ming blogging - not bogging

many people have mentioned this in blogs and i think have as well, but this is what is happening, so i'd like to reiterate that, i have so many things to tell that i dont know where to start!

u know, i have accustomed to blogging in my head hence once ive satiate that need (blogging desire), i feel free! this explains my disappearance :)

another issue that frustrates me is that my english seems to deteriorate.

fine,

either my english hasnt been that good,

not up to par,

or it has been going down hill

something has to be done

kids meal > 12 months

chicken stew

blend and freeze!

menu:

1st april weekend

cauliflower + garlic + chicken + onion +leek with porridge and cheese

(annabel karmel sweet potato + cauliflower)

cauliflower mix + sweet potato with lentil and rice and cheese

2nd april weekend

beef marinade with l&p, black pepper, garlic, olive oil, sesame oil = blend

breakfast: steamed sweet potato + cheese + applesauce

lunch: porridge with beef and brocolli

BOLOGNESE SAUCE RECIPE

onion, garlic,tomato, pepper, salt, canned tomato, balsamic vinegar

ops, forgot capsicum

yellow/red is sweeter than green ones

few dollops of ketchup

done!

sometimes when i didnt prepare kj's meal before hand, say if i fell asleep on friday night, what do i do on saturday morning?

i'll quickly soak few big spoonsful of oats and boil it and stir in a de-frost cube of chicken. thats all!

hence i neeed to have frozen cubes in stock!

to date, im using kampung chicken brought all the way from the west ;)

hb observed that more japanese are well built as compared to yesteryears due to their nutritional intake. they are eating well so he encouraged me to feed kayjay 'well'.

im thrilled to hear that! it gives me more confidence to try different food and give kj beef!

chinese believe that beef or rather red meat is heaty so i was a bit hesitant but not anymore now. yay!

indolent

missed the times when hb would get up early on saturday to do housework! ;)

i know, im a lucky lady arent i?

funniest was when he put the ipad into my pink puma mini bagpack so that he can listen to songs while executing the chores

kj's diapers

would love to get more but luckily ive stopped purchasing since last christmas (2010)

these arent the entire lot

im cloth diapering him full time

but on this coming trip to singapore, i feel like giving in and resort to using spossies (term they use on disposable diapers)

i still have some leftovers of huggies pants size M

oh, did i tell u that my MIL bought a washing machine to be put at her home (ipoh) for me?

or rather, for kayjay?

cause each time we were at ipoh,

we had to run between houses (2nd aunt and 3rd aunt) to borrow their w/m

this CNY (2011) before we got home,

MIL announced the good news! wheee!

dad and mom is at hospital putrajaya at this moment

dad has successfully undergone x-lif surgery, a spinalcord surgery

he had degenerative spondylitis

alright. very random.

it is almost 11pm, kayjay is asleep,

hb is at futsal,

i am goddamn tempted to bake,

but the inner lazy me is holding me back.

i think....

i'll just go to bed

toodles

first taste of cheese

organic vegetables alphabet pasta with butternut squash and cheese

king island cheese surprise bay cheddar

what u should look out for is the SODIUM CONTENT!

please get those below 680mg/100g!

never get the processed sliced cheese!

or even the block KRAFT cheddar cheese (blue box), the sodium content is outrageously more than 1000mg!

go check it out if u dont believe me!

i was expecting the dish above to be delicious, as i assumed the cheese could bring out the flavour of the food due to the saltiness of the cheese

but how wrong i was!

it was a bit bland so i had to remind myself that i should not compare this cheese with the processed slice cheese that we usually consume

growing appetite

ever seen this?
yellow dragon fuit
2 biji for RM14.17 in Pick and Pay
very expensive!
but for the sake of trying, hb bought it

the seeds are comparatively larger than the normal ones
but oh man! the flesh are exceptionally sweet!!!

