Basic Wholemeal Bread

Since our earliest trial from the day we bought our bread machine, we've been yielding different results from the same recipe we've followed trustingly...or should I say -- no choice since I couldn't find another basic bread machine wholemeal bread recipe.

Well, I've finally decided to experiment with a little bit of modification based on recipes from various sources -- the recipe that came with our bread machine, our favourite Betty Crocker's Best Bread Machine Cookbook and Allrecipes.com...and BINGO! Heheh...we all smiled when we saw the bread that greeted us this morning. :) Wanna know how it taste? We actually had to stop our two babies from finishing half the loaf!

Recipe for a 2 pound loaf:

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup Milk
2 tbsp Butter
2 tbsp Brown sugar (that's because we normally only have brown sugar at home)
2 tsp Salt
2 cup Bread flour
2 cup Whole wheat flour
2 tsp Bread machine yeast

Method

1. Put all ingredients into the bread machine according to sequence recommended by the manufacturer.
2. Select wholemeal cycle.

Where got time to cook ('_')?

With a 2 year old and a 3 month old fighting for attention -- and no household helper, no drop-in babysitter -- how to cook...or do anything else?

You might shake your head and go 'tsk tsk' if I tell you how I do it -- I cook more when I prepare dinner and reserve a portion for lunch. Don't tell me 'it's not good to keep overnight' or 'always better to eat fresh'. Spending time playing 'masak masak' is an idea too luxurious for a mom with 2 babes to tend to, laundry, cleaning, etc. among other household chores. :p

Get a maid? Won't even think of that if it means risking my family's safety; especially my children's. Sure, we've had good helpers before I was married to the family and some of my friends have had excellent helpers for years too. But each time we get a new maid, we're bringing a new stranger into the house; whether this new stranger turns out to be a good helper, a 'headache' or a danger depends on individual's luck.

I choose not to risk. :p I'd rather survive with the mess and just do what I can.

My WMF Pressure Cooker

More new 'toys' for us -- our latest investment in the kitchen too. ;p We need things done QUICK before our two princesses take turns to cry for attention again!



A simple lunch of brown rice and lotus with prime rib soup in less than 40 min -- Faith could even eat the soft part of the bones now because it's so jelly-soft! Ha! :D Now I know where to get my much needed 'supplement' of glucosamine and collagen. ;p



Pressure cooked brown rice -- perfect! ;q' Taste the goodness of every grain -- neither too dry and hard, nor mashy -- better than what we used to have from a rice cooker. :) My dear husband changed his mind about the quality of this new source of brown rice he's been complaining about after the first mouthful, haha!

Christmas Present

Ok, ok, I know it's supposed to be MY Christmas present and this is another kitchen appliance -- it was my request from my dear husband. ;p It's a blender, food processor and mixer all in one -- complete with dough hook! Yeah! I LOVE IT!!! *MUACK* So much time saved on cutting and I can make carrot cake again with the grater! Hurray! *^o^*

Stir-fried Beef with Asparagus

Another simple dish to share. Asparagus doesn't seem to be popular or at least not a favourite among Singaporeans -- possibly due to the strong smell it has that we're not used to. It's rather new to my family too; but now it appears more often on our dining table after my 'experiment' worked out sometime ago. ;)

However, while I was Googling health benefits of asparagus, I found out that KH shouldn't have too much of that due to its high purine content which can lead to accumulation of uric acid -- not so suitable for people with gout or kidney stones. :( On the other hand, lots of benefits for Faith, Joy and I, with nutrients like beta-carotene, folic acid, , phosphorus, potassium, vitamin C, E and K. :) Its high folate content makes it an excellent food for those preparing for pregnancy or who are pregnant. It also promotes healthy gut due to its content of a special carbohydrate called inulin, which promotes the friendly bacteria within the large intestine.

You'll need:

250g Beef, sliced
5 stalks Thick, green asparagus, sliced diagonally across stalks
3 cloves Garlic, chopped
2 slices Ginger, smashed with skin*

Marinade for Sliced Beef

1 tsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp Oyster Sauce

Seasoning

1 tsp Oyster Sauce
1 cup Hot Water (Increase or decrease according to your preference -- I like sauces to go with my rice, so I tend to add more.)

* I usually keep skin of the ginger as it reduces the heaty properties of ginger. A little ginger is used before stir-frying just to add fragrance to the dish and reduce strong smells in certain food – in this case, beef and asparagus. :)

Now start the fire. ;)

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or pan.

