Monday, August 17, 2015

我下厨的日记 Diary of my homecooked food (12, 13 and 15 August)

Simple dinner at home with dear and Phyllis - tomyam pork ribs, chawanmushi and stirfry kailan. 
Chawanmushi was simple, with eggs added to chicken stock, and I also put in some crabsticks.

Such a pity that I got duped by the aunty at the market and bought kailan instead of baby kailan. But thankfully, the awesome pork ribs (only marinated it for 20mins with tomyam sauce) saved the day!

Prawn Noodles soup which had an awesome punch of prawn taste coz the soup stock was made with prawn heads, shells and tails. It was supposed to be stirfry but coz the soup looked too yummy that I had to pour in all of it! Only ingredients were prawns and sotong. Hubby loved it totally, and both of us finished all the sinful soup in our bowls!


First time I did an all vegetarian-friendly meal (no garlic too!), coz Shih Wee preferred not to eat meat and since all guests were alright with it, I started doing research and prepared this meal - which won praises from Maggie and all.

The tofu soup was boiled since morning with bak choy, red dates and carrots - about 20mins high heat and then 3-4hrs low heat. Off the fire and let it rest till about 2hrs before dinner, and added in the japanese mushrooms, enoki and tofu.

Mushrooms dumplings were made in the afternoon. Had chopped the shitake and portobello mushrooms into small chunks, then stirfry them with some sesame oil and vegetarian oyster sauce. After they had cooled down, I wrapped them in dumpling skin and kept in the fridge for about 2hrs before airfrying them (180deg for 7mins, then 200deg for 3mins)

Stirfry naibai was norm... added some huatiao wine and vegetarian oyster sauce for flavouring.

Japanese cucumber kimchi was done by mixing them up in the morning then keeping them in the fridge until dinner time.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

cafehopping adventures ~ Craft Bistro, Orange Thimble and Fat Cat

It was a Monday, not Sunday, but we went off for our cafehopping adventures - simply because of two reasons: 1) it has been like 6weeks since our last cafehopping day (OMGGGG) 2) it was a PH and we had no plans on hand (like, finally!!!)

Went off for our first stop, for our brunch. It was Craft Bistro, a simple place set up in Holland Village with not too elaborated furnishing and pretty good crowd. Our only grievance is the noisy customers sitting beside us (both left and right)... Else, I would say the drinks and food all tasted good - good toast, fluffy rainbow cake, proper size of smoked salmon with salad and bread. I thought the baileys latte was not bad, with a slight yet obvious tint of baileys in it.
Just before the downpour arrived, we reached Orange Thimble (just next to Tiong Bahru Bakery). Quite full from our brunch, we only ordered a beef rendang stew to share. Dear and I ordered tea to "cleanse and digest". The lemongrass tea was refreshing though it was not to their credit since they used a tea bag. The rendang tasted alright, but too watery to my liking. Phyllis felt it was just curry actually. Luckily, the bread that came with it saved the day!
Final stop of the day was Fat Cat. A painful wait/ queue outside the cafe was enough to let us deduct many many marks from it. It was a humid day, and there were very few seats (no fan or cooler) outside though it was apparent to me that a queue was inevitable. Ok, I know I sound spoiled but you can interview those who queued along with us - some waited more than 45mins!

The smokey magnum was pretty interesting and tasted (like a magnum) while the charcoal gourmet waffle was not bad (but not the best we tried). It was the torturous wait for the waffle that convinced us not to head back again! Queue numbers 14 and 13 got their waffles before us (we were 12) and only after they attempted to serve us (looking frantically for 14 but could not find it as our order had been served to the two gals instead!), then they realised the mistake! Well, to me, it was strange that the two gals did not realise they were being served ice-creams which they did not choose... 

Of coz, being located at Bedok gave us a final closing that we will not travel so far east again for this. 

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

The SG50 Jubilee Weekend (7 to 10 Aug)

As Singapore hit her 50th birthday, we were given an extra public holiday (7 Aug) called the SG50 Jubilee PH. Oh well, I checked the calendar and realised that in 2013, we also had a 4-day long weekend coz Hari Raya Puasa fell on Thursday and National Day on Friday! haha... no matter what, we have to appreciate holidays - giving us a moment to slack, a chance to recuperate from work and play as well as an opportunity to have gatherings and meet-ups!

