to marinade
2. Let it marinate for at least 30 mins
3. Heat a little oil in pan and place chix strips on pan on medium fire
4. Once chix is almost cooked, add in balance of marinade and let it simmer and caramalise for 3-5 mins on medium low fire or until marinade is absorbed and reduced.
5. Dish and sprinkle sesame seed over chix strips and serve warm.
6. ENJOY!!

BB Beef & Veg Burger On Hash

Pardon the cold-looking cheese above - it was actually rather soft when it was time to eat! Poor Kimi has to wait for his food all the time while mummy indulges in taking pix! Keke!

We did not do any homeschool this week as was busy organising Kimi's new school and stuff.

We had an early start today, feeding the swans at SBG again and water-play at Children's Gdn. Well, not me ... Kimi asked for it. He had been asking for it the past few days already but I kept telling him only during the weekends.

This morning, right after he had his milk, he went on and on about "duck, duck and signing me the eat handsign. So, we went and had our lunch at Vivo.

This is what Kimi had for dinner today. Something fast and easy. We only played matching games, memory games (sequencing) and linking memory games today and the last few days. Hope next week, we can settle down fast so we can continue with our lessons. Keke!

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp of minced beef (marinated with kelp and pepper)
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1 slice of bread OR 4 tbsp breadcrumbs (quickly processed in blender for bread crumbs)
• 2 florets of broccoli (chopped finely)
• 3 tbsp of fresh shaved corn (steamed lightly)
• 1 slice of cheddar cheese cut/tear into size of burger to top
• 1 small potato (shredded thinly with 'holed' potato peeler
• Some milk
• 4 pcs of Meiji cracker OR 2 pc of plain cracker (processed till fine)

Method
Beef & Veg Burger (Makes 5-6 mini burgers)

1. Add half of the egg mixture, breadcrumbs (use half 1st), broccoli and corn and mix well.
2. If too wet, you can a little more breadcrumbs or add a little more egg mixture if too dry.
3. Heat a little oil in pan, use small fire.
4. Using wet hands, shape small balls of mixture and flatten lightly before placing on pan.
5. Fry till golden brown, turn and place a small slice of cheese on top.
6. Once the underside is cooked, so has the cheese melted too.
7. Remove onto kitchen towels and place on top of hash once it is ready.

Hash

1. Once potato has been shredded, wash lightly in salted water. Rinse well and use kitchen towel to dry it.
2. Add some milk and pepper to the balance egg mixture. Stir lightly.
3. Stir in the potato shreds and cracker crumbs.
4. Heat oil in pan. Scoop a little, approximately the size of the burger and let it cook on low fire.
5. Turn other side and let it cook till golden.
6. Place burger on top and serve with fruit salad or fresh fruit juice.
7. You can also serve with a dollop of Japanese mayo or tomato sauce. I would recommend a squeeze of tomato sauce or chopped tomato instead.
8. ENJOY!!

Tips

• If you do not have crackers at home, you can substitute with a sprinkling of flour instead. I used crackers as it is more fragrant.
• Experiment with not just potatoes, you can add in pumpkin shreds, etc for variety and colour or whatever veg you need to give to baby to complete his daily requirements.

BB Braised Fish Bee Hoon

Carved little letter 'C's using carrots to be in line with our letter of the week, C. I used most of the ingredients that began with C especially those that Kimi had learnt earlier in the day.

This dish is similar to fried bee hoon except that it has more sauce so it won't be too dry for Kimi.

Ingredients

• 50g Threadfin fillet
• Some shaved fresh corn
• 1 egg
• 1 stalk XiaoBaiCai, cut thinly
• 1 inch carrot, sliced thinly
• Chopped garlic
• Dash of pepper, soya sauce, 1 tsp Oyster sauce &/or Maggi Chicken Powder (no msg)

Method

1. Slice threadfin and marinate with some pepper and soya sauce.
2. Heat chopped garlic with some oil and add the carrots and shaved corn when garlic turns golden and fragrant.
3. Add the fish slices and fry lightly. Remove the fish and set aside before adding the veg and then egg.
4. Fry veg, egg, corn and carrot till fragrant.
5. Put in dried bee hoon, adding enough water till well covered.
6. Simmer till soft, about 10mins.
7. Return fish slices to pan and let it simmer covered for another 10mins.
8. Before serving, check taste and add a little oyster sauce &/or Maggi chicken powder (no msg type).
9. Serve warm. ENJOY!!

