Mashed potato and carrot balls (for toddlers)

My son has been picky on his food lately. I am so busy looking around for recipe and asking my friends on what they cooked for their toddlers. Because my son is a fan of BALL, I thought this recipe might work. And it did, indeed! You might want to try it out for your toddler.

Ingredient:
1/2 potato (removed skin)
1/4 carrot or 2 tablespoon of shredded carrot

Taste enhancer:
Few drops of soy sauce OR
Pinch of salt OR
1 tablespoon of milk

1) Put the potato and carrot to double boil (for 2 hours) or stim for at least 30 minutes.

2) Mash the potato (like shown in pic.2) and add in taste enhancer.

3) Roll the mixture into small balls (baby's bite size).

NOTE: You might try to pan-fry the mixture. Roll out the balls on some corn flour + plain flour and pan-fry them. 

Stir-fry snow pea sprout

Pictures showing process (clockwise from top left)

Ingredient
1 pack of beansprout
1 small piece of ginger

1) Scrap off the ginger skin with a knife.

2) Flatten the ginger.

3) With 3 tablespoon of oil, stir-fry the ginger till fragrant.

4) Add in the beansprout. Turn it over and cook till done.

5) Dish up and add in soy sauce to taste.

NOTE: Chinese believe that some vege are considered "cooling" and are not good for those who are weak in health. So, ginger is a must in cooking those vege. Other vege which need ginger are Siu Pak Choy (Xiao Bai Chai in Mandarin).

Spicy chicken with mushroom

Pictures showing process (clockwise from top left)

Ingredients
2 chicken drumsticks (skin and bones removed and cut into cubes)
4 to 5 dried chillies (removed head and seeds)
3 mushrooms (soaked and cut into cubes)

For sauce:
1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 bowl of water
1/4 corn starch (for thickening)


1) With 3 tablespoon of oil, stir-fry dried chillies with mushroom till fragrant.

2) Add in chicken and stir-fry till almost done.

3) Add in sauce (dark soy sauce + water + salt + corn starch)

4) Dish up when sauce has thickened.

NOTE: If you like it to be spicier, use more dried chillies. 4 to 5 dried chillies can only provide very slight spice. Be very CAUTIOUS when handling with dried chillies. Make sure you have no wound on your hands or it will sting you throughout the day! Also do not touch your eyes when you're handling dried chillies. Always wash your hands properly after handling dried chillies.

Stir-fry prawns with three colours of capsicum

Pictures showing process (clockwise from top left)

Ingredients:
600gram prawns (remove shells and veins)
1 red capsicum
1 green capsicum
1 yellow capsicum
6 cloves of garlic (chopped)
2 tablespoon of tau cheong (tauchu) - beanpaste

Marinate:
1 tablespoon of sugar



1) Marinate the prawns with 1 tablespoon of sugar. (this will make the prawns to be springy after cooking)

2) Cut capsicums into cubes.

3) With 3 tablespoon of oil, stir-fry capsicums for around 1 minute.

4) Add in prawns. Stir-fry till almost done.

5) Add tau cheong and mix well with the rest. (water is not necessary as the capsicums and prawns will produce a little of water. but if you prefer the dish to have more sauce, add 1 to 2 tablespoon of water)

Note: I'm not sure whether you'll like this dish. Some people might find the taste of capsicums weird just like my husband! and I've to finished off the capsicums all by myself!

Omelette (with onion filling)

This is a dish most Chinese have taken and remained as a favourite dish. Can't remember when was the first time that I took it but I had this quite often during my teenage years. Mom always cooked this when she couldn't think of any dishes to cook in the afternoon. And because this dish is easy to cook, it is suitable for busy adults.

Ingredient:
3 eggs
1 large onion
1 teaspoon of soy sauce

1) Beat the eggs and soy sauce till they blended well.

2) Cut the onions into small pieces.

3) Sweat the onion till it becomes translucent.

4) Add in the eggs. Let the mixture swirl and cover the whole pan (as shown in pic. left; bottom).

5) Turn to LOW heat and let the egg to be cooked slowly. Then, cut the omelette into half and turn it over to be cooked.

