Health is really wealth...

Goodness me, I've been sick for more than a month!

A seemingly innocent trip with Little Pixie to the Botanic Gardens did me in. I came down with what I thought was flu - but the doc said it was an allergy.

I had it bad. Cough, post-nasal drip, couldn't breath!

I was almost getting better - and then had a 'relapse' after eating homemade sandwiches!!

I'd forgotten that when you have an allergic reaction - you have to stay away from ALL possible allergens - even if you're not usually sensitive to them in the first place! For me, this turned out to be bread.

It turned out that my relapse was due to the HUGE amounts of wheat and yeast I was eating - because I'd been in a bread-baking frenzy after getting to know Happy Homebaker.

Indeed, health is really wealth. I don't think I want to stinge on food anymore - the amount of money I saved from buying cheap, lousy food in an effort to be a better household budgeter was pittance compared to what the 5 doctor visits cost me this time round!

Thankfully, I also found another blogger who has experience in all these food intolerances etc!
Check out Main Main Masak Masak for all these fantastic healthy ideas!

Families and Illnesses....

The Gnome had been in hospital for a gruelling month or so, got out, and then went in again. The 2nd time, it was for his surgery on the brain, which took over 12 hours. From what I could decipher, it involved opening up the brain, and then inserting some battery over his heart to be powered or something like that. Sounded very frightening to me, given his age.

They were also having problems with Wati - a good maid-turned-bad.

Over the course of the last couple of months, the Goose seemed to have aged a lot.

Chronic illnesses take a terrible toll on families. The Goose insisted on rushing daily from TTSH in Novena to home in Yew Tee to cook for the Gremlins. I felt like boxing the Gremlins and giving them a piece of my mind because the purported reason was that the Gremlins refused to eat Economic Rice bought from outside - because they "looked like vomit". I don't know where these kids get their perspectives from . But you have to know, this Gremlin takes 2 hours to eat dinner because he is simultaneously watching CartoonNetwork, has to reheat his soup 4 times in the microwave because he dislikes cold soup, and can't hear you while he eats dinner.

The Gnome's temperament had gone haywire. After the operation - he seemed to have lost his emotions and took out all his frustration and anger on the Goose. I think the Goose finally stopped trying to cook for the Gremlins.

Two weeks ago, I brought Little Pixie via MRT from Bukit Batok to Novena. I burnt off an entire day's worth of meals just carrying her 3.5kg stroller on one shoulder, 5kg bag on another shoulder, 9kg Little Pixie on one arm, and swiping the MRT card on the other arm.

Once at Novena, I was rather miffed because people at the 2-way gate refused to give way to me, a stroller-toting, baby-carrying mother. They, the single commuters without any wheelchairs, prams or what-have-yous as excuses to use the 2-way gate, just kept swiping their cards at the opposite direction, preventing me from getting out of the freaking station. I had to jump in and pounce on the swipe whilst there was a split-second gap between 2 SINGLE commuters rushing to use the 2-way gate, before the gate would turn in my favour and I could finally get out.

This is what real grape juice looks like

Airport juiced a bunch of grapes which looked like Red Globe but didn't have seeds. Compare the rich colour and cloudiness with the processed, additive-rich, preserved juice-like drinks you find in the supermarket shelves!

Kenny Rogers Corn Muffins

Kenny Rogers Corn Muffins

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup frozen yellow corn

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream together butter, sugar, honey, eggs and salt in a large bowl. Add flour, cornmeal and baking powder and blend thoroughly. Add milk while mixing. Add corn to mixture and combine by hand until corn is worked in. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan and fill each cup with batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until muffins begin to turn brown on top.

Verdict
The Goose said that of all the muffins that I did up till this time (she hasn't tasted the banana ones or Nigella orange ones yet) - this was the best. However, I would use real cornmeal (I substituted this one with my organic coarse cornmeal which made the muffin crunchy.) - because I felt that this one tasted more like a honey muffin than a corn muffin.

Hanabi Trip

Sashimi Sampler

Lasik and Timberlake were very kind to celebrate my birthday with me at Hanabi. I had been wanting to visit this place for the longest time - and going with Tin Hang Zai wasn't a good idea because I eat so little of everything - and he gets repulsed by rawness, and the aroma of seaweed and stuff. Bless the Pink Couple!

Anyway, despite the service being rather lacklustre - we had a great time talking. The food was VERY fresh - and the variety was amazing. It was quirky because it's not a REAL Japanese restaurant - waitresses were mainly from China and I think a couple from Myanmar or something - not all of them understand English.

Overall, I'd give this place

8/10 for food quality - if you want a value-for-money buffet and ultra-fresh food (which is critical in Japanese cuisine) - this is the place to go.

