Kindermusik With Papa

Finally, hb is in Singapore to join us after so many lessons. And for me, I can rest my arms a little as can be quite taxing prancing around, sashaying like a ballerina (quote from Sharon) and stomping like a Red Indian Chief. Let papa have the honours this week.

Also managed to capture a few shots. Here goes :-

More Bento Madness

Went to Daiso ... yes, again! Really can't resist these! Look at the cute sauce bottles!

Bento Madness

I'm really getting into it! Collecting all things bento related! All things that can shape a nice rice ball, cut a cute shape or cute bottles/pots for sauces and mayo.

With my kind of luck, I'd better buy what I like when I see it now. Don't you guys have the same prob? You never can find the stuff when you need them or not a cab in sight when you need one and throngs when you don't?

So, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Here's my latest loots :-

Cute pancake shapes, lunch boxes holders, sausage shapers, sauce and mayo holders, rice (omu) moulds

Kimi's Latest Squeeze

Now, don't let your thoughts run wild, it's got nothing to do with any girls or such - it's his toy!

Kimi's current favourite toy/past time got to be the IKEA Bead Chaser. It's an inexpensive & good toy that allows babies to practise fingers reflexes and their fine motor skills.

See how he's enjoying it...

Busy Body, literally

Lately, Kimi has been very busy, in fact, a real busy body (aka kaypoh)! Everywhere he goes, he must open that cupboard, check that drawer or jus dig at things.

Look how busy he is digging at my drinks holder in my coffee table?

Baby - Oven Baked Parsley Crusted Salmon Pocket

Seems like I've been doing quite a bit of cooking ya? Enjoy it while you can as a period of drought may soon come as my freezer becomes sufficient for the next few weeks.

So, 2 more fish recipes and I can rest a little! I personally think the oven is a marvellous cooking equipment cos you can do so much with it. Wrapping meat with vegetables in a foil pocket brings out the natural sweetness and flavouring of the dish. It's also very healthy as limited oil is used and it's almost like steaming. But minus the extra water as this is like a dry bake and the food is cooked in its own natural juices. Yummy!

Recipe

Ingrredients

- 200g fresh salmon fillet steak

- 100g pumpkin (skin removed & diced)

- 10 sprigs Baby Beans

- 1 hand bunch of Chinese Parsley (Cilantro, Yong-sui) chopped finely

- 1 tomato

- Dash of pepper &/or ikan bilis powder

- 2 cubes of veg or chix stock
- 2 dried apricots (thinly sliced)

Method

- Preheat oven to 200 degrees

- Use an oven safe dish or baking pan. Line with foil first. Use another foil and make a well-like pocket. Drizzle some oil into the pocket

- Place the diced pumpkin, beans and tomato into the pocket and turned lightly so that it is coated with the oil

- Lightly marinate salmon with pepper &/or ikan bilis powder. Press the chopped parsley on top of the salmon and put in pocket

- Sprinkle the sliced dried apricot and frozen stock cubes on top of the salmon and veg

- Close up the foil so that there is no opening. If the foil is not big enough, tear another piece and blanket it on top of the dish

- Put into oven and allow to bake for 30 -40 mins. Check after 30mins to see if salmon is cooked especially the centre area

- Pumpkin and beans should cooked relatively fast

- Once fish is ready, remove and leave the whole dish with the foil closed for 10 mins before removing and pureeing to desired texture

Tip

- Remove the skin of the tomatoes before mashing or pureeing

Baby - Oven Baked Tumeric Snapper With Veg & Cheese

Adding another type of fish to Kimi's palate - White Snapper Fillet. Personally, I prefer snapper as the flesh is more firm after steaming compared to Threadfin. But, it is better to use Threadfin fillet for babies when we start to wean/intro fish to them as it is the least fishy fish and very soft after cooking.

Since, snapper is relatively bland in taste, I've used tumeric to spice it up a little. To ensure that the tumeric is not too pungent, I've added milk and cheese to neutralise it. This also gives the dish a richer taste.

