Easy Peasy Recipe: Chocolate Fudge

1 cup condensed milk: 3 cups chocolate chips. 

Microwave for 2 minutes on high.

Mix until well combined.

Chill for 2-3 hours.

Slice to preferred size.

Syukur alhamdulillah, this batch was shared with our neighbour and Kia Peng Mummy. Both women are running their respective households full time, with husband(s) travelling 90% of the time. The haze has kept them indoors with their active offsprings with nowhere to burn all that energy. Certainly took a toll on the health, sanity and happiness of these 2 wonderful ladies.

If a few slices of chocolate fudge can put a smile on their faces, I would present them with this little treat again, in a heartbeat.

(This is our mini chocolate fudge in tin foil sprinkled with sugar rice, better portion control.)

May Allah swt send them His blessings to see them through this tough period and bring ease into their lives. Amin. 

Snippets: Secret Message

"Mummy, I feel like crying!", followed by an early morning sob at breakfast table on Monday.

It was not Monday blues.

It was that touching?

To cheer Girl up again, and be ready for school run after breakfast, some emergency chocolate sprinkles came to the rescue.

Et voilà!

Problem solved! 

*teehee*

Stonor Mummy cautioned me for an emotional roller coaster in the tween years to come! She is right. I had better be ready when it comes.

Snippets: Bento Amateur

"Mummy, I never bother looking at school food menu anymore." 

She said that to seal the deal. I now have a new career that calls for assembling breakfast and lunch into kawaii bento after subuh. 

Unfortunately for her, she forgot her lunch bag (transition from classroom-gym-lunch-vocal studio-home) but she ate most of it on her way home. She was lucky to enjoy the delicious, improved school lunch earlier too!

Here are some of the lessons I have learnt:

1. Whatever items I can prepare the night before, I would. 

This saves me precious time in the morning to have fruits and vegetables all ready in containers and ready to be placed into the lunch bag.

2. If I can load the dishwasher before sending Girl to school, I would. 

Coming home to a clean and empty sink with washed dishes ready to be put away feels productive, and sets me in a good mood for the rest of the day.

3. If I can make a larger portion of her breakfast and lunch so The Other Half and I can have it for our lunch, I would.

Saves effort and time (expenses too!).

4. If I can find and purchase some perfectly matching food containers, I would.

They pack so neatly and do not move much when being carried, resulting in tidy food that is pretty to eat. Presentation is key. 

5. If I can get away with a cold meal, I would.

It is much easier to pack a cold sandwich with fruits and vegetables into a lunch bag with ice-pack than mixing it with a thermos of hot food. Food safety issues is a high priority.

Well, it is akin to preparing sahur meals, I started to console myself. After the trial run last week, I seek for sincerity within my heart and find that it is what motivates me.

Bon appetit, my love. May every bite deliver you His Baraqah. Amin!

P/S: The Other Half recalls all the bento boxes I used to pack for him during our dating days. Egg mayo sandwiches wrapped with hidden love notes and sometimes tied up with big red bow as if it were Valentine's or Christmas. Sweet memories indeed.

Snippets: Bento Trial Week Finalé

"I feel full in my tummy, Mummy!"

So glad she did not feel any hunger during schooling hours. Her diet is now better/more balanced and the best part is her mood has improved too. 

The amount of food she consumes after school during car ride home is reducing, a good indicator!

Today, I managed to snoop on her during her breakfast, and seeing how proud she was of carrying her lunch bag, cutlery case and water bottle just made my heart swell inside. She washed her hands, sat down and tucked right in. Her discretion to decide which is for breakfast and which is lunch to be eaten later is perfect. No notes, no reminders required although I will throw in a love note here and there for surprise sake.

Syukur alhamdulillah.

I guess I am going to purchase a few more food containers and cooler bags since this is for real. A new career, for me. Almost.

Stonor Mummy and I were just saying we had not imagined in our wildest dreams when we were growing up to be here at the brink of 40, bento-ing for our little ones. At 6 am!!