4/10 for service - it's brusque at best. One waitress preferred to converse in 'item codes' whilst another insisted that we order by 'item name' instead. Another could not understand simple English. We were also 'chased out' 15 min before closing time so that they could all go home in time. For sure this is not a "real" Japanese restaurant.

Awesome Banana Muffins!

Good Ol' Banana Muffins

I must say that I have never been a fan of banana-stuff because it's considered too "cooling" for my constitution in TCM. Plus, I do not have a sweet tooth.

My ultimate food fantasy is a mountain of keropok, not some sweet dessert. Most of the stuff I make or bake is for Tin Hang Zai or Little Pixie or friends or family. However, these muffins were so good that I could not resist finishing a couple for myself.

I let MZ try some, and she said they were good enough to sell!! (MZ is a self-confessed picky eater who has very high standards for desserts).

As usual, this recipe is from a pretty reliable source - the Joy of Cooking. Check out a similar recipe here. These days, I try to stick to tried-and-tested chefs rather than odd recipes scrounged from the Internet - the results are far more consistent if you stick to a chef, IMHO.

Recipe:
Dry Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour (I used unbleached organic flour from NTUC)
1/2 whole wheat flour / wheat bran (I used leftover wholegrain spelt flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon (of course I was too lazy to add)
1/8 tsp nutmeg (of course I was too lazy to add)
2/3 coarsely chopped walnuts (omitted so that Little Pixie could enjoy it)

Wet Ingredients
1 large egg
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I didn't bother to pack, and used only 1/2 cup)
2-3 mashed ripe bananas - I used 3 ripe, Del Monte ones
6 tblspn vegetable oil (I substituted with melted butter - cuz I had extra)
1 tsp vanilla.

Mix according to the usual Muffin method. Baked in a preheated oven at 375 deg F, for about 15-18 min. Makes 12. Rack should be in centre of oven.

Foolproof Cheesecake!

Side View

Isometric View

This is from Annabel Karmel's Feeding Your Baby and Toddler.

It's unbelievably easy.

Ingredients

Base

• 250g digestive biscuits (I used Marie, don't try Jacobs, the taste is just odd)
• 125g butter
• 60g caster sugar (optional - this is an addition from the Phoon Huat class I attended)
• 60g honey (optional - this is an addition from the Phoon Huat class I attended)

Filling

• 225g caster sugar (as usual, I replaced with brown sugar)
• 3tblspn cornflour
• 675g cream cheese (from Phoon Huat)
• 2 eggs
• 1tsp vanilla essence
• 225ml whipping cream
• 75g sultanas

Here's how:

• Preheat oven to 180C.
• Crush biscuits, melt butter, and mix with honey and sugar (if used).
• Line a 9-inch springform tin with baking paper and GREASE the sides Note: If using a different-sized pan, please reduce the batter accordingly, else results might differ. Greasing is compulsory - else your cake might crack in the middle while baking.
• Pack the crumbs into the tin - and chill for at least half-hour (or freeze 15 min). I used a potato-masher to pack.
• To make the filling, mix the sugar and cornflour, and then beat in the cream cheese till smooth.
• Add the eggs and vanilla essence. Beat till smooth.
• Slowly whisk in the cream until mixture thickens slightly. Stir in sultanas, if using.
• Pour into cake tin. Bake for 1 hr.
• Chill overnight before eating.

Reviews:

Tin Hang Zai's colleagues loved this. Koala and her mom and sis did too!

Canola is not all that good!

Every other day, you read that something you've been using in your food for ages is toxic.

There are plants that give oil - coconut, palm, peanut, sunflower, what have you.

Have you ever wondered if there is such a plant called canola? There isn't. This thing is a GMO product!!

Please check out this article.

Daddy and his Little Girl

Isn't this just beautiful?

Nigella's Lovely Chocolate Muffins

Nigella's Chocolate Chip Muffins

• 250g plain flour (roughly one cup)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons best quality cocoa
• 175g caster sugar
• 150g chocolate chips (plus more for sprinkling later - I was lazy and didn't bother to sprinkle any)
• 250ml milk
• 90ml vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 200C and fill a 12-bun muffin tray with paper cases. Weigh out the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Pour all the liquid ingredients into a measuring jug. Mix both together – it will be a runny batter - then spoon into waiting muffin cases. Sprinkle more chocolate chips on top then cook for 20 minutes or until the muffins are risen and springy. Makes 12.

These turned out very nice - as nice as the orange ones. Remember not to over-mix! And, less milk may help - makes the batter more lumpy and supposedly lighter.