*grins*
the little one enjoys it!

quinoa + millet + carrot + chicken

quinoa +millet+rice + chicken

cracked one kampung egg into the porridge when it is cooked

the hot porridge will cook the egg yolk

why did i add in the egg? it is tasteless

i did that because i want to give protein

give egg yolk first before giving whites

egg is one of the top 8 allergen and the whites is believed to be allergenic

read more in wholesomebabyfood

although kj has no problems with any food, no allergy,

i want to play safe

frustration lingers each time i referred to Annabel Karmel

most of the recipes call for ingredients which we cannot get it locally

pffftt

couldnt stand it any longer, i pulled hb to Merdeka Supermarket in Lido (it is sort of a cold storage where it sells imported products)

i was thrilled to see butternut squash and courgette there

hb said BUY when he saw me hesitating

thank u honey!

butternut squash RM13.86

i chose the cheapest courgette, i do not need a big one, RM7 something

chopped butternut squash into pieces and throw it into the rice + water

allow them to cook and thats it

the red bits are capsicum :)

i added in one cube of red capsicum (with a few more ingredients which ive cooked and freeze)

this was how i prepare the courgette

fry courgette (deskin), carrots, onion, chicken breast and thigh (thigh has more iron as it is considered red meat, some sort like that) in butter

chuck them into the blender

normal blender will do

add some water, drinking water if the blender doesnt spin

done!

what i do now is that i cook plain porridge and i'll add different cubes each meal

say in the morning he can have chicken and evening meal he'll have something else ;)

variation is my objective

beef!

yes! i gave him beef this weekend!

13 months old!

i dare not start this earlier because chinese thinks beef is heaty

this buy was impromptu

we were cruising around in Tong Hing Supermarket last thursday and i happened to lay my eyes this!

i was thinking, why not?

australian chilled beef cube

for stewing

there was another type, for dont know what, dont remember

again, i picked the cheapest

we are sick in our head

i feel safe cooking this for kj in comparison to the beef sold in the local pasar

whats our problem?

dont trust our local farmers?

well, whatever u say :p

okay, here is how i prepare the beef

i separate it into two. half of it, i minced it and fry it with onion+carrot+ potato+tomato (deskin). (?garlic? dont remember if i added in)

i read somewhere , or was it i watched it in astro, one italian chef commented that tomato skin is not digestible. bla bla bla, i stored it in my brain as - tomato skin is bad. i shared this with fh but he said if the skin is not digestible, means it is fibrous? it helps in digestion? hence it is good? hmmm...im a little confused. whatever. i still eat tomato skin but i think i better not give it to kj. if you are curious, goggle it and let me know :)

served this with porridge. i was busy last weekend as jason visited so i pass over kj to aunty on saturday evening while the adults went to watch 127.

aunty said kj ate very slowly, but he finished the entire pot! amazing!

i froze half in the fridge. will let him finish it this week.

what about the other half of the beef? i made beef broth!

wash the beef. boil water and add in white radish, carrot, potato, 1/4 onion and when the water boils, add in the beef and boil in low heat. found some wilt chinese celery in the fridge so i picked a few fresh-looking leaves and add in to the soup! wow! the soup rocks!

after the broth cooled down, i poured them into milk bags and freeze it!

i could use it to cook porridge for KJ or either use it to cook pasta sauce!

will get more beef more tong hing! gotta load him with iron! :D

love cooking for the little one!

what he eats

Heinz Organic biscotti

got this from jusco

there were only a few packets left and i knew they (the biscuits) werent in good condition anymore but i just grabbed one

as predicted, the biscuits were all broken and crumbled

i did give them to KJ, for him to get a taste of the biscuit

baby bites - carrot taste

good stuff!

i started off with the teething rusks when kj was 10-11 mths old
i refused to give all these but relented when hb insisted on our trip back to ipoh in dec 2010.
after inspecting the big and small wordings on the box, i began to appreciate it!
kj is on the second box now, the one on the left, bread sticks with cheese.
it is not salty at all
these products are just fantastic!

at the beginning, dear son would hold on to the stick and grind it.

now, he can bite off the stick! and choke on it if it breaks to smaller pieces.
dangerous aye?
therefore, never leave your kids alone when they are eating these

maybe kayjay is also greedy, he would stuff the entire stick into the mouth
-_-'''
he is the type where before he finishes his food, he would open his mouth for more
:)

his stock of frozen food
ebm (expressed breast milk) at the top

dont remember what this was
looks like oats
he can take plain oats
super convenient for me, especially when we are travelling

i prefer to give rolled oats that needs to be cooked rather than instant ones
whatever that is instant is just evil, no?
but now that he is already 1 yrs old, i would cover one eyes
back in peninsular, i would use instant oats at whoever's house that we are staying at
namely 5th ee's house, popo's house in ipoh

