Steak

I love herbs, especially rosemary. I love rosemary mainly because it's such a hardy plant AND it smells so good!!!! It's especially good if you want a "meaty" taste to your food. I grow some herbs in my garden, rosemary being one of them, and I've to say that it's the best kinda plant for the lazy gardener in me!!! I have so much of it that I don't really know what else to do, so sometimes I would cut off a sprig and steep it in hot water...it's supposed to soothe headaches....hmmm....



Well, Ed decided that he had a craving for some steak. *Sigh* I'm not a big steak fan. But anyway, I decided to make some using some rosemary(anytime I get!!) for the marinade. I marinaded the steak with some crushed garlic, 1 sprig rosemary, pounded, and olive oil for about 30 mins. Broiled it to medium rare, topped it on some smashed cauliflower and potatoes with roasted garlic and deglazed the pan with sweet vermouth and mushrooms and top that on the steak. All ready to chow down!



Ed likes the steak but not too keen with the mash...hehehe..he was never a fan of cauliflower....LOL...or vegetable....And know what, Ethan's the same way with cauliflower...he's ok with vegetable on the whole, but he wouldn't eat cualiflower nor broccoli. Thank heavens he loves his peas!! Phew! :D

Weather wise, winter's not really winter....it's 20F above the norm temperature for a Texas winter. All the trees are sprouting buds!!! And I've yet to plant my tulip bulbs!!! Ok......I think I better start getting these lazy bones out in the yard...hehehe...

Been Out.....with the Flu!

First off....HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR>>GONG XI FA CAI>>>>ETC, ETC, ETC.....all the rest of the good luck wishes....I don't know many...sorry..:)

Spent my first day of chinese new year RECOVERING from flu!! Been having it for two weeks and in the last week, the darn bug decided to go full blast! I was so sick that I could barely get out of bed! Yah..it was bbbbaaaddd...definitely one of the worst flus that I had ever had! Note to self: Next year, GET FLU SHOT even if husband STILL doesn't!!!

As of my current situation, still sick, coughing my lungs out but on "active duty" (Ethan duty that is). Ethan's got a little runny nose but that's about it, he's as happy as a lark...really doesn't bother him. He's a happy toddler....as long as he gets his way!

Couldn't get any of my chinese new year cookies done, nor was there any reunion dinner cooking! It was soooooo upsetting. I've never not able to make CNY reunion dinner since I have my own home... this is the first! Not that Ethan would notice (he was happy with his store-bought roast chicken!). But there's 15 days of CNY, so I'm still deternmined to get some baking done..*cross fingers* as soon as I can stop coughing for at least half an hour!!!

Meanwhile, just wanna wish everyone a good one this year...and happy dog year...:D woof woof...

Soon Kueh

This is the second time I'd made Soon Kueh, the first one we ate everything and didn't take any pics!! LOL!! PIGS that we are! Soon Kueh is more or less like a large savory dumpling steamed with vegetable filling then eaten with Kecap Manis(an Indonesian sweet and thick soy sauce) and chilli sauce(obviously) on the side.



I'd gotten this recipe for the dumpling skin from a friend and as for the dumpling filling, I used my own which is pretty similar to that of a popiah filling.



Skin dough recipe(for 10 servings/dumplings):
Ingredients:
100g Wheat Starch/flour
50g Tapioca flour
1/4 tsp salt
200ml boiling water,
1/2 tsp cooking oil

Method:
Sift wheat starch, tapioca flour and salt together. Add boiling water & cooking oil and knead it to a smooth dough.
Roll the dough into a jelly roll and divide into 10 portions. Then roll the individual portion into a ball and using a rolling pin, roll that ball into a flattened round sheet to be use as the wrap.
Then take about 1 TBS of filling for each sheet and place onto the flattened sheet. Fold it into a semi-circle and pinch the edges together and you get the dumpling. *The wrap is rather delicate, so don't use too much filling or it will tend to tear.*
Then have an oiled plate(safe for heating) and place the dumplings onto it.
Steamed them for about 10 mins.

