Fast Food Milan Style

Hb bought these frozen clam pasta sauce from Milan and we had it for dinner today. Of course, not contented to just heat and eat. I added 2 large. ripe chopped tomatoes, onions and more spagetti sauce to up the flavour.

It tasted good although it was a frozen product. Europe's frozen food beats ours hands-down.

And I really missed these Black-lipped mussels! They are simply yummy! When I am making seafood pasta at home and I can't get these cold-waters ones, I make do with the Green mussels. Not my first choice cos Green mussels taste much better cooked with stronger flavours like spicy Thai tangy toppings or even sambal chilli.

These black lippies are great stewed with white wine and onions. Am hungry already just thinking about this!

Baby Baked Cod With Sweet Peppers Mayonnaise

Feeling a tad creative today so made this for Kimi. I like how the pureed roasted peppers gave a nice peachy tinge to the mayo, jazzing up an otherwise boring, white cod fillet.

The addition of roasted peppers and cheese brought out the tangy robust flavour of the mayo, making it a perfect balance!

Ingredients

• 1 cod steak/fillet
• 1/4 small red pepper
• 1/4 small orange/yellow pepper
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise (I use REAL Brand Mayonnaise)
• 1 tsp of shredded cheddar or mozarella
• Kelp

Accompaniement to Cod Dish

• 8 baby asparagus
• 2 tbsp of lentils
• Milk

Method

1. Rub some kelp onto the cod and leave for a while


2. Roast the peppers either in the oven or on the stove-top **


3. Once peppers are ready, blend till smooth. Add 3 tsp to the mayonnaise and mix well


4. Add in the cheese to the mayo mixture and set aside


5. Place cod in an oven safe dish wrapped with foil or baking paper


6. Spoon the mayo mixture over the cod


7. Place in preheated oven and bake at 200 degrees celsius until the top is golden brown, about 15mins and fish is cooked. (pls estimate yourself as different ovens have different heat)


8. Boil lentils in milk till soft & mushy, let it stand for 15mins in the milk, strain


9. Throw in the asparagus with the cod so it can be baked till soft. Once soft, remove and chopped finely.


10. Add asparagus to cooked lentils and serve together with the cod steak

Tips

• You can serve the cod dish with rice/porridge/potatoes or whatever carbo dish your baby likes


• There is no need to oil the cod/dish as cod is a relatively oily fish and tend to 'expel' oil when cooked

**

If using stove-top fire,

• To roast peppers, lightly rub the surface with some oil (do not use extra virgin olive oil as its smoke point is low and will burn when easily).


• Place over stove top's open fire and let it burn till charred and blistered.


• Remove and ...

If using oven,

• Place into oven safe dish and roast at 190-200 degrees celsius until blistered and black.


• Remove carefully with tongs and ...

Finally,

• Dump roasted pepper into bowl and quickly cover with glad wrap and wait 10-15 mins. This will encourage the peppers to sweat.


• Once it is cooled, you can peel off the skin, leaving a pungent and soft pepper.


• Put both pepper into blender and puree till smooth.


• Spoon required amount onto mayo

Baby Beef Stew

Beef stew before puree

I know I should have posted this eons ago but it kept slipping my mind. Sorry, mummies, the recipe is finally up!

I always have chicken and beef stew in the freezer so that lazy/emergency days, Kimi still has a good meal. These are great for freezing.

Ingredients

• 250g beef for stewing (topside)
• 1 large ripe tomatoe (de-skinned/de-seeded and diced)
• 1-2 sticks celery (diced)
• 1 small carrot (diced)
• 1 small potato (diced)
• 6 white button mushrooms (sliced)
• Chicken stock or water
• 2 pcs of dried apricot sliced (optional, but gives a nice sweet taste to stew)
• Kelp
• Pepper
• 1 tbsp chopped onions
• Plain flour
• Butter

Method

1. Cut beef into smaller cubes. Marinate with kelp and pepper and set aside for at least 30 mins.
2. Put some plain flour into a plastic bag. Empty the marinated beef into it and shake well so that the beef is coated with the flour.
3. Add butter to pan, once melted, add the beef and cover. Once the underside of the beef is golden, turn the other side and cover.
4. When both sides are sealed and golden, remove and set aside.
5. Heat some oil or butter and add in the chopped onions and fry on low heat till brown and fragrant.
6. Throw in the carrot and potatoes. Once both are lightly golden and fragrant, add celery, mushrooms, tomatoes and dried apricots and continue frying till slightly soft.
7. Add the beef and stir lightly before adding some stock. The stock should cover the whole beef & veg slightly.
8. Replace cover and let it simmer on low for another 20-30 mins, stirring occasionally and adding more stock if required.
9. Transfer to slow cooker and let it cook on auto for at least 6 hours.
10. Once done, remove and blend or mash/chop to desired texture.

