i shall not stop writing.

i haven't stopped writing although i may have kinda stopped touching personal issues in here. but i promise to keep updating in a more professional level HERE.

Showing posts with label nutritional meals. Show all posts

Quick and Easy Recipe in 7 min!

"I tertarik dengan your resipi sandwich that you posted some time ago. Do you have any other easy recipes that you can share? I need something new that I have not tried before..."

Toughcookie says:

Funny that this blog is almost turning into a foodie. But, yes, I do have a couple more easy and quick ones up my sleeves and since they are really my own recipes, I guess it won't hurt to share.

Well, actually, this one here isn't an entirely a Toughcookie original recipe. I have adapted it based on some basic stuff I learnt while preparing little jj's pureed stock a year ago (I think!) and added some other stuff to suit my taste buds. I've prepared this a number of times to the one and my little munchkin, and they both thought it was tasty, despite the one not truly fond of fish, particularly, salmon.

Yup, we all know that cooking fish is probably the easiest and quickest... and, I chose salmon because well, I love salmon ;). Little jj loves it too and I am so glad that she does because salmon is among the safest (lowest risk of mercury contamination from the sea), highest in protein and best sources of Omega 3 fatty acid (which is the best food for the heart and brain).

And so, during my lazy moments, I would take out a fish fillet and put everything else in the dish and I can either eat it just like that or have it with rice. But, since salmon is very filling, chances are, you don't need rice to go with it.

What you need: Salmon (250-300gms), broccoli florets, slices of carrots, 20gms unsalted butter, shredded cheese and milk (enough to fill around 2mm of the dish - very shallow).

Not in picture: You can even add cauliflower and plenty of onions. Since I love onions, I would only add them after it is cooked so that the onions bring out a more intense flavour...

zoom in: you can see crushed black peppercorns and the veges soaked in milk...

Put the dish into a microwave oven and it would be nicely cooked in less than 10 minutes under the highest microwave setting. Mine cooked in 7 minutes only :)

Preparation time: less than 10 min

Cooking time: approx 7 min

Effort: minimal

Taste: Priceless!!

After effect: Full tummy, happiness :)

You can add salt to taste and sprinkle on black peppercorns before or after cooking, whichever you prefer. It is also tastier if you add shredded cheese after the dish is cooked. I've even tried using soy milk as the shallow base and the dish turned out still very delicious. Be sure to have the milk spread evenly on the dish or your vegetables may turn out a little dry. If you'd like your veges to be fresh, add them only at the last 1-2 minutes of cooking time.

You can even try other types of fish. I've tried Flatfish (Ikan Sebelah) and Mackerel, and they turned out just fine. Oh, just one more thing, salmon does omit a strong fishy smell... so, if you like, you could squeeze some lime zest on top. I didn't because I only take lime in drinks or junk food, not cooked food.

Hope you'll like this as much as little jj and I do ;)

Have Fun Cooking With Rohani Jelani

This is a much overdue post and I hate having to make excuses like being busy with work and the demands at home. Then again, that is the truth :|

Anyway, I have been very excited about this piece of stale news... recently (early last week, rather), I attended a cooking class by Rohani Jelani.

I found out about her when a blogger-friend wrote about her cooking lesson, visited the link that she provided and was sold instantly! ;P thanks, Izreen... the power of blogging, indeed...

Rohani Jelani is a petite bubbly personality who exudes an infectious charm. The moment that she came into the dining area where her eager students were waiting for her, I was totally enchanted by her small size and zest.

From what I read about her, she studied at the London Cordon Bleu before returning to KL and was employed in a commercial kitchen, slaving through back-breaking hours working in a large hotel. Through time, she made a switch in her career and became a resident food writer of a woman's magazine. I guess after awhile, it was a natural step for her to set up part-time cooking classes which I personally feel is a success story...

I mean, I went for a class on a Tuesday and was worried that it'd get cancelled as there is a disclaimer in her website which states that some classes may be cancelled if there are less than 4 students. It surprised me that she had a big turn up that day, 9 pax, to say the very least.