Tips

• I use the vegetarian kind of oyster sauce which is made from mushrooms. I find this less salty then the real thing.

BB Salmon & Mango Rice Cake

Chicken motif plate to complement this week's theme! Keke! Unfortunately, no chicken-shaped moulds!

This was supposed to be one of last week's dinner but I didn't get round to make it. It's a bear-shaped rice cake to go with last week's theme. Hmm ... sadly, the bear imprint is really not too clear.

This is so yummy when lightly pan-fried and excellent for bringing out for picnics or eating out. I love Japanese food! Alternate with ingredients for variety. You can even use red-bean as filling for dessert?

Ingredients

• Some cooked rice (I use normal rice but added a bit more water so more sticky)
• Japanese rice toppings for onigiri (Adds lovely colour! You can get from Daiso)
• Salmon cooked and flaked (I panfried the salmon slices)
• Some mango chopped
• Some mayonnaise
• Onigiri shaped moulds

Method

1. Once the rice is cooked and while it is still hot, add the rice toppings/flavourings and use a fork to fluff it, mix well and set aside.
2. Add mayonnaise to the flaked salmon and mango till well covered.
3. Place some mixed rice to the base of onigiri mould, add the mayonnaise mixed salmon and mango.
4. Add more rice to top up the mould.
5. Press down to keep shape.
6. Heat a little oil and lightly panfry the shaped rice cakes till golden each side.
7. Serve hot with vegetable sides of your choice.
8. ENJOY!!

BB Pizza Express

My cheeky little rascal helping with the toppings. It was more of play and munch time for him. Stealing bites of the ham and cheese! Haha!

When pressed for time, this is a really quick and easy dish to make. Use whatever you have in your fridge. Experiment with different ingredients and see which you or your baby like best.

Ingredients

• 1 slice of bread (flattened for thin crust or on its own for a thicker one)
• Preggo original pasta sauce
• Some shaved ham
• Some canned peaches or pineapple chopped (or fresh apples)
• 1 slice cheddar (torn into small pieces)
• Some mozarella cheese

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius
2. Use rolling pin to flatten bread or place bread between 2 flat plates and press down
3. Apply pasta sauce all over bread
4. Place the cheddar pieces all over
5. Add ham and peaches
6. Top with mozarella cheese
7. Bake till cheese is melted and has pots of golden brown
8. Serve hot. Be cautious of hot spots as cheese and peach can hold heat well

BB Macaroni Soup

A warm and soupy lunch for a cool day and a fussy tot with equally irritable gums.

I've been incorporating seaweed into Kimi's diet for some time but recently, I've also added wakame and so far, he's taking it quite well.

If possible, try incorporating some seaweed into your baby's diet as it is very beneficial. You can use wakame, kelp or kombu. Buy them from organic stores and add to soups or porridge.

Ingredients

• 2pcs of 1-inch sweet corn
• 2 broccoli florets
• 1 tbsp 'nan xing' (Chinese South almonds, sweet)
• 1/2 tsp 'bei xing' (Chinese North almonds, bitter)
• 2 small florets of white fungus (soaked till expanded and soft)
• 2 strips of wakame, cut smaller
• 3 tbsp of diced pumpkin
• 2 tbsp of ikan bilis (soaked and washed and place in soup bag)
• 30g minced pork (marinated with dash of pepper, soya sauce, sesame oil and corn flour for 15mins)
• Some elbow macaroni (boiled and set aside)

Method

1. Boil a small pot of water and add all the ingredients except broccoli when it is bubbling.
2. After boiling for 15mins on medium-low fire, shape the minced pork into small balls and add to soup.
3. Let it simmer for another 15mins.
4. Add the pre-boiled macaroni and broccoli and let it simmer for a further 15mins
5. Serve hot. ENJOY!!

Tips

• Do not serve baby with the white fungus or almonds unless they enjoy munching crunchy stuff. If baby is keen and able to chew well, you can shave the corn and add the kernels to the macaroni. For older toddlers, they can munch it from the cob!
• Buy good quality white fungus, those that have not been bleached and ask for those for boiling soups so it doesn't melt. There are some that we use for desserts and require them to melt so that it becomes a thick soup.
• This soup although simple, the use of white fungus & almonds are very good in dispelling phelgm and soothing the lungs after coughing bouts.
• The sweet taste of corn will entice fussy tots and it is also good for cooling 'heaty' ones especially during teething.