sometimes i stew apples to be added into the oats

this is a really quick and simple meal when we are on the run

i would stew apples and mash them and freeze
whenever kj is home with me during the weekends,
i can add the apples into yogurt

like just now when we went out breakfast,
i packed 2tsp of stewed apples with 1 cube of apricot into 2 tsp of yogurt for him

the green one is broccoli
white one is chicken

chicken recipe:
olive oil + onions + leek + small pieces of chicken breast
saute them
i did not add any seasoning at all but they taste good, with the sweetness from onion and leek
lastly, blend

i would defrost one cube at a time and add into plain porridge
i did not exactly give JUST porridge, as in rice
alternately i would give barley, rice + quinoa + millet

How to make yogurt

finally, after a long hiatus, im back!

alright, all these are saved in the draft for eons.

today, i'll show everyone how to make yogurt in the simplest way possible! im a lazy person and this method works brilliantly

i use Easiyo yogurt maker, courtesy of besties Poh and Wong. haha! shipped all the way home from Glasgow.

the debut of this yogurt maker was using the Easiyo powder yogurt. very delicious indeed but too expensive. RM16.80 for one packet.
disadvantage no 1: kayjay cant eat
disadvantage no2: expensive
hb loves this but nope, due to the disadvantages, i am not buying this again.
many flavours are available and i chose Boysenberry

the yogurt maker has 4 compartments. the far end on the right is the cover, followed by the yogurt container, the red stand and the body of the maker, i would call it the insulator. it is to insulate, keep the yogurt batch warm for fermentation.
the red stand is to be put into the insulator and all u have to do is pour hot boiling water into the insulator until the top of the red stand. means the water level has to be just nicely flooding the red stand. after u've prepared the yogurt batch/mix, just place the yogurt container gently into the insulator as the yogurt container will sit on the red stand. cover the yogurt maker/insulator and put it at one corner undisturbed. come back again after 8 hours and u'll get home made yogurt!
ok, here goes on how to make the yogurt batch.

using this Easiyo packet is ultra simple! dont need any brains to do it. empty the packet into the container and add water. thats it! dont need yogurt starter or what not.

i did not give this batch of yogurt to kayjay though. it is sweet! so its a no no :)


now how do we make yogurt from milk and starter from scratch?

im thinking of showing photos but on second thoughts, i must not wait anymore. if i do not do it now, god knows how long it'll stay in the draft again.

i hate those recipes where they call for boiling milk! ugh. i wouldnt know the temperature and u would have to wait till the temperature dropped to a certain degree before putting in the starter.

so i found this method which is a keeper!

1. Milk - i use fresh milk. Room temperature milk. i place the chilled carton on the table until the coolness is gone. u will see puddles of water on the table, from the condensation of the milk.
2. Milk powder - use this if u want to have a thicker texture. i go by approximation, about 3 tbs of milk powder made up to 1/3 of a glass and pour it into the yogurt container.
3. Yogurt starter - Natural flavour commercial yogurt. i've tried Marigold and Danone. i prefer Marigold! danone is too runny as we prefer thicker type, they call it Greek yogurt. this is the last step, stir in ~ 3tbs into the yogurt mixture and cover it.

you are done!

the steps above are in order. add milk into the container until about 3/4, then pour in dissolved milk powder and lastly stir in the yogurt starter.

i always wait until atleast 8 hours before i bring out the yogurt batch from the maker and chilled it. never tried shorter than 8. it seems i read, the longer it sits in the maker, the thicker the yogurt becomes. u can experiment.

additional info which ive extracted :

It is important to sterilize equipments used as the live cultures are delicate little germs that will perish in wrong temperature or unsterilized environment. Give all equipments (jars, spoons, measuring cups) a hot water bath and let them dry on their own. Do not wipe.

Each time you make yogurt you will need some starter. You can use your own starter, but over time it looses its potency and your yogurt will not turn out. So I always begin with store bought yogurt. You can freeze your starter yogurt in ice cube trays so that it is convenient to have on hand.

baking infatuation

i want a built-in oven and a kenwood mixer in my new home!

and a plasma / led for kayjay! according to the dad, either one (i forgot which one) would not harm his eyes. projecter is the best of course he raved.

something like this perhaps?