Since I am always such a stickler for time and totally hate the bad morning traffic at the LDP, I made my way a little early that day, to her beautiful resort-like cooking school in Sungai Penchala. As I was very early, the gates were still closed. Called them up and Wati, her assistant answered the phone and walahh... open sesame. Another student came just minutes after and we introduced ourselves to each other. I found out that Aishah, was to be my partner that day and we chatted non-stop. One look at her and she reminds me of my beloved cousin, Fida, who's residing in the UK for more than 10 years already *sigh... how I miss her dearly*

the pathway from the entrance leading towards the kitchen.

a neatly arranged dining table and a view of the spacious kitchen.

One-by-one the students arrived... we even had a Swiss couple who were so friendly and a reporter from the Star online, who was doing an online reporting about Bayan Indah, which not only has a spacious and airy kitchen for cooking lessons, but also accommodation facilities to those who need to get away from the hectic lifestyle and relax in its warm atmosphere (and, enjoy good food all day long!)

Rohani does her lessons according to themes. And I am not embarrassed to tell you that I enrolled in the theme, Kampung Cuisine. Yeah yeah... one may think that it is easy to whip up masak lemak and all that (and I believe I do whip up a mean dish at that) but I wanted to learn much more... I believe that cooking is an art and that one should be consistent with the quality one produces. More often than not, I work according to my gut feeling... a dash of this and a dash of that, some spoons or this and some cups of that.... I wanted much more. I wanted a proper step-by-step guide so that I do not have to worry all the time (since I am such a pain hehe...) and I would like for someone to tell me what I am doing wrong. I know that we could always learn from our moms but since my mom doesn't have specific measurements every time she cooked, I thought it would be an eye-opener to learn from the best in the industry.

That day, I chose Ayam Percik (spiced, grilled chicken), Nasi Kerabu (herb rice salad) and Masak Lemak Ayam Nenas (chicken and pineapple curry). I chose them because my family loves them compared to the other three dishes that were also listed under this theme. Aishah, my partner that day, chose Onde Onde (glutinous rice ball with palm sugar) instead of my last choice but since there weren't anyone else with similar choices to ours, we were given the option to whip up 4 dishes instead of 3. It sounded pretty okay until we were in our 2nd-3rd hour... and I'll tell you all about it later on :)

Before we started, we had a really wonderful chat with Rohani. I think she wanted us all to feel welcomed (and very welcomed, we did feel). She explained how the class will be like. She also said that many of us were first timers compared to other classes where she would have students who come by every once in awhile to take up different lessons from her over 60 themes! I could tell that Rohani loves company, she loves to be around people, she loves to talk to enthusiastic people, she loves sharing her passion for cooking with people and she's very engaging. It made me feel totally involved in what she was sharing with us all and made everyone aware of everyone else. She also explained on some of the processes and preparation that were done the way her team did and we all then grabbed an apron and a hand towel each before getting into action.

a properly arranged work-station is also key in the art of cooking.

moi holding a torch of ginger bud for the nasi kerabu...

My 'work' station was further inside and I liked that the kitchen was pretty airy... it was hot, I tell you, cooking and going here and there to whip up stuff which was explained clearly in the recipe that she provided in a folder but the atmosphere in the airy kitchen made it less stressful.

nice and airy, makes cooking so much more pleasant.

First up, we cooked Ayam Percik. I loved my partner, Aishah. I think we made a good team. There was good chemistry between us and she wasn't afraid to tell me if I had done anything I shouldn't have done. We were also both a little too cautious about the size of the flame on the stove that even though our gravy took awhile to cook, Rohani said our chicken came out beautiful :)

during the earlier stage - the preparation of the gravy...

rohani showing us how to peel the banana flower as our neighbour was doing kerabu jantung pisang.

While the chicken was cooking on the stove, we quickly went on to the next one - masak lemak nenas. Instead of chicken, we both got large prawns instead. Now, I know I always like to cook masak lemak at home and I do believe I cook it really well too... but through this lesson, I learnt the things I shouldn't do and Rohani scolded me in a joking manner on two things. Of course, I do think that if she could, she would have reprimanded me much firmly haha... but then again, she did want us all to have fun while cooking instead of being afraid to cook ;) in the end, the dish still turned out pretty tasty...

rohani thoroughly explaining how a prawn should be cut and the things that we need to have on our table top...

moi in action, frying salted fish for the nasi kerabu. aishah laughed hard when she found out i did a self-timer on my camera for this shot ;P

bending to ensure the herbs for Nasi Kerabu are chopped fine...