Filling:
Ingredients:
1 medium Jicama
1 big carrot
garlic
one handful of dried shrimps
salt, sugar and pepper
Oil

Method:
Soak dried shrimps in hot water to soften. Julienne jicama and carrots. Mince garlic. Drain the shrimps and mince that too.
Heat some oil in a wok, add garlic and minced shrimps. Fried till fragrant and add jicama and carrots. Mix the vegetable and let it simmer to cook till vegetables are softened. Add salt, a little sugar and pepper to taste. *Eliminate dried shrimps if you want it to be totally vegetarian*

Linguine with Shrimp in Homemade Arrabiatta Sauce

Did I mention I love noodles!!:D Well, I didn't have time the other day to make a "full-course" meal so I did a quick and easy pasta with salad on the side. I always have some canned tomatoes around so this is easy peasy. I don't really go for the bottled ready made stuff. I enjoy adding my own spices into the sauce, plus the fact I have to clear some of the fresh herbs that I had lying around...:)

Lil' Rocker

That's Ethan, all decked out in his favorite cap and his "electric" guitar! His daddy knotted up the strap so that Ethan could "carry" it instead of dragging that poor instrument around. Ethan llloooovvvveeessss music and each time he hears ANY music, he would drop whatever he's doing, runs to the source, stands in front and starts to dance. So when he got this guitar, he was totally impressed by it and carries it around! And with his cap, he does look like some alternative musician!! LOL!

Bean Curd

I found this recipe at KC during one of my "inspiration" trips. I had attempted to make this sweet beancurd dessert/"Tau Huay" before but it turned out looking like scrambled eggs. Don't ask. The original or rather, the traditional, recipe asked for the usage of Gypsum Powder. I was a little doubtful of using that but I did it anyway. However THIS particular recipe calls for agar-agar instead which is a more available than the former.

As usual, when a recipe is THAT easy, I HAVE TO DO IT!! Yah...it's almost like an addiction...*sigh*..... soooo....I did it WITH amazing results!! It actually tasted like the real deal! I did the "Tau Huay" as the recipe asked, and as for the syrup, I made a regular simple syrup with a few slices of ginger and a few stalks of pandan leaves/screwpine leaves in it. The final product was terrific. However the next time I make this, I think I'll cut the recipe in half as it turn out it was a little too much for us...hehe....(yah, I was THAT greedy for it!)

Kuih Bangkit

My relationship with this cookie is a love-hate relationship. I love EATING it but I hate MAKING them!!! Yes, as simple as the recipe may be it's one tricky tricky process. Either that or I just don't have that baker's touch...:(

I tried my luck making them last year for Chinese New Year and they turned out to be like rocks!! They were better protection for any home invasion than my home alarm system *sigh*. And I was so determined to make it successful that I kept on trying (5 times in a row to be exact and that took 2 whole days!). It just got worse on each try. Gave up and told myself that it just wasn't meant to be!!!

Then this year, I saw Ching's blog with a Kuih Bangkit recipe, pics included, I was hooked!! Of course, I was also drooling but that was besides the point. :D Her recipe was a whole lot simpler than most I've come across and with an added bonus, hers used MICROWAVE! There was only one thing left to do, I HAD TO MAKE IT!



The first batch didn't come out the way it should, but they were still edible and way better than what I've done before. So I tweaked the method a little. I changed the oven setting to 375"F and left them in there for 45mins instead. The results, as Edmand puts it, "hey, this is like the actual thing"...errrr....done....*wink*

Thanks Ching!! You're a wonder!!!!



Oh yah, I also added another extra ingredient in this recipe. I wanted the cookie to have a stronger flavor so I added Pandan Leaves/Screwpine Leaves to the flour and then microwave them together for 2 mins instead of 1 min (coz I've a real lousy microwave...:D). And I don't know if it's the high humidity level here in DFW but I ended up with a real "wet" dough, so I also added extra 1/2 cup of flour to the recipe. Everything turned out great....:D I'll definitely be bakng this cookie for CNY!!!



