Bento #269 - Ladybugs

It's ladybugs again! Our all time fave! When I looked at this pix after downloading them from my cam, a story came to my mind. It seemed like the smaller bug behind is laughing at the bigger bug for thinking that the leaves infront are real! Lol!

2 cute, silly bugs - we love ladybugs, do you?

Ok, just another slap-stick story I had conjured..Lunch today is bread onigiri filled with mayo salmon and corn, crispy meatballs, broccoli, corn, golden kiwi, grapes and marshmellow.

 

Ooh, almost half the week has gone by before the school hols beckon!  Kimi really enjoyed this crispy meatballs.  I've included the recipe below.

 

 

Crispy Meatballs

 

What do you need?

- 200g Minced meat (chix, pork or whatever you prefer)

- 2 tsp corn flour

- 1/2 tsp minced garlic

- Dash of sea salt & pepper

- 1/2 tsp fish sauce

- 1 tsp mirin

- Cheese (optional)

- 1 egg, beaten

- Some flour and bread or cracker crumbs

 

How to do it?

- Wash and rinse mince in sieve and squeeze out excess water.

- Marinate with corn flour, minced garlic, salt, pepper, fish sauce and mirin for at least 30mins.

- Wet hands, take about 2 tsp of meat, roll into balls.

- If you like cheese, flatten meat on palm, add some cheddar or mozarella in the centre and close up meat cavity and roll into a ball.

- Dust with flour, dredge in egg wash and roll on crumbs.

- Fry on medium low fire till golden brown.

- Serve with ketchup mixed with a little Lea & Perrins Sauce.  If your ketchup is too sour, you can add a little honey and mix well.  Or if you like more spice, you can sprinkle some grounded Paprika once it is out from the pan.

 

 

Steamed Chicken with Lilybulbs and Wood Ear

My neighbour, Karen shared this dish with me some time back and I loved it so much that I decided to recreate it.

It is really simple and I love how the subtle taste of each ingredient is amplified when we put all of it together! An easy on the palate kind of dish. :)

Ingredients

• 250g fresh chicken, skin removed (I used a mixture of fillet and drum)
• 2 pcs of Wood Ear, soaked, clean and cut in small pieces
• 2 Fresh Lilybulbs, cleaned and separated
• 8 pcs of small Dried Chinese Mushrooms
• 1-2 shallot sliced thinly
• 1 thumb of ginger, sliced
• 1/2 tsp of sugar
• 1/2 tsp of grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp of grated garlic
• Light soya sauce
• Dash of pepper
• 5-7 tbsp of Chinese Wine
• 2-3 Fresh Basil leaves

Method

1. Marinate chicken with grated ginger, garlic, light soya sauce, sugar, pepper and chinese wine for at least an hour
2. Add in sliced ginger, basil leaves, shallots and lilybulbs.
3. Mix well and steam till just cooked.
4. Enjoy!

Tips

1. I will add some water in to the dish as I like it with more gravy - so yummy with rice!

Salmon Pockets

Wanted to do something different with the salmon I bought today, other than grilling, steaming, panfry and/or baking. So I bought a ready-made puff pastry and made a simple salmon filling. The puff pastry was rather fluffy and crisp except I felt it was not buttery enough.

Overall, it was a yummy dinner that was relatively easy and quick to do and minimal washing-up. You can substitute with any fillings, sweet or savoury as you wish. :)

Kimi's version - smaller pockets with broccoli. I had wanted to make a penguin shaped pastry as I added half a boiled quail's egg which looked like the tummy. But, it did not look anything like a penguin!! I should have cut out the shape after sealing the 'package'. Never mind, try again next time.

