Mum in the Making

I brought V for a haircut today since I “massacred” her fringe and sides quite badly. Initially we wanted to bring her to Junior League, but we ran out of time running errands, so we didn’t managed to get it done. Today we made our to IMM and I tried to persuade her to get a $10 haircut at QB instead.

Me: I think they have videos for you to watch while they cut your hair.

V: Look mummy, they don’t have barney! I want the $20 haircut!

Me: But if you have your haircut here, it’s only $10 and I can save $10! With the $10 saved, I can make you a chocolate cake!

V: Chocolate cake? Ok!

Me: *phew*

Since I promised her chocolate cake today, and the weather was too hot to be near an oven, I decided to try googling for a microwave cake in a mug recipe. Thankfully, most of them appeared to be chocolate cake in a mug! Good!

After some search, I was sold on this recipe, since I could omit egg in the recipe! The original recipe is here: http://www.instructables.com/id/5-minute-Chocolate-Cake/?ALLSTEPS

The only changes I made was using melted butter instead of vegetable oil (I just dislike the idea of not having butter in cakes!) and omitting the cake.

I am not sure what is the wattage of my microwave oven, but microwaving on high for just after 2 minutes is sufficient. 3 minutes I get chocolate biscuit in a mug.

The texture is like a normal fudge cake, so I am quite happy with it.  And so are the kids and the hubby.

We seldom get such cold and wet (make it very wet) days in Singapore during the non-monsoon season, so after the past few weeks which had been pretty blistering hot, the rain today was very much welcomed. Unfortunately, some parts of Singapore were flooded, including a shopping centre that we usually go to every Sunday because of the kiddo’s classes. Thankfully, we didn’t go there today as I had rescheduled the classes today for the following week. We were spared the commotion inside the shopping centre and car park, which must have been very frightening, especially with rapidly rising and gushing waters. I hope everyone got out safely and no one was hurt.

I had been meaning to post this mushroom risotto recipe for some time, but I was kind of lazy, and had been busy with my sister and her family since their arrival from Hawaii 2 weeks back. Besides, the risotto was supposedly winter comfort food (given that I have to stand over the stove cooking this for 45 mins, I can see why this should be cooked in wintery days!), and doesn’t have much of a place in the tropical sunny Singapore. Today is a nice cold day, perfect for cooing the risotto, but I am too lazy to cook today, so I’m just posting the recipe/ photos of my 2 previous attempts for your viewing pleasure.

Risotto served with love

Mushroom, Smoked Pork Belly and Spinach Risotto

Original recipes and knowledge of cooking risotto gleaned from

1. http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/7744/wild-mushroom-chicken-and-bacon-risotto; and

2. http://www.waitrose.com/home/recipes/recipe_directory/p/porcini_mushroom_risotto.html

I made this on 2 separate occasions and with different varying ingredients, so I will probably vary it slightly the next time i cook it.

Ingredients

30g dried porcini ceps (obtained from tanglin marketplace at tanglin mall)

1 pack of white button mushrooms (I buy the pre-sliced pack)

300g risotto rice (I used arborio)

200 g smoked pork belly (cold storage or carrefour carries it or just use 200g bacon)

1 onion finely diced

2 cans of Swanson chicken broth

4 pucks of frozen chopped spinach (or add as you like)