Ching, keep all these easy bake recipes coming!! :)

Ice cream madness

I know, I've promised to post this for the longest time but I didn't forget, I just.....ok.....laziness...that's all! :D



Anyway, I used my KitchenAid Mixer plus ice-cream maker attachment for this ice cream. It's Meyer Lemon and Ginger Ice Cream. I found some Meyer Lemons in season when I was at the market and bought it on an impulse!! So I had to find a way to use them and it turn out that I had the EXACT amount of lemons(for the juice) needed in that recipe. I found the recipe at William-Sonoma site but apparently it's not there any more...oh well...still that's a good site to check out.



It was a little of a hassle to make your own ice cream but the final product was so worth it! It was a lot creamier than the commercial stuff and thing is, you know exactly what went in and "control" the ingredients. I love the end product and now waiting to try out another ice cream recipe. I was thinking of strawberry and mint or something to that extent. Still have not decided....hmmm.....I'll see how it goes...hehe..

Bath Time Fun

Water + bubbles + 20 mth year old boy =



Yep...Ethan tends to get a little crazy at bathtime! Oh yah, his "cap" is actually his water bucket but he likes to take it from us and wears it on his head!! Like I said, he's a little goofboy!

Meme----> You're what you eat

It's true, I've been delaying in doing this meme...hehehe...the lazy lazy person that I am!! And how true this phrase is, "you're what you eat". When I think about it, I think the food you eat defines you as a person and your character. So here's my top ten....:) Enjoy!

1. Avocado : I LOVE THOSE DARK GREEN OVAL SHAPED FRUITS!!! What can I say, I can eat it with Sushi, I can eat it with salad, I can even eat in my sammies. I can eat it here, I can also eat then there, I can eat them ANYWHERE!!! (okkk...a little overdose of Dr Seuss here!). I was introduced to them when I first lived in Canada and since then, I'm hooked!

2. Tea : I love black tea most but I drink almost any tea. I used to drink them on a daily basis, but had to stop doing that coz I think the caffeine in it is keeping me up all night!!! And for the tea lovers out there, go to Teavana!!! You would be in tea heaven!!!

3. Sea Urchin Roe : I know, I know, but it's not as bad as it looks! I love them!! I could just eat them as a meal! Most of all I like it as a piece of sushi!! Oh man, just thinking of it makes me want to eat them!! Hmmm...I wonder if Ed would be up for some Japanese food this weekend!!;)

4. Tofu : I eat almost any form of tofu except for tofukey! For those people out there who "invented" this monstrosity, you totally ruin the beautiful delicacy of the simple tofu!! Tofu I think, best enjoyed as a dish by itself! I make sure that we have tofu at every meal! hehe..that's how much I like it!

5. Chicken : Everyone loves chicken, I'm no exception. It's great tasting, versatile, and great accompaniment for many food.

6. Water Convulous/water spinach/Kang Kong : Yes, I throughly enjoy this humble vegetable, my only regret is that I can't eat it everyday! Most of all, I like it stir-fried with sambal!! Yummy!!!!

7. Sushi and Sashimi : Yes, I guess it's an acquired taste. Yes, I do love those sliver of raw fish pieces....hehe....a little seaweed here and there and a tad of rice too wouldn't hurt! :D

8. Fresh Cherries : With the exorbitant prices for fresh cherries these days, eathing them in some thing of a luxury. The price to date for Fresh Oregon Cherries, $7.49 per pound! You kidding me!!!!

9. Noodles : I think I love noodles more than rice. There, I've said it! hehehe...Yes, I'm a noodle person, if I get my way, we would have noodles every meal or at least WITH every meal

10. Shellfish : Scallops, clams, mussels, oysters, abalone, etc. Yah, I love my shellfish!! Not something I can get every day coz of the high cholestrol count on shellfish. But they are soooooo sooooooo very good!!!! *sigh* Guess I would have to wait for special occassions for those lovely morsels!

Now, let me go tag someone else....

San....you know the drill!! :D Have fun!!!

