Something Sweet

Came across suggestions of a quiet timeout include a cuddling,reading of a short story before tucking into bed,our little one seem to have other ideas of her own,now she will insist on a tight little hug,planting a sweet gentle kiss on our cheek before drifting off to sleep,woo...that certainly justify a good reason for me to tuck her into bed every night..haha..If she can,the little one will stay up for me,whereby we will perfom this "ritual" night after night...hehe..

More than meets the eye

Something just does not seem right,call it mother's instinct,clover has been clinging to me like a velcro tape,and it is so extreme,that she is terrified if I just leave the room,she will wail and bang on the toilet door,insisting on me cuddling her,carrying her all the time...Strange when she ought to be closer to the helper,isnt it?Afterall,the helper is there with her 24hrs of the day,whereas the mum is not..Initally,clover used to be quite close to her,seeing her as both caregiver and playmate,running to her with her balls,calling her auntie,but now,that is history,at the most she only stand and watch her,or playing with her only when my hubby or me is around..hmm...If only clover can talk,sigh...On numerous occasions,the helper will prepare way too hot milk or bath for clover,which I managed to stop in the nick of time,teaching her how to test the temperature,yet today ,she did it again,sigh...Came up with the usual reasoning of I did cool down the barley water,Ma'am,hence I told her to try it out on her wrist,she too was taken aback by how hot it is...goodness,I am not always around to monitor her,my assistant has now become my worry,what a headache...I told myself to be patient and give in to her request of advance salary,earlier off-day,yet she still sneak out at night and refuse to admit it,gosh,my patience is certainly wearing off...urgh...

Low-sodium 5-spice mango chicken roll

The first attempt was a learning lesson ,for once I was meddling with dried beancurd sheets,which I had no idea that it itself is so saltish that it ought to be thoroughly swapped with wet cloth on both sides,ignorant me simply wipe one side ,slab on one big scoop of fillings on it,and rolled it up like a carpet...and plop it into the wok,the end result was nothing to boost about after seeing all the grimaces on their faces,haha..
Fast forward to now,I do think that this chicken roll is worth a try after a 2nd attempt,haha...I wiped both sides thoroughly with wet cloth rinsed in cold water,lower the sodium content of the fillings,add in some mangoes,chestnuts for a refreshing taste and texture..An improvement ,I will say compared to the first one,haha...


Even clover wants to have a go at it..haha..
Tsk tsk,it will be some time before you get to try deep-fried foods,baby...

Heres my version of the roll:
approx.300g chicken fillets
5-6 dried mushrooms,soaked and retain water,sliced mushrooms
approx.200g prawns,shelled,devined,chopped roughly
5-6 water chestnuts,chopped roughly
handful of fresh coriander,chopped
1tbsp 5-spiced powder
1 tsp sugar
pinch of salt
Beancurd sheets
Methods:
1.Mix all ingredients well,pour into a bowl,add in water used to soaked mushrooms.I marinate the ingredients overnight.

2.Cut the beancurd sheets to about 1/2 the length of A4-sized paper,wipe both sides with wet cloth,I keep a bowl of cold water so that I can rinsed the cloth each time I use it.Take care not to tear the sheets,spoon in the filling on one end of the sheet,add in mango slice,roll it up,secure the ends and sides with egg whites and toothpicks,if needed.

3.Deep-fry/Pan fry the rolls,remove the toothpicks after cooking.Drain on absorbent papers before serving.

Work from the heart

Someone touched me today,it all started out ordinarily enough,we went out for dinner at an Indo restaurant,suddenly I heard a shriek and a young lady waving excitedly at me,giving me her broadest grin...."My Sec one form teacher"I overheard her telling her colleagues,she came over,instantly I recognised her,Aahhh...one of my ex-student,I did not know that she was working here part-time as a waitress...We made small talk,in which she invited me to her graduation ceremony,wow...how time flies,shes graduating soon and moving on to ITE...I was glad that she remembered me,and told her so..."Because you are a good teacher,you bring out the best in us,thats why our class invited you,we have placed your name in our invitation list"These words were like music to my ears,haha...Seriously,I do not even know what I had done,I only knew that I did my best,and now whenever I get disappointed or upset with the kids,these words will always be my inspiration urging me to rule others with a heart...