2. Stir-fry ginger until fragrant.

3. Add marinated beef and stir-fry until just cooked. Dish out from wok and set aside.

4. Add another tbsp of oil if required. Stir-fry garlic until fragrant.

5. Add asparagus, stir-fry and toss for 5-7 min.

6. Add seasoning, stir-fry and mix well. Bring sauce to boil. (If you like to cook the asparagus much softer -- maybe for young children, just cover the wok, lower the flame to medium or small, and let it simmer for 5-10 min, depending on how soft you want it to be.)

7. Add stir-fried beef back into the wok, stir-fry and mix well. Serve. (Do not leave the beef in the wok or stir-fry for too long -- it becomes too tough to chew!)

Quick Fish Soup + Chinese Spinach with Conpoy & Kei Chee

Dinner tonight was onion omelette, Chinese spinach with dried scallops and kei chee, and a quick fish soup that I tried for the first time -- a yummy nutritious time-saver when I'm caught with not enough time for double-boil or slow cook options. The latter two are from Ng Siong Mui's "Secrets of Nutritional Chinese Cooking" -- soup modified cuz I couldn't get luffa today. :p Too bad we were too hungry to take photos before dinner started. ;q'

Anyway, to share with busy parents and singles out there -- here's what I did:

Quick Fish Soup

Ingredients

200g Toman Fish, sliced
100g Lean Pork, sliced
1 Carrot, peeled and sliced
1/2 can Big Button Mushrooms, sliced
2 slices Old Ginger
900ml Hot Water
1/2 tbsp Oil
Salt, to taste

Marinade

Fish: 1 tsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp Oil
A dash of Ground White Pepper

Pork: 1 tsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp Oil
A dash of Ground White Pepper

Method

1) Heat oil in a saucepan and stir-fry ginger until fragrant.

2) Add in carrot and mushrooms and stir-fry for 2-3 min.

3) Add in sliced pork and stir-fry till cooked.

4) Add in the hot water and bring mixture to boil. Lower flame and simmer for 3-5 min.

5) Add in sliced fish and bring mixture to boil again.

6) Add salt to taste.

*Note: I usually use hot water in order to shorten cooking time. :)



Chinese Spinach with Conpoy & Kei Chee

Ingredients

500g Chinese Spinach
30g Kei Chee
50g Dried scallops (Conpoy)
4 slices Old Ginger
1 clove Garlic, skinned and smashed
1/2 tbsp Oil

Seasoning

Chinese Spinach: 1 tsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp Oyster Sauce
1 tsp Sugar

Kei Chee and Dried Scallops: 1 tsp Cornflour mixed with 2 tsp Water and 1/2 tsp Dark Soy Sauce

Method

1) Soak dried scallops in 300ml of hot water for 1 hour. Soak kei chee in hot water separately for 1 hour too.

2) Heat oil in a wok. Stir-fry garlic and ginger until fragrant.

3) Add in Chinese spinach and stir-fry a bit.

4) Add in seasoning for Chinese spinach. Continue to stir-fry and mixed well with spinach.

5) Ladel spinach onto serving plate when cooked. Proceed to cook kei chee and dried scallop separately.

6) Drain kei chee and add to dried scallop in the 300ml of hot water which dried scallop was soaked in. Bring mixture to boil. Turn flame down to low flame and simmer for 10 min.

7) Stir in corn starch mixture. Turn off flame and ladel mixture onto Chinese spinach. Serve immediately.

Craving... :q'

My homemade 'muah chee'.



Homemade ground peanut -- oven roasted; ground with our most trusted and efficient mini mincer and sweetened the way we like it. ;)



The final product. Mmmm...yummy... :q' *SLURP!*



Been craving for this, but was so 'bu gan yuan' to have paid $2 for a miserable bit bought off push cart at Parkway Parade. :( Found the recipe off the web and realized it's so easy to make!!! Lagi 'bu gan yuan' to pay $2. :p So, my usual way -- DIY. ;p

Result from first trial was not bad at all but would do better with more practice, heheh...

Fuzhou Fish/Meat Balls ala My Style ;p

Fuzhou fish/meat balls ala My Style? Of course much bigger, thinner skin with more meat fillings, and more chewy la! Hahaha...bought fish paste and tried my hand making from scratch.

Always proud of home made -- doesn't matter authentic or not; what matters more is you can have it the way you like it. ;p After all, WE are eating it what~ :p