Here are some of the pics taken over the four days and short caption on how the day was spent!

Friday 7 Aug
Potluck Lunch - with pals from more than 10years! Simple lunch with overwhelming menu like fried beehoon, curry chicken, homemade nuggets, bacon with enoki mushrooms and portobello stuffed with minced pork.

Karaoke at neighbour's place, followed by vegetarian dinner at Nature Cafe (Tradehub21) with two families staying next door and then desserts at McDonald's!
Saturday 8Aug
Family from e SHG Jurong team met up for potluck picnic at Botanic Gardens, followed by partying at our tiny place ~ first huge gathering where we had more than 20 pax there at the same time! Yes, we fit in!
Sunday 9 Aug
Stayed at home to prepare dinner (while e hubby went to work) ~ awesome gathering with sisters Kelly and Phyllis. Homecooked simple dishes for dinner, followed by Llao Llao bought by Kelly!
Monday 10 Aug
Met up for dinner at Mischief with the birthday kakis for Jiehao's birthday... followed by camwhoring at the floating platform with the Singapore Icons - Marina Bay Sands

Singapore Icons - Fullerton, CBD area and abit of the Esplanade

Singapore Icons - Singapore Flyer and Double Helix Bridge

Saturday, August 8, 2015

我下厨的日记 Diary of my homecooked food (30 July, 4 and 6 August)

Dinner for Li Lian and Mandy - baked salmon, steamed minced pork and white radish soup
These two weeks are prolly "salmon spamming" weeks... have cooked salmon twice and will be doing it again on 9 August. Salmon is an excellent source of vitamin B12, vitamin D and selenium. In addition, it is a good source of niacin, omega-3 fatty acids, protein, phosphorus and vitamin B6.

Also, I cooked white radish soup coz the health benefits of radish are also awesome!

4 August is the eve of Mattea and Keona's birthday, I was off and hence prepared happening dinner for them again. This time, I explored chawanmushi and was happy with the results (especially when the girls asked me to cook 10 for them next time) hahaha...
Dinner for Shirley and her three lovely children
On the night before jubilee long weekend, it was simple dinner at home. Because the mushrooms smelled abit weird, I threw them away instead of cooking them. Hence, it was just two dishes for three of us. It was my first attempt at making cereal prawns, and thus I was really inexperienced at frying the cereal... but well, the guinea pigs kinda like it so good lo... haha
Dinner for Phyllis and Jiahong

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Health Benefits of Petai

After doing my first petai dish, I have done some research on how good petai (or smelly beans) is, and so here are the awesome health benefits of petai...

Health benefits of Petai
Petai fruit not just offer power, but in addition capable to avoid as well as defeat numerous health problems and conditions. In comparison apples, petai has got protein Four times more, carbohydrates over double the amount, 3 times the phosphorus, 5 times the vitamin A and also iron, and two times as many vitamins along with other minerals.
A number of the health improvements are highlighted below

1. Depression
In accordance with a current study carried out by MIND amongst individuals struggling with depressive disorders, numerous felt far better after consuming petai. It is because petai include tryptophan, a kind of protein which the body changes into serotonin, recognized to cause you to relax, enhance your mood and usually cause you to feel more comfortable.

2. PMS (premenstrual syndrome)
Ignore the pills – consume petai. The vitamin B6 it includes manages blood sugar levels, which could impact your mood.

3. Anemia
Loaded with iron, petai can easily encourage the creation of hemoglobin within the blood and thus assists in cases of anemia.

4. Blood Pressure
This excellent exotic bean is incredibly loaded with potassium but lower in salt, which makes it ideal to conquer blood pressure level. So much in fact, the US Food and Drug Administration have recently permitted the petai industry to create official claims for the fruit’s capability to prevent blood pressure level and also heart stroke.

5. Brain Power
Research has revealed that the potassium-packed fruit might help learning by causing students much more alert as well as increase memory.

6. Constipation
Loaded with fiber, which includes petai within the diet might help recover normal bowel action, assisting to conquer the issue without making use of laxatives.

