Stuffed Baked Lotus chicken

Stuffing- cooked and ready



Friends were curious about my mysterious "disappearance",they waited and waited,finally could not take the suspense anymore,asked me outright if theres a reason as to why this blog been left idling,haha...Gosh,I am blessed truly to be surrounded by so many concerned friends who do read my ramblings and were worried when I "poofed"..Thank you everyone...I am alright,actually...

What have I been busy about?Nothing much actually,apart from pottering around,been busy with clover,and settling in the new maid...Once bitten,twice shy,this time round,I am more firm with the maid,and so far,she has fit into the daily routine better,though clover is still very much attached to mummy,but at least she does not repel this auntie...

Exercising has become very much part of my lifestyle now,which I intend to continue for as long as I can...Adhering to a strict diet mean that I only permit myself one "free" day once a week,a day for me to indulge in that little extra without guilt..haha...Noticing the pounds dropping off really give me a all-time high,haha..my skin has improved too,not to mention a great booster to self-esteem...hehe,hence,I am now committed to share healthy meals,rather than mostly bakes,haha...Sounds rather boring,huh?haha...Yet the rewards are tremendous,look at it on the bright side,good health,great skin,can fit into most clothes,including boundless amount of energy to play with the little one,I have strangers commenting that we seem to be having tons of fun in the park,chasing each other,A little sacrifice and hard work goes a long way...

With that,I sign off with a delicious recipe which is nutritious and suitable for the whole family,enjoy...

Stuffed Baked Lotus Chicken
Approx 1.5kg chicken
Marinade:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 cloves garlic,chopped
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp dark soya sauce

stuffing:
1/2 cup chopped pumpkin
2 shredded carrots
8 dried mushrooms,soaked and chopped
1/3 cup ke chi(chinese wolfberry)
garlic and onion to fry the stuffing
1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1 piece lotus leaf,soaked to soften
1 large piece aluminium foil

Methods:
1.wash,remove gibbets.Pat dry and marinate the chicken overnight in a glass bowl.
2.Preheat oven to 220 degree Celsius.Fry the onion and garlic,add in ingredients for stuffing and seasonings.
3.Once stuffing is cooled,stuff into cavity of chicken,I also stuff some under the skin.
4.Wrap up the chicken with lotus leaf.Once done,wrap up in aluminium foil,making sure the foil is sealed tight to prevent gravy from leaking during baking.
5.Place chicken package onto baking tray and bake for 1 hour.After that,reduce heat to 180 degree Celsius and bake for 1 1/2 hours.
Result:chicken is moist and tender,drop off the bones,with the lingering fragrance of lotus leaf penetrating into it.Yummy,my lao gong polished off half the chicken in one sitting...haha

Appearance can be deceiving

Our dinner,pasta bolognese filled with veggies such as carrots,celery,button mushrooms,tomatoes and shredded chicken,though for clover,her pasta was vegetable spirals,which has added antioxidant in it....


Brought clover to the polyclinic for her 18th month developmental assessment,was told that shes a big and tall for her age,well,nothing new,heard that comment all the time from family and strangers alike...As we were about to leave,the nurse threw in this advice,cut down on snacks...???Simple enough yet seem like a tall order when clover is steer off candies,cakes,chocolate and the likes,her tea-times comprised of fresh fruits,baby yoghurt,oatmeal,steamed carrots,pumpkins,manago,avocado...As for the bakes,she only get to enjoy a morsel of it once in a long while,hardly called worthy of a slice...Told this to the nurse,who went "oh wah!a healthy diet ,keep it up!!"There u go,despite her size,clover indeed is eating wisely,haha...much to the surprise of everyone around her...haha...Hmm...If only the mother can be just as disciplined,gosh,I can shake off those flabs without much difficulty,wouldn't I ?haha....

Neck-rest banana chiffon cake

It does resemble one,doesn't it?haha.The cake can be further improved,for sure,and I learnt that I ought to wait till the cake is completely cooled before inverting,which in a haste,I did not do so,the cake is meant to be baked in 25-inch chiffon bakeware,but as I only have a 23-inch,I simply poured it till 1/2 full,hence the height is not as tall as I liked it be.The cake is light,airy with the lingering aroma of bananas with every bite,it is so addictive that I forsake my strict dieting,haha...,Offered my friend a ride home,she spied the Barney neck pillow resting on the car seat and commented,"U bought that for your ger?Arent you indulging her far too much?"Haha...Unabashedly,I am pampering her too much,being the only child ,I suppose I want the best for her,huh?Oops,must be careful for I certainly do not want a spoilt brat...As clover gets older,it is a challenge to balance the scales...hmm..any parenting strategy,anyone?hehe...

Banana Chiffon Cake(adapted from recipebazar.com with modifications)
2 cups flour(I used top flour,flour with less protein will result in a light-texture cake)
3 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup sugar(I reduced it to 1 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup oil
6 egg whites
1 cup mashed bananas,mixed with 1 tbsp lemon juice
4 egg yolks
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Methods:
1.Preheat oven to 180 degree celcius.

2.In bowl,sift flour and baking powder,blend in oil,mashed bananas,milk and beat well.Add in half the recommended amount of sugar and beat.

3.In a clean bowl,make sure bowl is truly clean and dry.Add in egg whites and beat till stiff peaks,adding in rest of sugar and cream of tartar,when peaks are about to form,adding in too soon will result in longer beating time.

4.Fold in banana mixture into egg whites,gently and in one direction,do not stir,as the built-in air structure will be deflated,yielding tough crumbs and hard cake.Pour into 25-inch ungreased chiffon bakeware,to bake for about 40minutes,test cake with wooden skewer.

5. Leave cake to cool before inverting.enjoy with hot cuppa.

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...