Nice Char Kway Teow @ Outram

I hadn't eaten this in a long time - even though it's one of my childhood favourites (next to white chicken skin and black carrot cake).

But when we walked past this stall at the makeshift Outram hawker centre, the aroma was... AWESOME!!!

It's called Hill Street Char Kway Teow. Look out (I meant, sniff out) for the aroma. And I gobbled up all the lard!

60s' Live Seafood

View from 60s' Live Seafood

Seeing that the Gnome was in poor spirits and the Goose couldn't stop her grumbling as a result, the Pixie Family decided to take the G-Folks to this nice hangout.

Are all Cantonese critical? Ever the critical Cantonese folks that they were - they didn't like it at all. Gremlin and little Goblin were making such a din - they got scolded by the Pixie.

The Pixies still love this place. And Lasik and Mr Ching Wan-Timberlake got hooked too.

Baking Class at Civil Service Club

The Pixie decided to take the affection-starved Gremlin to a Baking Buddies Hands-On Baking Class at the Civil Service Club for an afternoon of bonding and undivided attention.

Gremlin was so excited about it that he fantasised about the class constantly for the one month before the class.

It turned out to be a very fun experience. For $38 per adult-plus-child pair, the two of them got to bake this Monster Cookie just in time for Father's Day. Tin Hang Zai and Little Pixie both got very cute cookies at the end of the session - whilst Gremlin took the Monster Cookie to share with the adults-who-ignore-him-and-keep-putting-him-down.

The Pixie got her chance to finally ask Judy Seah (the lovely little girl who was the 'teacher' for the session) some burning questions like:

• There is no way to substitute vegetable oil for butter in a cookie recipe. The effect's just not going to be the same.
• Brown sugar makes cookies soft - white makes it crisp. Adjust proportion to taste and preference.
• Addition of more flour to the recipe makes the dough less sticky and easier to manipulate - but the cookies will be crisper. Adjust to preference.
• Dough can be frozen for future use.
• Eggs make the cookies rise.

This was definitely a better value than the Phoon Huat class - but then again - this is hands-on, the other was a demo class. Can't compare apples with oranges. And of course, this is in a different league from the Imp's type of classes.

Judy's good with kids. (Gremlin kept talking non-stop - and she never lost her patience with him.) And she has her own website! Check this out - Baking Hobby Club.

Baking Classes at Phoon Huat

Desperate to learn from the experts 'once and for all' on how to make proper muffins, the Canton Pixie finally succumbed to signing up for a baking class at Phoon Huat.

The menu for the day was Cranberry Muffin and New York Cheese Cake. She was probably the only attendee there for the muffin. The other 43 people were there for the cheese cake.

The Phoon Huat experience is definitely highly recommended for an afternoon of cheap laughs. At $10 per session, redeemable for Phoon Huat products, it's a real steal!

Francis (the chef) speaks in really broken English ("nebber mind lah, got no white sugar, blahhun sooger also can. If no cake crumbs, just use biscuit crumbs. Anything will do, cheap cheap") and his Mandarin is peppered with lots of English words.

The Pixie was astounded. There were people of literally all shapes and sizes! From petite teenage girls to full-fledged rounded Aunties, my goodness! There was even a guy who came with his mother!

One Auntie kept shouting instructions to Francis. "Francis ah, if you beat the egg longer, I think your cake will be softer." "Francis ah, must add more water else not moist enough". "Francis ah, blah blah blah".
You so clever then be the chef lah!

One woman was rushing to catch the 4pm flight! (Class was from 2 to 4pm). There were more than 10 digital cameras zooming in at any one time. One woman even used her handphone to video the whole process. (Can't you bozos refer to the Internet!?!?!?)

The muffins (remember - this is a "cheap laugh" kind of baking class) were actually cakes in disguise. Urgh!!!

However, the cheese cake was GOOOD!!! And Phoon Huat sells Anchor butter at half the price of Shop n Save.

Tong Shui Cafe (TSC) @ Changi Airport Terminal 2

Gold Fish Dumplings in Nasty Soup

It has been a hectic month for the Pixie Family and connected Veterans. The Veteran had a knee operation - and Airport and the Canton Pixie had been stressing out trying to provide homecooked lunch and dinner for the whole of TWO WEEKS.

Tin Hang Zai has travelled thrice this month - and whilst picking him up from T2 past Friday, the Pixie Family decided to have dinner at this quirky place that looks high-class but serves Hong Kong street grub.

Hungering for hot soup - we ordered Gold Fish Dumplings in soup. The soup smelt like goldfish water!!! I bravely attempted a spoonful, and nearly spat it out! (Not that I have ever reared goldfish or gone near them - but the soup smelt and tasted as foul as I imagined goldfish water would smell and taste.) Urgh!! The dumplings were made of some cheap-tasting orange-coloured fish meat with bits of carrot and suspicious red cubes for its eyes. I couldn't stop laughing because this was such a funny experience!