Tips

• When adding the stew to the slow cooker, the stock should just slightly cover above the beef and veg. Do not add too much water as the slow stewing will bring on more liquid.
• Unless you want more gravy, then you can add more stock/water.
• Coating the beef with flour helps to seal in the juices. Do not keep turning the beef like stir-frying at Method Step 3 cos it will make the beef very tough. Just let it fry on 1 side and turn again.
• I normally make this at night and leave it to cook overnight so that by morning, I have a nice soft stew ready to serve for lunch.

Tale of A Boy & His Pineapple

Today I let Kimi try some honey pineapples since he's way past 12 months. I'm restricting citrus fruits because I fear it may cause phelgm. And I'm not too hung up on Kimi not getting any Vitamin C from these fruits as they are many other foods that provide as much Vit C.

But, like all mothers, we try to expose them to as many different foods (age appropriate of course!) as possible.

Well, verdict? He loves it! I simply don't know why but Kimi loves sour things and he takes them well too.

Test, test...

What are you feeding me mummy?

Nice! But don't know to laugh or cry? How to express sour, mummy?

Funny taste but I want more!

Mummy said must learn to multi-task from small - so even eating I must not miss my tv!

Baby Miso Mee Sua With Spinach & Pork

Kimi has tried miso before and he took it ok. Since, he has yet to eat any form of noodles except pasta, decided to let him try some mee sua today.

He only finished half a bowl. Not sure, he doesn't like the taste or he's teething again. He's been rather slow and fussy these few days during meal times.

Well, perservere, perservere & perservere!

Ingredients

• 2 tsp Organic Miso (or any that u have. Mix paste in water till dissovled)
• 2 large tbsp of minced pork
• 1 hand bunch of Spinach leaves
• 1 egg (or egg yolk, beaten)
• 1 small bunch of mee sua
• Light Soya sauce
• Pepper
• Sesame oil
• A pinch of corn flour

Method

1. Place minced pork in a sieve and wash it in running water. Use spoon to press out excess water and marinate with a little light soya sauce, pepper, sesame oil and corn flour. Leave to marinate for 30 mins.
2. Meanwhile, boil separate pot of boiling water and add mee sua. Let it boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove and run cold water through it. Set aside.
3. Boil the dissolved miso till bubbling, add minced pork and stir continuously so the pork will not lump into a large patty.
4. Add the spinach leaves.
5. Throw in the boiled mee sua before stirring in the egg mixture.
6. Cut the mee sua roughly with scissors to break down the bulk so that bb can feed easier.
7. Serve immediately.

Tips

• Pls taste the miso mixture as different miso have different taste and salt content so be cautious that you do not add too much. If you added too much, just pour some of the mixture away and add more water.
• Mee sua do absorb quite a bit of liquid so do not wait to long to serve or it may become a large gluey glob.
• Running cold water through the mee sua stops it from cooking further.
• Do not leave/boil mee sua for too long as overcooking it may result in a sticky gluey texture. Unless this is the kind of texture you would like to serve bb or bb likes such texture then it is fine.
• Do not use the broth/soup meant for eating to cook the mee sua as it gives out a white, powdery texture tainting your broth/soup.

Baby Salmon Potato Pie

Instead of shepherds's pie, I made Salmon Pie but minus the pie crust cos I don't have any on hand. Maybe next time!

Ingredients

• Salmon Fillet (pan fry and flakes with fork, abt 2-3tbsp of salmon flaked flesh)
• 1 inch corn (boiled)
• 1 small potato (boiled or steamed)
• Butter
• Milk
• Pepper
• Kelp

Method

1. Rub pepper and kelp and lightly pan grill the salmon. When the salmon is cooked and flaked, set aside
2. Once the corn is boiled and soft, remove and use knife to cut out the kernels. Blend with a little milk (or water) to pureed form (texture depends on age of bb and if bb can chew whole corn, need not blend)
3. Prepare the potato as per mashed potato, addding butter when hot and mash with fork, adding milk to smooth texture. Set aside
4. Mix salmon, corn and a little milk and set it at the bottom of an oven safe dish and spread mashed potato on top
5. Use a fork to draw designs (if you wish) on the top of the mashed potato.
6. Place in oven at 180 degree celsius until the top is golden brown
7. Serve when slightly cool

Tips

• If bb is old enough and has enough teeth to chew well, need not blend the corn. Be very careful when serving corn kernels as can be a choking hazard.
• I did not put in the oven too long as Kimi do not like food that is too hard so I merely warm it slightly.
• You can also had hard-boiled egg or egg yolk only to the salmon and corn mixture before spreading the mashed potato.
• For bb who likes cheese, you can top some on the potato for a calcium boost!