Happy New Year

Hey I hope everyone had a great one!!! I know we did! We had a week long feast....almost continously, I'm glad that it's over now, with a little break before another "feasting", Chinese New Year!! Now that the barage of cooking, baking and eating's over, it's time to keep up with my New Year's resolution! So far I'm doing good...hehehe...



For Christmas, we had loads of the usual Christmas fixings; honey baked ham, Yum Woonsen, Prawn Crackers, Stuffed Mushrooms, and buns. But know what, we got so hungry that I forgot to take a pic of it!! Talk about greedy!! ehhehe.... But I managed to take a pic of the dessert which was great!! Considered that I've NEVER EVER seen or tasted this recipe!! I guess I fell in love with the ingredients of it that I could envision it!! hehehe... As for the "decoration" of it, I simply use my imagination!! hehehe.... If anyone's interested, it's called "celebration cheesepie" and it's from foodtv.com. For those who are weight conscious, I substitute most, if not all, of the possible ingredients with either their fat-free or light counterparts. Trust me, you don't lose anything in taste!!! It's that great! I used my KitchenAid for it and it totally whipped a lot air into the cream portion of the pie! It's GREAT!



With all the cooking and baking over the Christmas holidays, we decided to dine out for New Year instead. We went to this Brazilian restaurant called Texas de Brazil and let me say, they are good! We had been to another similar restaurant, Fogo de Chao and I loved that one. Now I know I would have another option! I love the ambience of this style of service. They are actually a form of brazilian grilled meats, mainly beef here. And they would bring the whole meat on the skewer to the table and carved it for you! I LOVE THE WHOLE PRESENTATION! Of course, with a little kid by your side, you've got to make sure that he's at the end of the table in case of accidents!! They DO carried very sharp knives! Overall I think my friends had a great time here for their New Year celebration! I know we did! Of course, there's always some celebratory drinking! :D Found some seriously great wines too, will share with you all in a later post! ;)



With all those outrageous amount of eating and drinking and what not, all of us managed to catch stomach flu!!!! ARRGHHHHH!!! I know, it's a virus and not the food! But that did stop us from eating for a while! It's payback I say, payback for all those lavish consumption!! :D`

Bum

Gosh I've been soooo lazy these days. I can barely bring myself to open my laptop and even check my emails! Yup, it's the end of the year and I'm allowed to have a relapse now and then!

With Christmas peering round, I really have to get off the couch and get all my shopping done! 'Nuff procrastinating! So over the weekend, I forced myself to get to the busy streets and crowded malls and joined the mass population doing last minute shopping. *Sigh* Finally all done but I'm totally out!

My husband asked me what I'd like for Christmas. Well......I've already got what I want. :D But what I really want is not something he can buy...with everything that are going on these days...this is what I really want....

Grown-up Christmas List

I sat upon your knee
I wrote to you
With childhood fantasies
Well, I'm all grown up now
Can you still help somehow
I'm not a child
But my heart still can dream
So here's my lifelong wish
My grown-up Christmas list
Not for myself
But for a world in need
No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
Every man would have a friend
That right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown-up
Christmas list
What is this illusion called
The innocence of youth
Maybe only in their blind belief
Can we ever find the truth
There'd be no more lives torn apart
And wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
Every man would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown-up Christmas list
This is my only lifelong wish
This is my grown-up Christmas list

Lyrics By Natalie Cole

And to all my friends and family,

Merry Christmas!!!!!Happy New Year!!!!!

Cabin Fever

Yep, crazy is what happened when you are "trapped" at home with a hyper-active 19mth old boy for 2 whole days! I love winter but I hate it when there's black ice, don't like driving on those slippery roads! I guess staying at home has its advantages. :D



Decided that I wanted to paint, or rather "re-decorate", my little boy's room. He's approaching the terrible twos (erm....I think he's already there...) and somehow wanted to give his room a little of that little toddler look. Went on the net and surfed for some designs and inspiration. Decided on the theme and started to "decontruct" his room to make way for the BIG EVENT! Today!! My husband, to his credit, decides to keep mum and let me have my way before I jump in his throat. Sooooo...crazy me, after being stuck in the house for 2 days, went to Home Depot, bought 2 gallons of 2 different color paints. I'm all ready to go now...just waiting for Ethan to finish napping....