BB Chunky Tuna Cake

This is quite similar to the BB Salmon Fish Cakes I made earlier except this is more eggy, omelette style. I used the Mickey Mouse cookie cutter which I had, to cut out and imprint Mickey's face. Very happy the cutter was able to imprint it, thought it would only work with cookies or bread.

I wanted to keep the mushrooms and asparagus separate but you can chop it all up and add to the egg mixture for a complete meal. Mix and match different ingredients like tomatoes, celery, broccoli, salmon, ham, etc for different taste.

Upon seeing his Mickey Mouse meal, Kimi's reaction was : "Wow!"

Ingredients

• 1 egg (small or newborn egg)
• 2 tbsp of mashed potato (optional, better if used)
• 2 tbsp of tuna (canned in water)
• 2-3 tbsp of milk or cream
• 1 spear of australian asparagus
• A few shimeji mushroom
• Dash of pepper
• Dash of dried mixed herbs

Method

1. Beat egg lightly and add milk and beat lightly.
2. Mix in mashed potato & tuna (or you can use pumpkin or sweet potato).
3. Stir till lightly combined and dash some pepper & dried mixed herbs.
4. Add a little oil to a small non-stick pan and pour mixture in when hot.
5. Once it is cooked, turn the other side and let it cook till golden brown.
6. Remove and cute with interesting cutter shapes.
7. Serve with stir fry asparagus and mushroom.
8. ENJOY!!

Tips

• You can omit the potato and replace with other kind of starch or no starch ar all. But definitely taste better. Or you can use sliced pre-boiled potato instead of mashed, depending on baby's preference to texture.

BB Fish Fingers

Real Cod Fish Fingers (not exactly finger strips shaped, keke!) with carrot lightly chopped

A personal favourite from Bird's Eye when I was growing up. But I am not ready to give Kimi those at the moment so I made my own to reward my little helper who had been doing quite a bit the last 2 days.

Glad he enjoyed it. You can eat this with rice, porridge, potatoes, couscous or whatever carbo you want to give your baby.

I used fresh breadcrumbs (place a slice into the processor) cos I do not have any soda crackers. You can use any kind of breadcrumbs or cracker/biscuit crumbs or even plain Cheerio crumbs. In fact the cracker crumbs are very fragrant.

I shallow fry these but if you wish, you can bake it with a little oil drizzled on top in a 180 degrees celsius oven till golden brown.

Ingredients

• 50g cod fillet deskinned/deboned and cut in strips & marinated with kelp and pepper
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1 slice of white bread processed into breadcrumbs
• Dash of kelp & pepper
• Oil

Method

1. Heat a little oil in a pan.
2. Place the marinated fillet in the egg mixture and then liberally coat with the breadcrumbs, shaking off excess.
3. Panfry till golden, turning carefully.
4. Remove from pan and let it stand in some kitchen towels to absorb excess oil
5. Serve warm. ENJOY!!

Tips

• You can use threadfin or any other kinds of fish fillets but cod gives a nice, creamy texture and that is what Bird's Eye was supposed to be using too!
• If you do not have kelp, you can use basil or any other kind of herbs.

BB Tuna French Toast

A twist of an old favourite. You can add tomatoes, celery or cucumber for more variety. I ran out of tomatoes so just make do with tuna. Or you can use other fillings like ham, salmon (cooked & flaked), mashed beans, chickpeas, pureed apple, pear, raisins, etc.

Ingredients

• 1 slice of bread
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp tuna (in water, drain off the water)
• 2-3 tsp mayonnaise
• Dash of pepper
• Some milk (approx 3 tbsp)

Method

1. Beat egg with milk and dash of pepper.
2. Mix tuna with mayo and dash of pepper. Use fork to break up the tuna and mix well.
3. Heat a little oil in pan.
4. Soak bread with egg mixture and spread the tuna paste thinly on bread.
5. Spoon more egg mixture on top of the tuna so that it covers the tuna paste.
6. Place bread on pan, tuna paste side down.
7. Let it brown and flip over.
8. Cut into fingers and serve hot. ENJOY!!

