My Wish

I harbour a secret wish-one that may jolly well seem like a tall order....haha...If possible,I love to be free from chronic illness,disability or even death till my little ger is able to fend for herself independently,holding a stable job,is a happy,confident young lady....Over the msn chat one day,out of the blue,my friend ask me "Have you notice that people around us are dropping like houseflies?"Given a random count,I can easily rattle off at least 5 names of friends or relatives who had passed away before 35.We are living longer but not necessarily healthier...oops...Posed this question to friends and collegues as to who will look after their kids should anything happen to them,touchwood,all I got was a shrug of the shoulder and a brush off with"aiyah,why worry so much?"

One insurance agent even added that while the dead are no longer aware,clover still need to survive...haha...good sales pitch but he clinch the deal,I certainly do not want clover to worry about finances in her growing up years....An ex-colleague of mine recently passed away due to liver cancer,leaving behind 3 kids below the age of 5 and a struggling hubby trying his best to make ends meet...Upon hearing this,my lao gong and I decided that it is better to insured ourselves and clover should tragedy strike....Settling on a guardian is an issue,as our parents are aging...sigh....whatever will happen will happen eventually,meanwhile,enjoy the day while it last...Rejoice in the fact that we are still healthy and strong,haha...Baked a batch of peanut butter orange cookies with a generous addition of macadmia nuts for friends who took the time out to meet me for lunch even on a busy working weekday...so sweet of them...hehe...since I still have some time left before going back to work in full force,now the good time to meet friends up...hmm..whos available next week?haha...

HP,you are certainly fortunate to have a doting mother who emphasis on good nutrition and I suppose that has rubbed on you too...hehe...Obesity is always the precursor to many chronic diseases but that does not mean one must be fat to be suffering from heart diseases ,stroke etc,cholesterol is also another culprit...lets eat healthily together,cheers :)

Chua,it is amazing how babies develop their own taste at such a tender age,don't you think?haha...I would love to hear more stories about your baby too,thanks for dropping by,mummy...

Natt,I have report to my new school already though I have yet to attend the meetings,clover is getting more chatty,learning how to walk and feed herself,goodness,I am going to miss her so much when Igo back to work...haha..

Love- Hate Relationship with water

Clover's "black face" when given water


Water-the essence of life,yet I hardly bring myself to drink plain water,given a choice,I pass it for juices,tea,coffee and my weakness,season ice lemon tea...It must be seasons,no other brand will do,that is how picky I am with my drink...haha...Sigh,all the diuretic drinks make me lose even more water straining my kidneys,that is certainly not a wise idea...Hence,home-brewed soup to the rescue,haha...Without seasoning,I enjoy slurping my soup,this soup contains all the natural goodness from organic raw peanuts,first time I ever try it,the leaves tasted like spinach,and with the sweetness from green papaya,I drank the whole lot without much urging...haha...

Like me,clover dislike plain water too,no matter how much I try to coax her,her lips will automatically pressed together when a drop pass her lips,no wonder my lao gong joked that like mother,like daughter,we both have a common dislike,haha....Suggestions from friends to add in ribena,delrosa syrup were to no avail,just as determined I am to made her drink,she is equally headstrong in resisting...haha...Screaming till her face turn red,pushing the bottle away,the naughty baby wins...Working around the problem,I now turn to home made juices,soup which she happily gulp down...Oops,not a good solution..What if she turns out to be like me?Better be a good role model and drink my plain water too...haha...In time to come,clover will also follow,monkey see,monkey do...haha...

I am what I eat-literally

OOohing and AAahing over the food pictures featured at others' food blog put mine instantly to shame,haha...Oh well,better to be true to myself,for while such desserts are to-die-for,it should be an occasional treat...hehe....With the flu virus at its peak,we are more vulnerable than ever to fall ill under such harsh weather...I always make it a point to include more fruits and vegetables in my daily meal..True,nothing is foolproof,but at least I try and have on numerous occasions managed to keep flu and cold at bay....Once I remembered getting into a verbal arguement over this with one of my ex-colleague,he believe that kids should not be restrain over their food choices,as it will backfire with most of them flockering over to the fast-food outlets, being deprived and eat even more of the unhealthy food,me on the other hand feel that kids ought to be taught at young,with parents leading a good example on eating healthily,drilled on healthy food choices,with fast-food being a eating out once in a blue moon...Eventually nobody win,we stubbornly stick to our guns...haha