6) Dish up when egg has turned golden brown.

Baking for mother's day

I gave my students a baking lesson. Well, nowadays, you just won't know how much the children know. They might have seen a lot through television but they actually have no hands-on experience in cooking and baking. 

When I gave an egg to my older student, Joe, he smiled at me. His brother, Benjamin, was quick to say, "Hit the egg at the table's edge." 

Sometimes, we want the children to be "clever" and we thought that as long as they score in their exams, they are considered clever and we are relieved. But how about living skills? Are they able to be independent? Are they able to mix around well with others without getting into a fight? Do they understand that besides reading for tests, there are so many other things to read about to increase their knowledge in?

Joe definitely was not good at breaking an egg but I let him try. I can see the sense of contentment in the children as they see their own products coming out of the oven! And how proud they were when they presented the tarts to their mother! Benjamin said, "WE baked them."

Let your child try on little chores and you can see excitement in those little twinkling eyes and how proud they are to be able to help you without a 'kakak'.

Happy Mother's Day!

Stir-fry chicken with capsicum

Pictures showing process (clockwise from top left)

Ingredient:
2 chicken drumsticks (skin and bones removed)
1 green capsicum
1 red capsicum
1 yellow capsicum

Sauce:
2 tablespoon tau cheong (taucu) or bean paste
1/2 teaspoon corn starch (for thickening)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 bowl of water

1) Cut the chicken into cubes.

2) Stir-fry the chicken until it is almost done.

3) Stir-fry capsicums for a while (around 30 seconds) before adding the sauce.

4) Let the sauce simmer for while. Dish up when the sauce has thicken and almost dry up.

NOTE: I didn't buy the yellow capsicum because it is not fresh. When you're choosing capsicum, press slightly on the flesh. If it is hard, then it is fresh.

Banana sponge cake (without baking soda)

Thanks to Hooi Thiam for this recipe. Now, I don't need to use any self-rising flour or baking soda in baking my cake. But it took me quite some time practising until I get my cake to rise.

Pictures show process (top left to right)




Ingredient A:
3 egg yolk
9 tablespoon of flour
1 and 1/2 tablespoon of sugar
3 small bananas
55ml water
35ml vegetable oil

Ingredient B:
3 egg white
3 tablespoon sugar

1) Put bananas to blend with the water.

2) Beat the egg yolk with the sugar till they blended well.

3) Add in the rest of the ingredients in A and mix well.

4) Pic. 3 shows egg white with sugar.

5) Beat the egg white with sugar till it turns fluffy and foamy as shown in pic. 4. When you lift up the whisk, the mixture will drool down slowly and form a circle.

6) Pour mixture B into mixture A. Blend well.

7) Pour into the sponge cake baking pan.

8) Put to bake in preheated oven at 150 Celsius for 35 minutes.

9) When cake is done, turn it up side down as shown in pic. 8.

Note: A successful sponge cake is, of course, SPONGY! Wow! I'm so proud of myself. =)
To be frank, even breaking the eggs are tough for me because I just can't get it right separating the whites from the yolks!

Tung Kwa (Winter melon)

My mom heard that this drink can help reduce bodily heat caused by sleeping late at nights.

Pictures show ingredients (clockwise)
1 pack of Pao Sam Sou
1/4 Tung Kwa (winter melon)
1 Matt Chou (honey date)
1 Lo Hon Ko (Luo Han Guo in Mandarin)


1) Cut Tung Kwa (winter melon) into cubes.

2) Crack open Lo Hon Ko.

3) Put all the ingredients to boil for 2 hours.

If you want it to be sweeter, you can add more Matt Chou (honey date).

Steamed egg cake

This is another recipe from my sis-in-Christ, Hooi Thiam.

Pictures show process (clockwise).

Ingredients:
2 eggs
4 tablespoon of sugar
9 tablespoon of plain flour
1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil

1) Beat the eggs with the sugar until fluffy. It's gonna take some time and it really ache the arms (for me).

2) See pic. 2. When you bring up the whisk, the mixture is slightly 'foamy' and not watery. Then, it's considered done.

3) Add in flour and oil and mix well.

4) Pour mixture into a pan and steam over boiling water for 20 minutes.