Tips

• I use new born eggs so it is smaller. A larger egg will yield 2 slices when added with milk.
• By adding milk to the egg mixture, it makes the toast less 'eggy' and thick. However, if you like a thick egg cover, omit the milk.
• After soaking the bread with the egg mixture, I place it on my palm to spread the tuna paste. It may be a little messy but bear with it as it makes a tasty snack or breakfast! Great finger food for toddlers!
• Pls remember to spoon more egg mixture on top of the tuna paste once it is spread on the bread as the egg mixture helps to 'seal in' the tuna paste so it doesn't fall off and gives it a nice fragrance.
• If using fruit as toppings, you can sprinkle some cinnamon on top when it is done.

BB Beef Spaghetti with Peach & Mixed Veg

I used to make spaghetti for Kimi very often when he was younger. But have not been making this for him for a while oradi. This is the quick cook version. You can do the traditional way by making the sauce from scratch (recipe here), which i used to do for Kimi when he was younger.

This time I added some canned peach which I bought for myself. It gave it a nice, sweet taste! If you like, you can add fresh ones too. I like the canned ones as the texture can take cooking better than the fresh ones.

So happy he still enjoyed it!

Ingredients

• Some spaghetti (broken into smaller pcs and boiled till al dente, drain & set aside)
• 50g minced beef marinated with Dried Mixed Herbs & pepper
• 4-5 tbsp of Prego Sauce (Traditional)
• 2 pcs of canned half peaches chopped
• 4 tbsp of frozen mixed veg (I boiled it togetherh with pasta)
• 1 tsp of onions chopped
• Water

Method

1. Brown the beef in a dry, hot pan till the beef is fragrant and golden brown. Remove and set aside.
2. Heat onions with a little oil till soft and caramelised.
3. Scoop in the pasta sauce and let it fry for a short while before adding some water to thin out mixture.
4. Add the beef, peach, mixed veg and pasta in.
5. Stir lightly and let it simmer covered for 15 mins.
6. If sauce is too thick, add water and let it simmer again.
7. Remove and serve. ENJOY!!

BB Salmon With Hollandaise Sauce & Mushy Chickpeas

Letting Kimi try some new taste - Hollandaise Sauce, a personal favourite and chickpeas. He finished most of it which is good since he is trying for the first time. He also had watercress soup to go with this. I cut up some watercress for his greens.

You will notice that the sauce above looks a little thick. That's cos I stirred in some cheese when the sauce was ready. Think it will be better without it and would taste better if the cheese was melted on the salmon instead. Hence, I have omitted the adding of the cheese in the recipe below.

The chickpeas were from a can and I used a fork to mash it up. I used an organic boiled chickpeas. You can also buy the raw ones and boil on your own. But this is so much more convenient!

Ingredients for Salmon

• 50g Salmon fillet (sashimi cut)
• Dried mixed herbs

Ingredients for Hollandaise Sauce

• 2 egg yolks
• 30g butter
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice (yellow)
• 1 tsp cold water
• 2-3 tbsp of milk or cream
• Dried mixed herbs
• Pepper
• Dash of paprika

Method for Salmon

1. Marinate salmon with herbs for 15mins.
2. Heat non-stick pan, add a little oil and sear salmon till light golden brown.
3. Set aside.

Method for Hollandaise Sauce

1. Whisk yolks with cold water, 1 tsp of lemon juice, herbs & paprika till thick (abt 2-3mins).
2. Melt butter over very low heat.
3. Once butter is melted (careful not to burn it), stir in the yolk mixture.
4. Stir continuously over very low fire till slightly thick (abt 2mins).
5. Taste mixture to see if sour enough, otherwise add the balance 1 tsp of lemon juice.
6. Add in milk and continue to stir for another 1-2mins.
7. Once the sauce has the texture of light yogurt, remove and spoon over salmon.
8. Serve warm. ENJOY!!!

Tips

• When stirring in the yolk mixtue to the butter, ensure that you keep on stirring with the balloon whisk.
• Make sure that it is on very low heat to avoid the mixture getting cooked. Hence it is most safe to add the yolk mixture to the butter once it is melted. Make sure that the butter DO NOT boil.

BB Fish Stew

Have not been making stew for Kimi for quite some time so I did a quickie one today for him with fish. He loves it!

I used Threadfin fillet. You can subsititute with Salmon, Cod or any other fish fillet your baby likes or what you can get.