Life does have a trick or two up its sleeve *wink*

Snippets: Bento Novice

Day 2 is not too bad since the kitchen efficiency at 6 am had more or less been figured out.

Now let's wait for her verdict for seaweed egg rolls, shell pasta, steamed vegetables and fruits.

"Mummy! I love it, except the seaweed egg rolls."

Verdict: Maintain the fruits and vegetables, pasta is a winner. Ditch the seaweed egg rolls.

Wish me luck for Day 3. I am almost giving up from the fatigue!

Snippets: Bento Virgin

"Mummy! I ate all my breakfast and lunch from my bento box! It was so delicious!"

3 containers were polished clean and she did not share her food this time. Good job!

I should be so grateful. But. But. But.

May I sigh? 

I do not like creating the kawaii ones at 6am! It would be so nice if I have someone else to delegate this arduous task to. Wishful thinking, I know.

At 6 am, my creative self is still asleep!!

There were 2 teddy bear-shaped cheese sandwiches at the back, and even they were still lying down fast asleep.

There was another container with cute carrots, baby corn and broccoli but I was running late, gulped my coffee down just as Bean was waking up crying and looking for me. Then a quick feed and I rushed out the door to send Girl to The Big School. The Other Half sent Bean to his Playschool. That explains the absence of photograph of the second container.

The third container stored a dozen almond nuts. Also not photographed. 

Wish me bento luck for Day 2.

*yawn*

Can you believe I have to jot all these down so that I can start the rotating bento menu?

*pengsan*

Snippets: Bento Box

Girl put up with "bad" school catering since January 2015. We had asked her to try new tastes (spicy) and textures (oily) but she often just ate plain rice, fruits and not much else. On days when the food is not that spicy, she eats more.

Every car ride on her way home from school will be filled with her witty remarks about her day. Coupled with soft smacking of lips and chewing sounds as she devours her "second lunch" usually consisting of cucumber maki, cut fruits, assorted nuts, sandwiches and a drink. By and by, this 2.10 pm mini meal replaced her school lunch, I suspect.

Last Thursday, she politely requested for bento box with breakfast and lunch from home to be brought to school next week onwards. I guess the rigours of Year 1 demands more food and drinks of her, as 3/5 days of the school week has a sport element to the timetable.

I have seen many kawai bento boxes but never had to create one. Necessity calls for resourcefulness/desperation. Luckily for me, many mothers have posted their experience and skills online for me to emulate.

Lunch boxes, checked!

Accessories, checked! 

Food preparation and packing skills, errrrr. Let's work on this as we go along, OK? Be prepared to witness "failed" bento boxes in weeks to come. I dare not imagine the 6 am disasters I am capable of, just yet.

Rehearsal/food tasting:

Stay tuned, my lovelies! Wish me luck, I will be needing lots of it.

Snippets: Pancake

"Mummy, I remember the kitty cat pancake you made for me when I was a little girl."

She was referring to this:

Check out the time and date stamp!

3 plus years ago back when it was just the 2 of us at home and The Other Half was working from his office...we spent so many hours perfecting our pancakes for teatime. We finally settled on the simplest  recipe of 1 cup flour/1 cup milk/1 egg/1 pinch of salt/1 tsp vanilla extract. Mix well and 1/2 ladleful onto non-stick frying pan.  Flip over when bubbles appear. It is so easy Girl can almost do this under supervision nowadays.

Since I had donated all our Teflon non-stick frying pans and cookware away, I had to purchase a new Green Pan 10" non-stick frying pan (just for this project of love and devotion). Thank goodness for the Isetan sale!

I worked on granting her wish while she was completing her homework on Friday. Lo and behold! Was she was thrilled beyond words or was that a joyful gasp when she saw her kitty cat pancake.

An "upset" cat for her. Side note: Her favourite character from Inside Out is Sadness, because once you have felt sadness you can better appreciate joy. 

