Stealing Some Time-off for the Kitchen

I was so eager to start cooking and eating normal food again after the one-month confinement month. MIL bought us a lot of stuff too so I had to cook anyway to free some space for my breast milk in the freezer so here are some of my cooking that I managed to do while taking care of the little one at the same time! 

#1

Simple lunch for one: 10-grain rice porridge with minced pork, carrot and potato with a tablespoon of Bovril, served with some boiled broccoli and cherry tomatoes.
Story behind this lunch? Finished in 2 hours while taking care of a attention-seeking baby. FML. :p

#2

Super yummy One-Pot Chicken 10-grain Rice with Chinese Sausage, Shiitake Mushrooms and Edamame! So easy to make, packed with all the needed nutrition yet super yummy!!!

#3

Cooked up this Simple Chicken and Mushroom Porridge to go with some French Beans Omelet for the parent who are now pretty much domesticated.

#4

And then Mamo came to visit Rayden and got the two sisters over for dinner where Mamo took care of Rayden while I cooked up this beautiful table of dinner! Mamo contributed the yummy Fu Chok Soup and Peanuts Soup while I made Oven Baked Chicken Drumsticks, Fu Yong Egg, Stir-fry Mixed Vege and Garlic Butter Prawns. :)

#5

Learned this very simple Chicken Rice recipe from Mamo and made it again when she was around (cos I need her to cut the chicken when they are done. LOL). Goes so well with the bowl of gravy that came out from the steamed chicken. Served with a Stir-fry Watercress with Goji Berry yo!

#6

Same Chicken Rice to go with some Dong Gui Chicken (not homemade), Stir-fry Kailan and ABC Soup. Hmmmm this is making me hungry!!!

#7

Still trying to clear the freezer... Stir-fry Ladies Fingers with Sha Cha Sauce, Ginger and Onion Pork Slices with some 10-grain rice for dinner.

#8

Awesome lunch for one: Leftover Chicken Rice with some simple sauteed Zucchini, Tomato and Minced Pork and a fried egg. So delicious and healthy!

#9

Made some Steamed Minced Pork with Preserved Cabbage and Stir-fry Kangkong (both Deardo's favourite dishes) and a Herbal Soup for another dinner for two. :)

#10

Yes, purposely cooked so much of chicken rice so that I can eat them for lunch when I was alone at home. Same ingredients as #8 you see but different method of cooking. Here I made Steamed Minced Pork with Egg and Sauteed Zucchini with Chili Flakes. Very hearty meal indeed!

#11

Now adding zucchini into porridge is pretty weird but you know, it was only for myself so it's fine! 10-grain porridge with the leftover Steamed Minced Pork with Egg, Zucchini and drizzle with sesame oil. I think it was pretty yummy though!

#12

Pork Ribs from MIL so recipe also from MIL. Here's the first time me cooking Steamed Pai Kuat with Preserved Black Beans (quite nice actually), served with some Shrimps Omelet since we ran out of vege.

#13

Braised Pork Belly, Garlic Butter Prawns and Stir-fry Spinach for another dinner for two.

#14

Making full use of the leftover Braised Pork Belly at #13 and made myself my own version of Ja Jiang Mian with Spaghetti, carrots, cabbage and Omelet! I call this creative cooking yo! :p

#15

Shark Meat from MIL so recipe also from her. Just Fried them up with some onions, ginger and dried chili and it was quite tasty already! Went with a side of Stir-fry French Beans with Shrimps and Turmeric Powder.

#16

Cabbage and Pork Balls Soup with Glass Noodles for lunch for one! Get the recipe here!

#17

Dinner for three (FIL included) in another attempt to clear the freezer! Braised Kampung Chicken with Shiitake Mushrooms and Hard Boiled Egg, Stir-fried Cabbage with Dried Shrimps and surprisingly awesome Curry Prawns and Shark Meat. I said 'surprisingly' cos it was a random curry paste I got from the supermarket and I replaced coconut milk with fresh milk and the dish still turned out to be super awesomely delicious! Yay! More curries in the future! :D

I've come to a realisation that I really prefer cooking over taking care of a crying baby. I mean, who doesn't? LOL. Hasn't been cooking like this since I got back to work though. Shall attempt that again maybe the next few weekends?

Peanut Butter Oatmeal (and Chia Seed) Cookies Recipe

During my entire pregnancy (and even know), I've grown to have a sweet tooth, which is a very abnormal Shirlexia. Every now and then, I crave for some sweet stuff after meal, be it dessert or just a sugary drink. 