Meanwhile I'm having some doubts, started off really hyped up and excited, now I'm just worried if I could complete this within a day???? In fact, within 3 hours, that includes painting dual color AND stenciling!! I'm beginning to think I was getting a wee bit over my head!! But it's too late now!!Just have to keep moving forward..........

I've decided that this would be my Christmas present for Ethan...hehehe....plus he would be getting some "grown-up" furniture in his room (from dad) so I think it would be good. Besides, today would be a good day to embark on painting a room, afterall, it's high of 58F *tongue in cheek*. You've GOTTA love this weather!!!!


Stir-fried Aspargus with bacon bits/Home-made Rendang/Cranberry-Pumpkin Bread/Thai Boat Noodles/Soy Sauce with Vinegar and Chillies Dipping Sauce for Noodles/Ma Po Tofu/Banana Muffin

With the approaching holiday, my kitchen was a flurry of baking, baking and more baking!!! Didn't have a lot of time to really get cooking. Meanwhile still trying to clear my freezer to make way for Christmas dinner...yet to decide on the menu...it's really mind boggling! :D

Post Thanksgiving Pics: As promised

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving and all of us had the best time! It was soooo relaxing and stressless for me (hehehhe...especially so since I didn't have to cook!!). Of course, there was Black Friday which I didn't shop at all! Amazingly! But my husband did...*sigh*...."damage" was done regardless of all the justifications he had "presented". Nevertheless, it was still a great Thanksgiving weekend. Most of all I'm thankful for everything I have, family, health, good friends, and most of all, good food. :D


Egg Tarts(I made some for the Thanksgiving dinner)/dinner rolls, great garlic mash & Bread Pudding from scratch/more dinner rolls/closeup of bread pudding/cranberry-orange-apple sauce/corn on the cob/asparagus wrapped in bacon, corn, & pumpkin-apple butter pie/THE BEST TURKEY IN THE WORLD/more turkey, corn and asparagus shots

Everything you see on the table is made from scratch by my friends except for the dinner rolls, corn and the egg tarts that I brought. I made those tarts the night before and just heat them up a little before serving in order to give a "freshly baked taste", surprisely it tasted just like it. Neat!As for the turkey, I can't say enough of it. It's just marvelous, juicy, tender, tasty, melting in your mouth sensation! It was perfect!!!! And the rest of the food, well, what can I say...they were just as great!! There were so much food that it took us 2 days to finish that whole meal! Yah....2 days!!!


Soy Sauced Chicken(KC recipe)/bean sprouts with water spinach and Shrimps/Ching Ting(another KC recipe)/Dry Noodles with soy sauced chicken/Black Forest Cake from Jo's Deli Bakery/Thai stewed pork/Stir-fried brussel sprouts with garlic and dried shrimps

Just some stuff I'd cooked BEFORE Thanksgiving!! Imagine!! hehehehe....I was just too ridiculously lazy to blog...I'm such a bum! :D

Post Thanksgiving Note

Got back from our Thanksgiving road trip. It was great but seriously tiring. Weather wasn't great when driving home, the winds were going at 50+ miles/hour!!! We were being "blown" away as we drive, if it wasn't for gravity who knows where we would be now. And each time the car door made a whistling sound (the angle of which the wind hit), Ethan would say "uh-oh", it was 2 hours worth of "uh-oh"s but I think it would last me for quite some time if I don't hear it any sooner.

Well, just a short note to inform friends and family that I'm back and seriously stuffed. I think my friend had outdone himself this year! It was the best turkey we ever had, as in all that we've eaten anywhere!!!! Will post pics on a later post. Meanwhile, still catching up with sleep and routine, it was some great 4 days "vacation". So many things, so little time....