Ga-ga over lemons

Judging from the ratings,this appear to be an enjoyable tea-time treat,since I have the ingredients on hand,I thought of giving it a go too...Indeed,the cake is moist,not so sweet,with tender crumbs,and not as time consuming as creaming method,all the more perfect for a lazy afternoon,when I feel like relaxing on the couch,enjoying hot tea with feshly baked lemon cake..Oops,was enjoying so much that I forgot to record the website and bookmark it...haha..
Lemon Cake with lemon glaze
2 eggs
160g sugar
150g butter,softened
2 tbsp oatmeal(optional,I added in to increase fibre and make cake chewy)
180g sifted self-raising flour
125ml milk
zest of 2 lemons

Lemon glaze
100g icing sugar
40ml lemon juice(approx 1 lemon)
heat the mixture gently,do not boil.
Methods:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degree celcius.Beat eggs and sugar for about 2 minutes using electric hand egg-beater.

2.Drop in tablespoonful of the butter ,together with lemon zest,beat till mixture resemble mayonaisse

3.Add in flour and milk.Beat till mixture is smooth,do not overbeat otherwise the cake crumbs will be tough.Fold in oatmeal quickly.

4.Bake for 45 minutes,when slightly cooled,remove onto cooling rack,place baking tray below,prick warm cake all over with fork,brush the lemon glaze over it,letting the glaze set before serving.Best eaten on day it is baked.

Mischievous Clover

I know that I have friends who care and are curious about little clover,here is an updates on her latest developments at 16mths old...a spunky ,very active toddler..haha..
She is not toilet-trained yet,but recently,she started bullying me whenever I attempt to change her diaper,she will wiggle and struggle violently,then when she manage to get free,she will laugh and become a "RUNAWAY BABY",goodness giggling and running with her bare bottom for all to see,eeks,no sense of shame at all,so please do not be alarm when you comes visiting and see a bare-bottom toddler running at top-speed...haha...

As mentioned,she loves to scribble ABCs on the floor,papers,sofa,so if you do drop by,can always get her to scrawl for you and autograph it...haha...However,I must warn you that her scrawls are not really legible,though you can still make up the alphabets...

She loves to fling food onto the floor,but will feed you properly if you guide her...in return for a clap for a job well done...haha.

Clover makes a good dance partner and exercise playmate,in fact,she enjoy twirling around the room,or demonstrating her kickboxing moves when I do it together with her...

Her favourite activity is throwing and identifying her balls by colour,so far,she can pass you the ball by the colour you requested for,but she still cannot distinguish lighter or darker shade..to her light/dark blue are both blue,so she will usually pass you both balls,if you ask for blue..haha..

She enjoy a game of hide and seek,so do not be surprised if you feel a light tap on the shoulder or leg and when you turn,theres nobody there,most likely she will turn away giggling...haha..well,thats all for now,hope that answer the queries on hows clover now?hehe...

Leftovers?Where?

Whenever possible,I try not to waste food,but it seem unavoidable when cooking for the little one,at times,it can be difficult to gauge how much she will eat,hence what am I to do with leftovers?Pass it on to the dumping bin(me) ,of course...haha..But,of course that is not a good idea,especailly since it leads to overeating which in turn lead to excess weight gain...Hence ,I admit I do feel the need to work out on a frequent basis,especially since I do indluge once in a while ,last time used to be once a fortnight,now change for the better,once a month,haha...

Fortunately,clover has a strict diet which to many adults may seem a tad boring,consisting mostly of brown rice,oatmeal,fish,fruits ,vegetables,tofu,etc..since I cannot place a value on health,I will do my best to provide her a good nutritional headstart..

Heres an example of her snack,oatmeal with prune and blueberries,which was my "supper",though at times,I will sneak out for some forbidden foods too...haha...Life ought to be enjoyable at times...haha..