Next, came the ironic part.... as I mentioned earlier, my partner wanted to make Onde Onde, right... and the main reason I enrolled in this class was to learn how to make my favourite Nasi Kerabu. However, we discovered that I am not very good with knives and didn't cut the herbs as fine as how they should be cut. Therefore, Aishah took over slicing them herbs oh so finely while I had to move on with the next recipe as we only had another half hour before lunch. So.... you guessed it... I did the Onde Onde instead... and what a tedious task, as I found out later!

I know I've seen my mom done it many times before and I've even helped her put them balls into boiling water before taking it out after it floats to the top. But mannnn... I find making kuih very very cumbersome. You know, when you cook, it's like you take a little of this and that and grind and chuck them all in a wok bla bla bla... but this... the flour and the water temperature must be right to ease making a perfect dough. I was baaaaddd at that and Rohani had to add more flour and then even more because it was a total mess for me! Another student from the neighbouring group had to assist me as we were running late and Aishah had to help with the Nasi Kerabu from other groups but alas... the Onde Onde turned up ok despite all the drama. Still, if you asked me to make it again, I would give you a piercing stare. Ok?

my fat, juicy Onde Onde that tastes marvellous! ;P

Hmmm... then again, I think it must be a test from god since He knows how much the one loves Onde Onde. So I guess (and I am making a promise!!) that this year's fasting month, the Onde Onde shall come from my kitchen, not the Pasar Ramadan at Kelana Jaya hehe... *errksss*

We all then enjoyed the finale where everyone gets to taste everyone else's creations (I thought I took a picture of our Ayam Percik but that photo seem to have gone missing from my camera). We all chatted away and got to know each other even better.

moi looking oh so tired after the gruelling exercise in the kitchen haha....

Nasi Kerabu

Masak Lemak Udang & Nenas

Kerabu Jantung Pisang from another group...

Sebastian and Kaisa, shared with us their 'expensive' experience with the mangosteen over in Switzerland ;)

All in all, I truly appreciate this wonderful opportunity to learn while we expand our contacts. I think learning is a never-ending process in life and there is always so much to learn. I also admire at least one of them, who has a high-ranking position in one of our largest banks who took some time off work just so she could do the things she had always wanted to do. I mean, you may think that Kampung cuisine sounds too simple and easy for us locals but you'd be surprised how so many of us would jump at the chance of learning to prepare these dishes the proper way.

Rohani doesn't just teach us how to cook, she gave us valuable tips on preparation and presentation. It was even better that everyone was so lively and it helped even more that Rohani was quite patient with our quirks.

Aishah, Rohani & I.

They've all asked for my tips to posing in front of the camera hehe...

I came home feeling good yet highly lethargic as I kinda overdid myself after I swam for the first time in 2 years just the night before... and being on my toes for a good 3 hours in the kitchen made me hit the sack early that day.

I look forward to attending more classes from Rohani Jelani but especially her next one where I would be bringing my mom along, as a belated Mother's Day treat... that one shall be another memorable experience ;)

As I've mentioned in my brief post yesterday, I shall be wearing a fake "Chef" hat for the enquiry that I am featuring in this week's Toughcookie Thursdays. I am not very sure if the question is a test to what I can feature in this column or that this person sincerely thought I could help her. So here goes...

"Dear TC,
Every morning I kena bangun awal to prepare bekal for my husband to bring to office. He's always busy working and asked that I prepare something simple for him. I suka he likes me to prepare home cooked meal but I am starting to feel that I should prepare something healthy for him. You rasa boleh tolong suggest something good and tak susah nak prepare tak?"

I like this question because I always love a healthy meal, simply because I hardly exercise and that as a wife and mom, it is my duty to encourage a healthy diet in the family. Plus, since being at home forces me to be creative with the food that I prepare, I have come up with something simple, healthy, yet tasty and very quick to prepare. As you didn't specify what your husband likes to eat, I am going to answer your question based on my understanding on what you're looking for - a healthy fix that's easy to make.

Firstly, the ingredients... it is good to have these items in check as they totally would make preparing easier and the end product, tasty too...

clockwise from most left: triple washed salad, loaf of bread, sweet relish, mayonnaise, aluminium foil, turkey/chicken toast and cheese :)

I would suggest using the triple washed salad (there is a 7-leaf type and a 12-leaf type) because you do not need to wash them. Just cut off the packet, pull out them leaves and they're ready to eat. And if you're an environmental-friendly person, you may want to just use a food container instead of the aluminium foil. I like aluminium foil as it makes things easier for your husband so that he does not need to clean up the food container and then forget to bring it home...