1 knob of butter (about 50g) + 1 tablespoon on vegetable oil/ olive oil

Method

1. Take out the frozen spinach to thaw. Soak the dried porcini ceps in approximately 300ml/ 1 cup of boiling water. Soak for 20 minutes. Drain and put the porcini aside. Strain the liquid and put in a measuring jug.
2. The total liquid needed for the recipe, including the reserved liquid  and broth should add up to 1.5litre. Top up with boiling water if not enough.
3. Wash rice and drain. Dice smoked pork belly into 1 cm cubes or cut the bacon into 1 cm bits.
4. Use a bottom heavy pan if possible. A normal deep flat pan is fine. Add butter and oil on low heat. Saunter smoked pork belly or bacon for about 2 minutes. Add onions and cooked till soft and opaque (not brown). Add mushrooms (both porcini and button mushrooms) and cook for 3 minutes.
5. Turn heat to high and add rice, stirring to coat the rice, for about a minute or so. At this point of time, most recipes call to add 1 glass of white wine, but I don’t because we seldom drink wine at home, and it’s a hassle to open a bottle just for this.
6. Add a ladle of the broth and stir constantly. When you push the rice aside to make a well in the centre, and the rice doesn’t go flooding back into the well, it’s time to add another ladle of stock and stir. Repeat till 3/4 of the stock have been used. At this point, I would drop the spinach into the remaining liquid, and continue as before.
7. It is tempting to dump in as much liquid as possible towards the end because the arms, back or feet are aching, but resist that temptation. The more liquid you dump in, the longer it takes to cook off the moisture, so you end up spending even MORE time cooking it.
8. Once the last bit of broth has been added and moisture cooked off, turn off heat. You may want to add cheese (Parmesan or cheddar), and if you do so, do it before you add any salt. Taste and season as necessary. Serve with lots of love!

Note: If you cannot get the dried porcini ceps, make it to 3 cans of chicken broth, and add some sliced brown mushrooms.

Risotto in the making

Risotto Almost Done

P/S: Photos taken under different lighting. In the making was taken under yellow light from the cooker hood, Almost done with the yellow lights off and using flash from camera.

I happened to catch “Cook like an Iron Chef” on TV when I was isolated at home due to Chickenpox and the secret ingredient was “pork rack”. I hadn’t seen this Iron Chef, Chef Michael Symon, before, as usually those episodes that I caught, it was Chef Masaharu Morimoto helming the challenge.

Somehow it caught my attention the way he was cooking and explaining the steps, so I recorded the show and found his recipe at cookingchannel.com.

So I went down to my usual butcher at Block 45 Holland Market, and they got me the pork tenderloin nicely sliced up into medallions as said in the show/ recipe. I didn’t like dates so I decided to replace with cranberries. I couldn’t find any naturally dried cranberries at the supermarket, so I got the next closest, naturally orange flavoured cranberries since the recipe uses lemon juice.

Anyway, when I was all ready to cook dinner, we couldn’t find the pork medallions!!! After some frantic digging in the fridge, it was declared as missing, so … I had to make a trip to the supermarket and all they had was boneless pork loins. I grabbed some salad mix and marinated feta cheese.

The final dinner menu (I kinda make up as I go along depending on what I have) was Mixed salad with feta cheese, Mashed new potatoes and Pork Loin, done Iron Chef style.

Mixed Salad with Marinated Feta Cheese, Mashed New Potatoes and Pork Loins

Mixed Salad with feta cheese
Buy ready wash and toss mix salad leaves. Washed, spin dry and place in a bowl. Make a slight well in the centre and spoon in marinated feta cheese (amount to personal liking)

Mixed Salad with Marinated Feta Cheese

Mashed New Potatoes
Get a small bag of new potatoes (about 500g), washed and scrub clean. Place in a pot, top up with water enough to cover over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of salt. When water is boiling, start the timer for 15 minutes. When done, drain and place in a mixing bowl. Mash slightly, add some garlic extra virgin olive oil* and 1 teaspoon of italian mix herbs. Add salt to taste (I probably added about 1/2 teaspoon of salt). Mix well.
* if you don’t have any garlic EVOO, you can place 1 tablespoon of oil and 1 finely mined clove of garlic. Heat over low heat, for about 5 minutes (the garlic should still be pale white – remove from heat immediately if the garlic starts to brown), add the herbs and salt, mix and then pour over the potatoes. Stir till well mixed.

Mashed New Potatoes

Boneless Pork Loin with smoked pork belly, almonds and cranberries

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons garlic EVOO, or oil
• 9 pieces of pork loin (each about 60 to 80 g) which can feed about 4 adults (small eaters)
• 100g of smoked pork belly (available at cold storage), dice into 1 cm cubes
• 1/2 cup blanch almonds flakes
• 1 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 clove garlic, minced finely
• 1 cup chicken stock*
• Zest and juice of 2 lemons

1. Put almonds to a dry skillet and toast on low heat. Toss/ stir occasionally. Remove from heat once it starts to brown (give take about 2 to 3 minutes). Set aside.