10 Things I Like About Winter

1. There's no worries of showing unwanted body fat coz most of the time you're pretty much BUNDLED UP! :)
2. Due to the "bundling up", there's also not a real need to constantly shave your legs, or arms...just let it grow.....(I've hit a low point..:D)
3. No more mowing, watering, and pruning lawns/hedges/weeds
4. The wonderful crisp winter air with a hint of firewood burning; EXHILARATING!
5. Something about seeing all those over-commercialized Christmas' decoration and the hint of pine fragrance in the malls make you feel all happy happy inside and hypnotized you to keep on shopping and buying.
6. Days are shorter!
7. Great hair days (most of it) due to lack of humidity
8. More holiday time (for Ed)
9. Great excuse to continously stuff your face (I'm lame AND greedy)
10. Most of all, cold weather makes you more tranquil, calmer and happpier...aaaahhhhh....

So to everyone....

Busy Bees

Gosh, what a week!! Both Ed and I were having the same cold over the whole weekend, courtesty of Ethan!!! Big Surprise. It was so bad that we had to tag team to look after our whinnier-than-usual-coz-of-a-runny-nose Ethan. We even took turns to NAP!! Yah, both of us were totally EXHAUSTED!!! But we are now much better and other than a few shiffles here and there, we are pretty much back to normal. Although it's not the same with Ethan. I think it's taking him a little longer coz he's so fussy with everything. He's still very "snotty" and totally HATES it when I try to suck the mucus out from his nose. Sounds worse than it really is, but that's pretty much the only sure way to get him breathing through his nose instead of his mouth!

Out of all this "mess", I still managed to catch a movie the weekend. ONLY ME!! I know, I'm THAT desperate. I went alone coz 1. there's no babysitter available, 2. Ed said he would rather be sick AT HOME WITH SICK ETHAN than to go to watch this show, 3. Unless he needed to save lives, he would pass this movie! Hey it's not that bad...well....it's not comparable to the five hour miniseries one, but hey, it's my all-time favourite book!! Yah, San, I think you've guessed it, it's Pride and Prejudice!! I HAD to watch it, it's that serious! Ok, I don't want to go into too much of this movie for those who haven't seen it yet........but I WILL!!! hehehehhe

I'm definitely a strict "Austenian". I like it the way she wrote it, AS IT WAS! I understand that with a moive(especially one that's condensed into 2hr 7mins)you can't have every itty bitty detail from the book written into the moive. But please....PLEASE.....DO NOT ADD THINGS INTO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That seriously bothers me greatly!! If Jane Austen wanted those added details, she would have wrote that into her book but she didn't which MEANS THEY WON'T INTEND TO BE IN THERE!!! *sigh* I really feel that it's almost an atrocity that they added all the extras in it!!! Overall, it's good, as good as the one with Colin Firth in it...hmmm...can't compare, one's a made for tv mini-series, the other is a movie....sooo...it's really a personal opinion to that. One thing I've to say is that the cinematography is GREAT! Now....the only thing left....is....go watch it......:D

Ok....I could go on and on about Jane Austen's works....but let's not......got a equation here....what happened if you add Ethan and a box of Legos
?? Seriously anyone would think that we were robbed!?!?!?





Meanwhile in the kitchen front, this is what I made over the week....you'd probably notice Porridge there.. Yah, it's my when-I'm-sick/down/cold weather comfort food! Ed hates it, but again(I can never stressed this enough...ehhehe), I"M THE QUEEN OF THE KITCHEN!


Raisin Rolls(courtesy of Ching's Little Corner with a slight modification)/Long Beans with Prawns/Pork, Dried Oyster & Century Egg Congee/Homemade Hokkien Mee(courtesy of Lily's Wai Sek Hong)/Prawn Mee/Modified Young Tau Foo/Oyster Omelette

On the weather forecast, WE ARE FINALLY GETTING THE CHILLS!! Ok, that came out wrong. What I meant to say is that we are finally getting the "normal" winter weather!!! WOOHOOOOOOOO...I LOVE THE COLD! It's soooo, sooo, sooo......winterish!!(ok, I'm a dork!). Sure brings out the holiday spirits. Now all I can think of is Christmas, Christmas, Christmas!!!!! And Thanksgiving is not even here yet... :) Ohwell...at least I'm not stressing out for the Thanksgiving meal, we are going to N & K's place for that....yippeee...more food pics!