The outcome should be a spongy egg cake. The texture of the cake is not too hard or dry. My mom said that using machine to beat the eggs will cause the cake to be hard and dry. =(
So, have to do it by hands and don't rely on the machine. (Psst! That's the secret to strong arms - lots of practice on beating the eggs, carrying the baby and heavy groceries).

NOTE: I used organic unbleached bread flour to make mine cos I'm giving it to my son as finger food.

Detoxification

Will you drink something like this?

When all else fail, you might want to try this...

Yes, I'm taking this every morning for about a week already. I've seen 5 Chinese doctors, went for blood test, seen chiropractor, did acupuncture, fasting, etc....I believe I've spent a few thousands just to make myself better.

The problem with me is first, my back. I'm having those excruciating pain that I need to use my hands to push  myself up from the bed every morning. So, waking up in the morning is one tough task.

My second problem is exhaustion and lack of breath. Now, I can't even sing one whole song (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) to my son without gasping for air.

Third, I've cracked lips which has a cycle. My lips become very hard, swollen and cracked. Then, the upper layer will peel off and the lips become smooth again. Then, all of a sudden, they started to crack again.

When no doctors can  help, I just gotta take whatever the market offers. I'm not sure about you but detoxing is one of the ways I'm trying. OK. The drink is not as bad as it looks. I can 'feel' some differences in me eg. my lips do not hurt that much and I poo a little more than usual.

How to make a multi-compartment stationery box

What do you do with chicken essence boxes? Throw them into the rubbish bins? Now, you can turn them into something useful.

Material:
1 BIG chicken essence box
6 SMALL chicken essence box

Pictures show process (from top left to right; top to bottom)

1) Pic. 1 shows the material that you need.

2) Fold the sides of the SMALL boxes. You can use stapler or glue. The boxes will become more sturdy with the sides intact. Join three boxes together with stapler or glue as shown in Pic. 2.

3) Fit the boxes into the BIG box.

4) Now, you have two rows of SMALL boxes in a BIG box.

5) Cut a small piece of hard cardboard and stick to the back of the BIG box.

6) You can wrap up the BIG box with glossy magazine paper or present paper.

7) Now, the box is ready! You can stick messages at the top part.

8) You can chuck in all the small items eg. clips, pens, glue, staplers, etc. into the small compartments.

Note: If you like bigger compartments, then you can use reduce the amount of SMALL boxes.

Cordyceps to heal cough

My son is having his once-a-month cough and it always worries me. He has to be on nebuliser for once a month since last November. And it has gotten serious in March and he was on nebuliser twice. Doctor said he might be asthmatic. 

This month, when he started to cough, I wasted no time. I quickly gave him Chinese medicine (Hou Chou San). Thank God, it helps to dissolve his phlegm. Although he has not been cured totally, he could avoid the nebuliser. And to make him better, I bought the so-so-so expensive cordyceps.

To be frank, RM300 just for 14 small bundles of it is extremely expensive to me. Nevertheless, for the sake of my son, I trust the money is well spent.

As advised by the Chinese doctor:
1 to 2 small bundles of Cordyceps
1/2 bowl of water

Put to slow cooker to double boil for 4 hours.

NOTE: Cordyceps improve breathing functions and strengthen immune system. It also helps to cure chronic cough. Ask any Chinese doctor and I believe they will tell you the same. And actually, RM300 is the cheapest Cordyceps I could get. The doc even asked whether I want the RM600 one. HUH? What do you think?

Herbal chicken soup

You can easily get a pre-packed herbs for chicken soup. But I prefer to go to the store I know to get the things.

Herbs (from top left; then clockwise)
1) Pak Kei (Bei Qi in Mandarin)
2) Yuk Chuk (Solomonseal Rhizome) 
3) Tong Sum (Codnopsis Pilosulae Radix)
4) Wyai San (Chinese yam)
5) Hong Chou (Red dates)
6) Kei Chee (Wolfberry)
7) Longan (dried Longan)

2 chicken drumsticks (skin removed)

1) Put all the herbs to boil under HIGH heat for at least 15 minutes.
2) Turn to LOW heat and simmer for at least 1 and a 1/2 hour
3) Add in the chicken to boil for 30 minutes under HIGH heat before turning off the heat.