As for the chicken/turkey toast, you can find them around the meat/chicken section of the supermarket. They come sliced in a frozen pack and they are ready to eat cold.

Spread the aluminium foil and place bread at the center.

Take out some leaves from the packet of salad and squeeze out some mayo. If you want a healthier choice, you may want to get the light version of mayo or you can even skip this step entirely because I can assure you, it tastes just as good without mayo.

Place chicken toast (or you can choose turkey for a healthier choice) and put some sweet relish on top of it for a sweet mild sour-y taste. I love how it complements the salty taste of mayo and cheese. Just a little will do.

I would skip this too if you think cheese is fattening. But then again, you can choose a low-fat version because I still think the calcium content outweighs everything else.

Andd... you're done! Wrap it up nicely...

Now, for some useful tips to keep it quick and easy, and also paying attention to details to keep the romance going ;P

What I'd do with the chicken/turkey toast after bringing them home from my grocery shopping is to layer them one-by-one with baking paper (you can get them in rolls packed just like the aluminium foil and microwave plastic sheets). Baking paper will prevent the slices from sticking to each other. Therefore, just in case you had forgotten to take them out from the freezer the night before and don't have time to defrost them, you can just separate them nicely from each other, hassle-free! Furthermore, the frozen slice would help maintain a low temperature for the salad and by lunch time, the sandwich would be just perfect...

This is something I'd like to do for my loved ones... you can pack the sandwich inside these cute plastic bags and seal them with lovely stickers. It may look childish to you but you would be surprised how your hubby would secretly appreciate this cute gesture.... oh, don't forget some paper napkins for him too.

Here, is a sticker that says, "Made with love". You could even get your hands on some white rectangular sticker for labels that you can just imprint your lips with your sexiest lipstick colour and walah... your husband shall smile and think of you while he has this healthy and tasty meal made especially for him.

If you have more time to prepare, you could even add onions and slices of tomatoes into the sandwich but it could be a little messy for him to eat when he wants a quick bite.

So, there you go... simple, quick, healthy and easy. Some may say it's a lazy way of doing things but hey... if there's a simpler way to create something healthy and tasty, and your loved ones are not picky about what they want to eat, I say, this is a meal made with love...

P/S: The 'recipe' and tips are as original as can be, as they are concocted from simple common sense on love, family, health, etc. If you've seen someone else do exactly like the methods above, it may either be a strange coincidence or the person is as smart, loving and considerate like Madame Toughcookie ;P

What Kind Of Food Do You Give A Sick Toddler?

Little jj is recovering from the slight fever she caught since Saturday. She was on and off with high temperature and I will always get a little concerned when it comes to her lack of appetite.

So today, at lunch, I get to see the strong resemblance of her daddy when her appetite sorta returned when I fed her hash browns from guess where - McD's! Like daddy like daughter, I'd say in this sense.

I do not want to spoil her diet because McD's is junk food to me and not a source of a healthy diet for a sick toddler. But another part of me wants her to eat so badly that it made me so happy to see her finally eat like she normally does. Once in awhile is ok then, eh?

I blame daddy for this love of McD hehe... so I guess it's true when they say that whatever you do when your partner is pregnant will most likely be presented in your little junior, be it good or bad :D

The only consolation in this case is that McD's is only downstairs and I liked the fact that little jj drinks lots and lots of water (just like mommy!) especially when she's under the weather.

Curious Kids Need To Be Tough Inside

supposedly written by Jada Kyra

Mommy has been busy with work. So, before the deadline's up, let me write this entry on how mommy help increase my immune system so that I can continue to be curious with the entire world... after all, I am only 17 months old and I still have a lot to discover! :)

Curious kids can be a handful... and who would know this better than I do - I am curious all the time! I would peek into abang's lunch plate as I would always see Mickey Mouse in it; I would want to touch the vacuum cleaner when daddy is handling it because I am always intrigued by the loud sound it makes; I would want to taste everything adults eat because my food always tastes quite the same; I would check in mommy constantly in the kitchen because I find it hard to understand what she does in there; I like to shake any water bottles because it is amazing seeing and hearing water being shaken; I would want to touch everything mommy or daddy touches because I want to feel the difference in the texture; and the list goes on and on... Sometimes, I pity my mom because I would catch her by surprise with my speedy actions but I am just a curious baby... and curious babies need to be tough inside.