Fisher & Paykel 0B90S9MEPX Single Oven, Stainless Steel £2,599

no idea why this is so dear as compared to Fisher & Paykel OB60B77DEX1 Double Oven, Stainless Steel £879

The Fisher & Paykel OB77DDEX3 in brushed steel adds a defining, modern touch to your kitchen. It features attractive straight bar handles, and a control panel with fixed control dials and a digital display.

It comes complete with a fat filter, grill pan and grill rack, plus 3 sets of telescopic slide runners (2x for the main, 1x for the top oven).

The 7 oven functions are:

• Bake
• Defrost
• Fan bake
• Fan forced
• Fan grill
• Grill
• Warm

Both ovens offer a choice of 4 shelf positions and a useful defrost function, plus cool-touch triple glazed doors.

i would be contented with the latter ;)

my mixer would have to be kMix food mixer or Titanium Chef mixer if we have the budget.

kj in wool

high-waisted woolie from carol etsy
i custom order this

it is grey in colour and i picked this type, as u can see ive pulled the pants up to the chest
this is made especially so to keep the baby warm
the roomy wide leg style allow the pants to be used as shorts/ capri when baby is larger
this is made from thin merino wool which suits our malaysian weather perfectly

this is also another woolie customized from carol
purchased together with the grey woolie above
i love the softness of the cashmere and i intentionally requested for RED!
chose a snail to embellish the woolie

that is kayjay in Paddington Pancake Queensbay Penang at 9-10 months old

dancing bear fleece soaker size M
i bought this preloved from Lisa, RM45

fleece is easier to be taken care of than wool
i gave this to babysitter but i think she does not really like it

at home, i dont usually put on a woolie/cotton pants on kj because i would prefer to feel the wetness on his diaper, so that it could indicate that it is time to change
except at night of couse
then i would wear a longie on him

Green samba soaker bought preloved
hand knit by a local mom, Sharine
it is still large for KJ but i jumped at this the moment i see it on sale because im smitten by the print!
aint it pretty? :)

ive bought another beautiful longie to add to the collection last month
SP Metro Striped Longie-Upcycled Italian Merino Wool Sweater Pants - Medium/ Large RM85
bought new from everythingbabything e-store

i try to buy neutral gender stuff *wink*

these two wools below are bought new from joanne.k as well


Funky Bright Striped Longies/ Upcycled Felted Lambswool Sweater Pants from a FREE PEOPLE Sweater RM81

this is KJ's first woolie, which he had outgrown it now
i wanted to sell it
ive put it up on sale in Diaperasia but hb commented that i should sell ANY of those that ive bought
u buy them already? keep then! why wanna sell?
:S

SP Harlequin Argyle Soaker/Upcycled Merino Wool Shorties- RARE RM75


3 SnugglePants and 3 Carolanthes!

purchased one more beauty, light grey toddler capri from carol yesterday! :D about RM90 after conversion. USD 27 to be exact

aiyah. carol took off the photos already!
darn, i really love the photo of her girl demo-ing the shortie :)

well,
what is so special about these woolies/fleece?

wools can prevent the pee from dripping
pee wont usually drip from fitted diaper but in cloth diapering vocabulary, we use the word wick, wicks moisture

wools can be a barrier to the wetness from the diaper
it can absorb 30% of its own weight in moisture before it feels wet
besides, it can also repel wetness
contradicting right?

Wool is made up of microscopic level of tiny overlapping scales,
and lanolin is the grease that sheep's skin secretes that acts as a sort of waterproof barrier

Hence the need to lanolize your wool from time to time

You do not need to wash your woolie everyday. u can wash it once a week? or even twice a week

the woolie wont stinks
u just need to air it after each use and the urine's ammonia smell would be gone

it is natural and breathable
i do not feel comfortable wearing KJ on PUL diaper cover
imagine wearing a plastic or vinyl over your baby's butt!
it would be so warm!
some baby's butt could sweat if u are not aware
u can check by stuffing your hand into their bums

wool is also self cleaning and has antibacterial properties

there are proper ways to care for the woolies
goggle them and u can find plenty of info

the only snag is that u need to hand wash! (i am a truly lazy mom)

the benefits of fleece is that it is cheap! and u can machine wash with other clothings