This soup has natural sweetness. There is no need for sugar or salt. It is good for pregnant ladies as well as exhausted working adults.

Pak Kei (Bei Qi in Mandarin) helps delay aging and enhance immune system while Tong Sum is good for treating fatigue and pale complexion.

When explanation won't work...

I was like a little girl, twisting my fingers under the table and swallowing hard at each words...

I went to see my supervisor this Tuesday. Before I go, I was determined to change my field of analysis. But I was wrong. I was so wrong...

My supervisor was angered by something my coursemates told her. I did not know what. The only thing I told my coursemate was, "Please do inform Dr. X that I really need to see her. I want to finish my research as soon as possible. I don't want to wait till something happen. You know what I mean." I was referring to my son's case as I did not know whether he needs surgery or not and if he does, I would have to put everything aside to take care of him. 

So, Dr. X was very angry and blasted at me. "You are a housewife, you know? You have so much of time. You are only taking care of one baby. I've four children..." That went on and on and I turned to put my notebook into the bag. Tears started to roll down my cheeks. I did not know why, for once, I could not hold on my tears when she was scolding me. 

The last time that she scolded me in front of my other coursemates, I pursed my lips and swallowed my tears. But this time, my tears flowed freely and they were out of control! When she said, "You are ungrateful.You're wasting my time here and you've never given me any chapters...", I wanted so much to object to that. I wanted to say, "Hey, I sent my chapters to you months ago through email and you replied that you'll check.  And you're never free to meet me. But now you've totally forgotten about it." But I kept my mouth shut. I knew it too well that there was no need to explain. 

Dr.X reminded me of my Dad, a dictator. When he said something, he wanted you to listen and ACCEPT it and keep your mouth shut. There could not be objection or argument. Case was settled. If you object, you're going to make things worse. So, I was a good and obedient girl, who always keep the mouth shut and never answer back. 

Last time, I thought answering back was a taboo because I would get beating from Dad. Now, I think answering back is a waste of time...Dr. X required people to acknowledge her. She wants people to admit she is right and so, explanation is not required. All I have to do is to keep my mouth shut. 

And I think the tears worked very well. She mellowed down after seeing me sobbing and later handed me a tissue paper. Frankly, I did not cry to get her pity. I cried because I had to "sek sei mao" (in Cantonese = admitting to something I've not done). No doubt she was wrong and she did not understand me a bit but one thing she reminded me was: NEVER INDULGE IN SELF-PITY. We are our own stumbling blocks.

And about explanation...When explanation won't work, do leave everything to God. He will be our judge...

Pandan cheese balls

You are going to like the food and the process of baking itself. It is so easy, you wanna try it NOW! Pictures showing process (clockwise from top left).













Ingredients:
1 egg
1 tablespoon of corn oil
4 tablespoon of thick pandan juice
4 tablespoon of mozzarella cheese
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/3 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoon of tapioca flour (150g)


1) Put everything into the blender and blend till smooth.
2) Grease the muffin tins.
3) Fill up the muffin tins with the mixture.
4) Bake at 200 degree Celcius for 15 minutes or when bread turn slightly brown.

Onde-onde kuih

This is going to be exhausting but trust me, you're going to enjoy the process. It's best if you have a partner to do it together. Otherwise, get a chair and start rolling the balls!

Pictures show process (clockwise from top left)

Ingredients (makes 30):



For Onde-onde skin:
240g glutinous rice flour
8 tablespoon of thick pandan juice
120ml hot water
1 tablespoon of oil
2 tablespoon brown sugar

Filling:
1/2 piece of gula melaka (grated)

Coating:
1 grated coconut
1/2 teaspoon of salt

1) Put all the ingredients together and mix well. It will form a soft dough. If it is too dry, add drops of pandan juice and knead again until you get a soft dough without any cracks.
2) Cut the gula melaka into small pieces. (I tried cutting it but it is too hard for me. So, I chose to grate it).
3) Pinch a small dough and flatten it (around 2 x 2 inches). Put a little of gula melaka and seal up. Roll up as a small ball.
4) Put all the balls into a pot of boiling water. Wait till the balls float up. Drain the balls and roll them over with the grated coconut.