Being curious is a good thing because that is how I learn about things... I learn how painful it is if I do not get up slowly from under the table because I can accidentally knock my head; I know better not to touch those shiny pots on the stove because they feel hot to the touch and I can get hurt if I touch them; I know that if I do not get out of the elevator quickly, the doors will close and I'll be trapped; I know that if I press that switch outside our door, the bell will ring; and I know that the vacuum cleaner is dirty because mommy would always clean my hands after I touched it.

But how does mommy and my family really help boost my immune system?

First and foremost, what can really toughen me up is the fact that mommy really feeds me well. She works hard to prepare nutritious home-cooked meals for me and I liked that this enables her to pick only the freshest ingredients, and prepare it in the cleanest environment possible - all in the comfort of her favourite kitchen. The lack of preservatives and only natural ingredients, coupled with yummy nutritious milk, help strengthen my antibodies in fighting viruses that would usually infect cute babies like me.

What a lot of people do not consider which I deem highly important apart from nutrition, is LOVE. I am fortunate to be loved by everyone around me. Mommy loves me dearly, daddy would do anything for me and abang has waited so long for my arrival. I am raised in a happy family and this feeling makes me feel good about myself. When I feel good, my immune system gets stronger. When there is so much love, the environment makes everything so positive and I can face the world, while I continue being curious as I know my family will try to make my experience pleasant and away from harm.

Next, adults are aware that exercise keep sickness at bay. For me, I need my play sessions. I love to play. Playing makes me happy, playing makes me discover new things and by playing, I get to hear myself talk and laugh, while making everyone else happy when they see how adorable I look from me talking gibberish language. The play sessions can hinder me from going after things that can harm me as I get to focus on beautiful colours and toys suitable for babies my age. Within this controlled environment, not only will I be able to learn new things quickly, my antibodies are also strengthened as I feel happy from the sense of achievements I get in the play sessions.

Next, is another point that is pretty broad and quite important for a growing baby like me. I need to be happy at all times. When I am happy, I make everyone else happy!

Mommy always ensure that I am happy in her care. The things that she does and the environment I am in, I must be one of the happiest babies on earth (even though I can be a pain sometimes hehe). Well, they did call me a pwincesh. Therefore, I am entitled to making things a little difficult for mommy and daddy so that I could see how much they love me. Happiness is such a powerful feeling because it makes everything feels good while my inner being becomes stronger.

Then, there is that proper rest. Being a curious baby is tiring work! I would want to walk here and there, climb up and down and learn up new tricks. I always need proper sleep so that my body is able to rest so that my mind is fresh to get curiosity working well again :) Mommy and daddy always ensured that I take my afternoon naps and during night time, my bed and room is made up so cozily to help me sleep longer and better. I also like that I have friends to keep me company while I sleep so that I feel safe and secure. When I wake up fresh, I feel good, my body feels good and my antibodies remain tough.

Once I am up and fresh, it is good to let me continue to explore. From there, I would learn from the adults what I can and cannot do. I will learn to refrain from touching dangerous stuff when I hear the word, "No", and have fun exploring other harmless experiences. I gain self-confidence, I am not afraid to face the outside world and I do not get awkward when introduced to new things. Exploring my curiosities can help expand my vision and keep me happy. And you all know that when I am happy, my body responds better to fighting illnesses. This is also why I am helping mommy to do up this blog entry... I know that the Nuffnang Friso Family day out at Kizsports 1Utama will allow me to explore more new things. So far, mommy has done a great job in nurturing positive traits in me but getting an invite to this event can help her learn more new tricks to keep me happy. And you all know my capabilities when I am happy :D

Just because I am a baby, that doesn't mean I don't need any mental stimulation. Mommy and daddy read to me, and teach me to read as well. Right now, I may only be interested to see those colourful pictures and illustrations in the children's books but I know I will read soon. Mommy and daddy would also place me in the shopping cartwheel while they continue to add items in the cart. From there, I get to see the items mommy use at home and familiarise myself with them. Who knows... I may even be calculating in my head the number of items! Mommy also let me play with the rubic's cube. Who knows... I can probably solve it in due time haha... All these keep me occupied while my curious apetite is further fulfilled. When I become smarter, my antibodies get smarter too. And I become a tougher baby when I am smarter.