I had mine with some salad

Recipe

• Fresh salmon marinated with salt & pepper
• Mixed vegetable
• Mayonnaise
• 4-6 quail's eggs, hard boiled
• 1 egg, beaten
• Cheese (optional)
• Puff pastry

Method

1. Lightly pan-fry salmon till just cooked, remove and use fork to loosen meat
2. Add pre-boiled mixed vegetable to salmon
3. Mix in mayonnaise and cheese
4. Roll out pastry as per package's instruction
5. Cut out desired shape and brush beaten egg over
6. Scoop some of the salmon mixture, add quail's egg and fold over the pastry
7. Use a fork to seal the edges
8. Brush beaten egg over the pockets
9. Bake in 220 Degrees Celsius oven till golden brown

Tips

• The best way to make a triangle pocket (or any other design) is to lightly fold over 1 pc of rolled out pastry sheet into 2. Then cut the triangle leaving the folded edge un-cut. This way as you open up the cut-out pastry, you can fold it easily back after putting in the filling.

Conpoy And Daikon Superior Broth

Saw this lovely soup on a food channel some time back and decided to try it cos it was such an easy recipe. Yet, the taste is so clear, flavourful and rich, I like!

Recipe (serves 4)

• 4 extral large conpoy (about size of 50cents coin, better if can get larger ones
• 1 daikon, cut in 4 thick slices
• Handful of red dates

Method

• Place all ingredients in slow cooker.
• Let it simmer on high for 3 hours.
• Do not stir, remove conpoy carefully with ladle and place on serving plate on top of a slice of daikon.
• Serve hot and ENJOY!!

Bento #42 Pasta Friends

Sarah chose this ballerina.  I'm ashamed to say how my little ballerina pales in comparison to Susan's. :(  Little ballerina made from cheese and ham cut outs and nori for face and bun decoration.  The little blue dots are made from apple cut-outs dyed a little with food colouring.

Kimi chose the Kungfu boy which I made from cheese and ham cut-out and apple slices dyed with a little blue food colouring.  I totally forgot to place the cheese strips to complete his yukata. And after the travelling, the little boy's face got a little smeared. :(

Claire's simple chick and bear.  Can't think of what to make for a 12 year old

I was to make dinner for the kids (Kimi and my nieces) and this was a last minute decision to pack them as cute bentos cos I did not have most of the items I needed for the decoration.  But Sarah was so keen so I just made do with whatever I had.  I made shaped pasta with meat sauce for the kids.

I'd forgotten my camera and was using my handphone to take these pix and there was really zero lighting at my sis's place so please excuse the bad quality of the pix.  These were terribly rushed bentos so the cutting, etc looks a little tacky.  But the kids were happy! :)

I'm so happy I finally got my 2 books (Hawaii's Bento Box Cook Book 1 & Book 2) by Susan.  Sarah loved the bentos and so did Kimi.  The other night when I had just gotten them, Kimi and I just sat there pouring over the pages, admiring them... all the oohs, ahhs and wahhhs!  Go grab them if you can!

I love making this pasta cos it has everything in it that kids do not like and they will eat them not knowing what they are eating! FABULOUS!  Here's the recipe which is guess-timated cos I do not cook with measuring spoons but I try to be as accurate as I can ok? :)

Tomato Base Meat Sauce Recipe

• 250g minced meat (of your choice) washed in sieve marinate with ginger juice, pepper and salt
• 1/2 medium yellow onion chopped finely
• 4-6 white button mushrooms chopped finely
• 1 medium carrot shredded finely
• 4 medium ripe tomatoes chopped
• 1 corn shaved
• 1/2 small bottle of Prego Original/Traditional Pasta Sauce
• Dash of mixed herbs (optional)
• Dash of black pepper (optional)
• 1 tsp Maggi Chicken Stock granules (no msg)
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 cup water

Method

1. Season mince for at least 15 mins and panfry in DRY pan over medium fire.
2. As you fry the mince, use ladle to push at meat to separate the meat and fry till all the water has dried up and starts to brown and emits a fragrance.  Remove from pan and place aside.
3. Add some oil and saute onions till soft and fragrant.
4. Add the carrot, corn and mushrooms and fry for 2 mins or till slightly soft before adding chopped tomatoes.
5. Return browned mince to pan and let it mix well.
6. Pour in the pasta sauce or tomatoe puree and stir till mixed.
7. Add in seasoning and water.
8. Simmer for at least 30 mins on low fire slightly covered.
9. Serve with pasta shapes or pasta of your choice.