2. Wash and pat dry the pork loins. Lightly season both sides with salt and pepper.

3. Add oil to the skillet on medium heat. Add the diced smoked pork belly till light brown (about 3 to 5 minutes). Remove the pork belly with a slotted spoon. With the same skillet and oil, add the pork loins (2 minutes per side). I did mine 2 batches since my skillet could fit about 5 pieces maximum. Remove the pork loins from skillet and put aside to rest. Put in the next batch.

4. When the second batch is done, add the pork loins from the first batch and the pork belly. Add almond flakes and butter. Stir to try to get the pork to sit in an even level. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, cranberries, garlic and chicken stock. Turn to low heat  and simmer about 5 minutes.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Plate with some sauce and serve. Enjoy.

* I used Swanson chicken broth.

Boneless Pork Loin with Almonds, Smoked Pork Belly and Cranberries

Verdict: We all loved it because it was so refreshing! The lemon juice made it taste lighter and my husband actually asked for more sauce. #2 actually ate quite a few pieces and said it was “nice!”. Hopefully next round I will get to try this recipe with the pork tenderloins! I would probably also increase the cranberries to 1 cup, and soak in warm water to hydrate it first.

Hubby has finally gotten around to help me to do up a proper blog hosted on my own url – he wanted to try this new cheap service provider, so I am in a way, a bleating sacrificial lamb (in case the provider goes bust, and all these would come to a naught).

So when he was helping me to set up, I was trying to choose a template for the blog … there are some good ones out there, but I like Gisele Jaquenod’s (http://www.giselejaquenod.com.ar/blog/) design and she have some very wonderful designs for free. So after my hubby try out this and that, and changing my mind so often, I decided to stick to this. Simple, yet cutesy … I love the cupcake and birdie chef!

With this new site, hubby also has helped me to merge my previous 2 blogs with my current blog … so I will probably spend a lot of time trying to tag/ categorizing the posts. Generally, I am BAD at organising folders (yes, ironical isn’t, given paper cuts are a large part of my career) … so let see if I can make some sense out of it before I go stark raving mad.

In the meantime, enjoy browsing … some of the comments are a bit off (showing for the wrong posts but I have not yet asked the hubby if he could fix it) and recipes are all over the place … and I have not quite figured out how to delete or amend the current categories … *duh* ….

=)

This is a update on my posting in June 11, 2010 (almost 1 year ago!) (http://muminthemaking.com/?p=446)

Recently, Oreo came up with a new variant called Oreo Stars and it looks and taste good. I wanted to bake something for my graduating batch of students, and given the kids and myself were still recovering from chickenpox, flu, etc etc, I wanted to make something simple since I can only afford so much energy and time.

The recipe still largely remains the same, except now I have slightly more specific details on amount of oreos used.

Depending on your sweet tooth and health concerns, you can either use the oreos whole for both base and final topping, but I don’t really like too sweet desserts as I have a terrible migraine from sugar overdose. This following recipe uses oreo halves (each cookiet opened up to remove the white icing), so if you intend to use whole oreos, just double up the number.

Makes 24 mini cheesecakes

Oven preheated to 150 degree C.

1. 2 X 250g/ 8oz Philadelphia cream cream (all natural)

2. 2/3 cup white caster sugar

3. 3 eggs

4. 1 to 2 tsp vanilla extract

5. 12 oreo cookies with icing removed for bases.

6. 9 oreo cookies crushed gently (too much and you get grey cheesecake – see my notes below)

7. 24 oreo star cookies for topping (I also recommend to use oreo minis)

Method – for people like me who wants to just chope chope and get it done with

1. Before you do anything, turn on the oven first, setting 150 degree C.

2. If you have not taken your cream cheese out earlier to let it come to room temperature, no fear. Remove cream cheese from packing and dump in a microwaveable mixing bowl. Zap on high for 1 min.

3. Remove bowl from microwave and dump in sugar. Beat on low speed (I used my braun handheld whisk) for 1 min, scrapping down the sides at the end.

4. Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat on low speed till combined. I generally add 2 tsp, but less if you don’t want too much.

5. Why 9 oreos? because they come 3 in a pack! Before you remove them from the packaging, use a cup and hit it once on each cookie, turn over and do the same. Then cut open and dump the crushed contents into the cream cheese mixture. Stir lightly to mix. Do not over stir else you get grey cheesecake!