Mommy also ensure I get my healthy dose on social interaction abilities. My curious mind need to include other babies as well, so that my learning experience become more complete. From here, I will learn basic communications skills and practise good habits so that friends will not run away from me. I also need friends who can help me to fight illnesses together, no? Can we combine antibodies? Oh, mommy said, "No". Well, I do not really know how antibodies really work but I do know that when I am with friends, I become active, I learn things better due to the encouragement I get from them, and this keeps me happy. And you all know how much stronger I get to be when I am happy :)

And while I satisfy my thirst to learn and try out new things, mommy never forget to teach me discipline. It is never too early to teach a baby like me, discipline... that includes putting me in my high chair during meals, strapping me in my very own car seat before we go anywhere and if I am extra naughty, I would walk over to the corner to reflect on what I did that made mommy upset. The discipline can help build character and prevent unnecessary incidents. I will know when I can explore my curiosities and when I should sit still while I enjoy the view from my eyes. Therefore, my body gets stronger and my immune system is ready to withstand illnesses.

Other than those listed above, there are so much more that can be done but as a baby, these are the only things that I can remember for now. If you extend an invitation to my family, to the Nuffnang Friso Family day out, I can even reveal other details on how mommy helps me increase my immunity. For now, I would like to satisfy my curiosity in a book abang is supposed to read to me. Bye bye!

Post-vacay.

I have been extremely lazy with my updates. Since returning from our vacation, there has been way too many things to document and I just don’t know where to start…

All I can say is that the vacation was a much overdue one for me… my last break was in November 2007 when I was already in my very early pregnancy and didn’t even know it. From then on, it was work, work and work for me non-stop as compared to my usual habit of taking a short break twice a year from work.

I was afraid about the flight to London since I was all on my own… but my worries were unfounded as little jj behaved extremely well… of course, there would be those restless moments here and there, I mean who wouldn’t, right? Even an adult wouldn’t be able to sit still for a full 12 ½ hours flight. But she was alright… she slept when she’s supposed to, played on her own in her bassinet, sat in the bassinet nicely while I fed her the 2 meals given on board… and best of all, she let me ate peacefully when my meal came. There were not much interruptions from her except during those times she was awfully restless and I had to play Toy Story on the in-flight screen over and over again just so that she could focus on something instead of crying for no apparent reason.

The English lady sitting next to me praised at how well she behaved as compared to another baby further in front of us who wouldn’t stop crying at many intervals.

But, if you were to ask me to do it again, I might hesitate… I wouldn’t be twice lucky and I think that belief may be true since little jj gave us a whole lotta nightmare during the flight home… it was either that her daddy was present and she knew there was an extra set of hands to take care of her, or she was very insecure with the darkness throughout the flight (as the flight home was a night flight). She barely slept 2 hours in 2 occasions, but that was also contributed by that drug we got from her paediatrician for her to relax during the long haul flight. So, basically, all throughout the balance of 10 hours when she's awake, I could clearly hear her crying and screaming in daddy’s arms while all I could do was to get better quick - I fell sick immediately as I board the plane and my body temperature shot up in an instant. Everytime I felt better, I took her away from daddy and all she wanted to do was to hold on to me.

It was truly very tiring.

little jj's bad hair day - 10hours of crying, screaming and struggling

while sweating profusely once we touched down at KLIA

But, despite her usual nature of not trusting strangers and unfamiliar environment, she warmed up instantly to London’s cold air, was at ease at Eju & Muzzie’s (thank you, Eju and Muz!!... we can't thank you guys enough for that warm hospitality...) and allowed us to toughen her up by taking her out almost an entire day, every day thru the entire week of our stay… I fed her where ever we decide to take a rest from our journeys that she has somehow gotten used to being fed out of the comfort of her home instead of every time wanting her usual chair and that familiar environment at home.

little jj and abang noah, warming up with the battle

of the pacifier, just after we reached their home.

I guess that vacation somehow wasn’t just a good one for me but brought out the best in her as well.