Ingredients

• 80-100 Threadfin fillet
• 3 tbsp frozen mixed veg
• 1 small or 1/2 medium potato, diced
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup fresh milk
• Dried mixed herbs & pepper
• 1 small dried apricot, chopped finely (optional)
• 1 tsp chopped onions
• 1 tsp flour
• 2 tsp butter
• Cornflour

Method

1. Cut threadfin in nugget size and marinate with mixed herbs & pepper for 15mins.
2. Coat fish with cornflour and brown it in frying pan and set aside.
3. Fry flour in dry pan on small fire till light golden brown, add onions & apricot and let it coat with flour.
4. Add a little oil and fry till a little soft and fragrant before mixing in the potatoes and mixed veg.
5. Brown potatoes and mixed veg, add in half of the chicken stock & let it simmer on low heat covered.
6. Once liquid is dried up, add more water, alternating with stock.
7. Simmer stew for at least 45mins.
8. Add fish, milk and butter 15mins before turning off the fire.
9. Simmer covered on low heat, stirring lightly till all the flavours are released and absorbed by the stew and potatoes/veg are soft.
10. Serve warm. ENJOY!!

Tips

• You can add any other kinds of veg like pumpkin, mushroom, etc. No need to defrost or parboil the mixed veg. Just add to pan and fry.
• When frying flour on dry pan, remember to stir constantly and use low fire as it burns easily so work quickly.
• I use water and chicken stock as I do not want it to be overpowering with chicken stock flavour. As different potatoes have different texture and water content, do use approximatingly, adding more or less liquid to the stew. Liquid amount also dependent on whether you want stew to have more or less gravy.
• You need to coat the fish before frying so that the fish will not disintegrate when you let it simmer.
• If you want, you can add to a slow cooker and let is simmer on auto for another hour or 1.5 hours after the intial frying of the potatoes and veg. Then just add the stock/water/milk/butter and fish and let the slow cooker do the work.
• When using stove-top, you will use more liquid as open fire dries the stew faster. But in a slow cooker, it uses less liquid so adjust accordingly. The liquid should cover 2-3cm above the fish, potatoes & veg. Check half way and add more liquid if need be.

BB Pum-tato Croquette & Milk Poached Salmon

I did this for Kimi some time back and forgot to post it.

I was inspired by Cat and Serene this time - Cat made (such delicious!!) potato croquettes for us during our Sentosa playdate and Serene made steamed pumpkin puree for Estelle.

So I put the 2 together and made potato and pumpkin croquette and threw in some poached salmon. Potato and pumpkin are such great partners in the croquette!

Poached Salmon Ingredients

• Salmon fillet
• Dried Mixed Herbs
• Milk

Method

1. Season salmon fillet with mixed herbs and let it stand for 15mins
2. Bring milk to a boil and add the salmon
3. Once cooked, remove and set aside

Pum-tato Croquettes Ingredients

• 1 small Russet potato, steamed or boiled
• 1 small wedge of pumpkin, steamed or boiled
• Milk
• Some butter
• Mayonnaise
• Breadcrumbs (bought or self-made)

Method

1. Scrape the flesh off from the potato and pumpkin and put into a bowl.
2. While still hot, add the butter and mash till blended.
3. Add mayonnaise and milk till it becomes smooth but not too wet.
4. Shape small balls out of this 'dough' and coat lightly with breadcrumbs.
5. Panfry till golden brown.
6. Serve with salmon. ENJOY!

Tips

• When using milk to poach, be very careful as the milk boil over very quickly. You can add some water to reduce the high boiling point

BB Norwegian Meatballs

This is what my Dad used to make for us when we were growing up. I enjoyed it very much but I prefer it without the sauce. My dad used to keep some aside for me before putting the rest into the brown sauce.

This is an adapted version for babies as I added breadcrumbs. This helps to makes the meatballs softer, great for Kimi as he doesn't like too textured or hard foods. For adults version, I prefer to add choppped onions as I like a more 'meaty' texture and it gives a sweetness to the meatballs. I used herbs whereas my family don't so if you don't like you can omit it.

Rosemary is another nice herb to use for this dish but parsley is more subtle so really depends on your bb's prefernce.

I also made the meatballs more 'patty' style instead of 'rounded' as it cooks faster. You can serve this with boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes/peas/carrots. My mom likes it with rice! Sometimes, we even season the sauce with some red wine. Of course, not for babies!