Tips

• Always taste sauce before adding seasoning, etc as different brands of pasta sauces may have different salt content and some sauce can be rather tart so it is best to taste before adjusting the flavour.
• If using chicken stock, you can omit the chicken granules and water.
• I usually make a little more so I can freeze up portions for Kimi to eat the following week.  This is a good sauce for Shepherd's Pie, Baked Pasta/Macaroni or Baked Rice.
• I love this recipe as you can add in different kinds of vegetables like peppers, shredded zucchini and even apples!  Experiment and/or add in whatever your child do not like and you will be surprised how they will eat it without really knowing what's inside.
• The trick is that it has to be finely chopped so that it 'melts' into the sauce.

Bento #41 - Dining with the Elephant

It started with 2 or 3 picks and then Kimi wanted to add this and that. I had to stop him or he would use ALL my picks!! haha! Kimi loved the chocolate pearl I used for the elephant's eyes...not how it looked but how he loved the chocolate! Lol!

This was a last minute bento which I decided to make for Kimi. The worst thing was, when I was about to decorate it, I realised that I was COMPLETELY out of ham, cheese slices, seaweed to decorate my elephant. Yes, hardly looked like one but the little one was happy so that's all that matters! :) He finished the whole bento with only about 2-3 spoons of rice left. So proud of him! :)

I added a little green colouring to the water when cooking the rice to creat this green coloured rice to symbolise the elephant on the grassland. The chicken cutlet is homemade and I added another piece cos I know Kimi loves all these crispy stuff. There's also strawberries, corn, sugar beans, edamame beans and Japanese pumpkin (Kabocha - you can look here to see how you can cook Kabocha) simmered in sweet sauce.

Sweet sauce simmered Kabocha

• 3-4 wedges of Japanese pumpkin
• Japanese soya sauce (or the regular will do too)
• Mirin
• Sugar or maple syrup
• Water

Method

1. Boil the pumpkin till just starting to be soft. Remove and set aside.
2. Place all the rest of ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to boil.
3. Taste to ensure saltiness/sweetness is acceptable (should taste like teriyaki sauce).
4. Add the steamed pumpkin and let it simmer on slow fire for 10-15 mins.
5. Remove and serve.

Steamed Spare Ribs & Winter Melon in Black Bean Sauce

Sorry, these days I hardly have time to transfer the dish and snap the pix.  What you see is what we eat! Haha!  Straight from the steamer!

This is a very cantonese dish which you can get at Dim Sum Restaurants.  My mum used to make this but I never made it for hb cos he is not a big pork eater and I think the only spare ribs he takes are from Bak Kut Teh?

But then, I saw how wonderful Jayne made them and decided to just try and see if hb will eat.  I added some winter melon, left over from the soup and I tell you, it's the best thing in that dish!  It totally absorbed all the goodness and made it some yummy!  I added it cos I didn't want to 'waste' the leftovers.  Glad I made the right choice!

This is truly a simple and fast dish.  Our only lament was that the chap selling the pork recommended this cut which I felt was not so appropriate.  The meat was too thin, reed thin.  I'll get something with a little more meat so we can enjoy it better the next time.  It's definitely a keeper for us! :)

Ingredients

• 300g spare ribs
• 1 slice winter melon, diced
• 1.5tbsp Lee Kum Kee Black Bean Garlic Sauce
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 2 cloves grated garlic
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp corn flour
• 1 tbsp Chinese Cooking wine
• A little water
• A few sprigs of spring onion, cut in 2 inches sections
• A few sprigs of spring onion and cilantro, cut finely

 Method

1. Mix all ingredients together and let it marinate for 15mins.
2. Place the 2 inches spring onions on bottom of steaming plate and lay the marinated ribs and melon on top.
3. Steam for 20-25mins or till cooked.
4. Sprinkle the finely cut spring onion and cilantro on top of cooked dish.
5. Served with hot fluffy rice. ENJOY!!