And an almost-Gruffalo for Bean. We will use dried apricots for orange eyes next time, inshaAllah.

They both polished their plates clean. 

Syukur alhamdulillah!

Easy Peasy Recipe: English Muffin

Cold Storage sells English muffins which we sometimes would buy for a quick lunch. Smoked salmon with dash of pepper. 

Really wished I had capers to go with this, but the apple slices, cherry tomatoes, kyuri slices and golden kiwi provided the myriad of tastes with just the right juiciness and flavour.

Which is your favourite sandwich with salad for lunch? Please do share!

Childhood Tastes

I spent the first 7 years of my life in Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia. A slow-paced, clean and humid place.

Every now and then, my late Thai Grandmother and Mrs. H would introduce me to new food. Some were successes, others miserable torture for us all.

I remember the following "unique" tastes:

1. Petai

Petai beans served raw. I learnt to peel them off their green bean "tangkai", peel their white skin off, and split each bean into halves to check for worms. Fine motor skills training without formal Playschool, haha! 

Girl recently saw bunches of freshly plucked Petai in Cameron Highlands and could not imagine the trouble I took to enjoy such stinky delights. Halloween food, she said. She might be right.

2. Acar Ikan

Little Penang Café serves this halal dish and I am so thankful they do it well because this taste brings me right back to Kakak Asiah's wedding circa 1982. The wedding lunch included this dish and I remember its distinct pickle of turmeric, ginger and garlic taste.

3. Durian

Oh, this is one taste and smell I do not enjoy to this day. The Other Half and both my children do not enjoy this King of Fruits either. Lucky me! I would still obligingly treat my PIL to slices of durian cheese cake from Secret Recipe, but not eat any myself. I do not mind the smooth cheesy texture, and it stops there.

4. Budu/Tempoyak/Jering/Belacan

Acquired tastes, and I have yet to develop any liking for them.

5. Tapai

How and why on earth did they serve me a dessert containing alcohol?! It was sweet. And intoxicating. I did not know about the fermentation turning alcoholic if left too long until my FIL told me about it. Which is why we do not consume this now. Better be safe than sorry. 40 days of our prayers not being accepted is  ...just not worth it.

6. Steamed Sweet Corn with Coconut Shreds

A tasty tea-time treat! All of the corn kernel is picked off its cob then steamed. Mixed with coconut shreds and a pinch of salt. Served warm. Brings me right back to my childhood house where I last ate this.

7. Nasi Pulut with Thai Mangoes

The secret is in the coconut cream dollop, and Absolute Thai nailed it! I feel like I am in my late Grandmother's embrace/dodoi sarong when I eat this treat.

8. Kari Ikan Masin

Yums! I must look up this recipe! The prawns and long beans were magical. I remember having this packed lunch with rice one Friday afternoon after we moved to Penang. The school's old hall, flame of the forest blooms that had fallen onto green grass, vast blue cloudless skies, and my tasty lunch. It was a Friday, and school started at 2.30 pm!

What are your childhood comfort foods, my lovelies? Do you have specific memories attached to particular dishes or drinks too? Please do share!

Snippets: Make It Pretty, Mummy

Girl requested for her salad and dinner platter to be presented in a special style - pretty. I rate myself 7/10. 

Scratch that. I bestow myself with 5/10. The mushroom/seaweed/tofu soup is a mess, the sushi bread roll is not tight enough! 

Looking up online resources to improve my skills - and I am going to join her watching those MasterChef kids from Australia to learn the 1001 tricks and hacks I never knew about.

Never to old to learn, I bow my head with tomato red cheeks.

Easy Peasy Recipe: Fig Salad

Air-fried pumpkin cubes at 160C for 18 minutes then set aside to cool. You may also use roasted pumpkin.

Assemble washed and drained wild rocket, cherry tomatoes and quartered fresh figs.

Top with cooled air-fried pumpkin.

Light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and serve immediately. 

Bon appetit!