Meatballs Ingredients (makes approx. 15 balls)

• 40g minced beef
• 30g minced pork
• 1 slice of bread (blended till crumbs)
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• Kelp, pepper & dried parsley
• Butter & oil

Brown Sauce Ingredients

• 3 tbsp of plain flour
• Butter/oil
• Water
  Milk.

Method for Meatballs

1. Wash the minced meat in a sieve, drain and marinate with kelp, pepper & parsley.
2. Mix in 5 tbsp (approx) of the breadcrumbs & cornflour. Add the beaten egg, 1 tbsp at a time till the dough combines and is not sticky, approx. 4 tbsp. If too sticky, add some plain flour or breadcrumbs.
3. Set aside for 15 mins.
4. Heat a flat non-stick pan with butter and oil
5. Shape into small round balls and lightly flatten and let it brown on 1 side before turning over.
6. Remove and place on kitchen napkins to absorb the oil.

Method for Brown Sauce

1. Heat a saucepan with butter and oil. Be careful that it doesn't burn.
2. Once bubbles, add in the flour and stir till coated.
3. Using a low fire, continuously stir/fry/turn the flour. If some of the flour has not been coated with butter, push the flour aside and add another dollop of butter. Once bubbles, stir flour in.
4. Continue to fry till flour is golden brown.
5. Pour in slowly some water and continue to stir and add water till it becomes a large paste
6. Add in the milk slowly to thin out the paste while continously stirring.
7. If too thick, add water till consistency coats the back of the spoon.
8. Pour through a sieve and return to the saucepan.
9. Season with kelp and pepper and add the meatballs to the sauce.
10. Before it comes to a boil, add in 1 tbsp of butter. Let it simmer for 10mins
11. Serve hot and ENJOY!

Tips

• If serving as a finger food and bb likes a more meaty texture, reduce breadcrumbs and cornflour by 1-2 tbsp and 1/2 tbsp respectively.
• You can make more of these meatballs and freeze them so you only need to make the sauce to serve next time.
• Instead of water, you can also use chicken stock for a richer taste.
• When frying the flour, use low heat and you MUST stir/turn it continuously so it doesn't burn. But it should have a slightly browned flour smell. It's ok!
• You can also add herbs to the sauce if you wish but the trick with brown sauce is adding the fluid slowly and steadily till it combines nicely.
• It's always good to make more sauce. 3 tbsp makes sufficiently enough for the above recipe.

BB White Bait, Chicken & Tofu Porridge

Got some fresh white bait (some call it silver fish,white fish, etc) from the market yesterday and made some for Kimi today. He enjoyed this porridge very much! The white bait and chicken made it very sweet and tasty.

Ingredients

• Chicken fillet
• 1 tbsp of fresh white bait (washed and drained)
• 2 inch egg tofu sliced thickly (you can also use plain if BB dont take full eggs yet)
• A few florets of broccoli
• 2 tbsp white rice grains

Method

1. Put all ingredients except tofu and broccoli into slow cooker.
2. Add hot water and set on high.
3. Cook for 1.5 to 2 hours depending on texture needed.
4. Occasionally check on porridge and add water when necesary so that it doesn't dry up.
5. Add in the tofu and broccoli 30 mins before serving.
6. Remove the chicken fillet and shred before adding back to porridge.
7. Serve hot
8. ENJOY!

Tips

• If you want you can use stock instead of water but because you are already using the chix fillet and white bait as a 'stock base' here, there is no need to.


• I prefer to use the actual chix or pork or other ingredients to boil as 'stock base' for the porridges cos it is more tasty compared to using pre-prepared stock. This is because the flavour will steep into the porridge, making it more tasty.


• Normally, I do not use these meat again. I would remove and discard and add fish. But for the chix fillet, i would shred it and use it if I'm not giving fish for that meal.

BB Cod & Tofu Combo

Adapted from Ellena's recipe, I made this for lunch today for Kimi. He likes it so much! This recipe is a real keeper and it is so easy to make too!

Think using Ellena's original recipe for rice instead of tofu would be so delicious as rice can absorb the wonderful oil and fragrance of the cod fish.

Thanks Ellena for the wonderful recipe!

Ingredients

• 1 pc of cod fillet
• 2 inch egg tofu sliced
• A few florets of broccoli
• Pepper
• Dried Parsley flakes (optional)
• Mirin
• Japanese Stock Base Sauce (optional, you can use soya sauce too)
• Cornflour
• Sesame oil

Method

1. Marinate cod with some Stock Base Sauce, pepper and mirin. Sprinkle parsley flakes on top and let it marinate for 15mins.