Comfort Food

Some people find solace in chocolates while others a bowl of hot soup. For me, food in itself is a comfort and so is watching tv, looking at Kimi sleeping, the list goes on. But, I really like simple fares so I can savour the natural taste of the food with minimal intervention from heavy spices &/or sauces, etc. Just a dash of salt & pepper is good.

It's been a tiring day today cos I've been up since 6.30am and have been rushing about and on my feet till lunch time. Sundays are stress days for me, yet, one of my more enjoyable days. This is because Kimi has Kindermusik at 12 noon so when hb is not in town, it is rush, rush for me.

But, I enjoy the session with Kimi and also the little lunch get-together with the other forum mummies after class. It's nice to have some decent adult company and gossips!

After a hard days's work (keke, like real!), made myself a large slab of pan-grilled salmon and boiled corn for dinner with the Buddha's Brew Herb Blend (had to make good use of it!) - ahhh.. this is the life!

Cheesy Baked Potato

Right out from oven and loaded with my favourite mayo and bacon bits

How the inside looks like

This is my quickie lunch - I simply find it so indulging and 'shiok' after eating this.

Ingredients

• 1 potato (boiled)
• Ham cut into strips
• Mozarella cheese
• Mayonnaise (Japanese type with the baby Kewpie or any that you have/prefer)
• Bacon bits (I like the Betty Crocker ones or you can make your own)

Method

1. Once potato is soft, cut a cross on the top flat part of the potato and squeeze the sides so that the flesh will pop out like a flower. But you have to do this while the potato is still hot.
2. Place potato on a pc of foil, ensure it is large enough to cover the potato so that it is like a jacket
3. Use a butter knife to pry open the potato, squeeze some mayo and sprinkle some cheese at bottom
4. Stuff with the shredded ham
5. Use foil to 'secure' potato so that the fillings do not fall out, letting it act as jacket
6. Top with more cheese till covered
7. Place in oven/toaster till cheese it melted and slightly brown
8. Remove and squeeze mayo over and sprinkle bacon bits generously
9. Sit back with iced green tea and enjoy!

Tips

• If you wish, you can wrap potato in foil and bake it in oven till soft then repeat all the stuffing steps.
• But, this will take much longer and there is really no difference with a boiled potato stuffed with fillings then baked and one that is baked from scratch then stuffed and baked again.
• I use the microwave to 'bake' the potato as it is much faster. Just put 1 min on high each side, test with fork. If still hard, another minute each side, test and use spaces of 10 or 20 sec for potato to soften. Do not overdo or potato will shriver up and can turn hard.
• The trick in using a microwave is to used short timings and check doneness constantly to avoid overcooking.

Baby Mushy Mash Potato

Fast to cook, good to eat!

Remember this Maggi Mee jingle from the 70s? When am lazy or pressed for time, I'll make this for Kimi.

Ingredients

• 1 small potato
• 1 floret of broccoli
• 1 tbsp of small diced carrots
• 2 tbsp of tuna (in water)
• Some butter
• Milk
• 1-2 slice of cheddar cheese
• Kelp

Method

1. Boil or steam potato till soft
2. Peel skin when still hot, add butter and mash with fork. Add more if still dry Mash till the potato flesh has absorbed the butter
3. Add milk a little at a time, while still mashing till smooth. Set aside
4. Boil or steam broccoli and carrots till soft and chop/mash till desired texture
5. Add the tuna and veg to the mashed potatoes and flow in till well mixed
6. Place half layer in small dish, add 1 layer of cheese and top with another layer of the mashed potatoes
7. Cover the top layer with cheese and put in microwave or oven till top layer of cheese has melted
8. Remove, stir gently and sprinkle some kelp on top
9. Serve when cooled sightly.

Tip

• PLS BE VERY CAREFUL with potatoes /cheese dishes as it can be very hot!

Lippy Smacking Good!

After 2 weeks of abstaining from yogurt, Kimi is so happy to have it again for brekkie today!

He was so happy that he did a new trick by smacking his lips, so cute!

Wave Flag Wave

Kimi's starting to practise early for National Day? (Pls ignore the HigglyTown Heroes' loud loud voices in the background!)

Simple Sambal Brinjal

I love to eat brinjals, especially those from the Nasi Padang stalls (Indonesian styled rice dishes) that are blanched in hot oil and smothered with chilli sambal. Yum! But I always suffer as I can't really stomach too much spice but I still go for it.