 Tips

• If you like it spicy, you can chop some chilli finely and throw it in together to steam.
• You can mix the marinade separately in a bowl and tasste it to ensure that it is not too salty before adding to the ribs.

Garlicky Snapper Fillet

The last time I bought this Creamy Snapper Fillet at Cold Storage cost me quite a bit.  Then my sis told me that she bought the exact IQF(Individually Quick Frozen) version from Giant at a lower price.  And the taste was exactly the same.  She believes that Cold Storage just defrosted and sold them.

So I grabbed 4 and made 1 pack today. Yummy! The 2 boys loved them.  Kimi loved it cos it had crispy bits and hb just loved the garlic and salt combo I guess.  This is so fast, easy and tasty.

Ingredients

• 1 Creamy Snapper Fillet (pack came filleted into 2 slices)
• Dash of salt, pepper and ground ginger
• Chopped garlic

Method

1. Heat some oil and fry fish till golden brown. 
2. Remove and let it rest on kitchen napkins.
3. Add in the garlic and let it brown till nice and golden.
4. Remove and slowly scoop over fish.  Being careful not to add the oil.
5. Serve over rice, noodles, pasta or with potatoes. ENJOY!!!

Winter Melon and Chinese Yam Soup

I usually boil Winter Melon with corn or other mild Chinese herbs or as a sweet soup but never with Chinese Yam. So when I saw this recipe at Ellena's, I decided to try it. But I did change the recipe a little to suit our needs. :)

It was sweet, fragrant and refreshing. Both hb and Kimi liked it. :) It is believed that drinking this soup helps to alleviate body heatiness, lowers blood sugar, blood pressure, promotes urination, anti-ageing and aids digestion.

Ingredients

• 350g pork ribs, blanched
• 1 corn, cut in sections
• 1 stick of Chinese Yam (Huai Shan) approx 100g
• 1 carrot, cut in sections
• 1 slice of Winter Melon (Dong Gua) cut in sections with skin on,approx 200g
• 2 Honey Dates

Method

1. Bring 1.5 to 2litres of clean water to boil.
2. Place the blanched ribs and all other ingredients and bring the fire to high and let it boil for 15mins.
3. Reduce to low fire and continue to simmer for another 2 hours.
4. Or alternatively, boil for 1 hour and place in thermal pot or boil for 30mins and transfer to slow cooker to cook on high for 2 hours.
5. Serve hot. ENJOY!!

A Happy Day

All these onions and squid are from the chilli sauce.  It is very spicy but maybe cos I'm not a chilli expert.  This sauce will go well with glass noodles too or as a dip for steamboat.

Yay! It's the start of a week long of holidays and I am so happy to have Kimi home with me the whole day!  We can do so much and have loads of fun together.  I really miss those lazy days when he was not in school where some days, we just laze at home and take things easy.  Or those days where it is jam-packed with activities and outings.

If I had it my way, I would keep him at home.  But, Kimi, being an only child needs friends and learn to socialise.  Unfortunately he does not have many playmates so school is the best option for the moment.

We started the week by having papa bring Kimi to the zoo yesterday morning while I rested a little at home as I was feeling a little unwell.

All Glory to Jesus, this morning, I am well and whole again! :)

Today, my plan was just to grab some groceries at Giant and proceed to other plans for the day as my sis couldn't make it.  But, she called me in the morning and said she could.

So we ate and shopped and shopped and ate the WHOLE day! So fun and only at 2 places - IKEA and Giant!! Hahah!!  Kimi was also very co-operative today both with behaviour and meal times. :) With Kimi skipping his nap, he had to sleep at 7pm.  So, I had some time on my own to cook and relax.

So what did I have? My favourite comfort food - panfry salmon.  I bought this Spicy, Sweet Sour Sotong Chilli and tossed it with Shirataki noodles and topped it with my salmon.  I also crushed some crispy bacon on top of the noodles (not seen here as I did not include it) before devouring it! Yummy!

What a fabulous start to the week!