2. Lightly coat with cornflour and dust off excess.


3. Heat a little oil and pan-fry cod till 70% cook.


4. Slice the egg tofu.


5. Sprinkle some sesame oil on the bottom of a steaming dish and line the panfried cod fish on top.


6. Cut broccoli florets into small pieces and place in another steaming bowl.


7. Drizzle a little of the Stock Base Sauce on top of the fish dish.


8. Steam both dishes for 5-10 mins till broccoli is soft.


9. Use fork and mash broccoli and mix with tofu.


10. Serve & ENJOY

Tips

• As I was using tofu instead of rice, I cooked my cod fish slightly longer as tofu gets cooked relatively fast.


• Do not worry that the panfried codfish will be too crispy as it will soften during steaming and what remains is the fragrant panfried smell.


• Do not add water and tofu when steamed, emits liquid which makes it saucy.

BB Salmon Porridge

With such fresh salmon, how can I not make salmon porridge for Kimi? I only added some kelp and basil to the salmon about 10mins before putting into the slow cooker.

I sliced the filler thinly and added just before serving, leaving it in the slow cooker for about 5mins. Normally I'd prefer to keep fish whole as I would serve the fish first. In this way, even if Kimi do not finish the porridge at least he's eaten all the 'goodies'.

But for this, I wanted it to be just cooked so it will be tender and soft. Hence I sliced it thinly so it will cook quickly. There was absolutely no fishy smell and Kimi finished the whole bowl!

Ingredients

• 50g salmon fillet thinly sliced (sashimi cut)
• 1 bunch baby chinese cabbage cut in half (wa-wa cai, dolly cabbage)
• 2 slices of 1 inch corn (cut into quarters)
• 1 small chicken drum (skin & fat removed)
• 2 tbsp white rice, 1 tbsp brown rice
• Sprinkle of kelp and basil
• Water

Method

1. Add hot water to slow cooker.
2. Put in chicken, corn and cabbage and switch on high for 2 hours.
3. Stir occasionally and check that water do not dry up.
4. Once porridge is of desired texture, remove chicken and corn and discard.
5. Remove cabbage and set aside.
6. Carefully put in salmon slices and close cover.
7. Dish and serve after 5 mins
8. ENJOY

Tips

• These Baby Chinese Cabbage (wa-wa cai) gives the porridge a fragrant and sweet taste. Sometimes, I will discard these and add other veg but you can still eat these as they are soft and easy for baby to swallow. I use scissors to cut it up further to ensure they are of bite size

BB Salmon Fried Porridge (Stewed Rice)

Coincidentally discovered that Kimi likes his porridge done this way. Meaning, pre-fry ingredients till fragrant and then add to rice to be stewed till porridge like.

It's really tasty and fragrant. Another way to prepare porridge for your tots.

Ingredients

• 50-80g salmon sliced
• 8 baby asparagus chopped (de-skin the lower portion)
• A few Brown Shimeji mushroom chopped
• 2 inch fresh corn (shaved)
• Chopped garlic
• 1 small shallot thinly sliced
• Pepper, kelp & basil
• Soya sauce & sesame oil
• 2 tbsp white rice & 1 tbsp brown rice

Method

1. Marinate salmon with basil, kelp and pepper for 15mins. Add the corn flour and leave for another 15mins.
2. Shave the corn and with the fresh kernels, add a little water and blend till smooth.
3. Heat a little oil and fry shallots till fragrant then add in the garlic.
4. Add the salmon and fry lightly before putting in the asparagus & mushroom.
5. Top with the fresh corn puree and fry, turning slowly and constantly.
6. Once fragrant, drizzle some sesame oil. Remove and add to uncooked rice in slow cooker.
7. Add hot water to rice as per usual proportion for porridge.
8. Cook on high for 2 hours or lesser if bb likes harder texture.

Tips

• You can use other forms of protein like chicken or pork.
• Play with the different ingredients. You can use broccoli, carrots or pumpkins. Use whatever your bb likes or whatever you have.
• If you prefer, you can use stock instead of water but pre-frying it makes it tasty and fragrant enough so can omit using stock.
• Aportion your water to the texture that your bb likes.
• Using hot water in the slow cooker cuts down cooking time by almost half