Recipe

Ingredients

- 200g snapper fillet

- 3 broccoli florets (washed & soaked in salt water to remove impurities)

- 1 carrot (diced)

- 1 potatoe (diced)

- 2 dried apricots, finely sliced

- Dash of pepper

- Dash of ikan bilis powder (optional)

- Tumeric powder

- Finely grated Cheddar Cheese

- 1 cup full cream milk

Method

- Preheat oven to 200 degrees

- Use an oven safe dish or pan and line with foil. Then use another piece of foil and make into a pocket. Drizzle a little oil on it

- Put the broccoli, carrots and potatoe into the pocket and use spoon to turn lightly coating the oil

- Marinate fish with pepper and smear tumeric powder all over the fish and place into the pocket

- Sprinkle the sliced apricot and finely grated cheddar cheese on top of fish

- Pour the milk (and ikan bilis powder) over and close up pocket and put into oven for 45 mins

- When fish and veg are cooked, remove from oven and let it rest outside with the pocket intact for 10mins

-Remove skin from fish and blend to desired texture

Tips :-

- For a shorter cook time, pre-boil or steam the carrots and potatoes before putting into the pocket

Baby - Steamed Threadfin Fillet With Red Dates & Tofu

Ang mo or Chinese dish? I call it Fusion! Wakakaka!! As long as it is jam packed with goodies for Kimi, it doesn't matter right?

The use of red dates here is inspired by one of SMH mummies, Aquarius. Deszi's nanny gave her some red dates puree. I had almost forgotten to start Kimi on some red dates! How silly of me cos red dates is not only an excellent taste enhancer, it is especially good for the spleen and stomach. Also good for nourishing blood.

When using red dates, remember to remove the seed so that it will not be heaty. Also, soak red dates for a few minutes till it is soft. This will enhance the beneficial properties as well as make it easier to be cooked.

Verdict : Kimi loves this dish! Try it!

Recipe

Ingredients

• 180g threadfin fillet (orh her)
• 1 hand bunch of spinach (bayam/yin choy - pick out the leaves only)
• 12 pitted red dates (soaked)
• 1 -2 tbsp soft tofu
• 1/2 slice of cheese
• Dash of pepper & sesame oil

Method

• Heat up steamer
• Wash and remove all bones from fish and season with pepper and sesame oil. Set aside
• Place tofu in a bowl and roughly use a fork or spoon to chop up the tofu. Place the cheese on top and set aside
• Put red dates & spinach in a small bowl when the red dates are soft from the soaking
• Once the steamer is ready, place all the bowls into steamer and steam till fish is cooked
• When all are ready, remove and set aside to cool. Once the red dates are cooled, remove flesh and discard the skin
• Mash with fork or puree to desired texture

* Suitable for freezing

* Makes 10 baby cubes

Baby - Grilled Salmon with Baby Beans and Tofu

Kimi's fish food supplies are dipping so came out with 4 more fish dishes for freezing. This is an easy, protein packed meal good for 1 serve.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 80g fresh salmon
• 6 sprigs of baby beans
• 1-2 tbsp of soft tofu
• 1/2 tsp ikan bilis powder
• 1 pc dried apricot
• Dash of pepper

Method

- Marinate salmon with pepper and set aside

- Chop baby beans till fine

- Heat non-stick pan using medium high heat and drizzle a little oil

- Once oil is heated, put salmon in skin side on pan and cover pan

- Grill for about 3-4 mins, and turn over carefully and grill for another 3 mins.

- Turnover and check for doneness in the centre. Once centre is cooked, remove & set aside

- Add ikan bilis powder and apricot to tofu and put into steamer

- Also put the beans into a separate bowl for steaming. Remove both when beans are soft.

- In the mean time, flake salmon to check for bones and discard skin

- Once the beans and tofu are ready, puree together or mash with fork for desired texture

- ENJOY!!