Mickey Mouse Fried Rice

I saw this cute Mickey Mouse fish cake from Giant and quickly grabbed it.  I was keen to encourage Kimi to take some fish ball or fish cake, hoping that the pix will entice him.

Well, my plan did not work and he still does not take any kind of fish ball or fish cakes.  Anything that taste like rubber food except gummy which is his favourite snack now.

Beetroot, Carrot, Corn & Pork Ribs Soup

 

I made this soup some time back but I've been lag in many posts so finally I can share this wonderful, wonderful soup.  Not only is it bursting with health properties, it is yummy to drink so no problems to get our little tots to drink a bowl!

Ingredients

• 
  
  2 small beetroot (about 200-230g each) cut in large chunks
• 
  
  1 corn, cut in sections
• 
  
  1 large carrot cut in large chunks
• 
  
  350g pork ribs (boiled to remove impurities)
• 
  
  1 large honey date
• 
  
  Handful of red dates, seeded

Method

1. 
   
   Bring to boil 1.5 to 2 litres of water
2. 
   
   Add in dates and pre-boiled pork ribs
3. 
   
   Add rest of ingredients
4. 
   
   Let it boil on high for 15mins
5. 
   
   Reduce to low fire and let it continue to boil for another 2 hr 30 mins.

* As I use a thermal cooker, I usually boil for 1 hour and leave it in pot till ready to drink for dinner.  I also do not add any salt as I like it the way it is. Natural and yummy.

Japanese Curry Rice

I'm so frustrated!  Why is it that recently some of my pix when uploaded onto this blog becomes upside down? Including the one above, I rotate and rotate till I could get this straight! (*upset*).

Anyway, when I served this to Kimi, he said, "Pikachu again?"  Then I remembered I used this to cut Kimi's sandwich in the morning! Oops, sorry!  Again, too rush so I didn't decorate the face.

This is Kimi's first Jap Curry meal and he loves it!  He has tried a few mouthfuls some months back.  But I decided to try it today as a meal and we are so glad Kimi likes it cos hb and myself are big Jap Curry fans.  Now we have another fan!

I bought Vermont's Mild Curry and made Pork cutlet.  Kimi loves the cutlet cos it is so crispy.

Ingredients

• 1 pack of Vermont Mild Jap Curry
• Half yellow onion sliced
• 1 large carrot cut in chunks
• 2 potatoes cut in chunks
• Water
• 4 pcs of pork loin
• Some plain flour
• Some Panko (Nissin brand)
• 1 egg beaten

Marinade

• Pinch of salt, pepper and sugar
• 1 tsp of minced ginger

Method

1. Butterfly the pork loin and place it in 1 clean plastic bag.  Use a pestle and pound on meat till it has increased about 50% in size and the meat is flattened. This helps to break down meat fibre, making the cutlet tender.  Also a thinner cutlet reduces cooking time and the panko will not be over-burnt.
2. Marinate and leave for at least 30mins.

Curry

1. Heat some oil in a saucepan and let onions soften and caramalise, add in carrot and fry lightly.
2. After 3mins, add potatoes and fry another 2 mins.
3. Add water and bring to boil and add in the curry pieces. I used about 4 cubes.
4. Add more water and let it simmer for 20mins.
5. Remove from fire and set aside.

Pork Cutlet

1. Heat oil in pan and reduce fire to low. Do not use too high fire cos it will burn the panko and the pork may not be cooked.
2. Dust pork cutlet in flour, dip in egg mixture and then coat with panko
3. Place into hot oil and let it cook on 1 side.  Once golden brown, turn over and let it brown.
4. Remove and let it sit on paper towel to absorb excess oil
5. Cool lightly and cut into slices.
6. Serve with fluffy white rice.
7. ENJOY!

Cutlet Baked Rice

Yes, we are having baked stuff again since I still have some mozarella cheese left and I want to finish it up quickly.  This is another speedy meal for me.