6. Spilt open oreos and remove white icing. Place each of the oreos halves with the logo facing down in the cupcake cases.

Fill the cupcake cases with cream cheese mixture till about 2/3 to 3/4 full (if 3/4 full, you probably end up with about 18 cupcakes). Top with oreo stars/ mini oreos/ oreo cookies.

7. Place on the 3rd lowest rack. Bake for about 20 minutes to 25 minutes. If your oven is fan assisted, the timing is probably shorter.

8. Remove from oven when done and cool. Store in the fridge till ready to serve.

Note: The cupcake casing measures 1.75 inch at the bottom, which fits an oreo cookie snugly. The Philadelphia cream cream comes in 250g/ 80z block or tub. Phoon Huat carries 500g block of cream cheese but not sure what brand it is.

This is a picture of V chomping down the final product. Yes, she already finished one as you can seen from the empty case at the bottom of the picture.

Enjoy.

Sorry I haven’t complete my japan trip log … truth is … i haven’t even finish downloading all the pictures from the lumix. Then the thoughts of uploading the photos into blogger makes me hesitate … I hate how the uploading messes my text and having to rearrange the photos and text … *shudder* maybe I should just get around to putting the photos in first then the text … but i always gets the order wrong and the last picture always end up being first … ah well … I guess I could always put my limited html knowledge to use

A quick family (minus mummy becuz mummy is holding the camera/ phone) to remember by …

Then … we headed home … and we all took a nap!!!!

Then after dinner (while the kids played in the room, we watched the origins of Wolverine (I am a closet X-men fan, I read their comics since I was a kid, think 6 or 7 years old and then stopped when I was in sec school, which was like … 20 years ago … ) and the hubby wanted to bring V to coffeebean (somewhat their Friday night routine). #2 was still wide awake so I grabbed him along … They were sleepy, but V was almost yawning her head off. Since this was the first time #2 came with us to coffeebean, he was more “awake” and apprehensive. In case you are wondering what the kids had at coffeebean, V’s usual order is the carrot cake. Then the 2 kids had ice, yes _ICE_. It’s strange … I wonder if it had to do with the craving for ice when I was pregnant with them They just emjoyed chomping on ice, and coffeebean’s ice were just the right size for them.

Well, it’s almost the end of the story, but this is my favourite bit … it’s against the traffic rules, but I let #2 ride on my lap on the way back He was seated facing me, so that I can support his neck and back. He decided to hug me, and started called me “marmee”. When I answered back “Ian Ian”, he said “marmee” again. It went on for a while, then he laughed and popped up and kissed me! I think he really enjoyed himself today and it was his way of showing his happiness. What a nice ending to the day … =)

It is a wet and gloomy day in Tokyo. Meaning, our plan to zoom V direct to the train station in her stroller is shot down. The only good thing is, there is a sheltered underpass from our hotel all the way to the station. Problem, we have to use stairs from time to time. At one point, there was a ramp, and the surge of the oncoming traffic made us hesitate. In the end, we decided to just go ahead, after all we have a child in a stroller and a 20kg luggage to move all the way to the station. The moment we decided to move against the flow, the oncoming traffic kindly moved one side (it was about 2 person wide). Not only that, people also decided to follow behnd us, so I didn’t feel so bad after all!

We tried waking up EARLY at 6am, but while the hubby got up duly at the alarm time, V and me continued snoozing … my back was aching a little from hauling the luggage and V was just tired out by the travelling I guess. By the time we got up, it was 7am. We decided to take our breakfast in the hotel since we think that the noodle shop was probably gone (it was one of those quaint noodle shops that you buy your meal ticket before you enter the shop, and then hand the ticket to the counter to get the food). We decided to opt for the Japanese buffet and we had to queue to get in. The place is small, I think it seats a maximum of 30 to 40 pax, and its usual “function” is a teppanyaki restaurant. While children 3 and above will be charged for the meal, the waitress was kind enough to waive it for us. The buffet cost 1,500 yen per adult and 500 yen per child (above 3) so we saved 500yen for the day. More for me to shop with …

We planned to be in the area of Asakusa, to visit the Sensoji and neighbouring temples as well as to do some souvenir shopping. By the time we left the hotel and headed for the train station (about 10 min walk) it was already past 9. In the train station, we got a little lost and we had to lug V and the stroller along (in the massive crowd, we just tried to move along as fast as we can). On the way down to the correct platform, I overheard this 2 ladies chatting in the parallel escalator down, and I immediately remarked to my hubby, “confirmed Singaporeans”. Later I had the change to ask them (curiosity kills the cow in this case) and they replied in the affirmative. They were also kind enough to guide us to the correct platform since we were still a bit confused.