Spiraliser For Zoodles: Part 2 of 2

My PIL lovingly carted a unit of spiraliser for me from Lakeland, Yorkshire.

They just had to get me this because it was the only item on my wish list. I should have asked for a Chanel Boy or two, you said? Hahaha.

Top and tail washed zucchini.

Place securely and turn handle to spiralise. I have better control with this model. The four little suction pads underneath prevents slipping. Two other blades store neatly in the compartment below. I was using the coarse spiraliser blade, the other options are fine spiraliser (for carrots) and slicer (for cucumbers). This simple design is for keeps.

The corer removes seeds, if any. I feel this is also great for carrots' core.

Fresh platter of raw zoodles. I still steam mine for less than 10 minutes now, but will eventually move on to raw vegan version for my own good. Baby steps!

Syukur alhamdulillah for this healthy and nourishing plate of dinner.

Bon appetit!

Easy Peasy Recipe: Shiitake Mushrooms

I used to wonder why would my shiitake mushrooms turn out dry and hard even after being cooked in the slow cooker for hours. 

After some troubleshooting, I tried the following tips from Just One Cookbook:

1. Soak dry shiitake mushrooms with hot water in a bowl.

2. Press mushrooms down with another bowl so mushrooms will not float and the weight helps with even soaking. Bowl in a bowl for about 20 minutes.

3. Rinse soaked mushrooms with cold water, and squeeze mushrooms dry.

4. Stems must be cut off. 

5. Cook mushrooms under meat, so that they do not float and weight of the meat will help press mushrooms down for even cooking and better taste.

Steps 2, 4 and 5! Alright.

So I did exactly the above today for our 5-spice chicken with shiitake mushrooms dish. We got ourselves the most succulent mushrooms and chicken for dinner tonight! 

I must really have a word with my family to allow me to snap photo of the dish first before they dig in. Sure. They will look at me funny as soon as those words come out of my mouth. Fine.

Bon appetit!

Spiraliser For Zoodles: Part 1 of 2

I got this Spiraliser from Lazada for about RM59.00. Exact same thing is being sold on Amazon, for more. Note to self: Pays to check local sites first when shopping online.

Of course I was excited to test if my unit was fit for purpose, as soon as it had arrived. Off I went to find 2 medium zucchini a few weeks ago and came home to make zoodles right away. Medium-sized zucchini is best because it produces seedless and smooth zoodles.

My next project is Asam Laksa Penang using cucumber to replace rice noodles. I am going to save myself the hardwork by *starts whispering* buying the soup and condiment from Ah Cheng Laksa *ends whispering*. Hack it till I make it, yes!!

Honestly, this spiraliser is alright but I personally prefer a less flimsy design, I have sent this unit into the recycling bin because I have no patience for flimsy kitchen tools. Let me know if you have a sturdier recommendation! I also have my Magimix 4200XL to explore, of course. 

P/S: I will update a photo of my zoodles when I make some again. The first few went so well and disappeared fast before I could whip out my iPhone!

Easy Peasy Recipe: Egg Muffin

This is a fast and easy to prepare side dish and is versatile enough to be eaten as breakfast, lunch or dinner, although we usually skip the sausages part so as to reduce our intake of nitrates/toxins associated with preservation of sausages. 

You may also add chopped vegetables to give this dish a colourful twist (think traffic lights capsicums). Be creative and have fun experimenting!

If you are not fat watching, do sprinkle some mozzarella shreds before baking for that delicious cheesy goodness.

Ingredients:

8 organic eggs

1/2 cup milk

Chicken breakfast sausages

Sea salt

Pepper

Steps:

1. Beat eggs and milk mixture until well combined. I do this in a Pyrex cup for easy pouring.

2. Season with sea salt and pepper.

3. Cut chicken breakfast sausages into halves.

4. Place a piece of 1/2 of chicken breakfast sausage into each muffin well.

5. Pour egg mixture until 3/4 full.

6. Bake at 180C for 15 minutes.

7. Cool on rack before serving.

I like mine with a squirt of Lingam's hot chilli sauce or Tabasco sauce. 