The fish and chips (OK, I think this place obviously doesn't understand the concept of "core competencies") were drenched in some TSC-special "red and white" sauce - which turned out to be ketchup and mayo! Urgh! This felt like a high-class Pasar Malam fish-Ramly. And the battered fish smelt extremely fishy. (*gag*)

French Toast with Strawberry Ice Cream

Highly amused, I decided to give the desserts a try. This was ok (I mean, you can't go wrong with French Toast and what tastes like Magnolia ice-cream, can you??).

Overall - I gave the experience 8/10 for the quirkyness and the laughs (there were workmen carrying wheelbarrows of soil in and out of the restaurant through the tables at 7pm on a Friday night)

Food-wise
The usually lenient Tin Hang Zai gave the dumplings a 2/10 and the ghastly soup a 0/10.
Fish and Chips - 2/10 (for $9.88++ I'm sure we can find a better-tasting deal elsewhere)
Dessert - 7/10 (I can do this myself)

I'd probably go back just for the laughs

Fancy Stuffed Potatoes with Chicken, Mushroom and Onion!

Awesome Banana-Nut Bread!

I've made many of these quick breads before but they were all badly risen and generally blah. (I got all those from Allrecipes)

This is just awesome. I got this from The Joy of Cooking, lovingly given to me as a wedding gift by the 2 Women-of-God that I look up to most - beautiful middle-aged-but-forever-young-and-joyful Bamboo Poles. And this is the very 1st time I'm using this after 5 long years!!

Awesome! Soft and just right, not too sweet and not too salty!
Now, to wait 24 hrs and see if they remain soft....

Bingo!! They do!

60s Live Seafood

On an expat friend's recommendation (this is certainly embarrassing, an expat recommending local stuff to a local), we checked out this interesting tze char place at the Green Fairways Club.

The journey there is nondescript - I don't even know how to describe trying to find this tiny little roadsign covered with algae which leads you into a long, winding road across beautiful meadows (sounds very Enid Blyton right? But the only Pixie around was riding in the Pixiemobile) and you can see stables and horses around, with no traffic lights at all!!

Anyway, there are quite a few angmohs hanging out here. But the food is ABSOLUTELY GOOD.

The bittergourd soup is superb ($10 for a pot for 5). Forget about the nasty stuff they serve you at the market tze-chars - full of fish cakes and MSG. This one's full of eggs, REAL seafood and yum!

The rest of the food (baked crab, chilli crab, deep-fried baby squid, butter prawns) was so amazing. Everything was just fresh. And gasp! Good!

We're definitely becoming regulars here.

I give this a 9.9/10. (Perfect scores only found in heaven)

Marvellous Soft Muffins - I DID IT!!!!

Orange Breakfast Muffins by Nigella

Honestly, after umpteenth failed attempts, I had about given up. But then, Cat Angel introduced me to this recipe from Nigella.

• 75g unsalted butter
• 250g self-raising flour
• 25g ground almonds
• half teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 75g caster sugar (I just used brown sugar)
• zest of 1 orange (omitted)
• 100ml freshly squeezed orange juice (I used Ceres packet)
• 100ml full-fat milk (I used my home-made brown rice milk)
• 1 egg
• 12-bun muffin tray lined with 12 paper cases

Preheat the oven to 200 deg C. Melt the butter and set aside. Combine the flour, ground almonds, bicarb, baking powder, sugar and orange zest in a large bowl. Measure the orange juice and milk into a jug and whisk in the egg and then the cooled, melted butter. Now pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing with a fork as you go. The batter will be lumpy but that's as it should be: you want everything to be no more than barely combined. If really too dry, add another tablespoon of milk or orange juice (I did). The whole point of muffin mixture is that it must never be overworked. Spoon out the mixture equally into the muffin cases and cook for 15-20 minutes. Remove, in their paper cases, to a wire rack and let cool slightly (but not completely) before devouring.Makes 12.

This is the VERY FIRST TIME my muffins have turned out non-hard!!!
P/S Tin Hang Zai says it's not sweet enough for him - but it was for me - and this is supposed to be eaten with jam.

Doc Green Gourmet Salad

This place serves grills, sandwiches, soups and salads.

Nothing out of the ordinary - but for $14.90, I had a quarter chicken, quarter-slab of BBQ ribs, and the best salad I've ever had.

Tiny tangerines, grapes, cranraisins, sliced almonds and baby spinach leaves tossed in a tangy orange dressing. Yum!