When we arrived in Asakusa, it was close to 11am. We did a little shopping (hint: souvenir shopping here is the “cheapest” even though it seems they mainly cater for the tourist crowd), and within 30 mins, after V had some ice cream, she promptly conked out. In the meantime, I had accumulated about 3 shopping bags, much to the dismay of the hubby. I bought some “amulets” (for the lack of a better word) for good health for the oldies, and then took some pictures of the crowd. It seems like it’s been a really long time since I took pictures! We headed off to the side street, and passed by an amusement part. Too bad V was fast asleep so we gave it a miss. We (or rather I) decided to head for Kappabashi, where they sell all those kitchen stuff (for retail, so they are like wholesalers). I managed to find the previous shop I bought my “strawberry sundae” from, and I picked yet another “strawberry sundae” to add to my collection, but this one had some mandarin oranges. I was tempted to buy the “fries” but I decide not to risk my kids trying to chomp down the fake fries.

We started heading towards the Sumi River, trying to decide where to go next. They had a bus that goes to Akahibara, which the hubby wanted to go. On the way, while not feeling very hungry, but slightly puckish, and V still fast asleep, we came across this small tempura shop. The prices were very tempting – the cheapest tempura don was 550 yen (about SGD9) so I opted for a 580 yen bowl while hubby opted for a tempura don set with udon. V woke up about then, so it was just nice, and they kindly let us have children utensils to feed her. Just when we started on the meal, she wanted to go to the loo. We told her to do it in her diaper but she refused to, and frankly speaking, I hate dirty toilets the most. I rather hold my business than to visit one. Thankfully, the sole unit they had in the shop was CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN. So V did her business without me having to gack or use up the entire dettol wipes.

We decided to go to the Palette town, and we took the river cruise to Hinode Pier. We got a little lost again but the server at the Café there was very helpful and gave us the handy guide to Tokyo (this is the BEST guide to me) and we found our way to the correct station. This time, it was much easier, since we could locate all the necessary elevators! The train to Aomi is a little like Singapore’s LRT, but with more carriages. One way trip cost us 310 yen per adult (free for V). V fell asleep along the way again, but woke up in time to see the giant ferris wheel. We headed for the Toyota showcase first to see the cars. The moment she saw the playground, she started jumping up and down (finally she found a playground in Japan, since asking us about it on the plane). She zoomed straight there and before she dive into the pool (it was just a pool of balls with a slide) she wanted to pee. Anyway I got the hubby to bring her since my feet were already starting to cramp. When she got back, she happily just played in the pool, and even waited for her “playmates” to push her down the slide. The hubby went over the stimulator and had 1 go at the “race” (think Daytona). After that, they went for the Ecco car ride … V wanted the Hello Kitty car, but too bad the cars were assigned, and cannot be chosen. She was very excited after the ride, telling me how the car can drive by itself, and at the same time, mindful of driving precautions, she ordered the hubby to put both hands on the steering wheel at all time.

We then headed for the ferris wheel and this time, she wanted to ride on a red car. Er, we got something close to it, we got a pink one! She did sulk a little but she was busy looking out and asking hubby things. I just sat in my little space and tried not to move. I looked back once and I freaked out a little. When we past the highest point and I saw the car behind us above us, I also freaked out a little. Yes, I have a phobia of heights, and it’s not just a slight phobia. It extends to depth, so I don’t like to swim in too deep a pool. Thankfully it was not windy at all, so the ride was very smooth, without the car swinging around. They now have a see through car (including the floor) so obviously I said “NO” when they asked if we wanted that.

After that we went to the arcade and lost over 1000 yen (so angry!!!!) trying to scoop up some toys, but we gave up in the end. We went for dinner at First kitchen, but the meal was a huge disappointment. The fries were limp, and the pasta in a clump. Ah well, thankfully we only bought 1 set to share among the 3 of us.