That developed into baking, as witnessed in my previous entry on some of my baking adventure. I've bake more than I've ever bake in my entire life during my months of pregnancy! LOL!
Anyway, I decided to bake some of the Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies, recipe taken from here because I love peanut butter and oatmeal are known to be healthy and tummy-filling, just right for the Mummy Shirlexia who was always feeling hungry (now too, actually).

So what you need are: 
1 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups old-fashioned oats (I use rolled oats)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter (I used crunchy)
1 large egg (I put two cos our eggs are smaller)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
(Added some Chia Seed too just cos I have a packet of them sitting in my cabinet)

Here's what you do: 
1) Preheat oven to 350° (I lowered this slightly because I make smaller pieces cookies). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners.
2) Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the oats. Set aside.

3) Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the peanut butter. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix well.

4) Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until combined (here I added the Chia Seed).

5) Drop the dough by 1/4 cup (4 tablespoon) portions onto the prepared pans. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown (I make smaller pieces so I only baked for less than 10 minutes, checking the oven from time to time until I feel they are done).

6) Cool the cookies on the pan for 5 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

And you are done!

I'm not too sure how is the texture like as per the original recipe, but I'm pretty sure it's the American cookies type with a moist centre. Mine were just a little moist and quite crumbly. Taste wise, it's not too sweet, in fact it tasted a tad salty because of both the little sad added and the peanut butter, which is really delicious (peanut butter lovers like me would agree)! I find the cookies very homey and delicious yet pretty healthy! Goes perfectly-well with some cold fresh milk! Yay!
Gotta make more when I have some time! But when is thaaaaaaaattt???

Home-cooked for the Hungry Mummy Shirlexia II

Hello from home where I don't cook because I'm theoretically not even allowed to touch any cold water during this entire confinement month FML. I kinda miss cooking already I think maybe because I'm starting to get a bit sick of the limited stuff I can eat during confinement month. Sigh...

Anyway, here are some of the cooking/baking I've done before I popped that I still want to share with you guys. :)

#1 'Fake' Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

'Fake' because I cheated. I bought this pre-packed mixture and all I needed to add were eggs and butter! Oh yeah so easy and you get some nice American cookies already! The only problem though, is that since it's pre-mixed, the sugar content is quite high so they were a little too sweet. :S

#2 Nutella Oreo Cheese Bars

During the final months of having baby Rayden in my tummy, I was constantly craving for after meal desserts. Hence, I also suddenly have this really strong baking mojo. This one though, was a spin-off from the Nutella Cheesecake Bars I've done earlier. All I did was I added Oreo cookies in the second layer - the cream cheese layer. I'm proud to say it was a hit at 3e's CNY gathering this year where she secretly kept some in the fridge before we could finish them all! :p

#3 Oreo Cheese Bars

Another spin-off from the same recipe here. Ran out of Nutella so let's make an Oreo Cheese Bars! Still works! Although I'm not too sure should I actually bake it or just chill it cos I think it still works if I just chill it? Lol, not entirely a good baker I am, I admit!

#4 Chicken Porridge with Stir-fry Okra and Onion Omelet

Was still making a lot of chicken porridge for quick dinner fixes. Only difference here is I added Shiitake Mushrooms, sweet corn and carrots here for extra colours and nutrition.

#5 Chicken Porridge (again) with Water Cress Soup and Steamed Okra with Homemade Sambal

Honestly, Steamed Okra with Sambal is really awesome. But don't ask me for the recipe for the Sambal, it was from my MIL. :p

#6 Chinese Sausage Quinoa Served with Sweet Corn and Brussels Sprouts

Slowly getting the hang of cooking some perfect Quinoa now, most of the time with the rice cooker. And I really love Brussels sprout but it is one of the vegetables that Deardo is afraid of so yes, this was a home-alone meal. :)

#7 Minced Beef and Mixed Veg Pasta

Was working from home already about a week before baby Rayden was born so I made myself some awesome lunches like this. I fried the pasta with beef marinated with cumin powder, light soya sauce and pepper, tomato, Edamame and broccoli. Seasoned with some pepper and black pepper then sprinkle some roasted sesame on top to make this really yummy pasta dish!

#8 Minced Pork and Mixed Veg Pasta

Made another version of the pasta with Vermicelli Spaghetti, replaced the beef with pork and broccoli with asparagus for Deardo to try. Not too bad either! :)

#9  Dried Scallop Porridge with Tau Eu Bak and Stir-Fry Mixed Vege

Improved my Tau Eu Bak by cooking it over fire instead of slow cooker and also added cinnamon sticks. Yumz... Get the Tau Eu Bak recipe here.