The first time I visted a local organic farm,the farmer while explaining on the benefits of organic produce,plucked a ladyfinger,use a hand towel to clean off the surface dirt and offered it to the crowd,for a while,nobody came forward,in my mind,I was thinking"raw ladyfinger,so gross with sticky sap,must be awful"..To our surprise,a little boy came forward,eagerly took the ladyfinger and munched on it happily..Naturally,that got me curious too,after getting my hand on organic ones,I took a huge bite,to my surprise,it is crunchy,without much sticky sap and has a sweet aftertaste,the organic apples and passionfruits were also much sweeter than conventional ones,nice on its own...without fanciful dressing...hehe..My frds,shall we organise our eating out at an organic cafe?haha....

Gaining strength and skills

Over a period of 8 months,clover has grown so much,it is almost unbelievable....From a tiny "blop" who only wailed and smiled,she can now make her intentions known clearly,by saying "urm"whenever she pooed or "mum mum" occasionally when she wants milk,smiling broadly when I approach her with her bottle,haha....

How to fend off boredom is a daily task we have to tackle,for she will keep on whining,till we hand her things of interest,haha....Luckily,tearing of tissue paper still tops her list and is easily available,and she will attack the whole box with great gusto,happily shredding the paper to bits,haha...Sitting on the sofa used to be her favourite spot until she discover walking can take her places,haha...Hopefully,she will walk on her own unaided,for now she does enjoying being led by us....hehe...A wonderful imitator of sorts,she can minic the sounds we made,even repeating my actions of feeding her when I gave her a spoon and bowl during feeding times,she will gingerly dipped the spoon into the bowl,and then slowly aimed it into her wide mouth,but alas,it is only for a short while before she find it even more amusing to haul it onto the floor,chuckling loudly...haha...

Having 4 teeth mean that I do not have to puree my food to a fine paste,instead it helps to provide texture to the food and encourage her to chew...A friend had also commented that she can recognise her name,indeed she looks at the person who call her with a "Whatsup" look,haha...It will not be long before she can verbally acknowledge the caller....Oh well,my little cookie is thriving and will embark on another milestone by sitting on her potty next week,wish me luck...haha...One day when clover is old enough to understand words,I will show her this post,hopefully it will still be around...

Chip off the OLD cookie

I always prefer crunchy cookies to chewy ones,hence when I bite into these cookies,it was a disappointment to me,but to fans of softer ,chewy cookies,this recipe is most likely a keeper:

Choc Chips and macadamia nuts cookies(about 60 pieces)

120g butter,softened
3/4 cup white sugar
2/4 brown sugar
2 eggs
21/2 plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup choc chips(I used milk choc,hence reduce sugar slightly)
1/2 cup chopped macadmia nuts

1. Cream butter and sugar till white.
2.Beat in egg one at a time,add in sifted flour and baking soda.
3.Lightly stir in nuts and choc chips,drop by tsp onto ungreased baking tray.
4. Bake at 170 degree celcius for about 15 minutes,20 minutes for slightly crunchy cookies.




Clover has always been a happy baby,a trait which my colleagues put it as me being a happy person,haha.....Happy mummy when pregnant will produce happy baby,haha...It will be exciting to know what kind of individual she will develop into,now at 8 months old,she is getting more and more chatty,in the past,she will only squeal in delight,mouth the sounds"ah,mum,and urm" at night,now it is all day long,at times,she can scream for attention,haha...Yet,when outside,or facing the videocamera,she is good as gold,smiling merrily at the camera or at strangers,
tsk ,tsk,the pretence of it all..haha...Guess most likely,she will pester us when she can talk,just like how I "fan"my friends at our gathering with my endless chatter,haha....

Natt,my lao gong and I are of pure chinese descent...it is merely coincidential that clover do resemble abit mixed,I have came across comments that she looks malay,indian and eurasian....haha...