This is a quickie dish for my dinner. Chilli or sambal die-hards will hate it cos they will say that's no way to cook and eat. But I like mine mild and sweet and FAST - for a ravenous appetite!

As my sambal is relatively mild, the colour is not as vibrant. I also have no more parsley to add a nice green touch.

Ingredients

• 1 brinjal or eggplant cut in strips and steamed
• 1 tbsp of store bought sambal (or home-made if you have)
• 6 tbsp of dried shrimps
• 2 tbsp sugar
• Some dried mushrooms soaked in hot water with a little oil and thinly sliced
• Water

Method

1. Wash dried shrimps and place in microwave for 1 min, low heat
2. Remove and blend till chunky powder form
3. Put sambal, sugar and dried shrimps into bowl and add water till desired texture. Taste to ensure that it is spicy/sweet enough. Add more it needed
4. Stir well and place in microwave for 1 to 2 mins, medium heat till all heated through (more in spaces of 20 sec if needed). If too dry, add water.
5. Arrange sliced brinjals and spoon sambal onto brinjal and add the sliced mushroom
6. Serve hot and ENJOY!

Kimi's Many Personalities

Personality 1 - Caterpillar

Today when I brought Kimi for cycling, I decided to let him hold onto a leaf so he can feel the texture. Last week while waiting for Papa, I let him play at the fields, picking up twigs and leaves, he loves it.

This time, he crunched the leaf and was so happy that it made a nice crackling sound. Although i warned him not to eat it, after some distance, I found him chewing happily! I had to pry open his mouth to remove the leaf bits!

Kimi when I first gave him the leaf

Kimi starts to crunch the leaf & enjoying the sound before he 'ate' the leaf!

Observation - "Have my baby became a caterpillar??"" Keke!

Personality 2
After we got home from walking Enzo, Kimi threw the ball at Enzo while in the playpen. Enzo picked it up with his mouth (Enzo's favourite toys are balls). So i washed it and returned it to Kimi. This time, Kimi imitated Enzo and picked it up with his mouth!

Kimi trying to be Enzo

Observation - "Enzo no. 2?" Wuhahaha!

Conclusion - Kids!! They just pick up the good, bad & ugly at lightning speed so we have to be really careful with what we say or do in front of them!

Cutting of 7th Tooth

So happy to feel yet another pearlie today! Kimi's right lower lateral incisor is erupting.

Buddha's Brew Roasted Chix Breast

Crispy skin, juicy insides

Look at the plump, juicy breast!

Some time back, Urban (Straits Times Supplement Paper) recommended this special spice blend called Buddha's Brew from Indigo Grinds(http://www.indigogrinds.com/). It boasts of an interesting and aromatic touch to roasts. I was bowled over and went to get a bottle (not exactly cheap though at $14+ a bottle) but felt it was alright since it came with its own grinder - fresh herbs & spices only a turn away!

I used it today for a simple lunch of roasted Chicken Breast. Frankly, I feel that the sea salt content was a tad too much so I can't really smell or taste the mint, lemong grass, etc. Nevertheless, it was delicious cos it was cooked just right and the breast was not dry - it was sweet and juicy with a crispy skin. Considering I did not even rest the chicken after roasting.

Actually it kind of tasted like how I normally roast my chicken - just salt & pepper! But, I will try again, will update if I do! If you are still keen on this cute blend, you can get it from Tanglin Mall.

Ingredients

• 1 large Chicken Breast with Bone
• Buddha's Brew
• Black Pepper
• Oil

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius
2. Grind Buddha's Brew all over the top & under the breast
3. Sprinkle some black pepper on the top of breast
4. Rub the spices in the meat and put some under the skin
5. Leave to marinate for 15-20 mins
6. Rub the oil onto the whole breast
7. Place into oven to roast for 40 mins
8. Remove and serve hot with potato salad/rice/veg

Baby Roasted Chix Salad

Since we were having roast chicken today, decided to let Kimi have some of it too. Overall, Kimi is ok with the taste but he really hated the texture. I think I was way too ambitious today to try and make him eat more textured food. I should have just use 1 to 2 ingredients for the texture rather than ALL!

In the end, he took only about 6 spoonfuls... But, I will re-introduce this again when he is more prepared to chew. For those whose bb are open to chewing, you can prepare this quick lunch for them!

Ingredients

• Some roasted chix breast meat chopped
• 2 florets of broccoli chopped
• 1 inch of carrot chopped
• 1 hard boiled egg
• 2-3 tsp of yogurt
• 2 tsp mayonaise

Method

1. Boil or steam all the vegetables


2. Chop the yolk and use half of the white


3. Put all chopped ingredients into a bowl


4. Add yogurt and mayonaise


5. Turn till all ingredients are coated


6. Serve immediately