Tips :

* Try not to buy a salmon steak that is too thick or it will take a long time to cook.

Great Buys from Japan

I've started collecting interesting moulds, cutters and food picks in preparation when Kimi can start to feed himself. I especially love those kawaii (cute) bento packed lunches with foods made into cute and interesting pieces.

Hence, asked hb to get some from Japan for me. Some of the rice shapers and egg moulds :-

The piggy, face-shaped and bunny egg moulds are from Japan while the rest are from Daiso.

Hb also bought these scrumptious grapes, it tastes like wine and cost S$13 for a this small bunch! Again, my little gourmet loves it!

Baby - Roasted Sweet Peppers & Veg With Chicken

Made 2 new dish for Kimi today, Roasted Sweet Peppers & Veg with Chicken and Panfried Kiwi Pork With Couscous. Few months back I introduced steamed orange pepper to him but he didn't really take to it... So, I'm re-introducing again but this time, with the red ones and had it roasted with other sweet vegetables and chicken - it's yummy!

Silly me! Should have taken pix before pureeing!!

I used a small red bell pepper cos the taste can be quite sharp and bb may not like it. But so far, Kimi ok so pls start with a small one or use the orange peppers for a more subtle taste.

Recipe
Ingredients

- 4 Chicken fillets
- 1 small red bell pepper
- 1 carrot
- 1/2 sweet potato
- 2 sticks of aspragus
- 1 tomato
- 2 pcs of dried apricot
- 1 tablespoon of chopped yellow onion
- 1/2 tsp Cornflour
- Pepper to taste
- 1 cup chicken or veg stock

Method
- Cut chicken fillet in small cubes and marinate with cornflour and pepper for 15 mins
- Brown chicken in dry non-stick (no oil) pan. Set aside.
- Cut the red pepper in quarters and remove the seeds and white part of it.
- Peel carrot, sweet potato and ends of asparagus and dice them all up.
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees
- Use an oven safe dish or tray and drizzle a little oil on it.
- Place all the veg in the dish and mix them thoroughly with the oil. Place pepper with skin up.
- Put in oven to roast till veg becomes soft and the pepper is blistered, charred and aromatic. Once ready, remove and set aside. Once cooled, remove the skin from tomatoes and peppers. They should slide off relatively easy.
- Heat a little oil and add the chopped onions, saute till soft.
- Add the browned chix, roasted veg and 1 cup of chicken or veg stock and saute lightly and let it simmer covered for 10 mins (low fire). If it dries up, add a little more stock.
- Remove. Either mash with fork or put in blender for suitable texture.
- Enjoy

Tip

*Roasting the peppers brings out the intensity and aroma of the peppers. It also makes removing the skin easier!

*Suitable for freezing

*Makes 20 baby cubes

Baby - Panfried Kiwi Pork With Couscous

Time to introduce some pork to Kimi. And since there's an abundance of Golden Kiwis and Kimi seems to enjoy this fruit, decided to put the 2 together. You can also use other fruits like apples, prunes, etc or whatever you have in your fridge.

Buy lean pork and mince it yourself so you know what meat went into it. Alternatively, get the butcher to mince it for you. But ask him to remove visible fats and sinews and wash the pork before mincing.

Recipe

Ingredients
- 200g lean pork (minced)
- 1 Golden Kiwi
- 2 spears of asparagus or 1 courgette/zuchinni/squash
- 1 tbsp chopped yellow onion
- 1/2 to 1 cup chicken or veg stock
- 1 tsp cornflour, dash of pepper/sesame oil/ikan bilis powder
- 2 dried apricot slivered (to balance the zesty kiwi)
- 100g couscous


Method
- Marinate minced pork with pepper, sesame oil, a sprinkle of ikan bilis powder and cornflour. Set aside.
- Brown mince in dry non-stick pan and set aside.
-Dice kiwi & asparagus (peel off the hard skin at base of asparagus spear)
-Prepare couscous according to package details * and set aside.
- Saute onions till soft and fragrant.
- Add asparagus and fry till soften a little then add pork, kiwi, apricot and stock and cover the pan. Letting it simmer for 10mins.
- Remove and blend to texture and add couscous to the puree.