For more details on our vacation, I would rather let little jj update her blog, yah ;D soon… she says ;P (update: little jj has updated her blog)

When we got home, I got busy with unpacking and doing the laundry in so many batches… there were those of the one’s from the pile at home, those from the trip, my clothes, little jj’s worn clothes and little jj’s new clothes. I practically only managed to finish everything in 4 days! It helped a lot that my parents were kind enough to volunteer taking care of the little munchkin that day we arrived so that we could all get our rest.

Then, there was cooking for little jj as her puree stock has either depleted or expired and so I turned to Annabel Karmel again for the next phase of puree recipes – 9-12 months.

As we all recovered from jet lag (with little jj affected the worst), I could only prepare them purees after 10pm with only 2 days to whip up her food as the home made chicken stock could only last for 48 hours in the fridge. With jet lag, and a baby who’s cranky all the time, coupled with bags and stuff strewn on the floor of our living room, cooking 2-3 types of food after 10pm was a chore for me. But, we’ve all lost weight from the amount of walking that we’ve done, and I just had to take that step so that we could stuff little jj back to her normal baby fatness (eheh!).

So… as you’re all always eager to see what I whipped for little jj, enjoy the photos….

First, there was that 'First spaghetti Bolognese' which I didn't manage to take any pictures since it was already after midnight when it was ready and I was dead tired. I only made one meal the first day due to tiredness...

Next was...

Yummylicious 2: Carrot, cheese and tomato risotto

chicken with tomato and rice - Share on Ovi

clockwise from top: onions, tomato, rice, carrots & chicken stock

not in picture: cheese & unsalted butter

Yummylicious 3: Creamy chicken & vegetables

clockwise from top: all-purpose flour, milk, button mushrooms,

carrots & chicken stock (onions at center)

not in pix: vegetable oil, cooked chicken & cheese

the result...

Yummylicious 4: Tasty chicken Bolognese

clockwise from top: chicken, chicken stock, onions & garlic,

grated carrots, dried thyme on spoon, tomatoes in a can

not in pix: olive oil, pasta

as usual, i used alphabeto for the pasta hehe...

Yummylicious 5: Chicken with tomato & rice

clockwise from top: chicken, tomatoes in a can (cooked rice on top of can),

chicken stock, carrots, potatoes, apple juice, onions & garlic

the result...

More to be made this week - which entails fish and lotsa vege...

This week has been a truly hectic one after such a remarkable time away with my soulmate… he’s just flown back to London this morning for another official meeting and I only wished I was able to stay back in London for another week and return home with him next Thursday. But, we all have our roles to play and one cannot be too dependent on something or someone.

That also came with the realisation of how things are really not permanent in life… one small step that looks so harmless could change a situation forever, if not for a long duration.

We all do what we could do and would have to be wary of our surroundings. That way, we do not take things for granted and hurt those we care about unintentionally. I guess sincerity should always be taken with a strict hint of caution and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly… I’ve always avoid being presumptuous in the many things I do but thru the journey, there will always bound to be mistakes. In the end, we either learn from that mistake and hope it will not repeat, or if we do not learn from it, repeat and face the consequences.

Life is too short to sweat about the little things. But for one who can be a perfectionist, we thrive for every little details. Sometimes, our details may not hit the notes of another person’s details so what should the outcome be, then?

Circumstances may sometimes blur the vision, preventing us from seeing clearly. In the end, I think some of my principles in life would definitely make me conscience free – to not rely on others and do what you must do for yourself even if that meant having to go thru trying times/suffer on your own… at least you know you don’t owe it to anyone but yourself... you'll come out a winner because you made it on your own and you don't need anyone to make you feel guilty since there are no reasons to pin you down. In that space of time, you could turn so arrogant for you are strong and powerful and I only hope that I don't forget to think before I act on something, if ever, I am in that position.

Oh well, life's like that... we learn, we move on, we fall, we get back up... and hope that the injury won't be so bad. But even then, we hope that the injury will heal quickly and the scars will remind us of what we did or what we didn't do. Reflect, and learn.

my little cookie in the jar... a tough cookie indeed.

don't i look better now?? mommy had just trimmed my fringe...

i shall not stop writing.

Quick and Easy Recipe in 7 min!

Have Fun Cooking With Rohani Jelani

Simple Meal Made With Love...

What Kind Of Food Do You Give A Sick Toddler?

Curious Kids Need To Be Tough Inside

Post-vacay.

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