7. Hangovers
One of many fastest methods for treating a hangover is usually to create a petai milkshake, sweetened along with honey. The petai calms the stomach as well as, with the aid of the honey, accumulates exhausted blood sugar levels, whilst the milk calms as well as re-hydrates your whole body.

8. Heartburn
Petai features a all-natural antacid effect within the body, so when you have problems with heartburn, try to consume petai for calming relief.

9. Morning Sickness
Eating petai in between meals keeps blood glucose levels up and prevent morning sickness in females.

10. Mosquito bites
Just before reaching for the insect bite cream, try out massaging the affected region using the interior of the petai skin. Many individuals think it is surprisingly effective at decreasing swelling as well as discomfort.

11. Nerves
Petai has elevated levels of B vitamins which help relaxed the central nervous system.

12. Overweight
Studies in the Institute of Psychology in Austria discovered pressure at the job results in gorging on comfort food just like chocolate and crisps. Checking out 5,000 hospital people, scientists discovered the most overweight were more prone to be in high-pressure jobs. The report determined that, to prevent panic-induced craving for food, we have to manage our blood glucose levels by eating high carbohydrate foods each 2 hours to maintain levels constant.

13. Ulcers
Petai is utilized as the dietary food towards intestinal disorders due to the soft texture as well as smoothness. It’s the only raw fruit that may be consumed without distress in long-term cases. Additionally, it neutralizes level of acidity and decreases irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

14. Temperature control
A number of other cultures observe petai like a “cooling” bean that may reduce both emotional and physical temperature of pregnant women. In Holland, as an example, expectant women consume petai to make sure their baby is born having a cool temperature.

15. Smoking
Petai may also help individuals attempting to quit smoking. The B6, B12 they include, along with the potassium and magnesium present in them, assist the body get over the end results of nicotine withdrawal.

16. Stress
Potassium is an important mineral, which will help stabilize the heart beat, sends oxygen towards the brain and also manages the human body’s water balance. When we’re anxious, our metabolic rate increases, therefore decreasing our potassium levels. These may be rebalanced with the aid of a high-potassium petai snack.

17. Strokes
According to research through the New England Journal of Medicine discovered that every day practice of consuming petai capable to prevent death from strokes by 40 %.

18. Warts
All those interested in all-natural alternatives swear that when you need to destroy a wart, have a little bit of petai and put it on the wart. Very carefully support the petai in position using a plaster or even surgical tape!

19. Healthy eyes and improve concentration
Petai include vitamin A quite higher at 200 IU per 100 mg. As is recognized, vitamin A very theraputic for sustaining healthy corneas. Potassium within the banana can also improve concentration and also the ability of the brain so great to help those who have trouble to learn.

20. Improving digestion
Fiber is additionally found in numerous petai. Fiber or even fibers handy help digestion of food. For anybody who frequently has digestive problems just like constipation, consuming petai may help reduce your suffering. Petai in addition have a natural antacid effect within the body. If you feel nausea and fullness from consuming too much, petai can help to eliminate the pain sensation.

21. Ulcers
This particular fruit can reduce the effects of acidity and also decreases irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

22. Hangovers
Petai is combined with honey and milk, this particular milkshakes made is considered to help to ease hangover gone through by an individual due to this herb can easily enhance blood glucose levels whilst the milk is wonderful for calming as well as re-fix the fluid level within the body.

23. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
(a chaotic emotional illness). In case you evaluate it along with apples, Parkia speciosa has got Four times much more protein, two times the carbohydrate, 3 times the phosphorus, 5 times the vitamin A as well as iron, and two times the other minerals and vitamins. Parkia speciosa is additionally abundant with potassium. Therefore like when the Parkia speciosa nicknamed “A Parkia speciosa per day keeps the doctor away”.

More about Petai
To be consumed then parkia speciosa or even petai needs to be peeled first, and after peeled,  petai or even parkia speciosa seeds normally can be ingested directly, boiled, or even baked, and petai seed is additionally broadly ingested by combined with various other foods just like combined with , chili, garlic, dried shrimp, fish, duck, vegetables, and so on.

Petai features a sharp odor mainly because it consists of certain amino acids, and for that reason earned the nickname petai beans and also the smell within the mouth and body and in addition supplies a strong odor of urine that may give effect to 2 days after consuming petai, and also this complex carbohydrate within the parkia speciosa may cause a sharp-smelling fart too.