So for everyone who thinks I probably went AWOL....I was just sick...:D And San, I'll try to keep the KitchenAid Mixer a secret from your sis!! hehehehehe...:D Did I mention that I'm already planning on getting the ice-cream maker attachment for it! I'm contemplating of making Lemon Gelato for the Christmas menu *wink*

An Unusually Warm November Day

As most Texas' residents would know by now, there's no such thing as accurate weather forecasts, especially when it comes to Texas' weather! We'd been having such hot days (IN WINTER, NO LESS, averaging 80Fs daily) that only the a/c is operational!! So when you're given lemons......make lemonade!



Took Ethan to a neighbourhood park with a brandnew swanky playground. COOL! He enjoyed it. He was a little apprehensive about the swings(and still is!) but he loved the slides. Well, he always love the slides.... And he found this really bouncer thingy. (Don't know what it's called). Basically you stand there and moved that "bouncer" with your movements. He was totally tickled! They had all kinds of things, an area for babies/toddlers and a slightly modified and bigger area for the bigger kids. They also had this musical walls and it makes different noises when hit. Plus it's facing a stream, really nice. There were ducks and geese but we didn't have any bread, so just had to contend with looking at them. This place is really really awesome, they obviously took into consideration of entertaining kids of all ages.


Yum Woon Sen/Mysore Beef/Sambal Water Spinach/Pulut Hitam/Chicken with Tofu and Green Onions/Masala Okra/Choco and Green Tea Melting Moments/New KitchenAid

Some food I made over the course of last week...And yah, my new buy of the month!!! My spanking NEW KITCHENAID STAND MIXER. I LOVE IT! It was about time I retired my old mixer too. Plus now I can make my doughs using their dough hook instead of by hand (way too tiring and time-consuming).
I made the Choco and Green Tea Melting Moments with the new mixer too and it was wonderful! Compliments to Ching's recipe. It was easy enough for me. :D However my cookies never quite browned??? Odd. But it was ok...it's the taste that matter! HA!
As for the Mysore Beef, I got the recipe from KC which is a simplified version( as I understood) of the original Mysore Beef recipe from Banana Leaf Temptations, which I also have the book. I kinda combined both recipes and made it to my liking.
My husband does not like Okra/Lady's Fingers....well.....TOO BAD!!!!!!!! :D As for the Yum Woon Sen, it was his request. He just felt like eating that. I think you eat it with Lettuece on the side, at least that is what he told me, although he eats his like a wrap. Hmmm....doesn't really matter I guess, it's up to personal preferences.

Meanwhile have to rush off to take care of little rascal..this time, runny nose... *sigh* Don't quite know how he gotten that?????

Nursemaid's Elbow

Ethan had a little "accident" two days ago! We were playing "swinging monkeys" when he slipped off my hand and shifted his ligament off his elbow!!! He couldn't move his left arm without screaming in pain. IT WAS MAJORLY FRIGHTENING!!!! Had to call his ped and get an emergency appointment! Didn't know what it was, thought he might have fractured something. All I know was it was heartwrenching for me to hear and see him in so much pain. He was ok as long as he didn't move that arm!

Went to the doc's, told us that it was something called Nursemaid's Elbow. She re-adjusted Ethan's elbow and "popped" it right back into position. And almost IMMEDIATELY, Ethan could use that arm again! It was like it never happened! Almost like a miracle! Glad he was ok.

Conclusion: No more "swinging the monkey" anymore!!! My poor little goofboy! But boy, that was a scare alright!! 

Monkey ESCAPES from the zoo!!!

Ethan decided that the pumpkin patch was the way to go....ermmm...I don't think he realised that it doesn't turn into a carriage!! :D He's just a cutie! While we were at the Arboretum (and MAN, was it packed!), he just went stir crazy...so the only thing we could do was to let him loose....ON the REST of the people there!!!