Kimi is not exactly keen on overly cheesey or milky stuff and recently he is really into all things crisp.  So I over-baked the cheese a little to entice him and let him have a crunch.  He simply loves the sound of crunch and will ask me if I can hear the crackling sound. :)

Normally, I would prefer to make a cheese sauce to stir into the rice but Kimi is not big on cheesy food so I just made sure the rice is not overly dried up by the fying process and stirring in some mayo and cheese to give it some moisuture without being overly cheesy.

For convenience, I just used fish fingers.  You can prepare homemade cutlets or pork, fish, chicken, salmon, etc or whatever you wish. :)

The dish just before going into the oven

Yummy!

Ingredients

• 
  
  Some steamed rice
• Mixed vegetable
• 3 fish fingers
• 1 egg, beaten
• Some mayo
• Dollop of butter
• Some mlk
• Mozarella cheese
• Pepper
• Nori seaweed (optional)

Method

1. 
   
   Add some butter to pan, once it sizzles and all melted (keep fire low when butter is sizzling in pan as it can get burnt easily), scoop steamed rice into it and allow the rice to be coated by the butter.
2. 
   
   Fry lightly, add the mixed vegetable and continue to turn the rice.
3. 
   
   Sprinkle some milk/water so that the rice do not dry out. Turn for 30 seconds
4. 
   
   Pour beaten egg all over rice and let it set lightly before turning rice again.
5. 
   
   Sprinkle pepper and turn rice.
6. 
   
   Lastly, add the nori seaweed and turn lightly before transferring rice to oven safe dish.
7. 
   
   Meanwhile, lightly fry or bake fish fingers till 80% cooked or you can use any other home-prepared cutlet. Set aside.
8. 
   
   Add some mayo to buttered rice and mix well.  Stir in some shredded mozarella.
9. 
   
   Place the cutlet on top of rice and cover with shredded mozarella.
10. 
    
    Bake in 200 degrees celsius oven till cheese is melted.
11. 
    
    ENJOY!!

Bento #40 - Teriyaki Salmon Rice Set

A quick meal for Kimi - Teriyaki Salmon with oven roasted vegetables and seaweed rice.

 

For those who are concerned about the texture and whether the salmon will be dry, the best way is to bake it in a foil envelope.

This way, it is cooked by internal steaming so most of its juices are retained. However, I would normally, remove the foil once it is almost cooked and bast it again with sauce and grilled it on high uncovered.

I didn't decorate Pikachu's face as I felt it was colourful enough. The broccoli and baby corn were so juicy and sweet. I didn't add anything except the Teriyaki sauce, which was brushed on top of the salmon.

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.

Japanese Beef Donburi (Japanese Beef Rice Bowl)

This is 1 dish that Kimi and I enjoy. I normally make this when hb is not around as he is not a big fan of beef. And I am determined that Kimi do not end up like him. I hope Kimi will be more adventurous like me. :)

We love this sweet, fragrant beef dish with rice. And it is so easy to make. Chop, fry and dump in pot. For others, it may jus be chop, fry and chomp! Hee hee! :)

Sorry, I forgot to pick out the carrots for this shot - think it was too soft and most were at the bottom of the pot!

Marinade

• 1/2 tsp freshly minced garlic
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp of mirin
• 2 tbsp of Daiso Soba Sauce
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tsp corn flour

Ingredients

• 200-250g beef fillet or cuts suitable for stir/pan-fry
• 1/4 yellow/golden onion thinly sliced
• 6 baby corns diced
• 4 white button mushroon sliced
• 1/2 small carrot julienne

Method

1. Slice beef at 45 degree angle into smaller pcs against the grain and marinate for at least 10mins (3omin preferable) using marinade above.
2. Heat a little oil in pan/pot and saute onions till soft.
3. Throw in corn, carrot and mushroom and fry till fragrant.
4. Add beef and stir till just cooked.
5. Add broth or water, stirring lightly till it brings to a boil.
6. Taste to test level of saltiness then add additional seasoning of 2 tbsp mirin, dash of pepper, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tbsp of Stock Base Sauce and 1/2 tsp of Maggi No MSG Chicken granules.
7. Season till desired taste.
8. Place in thermal cook for at least an hour or when ready to eat.
9. Serve with fluffy white rice!