We went into Venus Family for a walk and a visit to the loo (wow, the washroom here is FANTASTIC, and I mean FANTASTICALLY SPECTACULAR, except who ever did the English translation for the instructions ought to be shot, and again and again). We walked to the end, and they had this pet shop (think P’s) and the puppies (and kitties) were SO CUTEEEEEEEEE. V insisted on going into the shop, and we saw a baby version of Rascal. What had my eyes popping out were the price tag. I saw one was priced at 302,000 yen and I almost choked. Then we walked over to the other side and saw one going for 500,000 +++ yen. I am not sure if this is just the price of the dog or includes a lifetime guarantee of food, and supplies, but if it was just for the dog, then it probably cost as much as this trip (our flights are free though) (and also includes the cost of our side trip to Kyoto by Shinkasen).

By the time we head back to Shinjuku, it was about 8 pm. Remember I said the Handy guide to Tokyo was the best? The train map includes most of the train lines plus station, so it was much easier for us to figure our way back. Again, it was a breeze since we could locate most of the elevators. Just that when we reach Shinjuku, we had to exit from A1 (I think) and people who stay at Hotel SunRoute Shinjuku probably will benefit) but we managed to figure our way back since we know the landmarks to look out for.

We were deadbeat (and my feet were screaming – I have flat feet so walking too much makes my feet arch hurt v v v v much) but we still had to pack for the Kyoto trip, so in the end, we slept close to 12 midnight. Tomorrow we will have to lug the big suitcase … but we will figure it out. Hopefully we can find most of the elevators!

well, why the long silence and then, tadah, we are at somewhere else …

since i last updated this blog …

a lot has happened … my sis and her family flew back from Hawaii for a visit – we didn’t really get to do much since her visit sorta of coincide with the peak from my work … plus her kids really had to sleep early (7pm) so nothing much we could do beyond 5pm since the kids have to be home, have dinner, shower and then off to the bed. But still, the kids (all 8 of them) got along very well … my boy learnt how to sign for “more” from his cousin, my girl loves the bedtime stories by my sister so much that she bugs me to read to her before she sleeps. we managed to have a birthday “bash” for the August babies … I baked the cake again this time, just that well, my baking went a little awry but still, the cake was heavenly! And … we managed to fit everyone in for a photoshoot (well except for my eldest sister and brother, who both are overseas). We expected the photoshoot to be chaotic … well, it was chaotic, and only slightly stressful, but the kids had fun! All the girls were dressed in similar kimonos so we had quite a few “kawaii” photos …

I had the opportunity to catch up with baking too … made some cookies and cakes …

hmmm … oh yes, and the kids … V is so chatty these days. She is very “logical” in her arguments and sometimes, I can’t win. Yes, I cannot win! #2 is also very chatty, picking up more words … he can sign for milk, accompanied by “nuk nuk” and then signing for more. When he sees food (whether it’s his or not), he says “EAT!!!!” He sees a bag, he’ll happily carry it and say “gai gai”. He sees a pair of shoes, he’ll almost dive for it and struggles to put it on. I think he has a fetish for shoes. And … as for his all time favourite … soft toys … It has come to a point that I don’t even want to bring him to a shop selling soft toys. Because… if he sees one (in fact, it seems like every one) that he fancies, he’ll lunge for it, grab it, hug it ever so tightly like a long lost friend and proceeds to kiss it passionately. By the way, he likes to watch girls too …

Both of them like to play in the pool, so I try to bring them when I can … if not, then we’ll head to feed the fishes, while #2 proceeds to chomp on the bread.

Hmmm part of my absence is also due to my “fixation” with animes showing on animax too … I’m currently watching maid sama and 1 more … i’m thinking if I should just buy the box set and save myself the hassle of having to record it… oh … I wanted to buy the DVD box set of Beach Boys (the japanese drama series) but it costs a whopping SGD$260 … so I’ll guess it’ll just hang on for a little while more …

now, I’m just waiting for my herbal chicken to be cooked, but doesn’t seem to be so … it’s almost 2 hours but I cannot smell anything yet!!!! *argh*