History of Petai
The nationality of Petai can be extremely hard to figure out in cases that regional limitations alter as time passes, leaving behind the initial nationality a mysterious. The initial ethnicity of Petai might be hard to figure out as a consequence of whether the title came about naturally as well as individually in a variety of locales; e.g. in the matter of family names which come from professions, which could come in several locations individually (like the last name “Fisher” which has been provided to fishermen).

Danger

If ingested too much, petai can harm the kidneys and also the substance will harm the kidney filter. This is due to the high content of amino acids within Petai. Before you decide to cook the petai, ensure that you divide the bean into two using a paring knife since there are vulnerable to worms burrowing their way into the heart of the petai as you have seen through the photos above. In the cupful, most likely get about 6 petais along with worms inside. It’s a pain however it sure beats biting in a worm.

Monday, July 27, 2015

我下厨的日记 Diary of my homecooked food (25 and 26 July)

After much thoughts into what to prepare and stuff, a weekend of cooking and cooking just past....!

Saturday, Charis and Yik Ming came over and coz we were going to have durian party for dinner, we decided to have a simple early dinner at 4pm.


For the happening homemade roast pork belly, I got the pork belly from wet market - then blanch it and marinate with five spices salt and lemon overnight. On Saturday itself, it was 1whole hour of airfrying and then chewing of the crispy skin and succulent meat...

In addition, I did asparagus wrapped in bacon and also stirfry guotiao (1 packet for four of us to share!)

On Sunday, let the hubby sleepy in while I went to prepare beef stew. It was around 2hrs of stewing, after browning the beef and onions, then throwing in potatoes and carrots.


Though it was my first time, and after reading so many recipes online, I decided to do it my own way, I was surprised that the hubby likes it alot. Quite disappointed though, that the beef was too tough (probably coz I had kept in the freezer for 2weeks).

Cassie and Huifang came for dinner and so I made the tomyam chicken cheese balls that Cassie requested.



A pity the cheese oozed out of some of the balls... but, on the whole, they tasted alright =)

Also did stirfry kailan, bak kut teh soup as well as prawn omelette. Haha will think of more "child-friendly" food for 小朋友 for future visitations!

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Gatherings. Meet-ups. Catch-ups.

One of those weekends when we spend alot of time meeting up with friends and catching up with those we haven't met for awhile ~ really fulfilling and super awesome!

Friday 24 July - Drinks and snacks at Brotzeit with the Jurong SHG peeps
Saturday 25 July - Lunner with Charis and Yik Ming at home with hubby, followed by Durian Party with neighbours
Sunday 26 July - Dinner with Cassie and Hui Fang at home with hubby

Here are some photos collage for sharing:
Lots of laughing and silly chats over drinks at Brotzeit

Dinner at home for Charis and Yik Ming

Camwhoring...

Durian Party with neighbours

Dinner at home for Cassie and Huifang
Though the weekend was happening, we managed to sneak rest and sufficient sleep to recuperate. It was really great to catch up with friends! Definitely healthy to stay happy always! Live Long, Laugh Loudly!

Saturday, July 25, 2015

我下厨的日记 Diary of my homecooked food (22 and 24 July)

Some random idea to start using my pretty 50mm lens to take pics of the simple stuff I cook... I think simple is subjective. Coz to my mum, I do fanciful dishes while to my friends, my food look pretty...

To me, most important is 1) people who eat what I cook must enjoy 2) it should not be complicated for me to cook... hahaha

Last Wednesday, I took up a personal challenge to cook petai (after finding out the whole long list of its health benefits) even though it is something hubby hates alot. The smelly beans are really smelly, and I still vaguely smell it in my fridge now.
After doing a simple survey on Facebook, it was concluded that sambal is the only way to cook it. And coz the hubby dislikes petai, I decided to add in minced pork and lean meat to add some sweetness in and also provide an option for him to throw each petai into his mouth with some meat. In the end, he not only take each piece of petai with some meat, he also added in alot of rice to neutralise the taste! Well, after the meal, I actually convinced him to let me cook it once a month!
In addition, I tried a new dish after reading online about different recipes using the airfryer. It was stuffing minced pork in taupok skins (flipped over). I also added in chopped mushrooms for added flavour.