Tips
* Suitable for freezing
* Makes 16 baby cubes
* Prepare according to pack details as different brand have different methods.
* Couscous is a good replacement for rice as it is soft, fluffy and small. Making it easy for baby to learn to chew and swallow. It is also full of fibre. But remember to add a little more water so that it can be slightly softer. I replace stock with water so it is more tasty.
* Do not add the kiwi too early or it may get too mushy and overcooking will bring out the sourness in the fruit.

Of Herbs,Spices, Apricots and Substitutes

A few mummies have been asking me how to flavour our babies' food since salt and sugar are preferably avoided till 1 yr old.

I've come up with a list of food flavours you can use when cooking for your babies.

In fact, even for my home cooking, I do not use msg. I add a little sugar to simulate the msg effect which works well.

Hence, I've come up with this idea of using dried apricots to flavour Kimi's food and it works well!. Plus apricots, fresh or dried contain beta-carotene and significant levels of iron, great for a growing baby!

And if you want a little salty taste to the food, you can blend or add some celery to the food. But, pls be careful cos some babies may not like the strong smell of celery. So trial and error. You can also use dried kelp powder. This is a great natual flavouring for foods as it provides good iodine minus the bad sodium. Other flavouring techniques are using vegetable or chicken stock as well as herbs and spices.

Try different ways to see which appeals most to your baby!



Flavouring/Substitution List

• Vegetable stock
• Chicken stock
• Salt - Celery, ikan bilis powder, mushroom powder, powdered kelp
• Msg - sugar, dried apricots, red dates, apple/pear puree
• Basil, Parsley, cinnamon, cilantro (chinese parsley), etc
• Spices too when they are bigger and can stomach stronger, sharper tastes!

Kimi, The Flasher!

Kimi, our flashee and I don't mean the body parts kind... the cards kind mind you, is really into flashing now.

I started flashing cards to Kimi was he was about 6-7 weeks old and continued at it till he was about 3 months. Then, things got a tad difficult as he was starting to refuse milk. Flash cards went into the cupboards.

Just last week, I thought, I'd better revive this and out came the cards and I started again. To my amazement, he could actually pick out the cards I asked as well as recognise both English and Chinese text!

I tell you the brains of a baby is so amazing, they just absord and absorb. Here'a video I'd taken today of Kimi enjoying his flash card session.

How To Be A Domestic Cheapo

I shall start the month of October with some money saving tips!

Ever since I was introduced to Angel Wipes, I've not turned back. But, I still buy my Avent as I simply love the feel and smell of it. Personally, I prefer wipes that come with a plastic opening cover. This helps to keep the wipes fresh and 'wet'. I noticed that those with the resealable sticker tend to lose its moisture half way through.

Anyway, this is my cheapo but effective solution to get the best of both worlds - Angel Wipes with plastic cover. Here goes :-

1) Remove the sticky label from a new pack of wipes, can be any brand lah.

2) Clean off the remnants hot glue from the plastic cover - can be any wipes' plastic cover.

3) Stick double side tape all over the edge

4) Peel off and tidy up the double side tape so it is neat and covers all the edges

5)Open up the cover and paste (pressing firmly) over the opening of the wipes

6) Wahhh-laaa !!! As good as new and easy to use. Can recycle the cover again and again till the double side tape is not sticky. Then repeat step 3 & 4 again!

Cool Weather Clothes

As we are making another trip to Taipei for Wubai's concert in Decemeber, I asked hb to get some warm clothes for Kimi so that he will be warm & snuggly!

Also bought some sleepsuits as I needed to change the whole set now as he has outgrown most of it. In fact, every few months, I will be scouring for sleepsuits to make up a set of 10 to go around.

Here's our latest buys :