Notes

• I make my Donburi more 'soupy' so I have additional yummy sauce for the rice! You can add less water if you want a 'drier' dish. If you add less water, omit/reduce the additional seasoning in Step 6. Taste to determine.
• If serving just for adults and you want a quick stir-fry and beef that is slightly under-cooked, stop at Step 4. Just do a quick fry and add a little water if not enough gravy and serve immediately.
• As most of my food are made for the family (Kimi included), I'd prefer to err on the safe side and more often than not make the food slightly overcooked. I'd rather be safe than sorry especially when feeding young children.
• You can substitute/add in other vegetable base ingredients. Another wonderful vegetable to add in is Orange/Yellow capsicum. It makes the dish even more sweet and tasty. But there weren't any nice ones these few days.

CNY Day 7

The Chinese believed that the 7th Day of the Lunar New Year symbolises everybody's birthday and we are supposed to feast. (what a good excuse to indulge? Haha!)

Well, as Christians, we glorify 7 as it represents perfection and everything that is God. Have a little thought, why do you think everything goes in 7s? 7 colours in the rainbow, our body works in cycles of 7, the list is endless. Simply, our Almighty Abba Father made it such, it is His plan. :)

Did you also know that in recent years, people have found more links that the early Chinese may have prayed to the same God, our Abba Father? So maybe that is why Day 7 is everybody's birthday? Perhaps they too believed that 7 represents God's creations, perfections? :)

Anyway, we had dinner at my mom's after which the kids played with sparklers (yes, yet again!) and I prepared TangYuan for us to have as a dessert and also to let Kimi have a little fun.

Although, the little balls were not perfect rounds and were of all sorts of sizes, we did have a nice, short time together. :)

Kimi chosed the blue and green while I of cos went for pink! I made the tangyuan Teochew style cos hb likes it this way. The Teochews like the tangyuan empty and it is served with a sweet sweet gula melaka soup.

I was brought up the Cantonese style and I love mine embedded with loads and loads of gula melaka where every bite oozes with the sweet melted sugar. Yum! The tangyuan is then paired with a gingerly sweet soup that is soooo refereshing!! Whenever I have this soup, I will reminisce about the times where I sit and watch my granny roll these balls and as I grew older, she allowed me to help her. I miss my granny so much! :)

I love my Cantonese style but well, hb doesn't like ginger soup. So, I made a few gula melaka laden tangyuan to indulge and even Kimi preferred those with the fillings! Yay, I will have a new partner for this soup next time. Now, I need to work on the ginger soup on Kimi. :)

Pretty in pastels!
Take a pinch of the dough
Roll between palms and ...

Smile for the camera when done!

I bought this brand's glutinous flour. The Gula Melaka is not good so pls don buy this brand...it had a funny salty after taste. Some pandan (screwpine) leaves for flavour in the sweet soup.

Pretty little tang yuan before going into the boiling pot

CNY Day 4

This year we didn't do very much visiting - going to only the place we HAD to go. I had forgotten to bring my camera so no pix for Day 2 where we go to KJ Gu-gu's (hb's uncle) house for the long awaited dinner and a nice cosy Tunch Gathering at Aquamarine with my family.

Day 3, myself and Kimi rested a bit in the early part of the day before heading to my mom's for dinner and a game of sparklers with the girls. They had so much fun with just a pack of sparklers!

Hb came back very early in the morning of CNY Day4 and I decided to make him a nice dinner. But I couldn't get any nice prawns, despite going to 4 places so I gave up and decided to do it the next day.

Kimi said he wanted to look fierece in this pix ... ?? (faint)
Our 1st CNY 'feast' for the year! Steamed Rabbit Fish (CNY fish), Long boiled chicken soup with pacific clams, mushrooms, dried scallop and dried abalone slices (YUMMY!!! Everyone's favourite) and broccoli with yellow capsicum (supposed to be with scallop too but totally forgot to de-frost!)

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.