#10 Instant Noodle with Homemade Chicken Soup

For another home alone lunch, I boiled some chicken soup with Goji berry to go with some instant noodle instead of using the seasoning packets that comes with the noodles. Added some oyster mushrooms, black fungus and broccoli for extra nutrition for the then mummy-to-be. :)

#11 Quinoa with Chicken Strips and Zucchini Served with Kacang Botol Omelet

Chicken Strips was leftover from the chicken stock we made while Kacang Botol Omelet was urm, something different???

#12 Curry Pork Ribs Dinner

Made some curry bai kuat with Kacang Botol as well, since we only have that in the fridge. Don't ask me for the curry recipe cos it was pre-packed curry paste. :p Had that with some stir-fry spinach, old cucumber soup and our favourite 10-grain rice with Chinese Sausages.

#13 Fried Soba with Chicken Strips and Zucchini Served with Edamame and Fried Egg

Same ingredients as #11, only this one with Soba noodles, definitely my favourite Japanese noodles of all. Topped that up with Edamame to make it really 'Japanese'. LOL.

#14 Just another Chicken Porridge and Stir-fry French Beans with Chinese Sausages 

Trying out new stuff again here with Chinese Sausages in a French beans dish. 

#15 One-Pot Chicken, Chinese Sausage and Edamame 10-Grain Rice Served with Stir-fry Kale and a Fried Egg

This is my favourite of all my home alone lunches. Rice cooked with all ingredients dumped into the rice cooker and the smell and taste of it was so good!!! Also cooked and tasted Kale for the first time, made it an Asian one with bit of oyster sauce and light soya sauce. Tasted quite like Kailan, which I really like! Such a yummey lunch! :D

Okay, that's all for now. Perhaps more cooking adventure when I'm left alone at home during my second month of maternity leave? 

Making Tau Eu Bak with a Slow Cooker

So we had pork belly that MIL bought for us laying in the freezer for some time now until one fine weekend I decided that I'm making Tau Eu Bak (otherwise known as Braised Pork Belly in Dark Soy Sauce), one of my favourite dishes my two Ah Mas used to cook. I especially love my dad's mum's version - Hers was simpler without much herbs but the meat were always so tender that I couldn't help topping up my rice just to go with the dish. She knows that I love it too so she would call me whenever she makes that dish. Too bad she isn't cooking anymore but I'm here to make Ah Mas proud yo!

... Hahahaha... Or so I thought lar!

Being lazy and also so ngam we ran out of gas at home, I made my version of Tau Eu Bak (mostly based on KY's recipe) with a slow cooker.

What You Need: 
Approximately 11/2 strips of pork belly (for 2-3 pax) cut into roughly 1/2 inch big, Fu Chok pre-soaked, hard-boiled eggs, dark soya sauce, light soya sauce, rock sugar (I used brown sugar), about 6 cloves of garlic (leave the skin on), a couple of cinnamon sticks (I conveniently forgot to buy this), 8-10 cloves, 4-5 star anise, 1 teaspoon of 5 spice powder (also forgot to buy this)

*KY's recipe calls for Shiitake Mushrooms but I replace them with Fu Chok cos I love Fu Chok in Tau Eu Bak! He also cooked the pork belly in a strip then cut later when it's cooked but I followed my Ah Ma's style here.

What to do:
1) Dump the pork belly in the slow cooker pot, throw in appropriate amount of dark and light soya sauce, plus about 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Stir them all up.

2) Now dump in all the herbs and garlic. 

3) Now add in two bowls of water.

4) Turn on the slow cooker and set it to high and let the pork cook for an hour.
5) Turn the fire to low (or medium if yours has that function), add in the Fu Chok. 

6) Let it cook for another two hours, but about 30 minutes before that, add in the hard boiled eggs, taste the gravy and if needed to, add more light soya sauce to taste. 

Now serve the homey bowl of Tau Eu Bak in a bowl, garnish it with spring onion if you want to, perfect to go with steam rice or porridge!

Pretty awesome looking, aye?

I think my version of Tau Eu Bak needs just a little bit more of saltiness, but Deardo was saying it was good as a healthier version. Since I prefer my pork to be tender, mine weren't tender enough so next time I'm either going to leave it longer in the slow cooker or cook it over fire to get that tenderness that I always like. Otherwise, it was about 80% success!

No-gas-dinner: Slow-cooked Tau Eu Bak, Rice cooker-cooked dried scallop porridge and induction cooker-cooked long beans.

Still have some pork belly left in the freezer so should attempt to make a 100% success Tau Eu Bak soon! :)