Clover's balancing act

After seeing the number of toys my friend's baby own,my lao gong then proclaimed that we ought to get clover some too...Haha...comparison has already started,huh?haha...Even though I doubt clover need that many toys now,still it seem not a bad idea as well,as buying abit more,and rotating the toys can entice her interest and capture her attention,so that she can at least stop "pestering" me for awhile and I can sneak in some housework,haha...For now,it seems to be working,she has great fun holding and slipping her legs through the "doughnuts",haha...

Oh,Danny ,here is the recipe of the okara(soyabean pulp) cake ,in time of need,hehe...

2 Earl Grey teabags
1 cup okara
1/2 cup boiling water
250g unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
11/4 cup self-raising flour

Tea syrup:
11/2 cup caster sugar

Methods:
1.Brew teabags for about 5 minutes.Discard teabags,reserve tea.

2.Place butter,brown sugar,eggs,flour,okara,and 2 tbsp of the tea into mixing bowl.Beat till pale in colour and well-combined.

3.Spoon mixture into 8-inch round pan,bake at 180 degree celcius for about 50 minutes to one hour,check with a skewer to see if it is ready.

4.To make tea syrup:pour remaining tea and caster sugar into saucepan.Stir over low heat till sugar dissolve.Let stand for 10 minutes and drizzle over warm cake.

Creamy pasta carbonara-His style

Having studied in UK for a couple of years,my lao gong can cook to make his otherwise monotonous diet a tad more interesting,since as a student on budget,he cannot afford much too..Hence,he does love to cook to impress whenever friends come visiting...haha...

Being appointed the "chef" among his working mates in Aussie has improved his culinary skills further...Situated in outback Australia,without much dinning places around,it seem practical to prepare own meals,here is one of his "thumbs-up" dish that he whipped up,and which I am fortunate enough to sample it too,haha....

I prepared the ingredients for him,doing all the dicing,slicing etc,and he did the cooking..In my house,there is an unwritten rule:Do not intervene with the cook...haha..Too many cooks spoil the broth,I do not mind if people asked why and what was done,but not when it is incessant nagging...Imagine while cooking,and there is endless ranting about how things ought to be done this way or that way,no prize for guessing who I am most likely referring to:mummy dearest,haha....Both of us have mummies who nagged,or perhaps it seem to be an universal problem,women nag by nature?haha....While advice is greatly appreciated,it is the raving and ranting that is enough for me to throw the white flag and escape...haha...

Do not do unto others what you do not like,I hardly nag,except when I am fuming mad,then I will rant endlessly,haha..I do hope I will stay that way with clover too...and not fall into the syndrome of getting mellow and nag,nag,nag....haha..

Nattalie,apology accepted...In my much older posts,I did mention about me being on unpaid leave,no point repeating my status ever so often...I guess..haha...

OK,thanks so much for your encouragement,as much as I want to become a full-time mother all the time,it is not possible for the time being,as I have another 2 and a half years of bond to fulfil,failing which I will have to pay up to 40k or slightly more,an amount which I figure can be put to better use for clover's milk powder and diapers,clothes..haha...

Life is all about choices,I am fortunate enough to be able to take unpaid leave to look after clover,yet still retain my job...Since I chose this path,hence will have to leave my post in the former school and be allocated to a new place,next year will mark a new begining for me...I may not have the fortune of meeting a great,understanding boss with fun-loving colleagues,or maybe I will...who knows?whatever will be will be,I just make the best of it...haha...

Heres how he did it:
(serves 4)
1 tbsp butter
220g fresh button mushrooms ,sliced
1 cup cream
2 eggs
125g parmesan cheese,grated
200g chopped ham
400g dried spaghetti

Methods:
1.Melt butter in non-stick frying pan over medium heat.Add mushrooms,stirring for 5 minutes,remove and keep warm.

2.Combine cream,eggs,3/4 of the grated cheese and finely grounded black pepper.

3.Cook spaghetti in pot of boiling water to which one tablespoon of oil and pinch of salt has been added.Cook till al dente.

4.Drain pasta,toss in sauce and when sauce has thicken,serve.Enjoy.