Friday morning, coz I wanted to finish the puff pastry in the freezer as well as the bottle of nutella, I woke up extra early to prepare mini nutella croissants for hubby to bring to work.


Chose prettier ones for him coz some parts of the pastry were hardened and broke while folding.

Coz we went drinking with friends on Friday night, we sort of overslept and did not get much time for breakfast on Saturday. So I took the frozen prata bought from NTUC and wrapped them around sausages and cheese.
With the soft and fluffy prata, yummy sausage and cheese oozing out, it was really heavenly!

Monday, July 20, 2015

Hari Raya long weekend

This is one of the perks of being in a multi-racial country - where you get to enjoy public holidays on festivals you don't even celebrate...

On Friday, had arranged for brunch with family. We went Legendary Hong Kong at jurong point and were really glad to avoid the crowd by reaching before 10.30am. When we left at almost 12, the queue outside was really long!
Classic wefie shot with mum, Phyllis, dear and two lovely nieces
After lunch, we went shopping at Big Box for hob, hood and oven (coz parents are going to reno their apartment)

We left before 2pm to make our way to Rendezvous Hotel for high tea with pals. Had dine at Straits Cafe many years ago so had suggested that to them when deciding where to go to.
Left (from front): me, Danlin, Apple and her sister
Right (from front): Elson, dear, Dennie, Wenmei and Zhiwei
*plus children*
Spent 2hours eating non-stop and were really super full thereafter. Since we had nothing on, we went window shopping at PS and got most of our buys from Uniqlo and Daiso. I was also super impressed with the beef selection at Cold Storage.

Saturday was SHG day but I was feeling lazy so stayed home until 2plus then went over for the activity. After volunteer work, we went for a simple dinner with "whoever we can grab". Had zichar at the coffeeshop nearby. It was pretty good food - but we ended up too full for durian.

Still ended up having durian (but smaller scale) - just three of us
Saturday was not over yet. After Phyllis came over, we shared another box of durians, watched movies on TV, grilled some midjoint wings and also finished a pack of seaweed sausages - all before we go to bed!

Dear and I went for a short swim on Sunday morning before going off to shop for kitchen and toilet accessories with parents and Phyllis. Late lunch at this Sin Fong Restaurant which had a really good kuay chap stall.

Everybody was exhausted and thus, we went home to rest. Dear and I couldn't really nap and so we went for dinner at 6plus and coz I craved for Thai food, we went downstairs to try the Thai "zichar".

Ordered three dishes - baby kailan with roast pork (I like it very much, the taste was good but the roast pork abit too hard), minced chicken with basil leaves (well done though it did not have enough taste) and tomyam clear soup (super duper spicy). Took pic of the chilli sauce coz it was really nice!

Went home to watch Wishing Stairs and Scary Movie V before going to bed. 

Concluded that this long weekend is really relaxing and we had a good break in midst of meeting family and friends, feasting and playing ~ looking forward to more of such weekends! 

Monday, July 13, 2015

My Love for Mushrooms

Yes I have a strange love for mushrooms - shitake, portobello, enoki, shimeji, oyster, king oyster, button etc etc... I eat all kinds of (edible) mushrooms and enjoy cooking them too! Most of the time, I have at least one kind of mushrooms in my fridge.
Only learnt it few months ago, that to make stuffed portobello mushrooms, you will need to remove the stem and "gills" of the mushroom. This gives space and I can stuff lotsa minced pork inside. The juice that ooze out is a combo of the pork and mushroom - really heavenly!
The above is hubby's favourite - the fillings are just mince pork marinated in oyster sauce, sesame oil and pepper (please don't ask me how much of each, coz I go by feeling each time)
The above is a slightly different variation - the mushrooms are stuffed with grated cheese and chopped ham.
And the above has no meat - it is just grated cheese and onions. Still, they tasted awesome!
See the dish in the centre? This time round, I added grated cheese in the minced pork (which I marinated the night before)

The health benefits of mushrooms include relief from high cholesterol levels, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and diabetes. It also helps in weight loss, and increases the strength of your immune system.


They truly can make you bigger and protect you against diseases and infections, as they are full of proteins, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antibiotics and antioxidants.
Do eat more mushrooms today!