Bon appetit!

Easy Peasy Recipe: Shrimp Cheesemelt Rice

The Other Half asked why haven't we tried anything from Hong Kong baked rice places (most are not halal, dude!) so I tried this hack last night.

1. Cook rice in automatic rice pot as usual.

2. Arrange marinated shrimp (we used some sea salt and ground black pepper) onto rice once cooked. This is the moment when the "cook" button switches to "keep warm" mode.

3. Let it sit for about 10 minutes until shrimp turn all pink/cooked.

4. Sprinkle mozzarella shreds on top.

5. Serve piping hot.

Hacked it! New item added to our rotating dinner menu.

Bon appetit!

Easy Peasy Recipe: Orange Yoghurt Steamed Muffin

This is a light, sweet treat that we all love but hardly make simply because it is...sweet!

Ingredients:

200g vanilla yoghurt 

1 cup self-raising flour

1/2 cup sugar 

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 eggs

juice of 1 orange

Steps:

1. Mix vanilla yoghurt with self-raising flour in a bowl.

2. Add sugar and continue mixing until smooth.

3. Add olive oil and stir well until fully combined. 

4. Whisk in eggs.

5. Flavour with freshly squeezed orange juice.

6. Scoop batter into muffin tray (fill each serving 3/4 full).

7. Steam for 18 minutes.

8. Remove immediately, stand each muffin to cool before serving.

Bon appetit!

Easy Peasy Recipe: Macaroni Stir Fry

 

Formula: Pasta + 2 or 3 vegetables + 1 Protein

 

Ingredients:

Macaroni

+ Baby Pak Choy

+ Carrots

+ French Beans

+ Onions

+ Fish Ball

+ Olive Oil (1 tablespoon) to grease wok

Steps:

1. Boil macaroni, drain and set aside.

2. Soften carrots and onions in greased wok.

3. Stir in Baby Pak Choy stems and French Beans.

4. Add Baby Pak Choy leaves and Fish Balls.

5. Stir in boiled macaroni and gently toss.

6. Sea salt and pepper to taste. 

 The hardest part was having to chop up of all the vegetables *giggles*

We usually use whatever vegetables and whatever protein is in our fridge, so inevitably this dish looks different every single time. When we run out of protein, we give it a sprinkle of nuts (cashews and pine are firm favourites!). When I am feeling super-able, I make fried egg strips for the protein portion. 

Changing the type of pasta is the easiest way to present this dish differently, or at least my kids seem to think so. We all love this simple dish, as so it has been in our rotating dinner menu for 5 years.

See what I mean by same formula and this dish turns out dramatically different every time? Quite often, we skip the pasta and have carrots or zucchini spirals  instead!

Well, I foresee my kids being able to cook this for themselves when they are working adults with family of their own, inshaAllah.

Bon appetit!

New Kitchen Toy

Our love for zoodles and vegetables juice has led me to this recent purchase of domestic genius from House of Presentation at IPC. No John Lewis/Lakeland/BHS trip this year, remember?

Blessed with limited and compact kitchen real estate, my "problem" has been solved with my Magimix 4200XL. Juicer/smoothie maker attachment; and a separate purchase of  citrus press complete my current need.

Conventional cheese grater, juicer, fruit press, vegetables grater, Kenwood stand mixer, blender, whisk, food processor and spiraliser begone!

Let me be realistic, if there is no electricity at home, I won't be cooking anyways so off to the donation bin go my redundant kitchen appliances and tools. I bet my former cleaning lady will be cheering tomorrow.

Alright, let's keep the precious stand mixer and juicer for now as you will never know when exigencies will call for their recommission. 

As for now, the kitchen island has been cleared for this semi-permanent feature. Pretty sight!

Next up - Thermomix? Ingredients go in, magic happens then food comes out?