Enjoy!

Note: To know how to get pandan juice, read the post dated 18 April 2011.

How to get pandan juice

Buy at least 10 pandan leaves.

1) Wash and cut the leaves into 2 inches in length.
2) Put everything to the blender. Add in 1/2 glass of water and blend well.
3) Strain the juices after blending.
4) Get a clean cloth and put the remaining pandan pulp into it and squeeze till it dries up.

NOTE: You will have roughly around 3 to 4 tablespoon of thick pandan juice.

You should not quit!

I've been quite rebellious of late. I've been doing what my mom forbade - baking those EXTREMELY difficult stuffs. 

I wondered why my mom is like this - she will go all out to stop me from doing this and that. Probably she knows it is too difficult for me. But she does not know that her daughter needs to try before giving up. Anyway, don't get me wrong. I love my mom very much. I believe she is uniquely created, just like you and I.

I was brought up in the way of giving up easily. There were too many, "You can't make it." Deep inside, I feel bad...So sad that I've not been trying the things I wanted to. 

So, now whenever I get a chance, I'll try my BEST to do what I want. I want to set a good example for my son. I want my son to have something to look up to - a super duper Mommy who knows how to cook, bake, teach, write, talk, blah, blah, blah...I know I can't be perfect, but at least I'm trying hard to succeed  in doing what I LIKE.

Now, interest is very important. If there is no interest in something, one can't succeed in doing it. 

Last time, I wanted to try baking my own Ang Ku kuih. I found a good recipe and I asked around. First, my mom said it is extremely difficult (like usual). Then, my friend who is good at baking told me straightforwardly that the mixture is going to be extremely sticky and asked me don't bother to do it. So, I gave up. Yes,  giving up just like that. I hated myself for being so naive.

Lately, my mom and I went to a shopping mall and bought a pack of Onde-onde. Wow! It's superb! And I quickly searched for an Onde-onde recipe. But my mom came to stop me. No. I did not quit. I get all the ingredients readied. 

My mom came to the kitchen on and off to look at how thing was going on...and she would say, "See, took so long to do...Told you! Better buy." 

I look at her and said, "Mom, can't you be more supportive?" 

At the third hour, when I was extremely exhausted and when things are almost done, mom came in again saying, "See? The skin is too thin. The gula melaka will leak out when you start cooking them!" 

I sighed and put in more flour to cover the leak. 

When I'm almost done, mom came in. This time she helped me by rolling the Onde-onde on the grated coconut. 

And so, we have a plateful of Onde-onde. I'm happy that I've finally tried out something I wanted to...

To others, do not quit! When you're at the brink of failure, do not give up. You might not know that the next step will lead you to success. And do not be afraid to fail cos you have a friend here, Alice, who've failed too! 

Do not quit even when your mom said you can't make it (just like mine).
Do not quit even when your friend said it's not possible.

I'm able to strive even when family and friends did not support me because I know someone is with me - Jesus Christ. He made me believe in myself. He made believe that I can do it even though the people around me think I'm a loser.

Nobody is born a loser. It's the matter on whether you're willing to strive through difficulties.

NOTE: Look out for my next post on my endeavour in baking my very first Onde-onde. Till then, good day!

ABC soup

I forget when was the first time that I drank this soup but it must be when I was extremely young. And I've been wondering why people call this soup as "ABC".

Probably it's because it contains vitamins A, B and C? Or because it's like a rojak, having a little of everything in a pot?
Anyway, hope you'll enjoy it!

Ingredients:
2 large carrots
4 potatoes
4 medium size tomatoes
2 large onions
1 corn (optional)
5 Hong Chou (Red dates) - optional

1) Cut everything into cubes.
2) Put to boil for 2 hours and serve.

Note: Do you know anything about water soluble? My friend told me that carrot needs oil to release its Vitamin A. So, unless you include bones or meat into the soup, it's unlikely that you're going to get Vit.A from the carrots. I do put a few drops of oil into the soup. Don't worry, it tastes good!