Angry Birds - Black Bomber!

The boys were so happy with the Egg Beater Bird yesterday, they requested for all the other birds for today's lunch! After some thought, they finally settled on the Black Bomber =)

Can you spot the pig hiding in the strawberry?

The green pig dyed himself pink!

It's Summer Pig-nic for lunch today!

In the bento, there's blanched cabbage (seasoned with a little sea salt), oven-baked soy sauce chicken thigh fillet, strawberries, and rice wrapped in nori (the bomb).

I used a thin slice of Japanese fishcake for the eyes. Cut out a circle using a cutter. Half the circle and you get two semi-circles. That's a pair of eyes! Punch out some circles from a nori punch, and place the black circles onto the semi-circles. Done! The brows were made from a grape tomato. You can use red pepper or the red part of crabmeat too.

Question: How do I "stick" the eyes to the rice ball wrapped in the nori sheet?

Answer: I used a short length of angel's hair to secure the eyes/brows to the rice ball. Do not use toothpick as you don't want your kid to choke. You can also use some grains of the sticky rice, or a little mayonnaise. For me, the stick of uncooked angel's hair works best =)

I wonder which bird or pig the boys want for lunch tomorrow .....

Stir Fry Chayote With Broccoli

I met my Taiwanese neighbour at the asian mart and she saw the two chayotes I had in my cart. She said she cooked the chayotes, with the skin on, and they ended up very mushy. She looked in disbelief when I said I used them for soups, with the skin removed. My guess for the mushy chayotes was she didn't remove the skin and probably overcooked the chayotes while waiting for the skin to soften.

Hmmm, frying the chayotes .... I have never thought of frying them! Hubby and I love eating the chayotes from the soups. They have a soft crunch. Somewhat reminds me of cucumber. It is worth a try frying them. However, I need to add some florets of broccoli, as the boys will probably not want to eat the chayotes. They are not very adventurous in trying out new types of vegetables.

2pcs Chayotes, skin removed and sliced

1 head Broccoli, cut into florets

1/2 inch Ginger, remove skin and cut into thin strips

Chicken Stock and a little salt to taste

• Heat up a frying pan.
• Add a little olive oil.
• Fry the strips of ginger till fragrant.
• Add the sliced chayotes and give it a quick stir.
• Add enough chicken stock to slightly cover the chayotes.
• You can either leave the chayote to continue cooking and soften in the pan, or cover the pan with a lid to speed up the process. Check the chayotes occasionally, so that they don't soften so much that they become mushy.
• Add the florets of broccoli when the chayotes are softened to your liking.
• Cook the broccoli for a while.
• Add some salt to taste.
• Remove and serve warm.

I was right, the kids didn't want to eat the chayotes! They finished up the broccoli, and I must say, the broccoli tasted better when fried with ginger than garlic! Hubby and I liked the chayote slices. Refreshing with a slight crunch to it. Well, I guess I can still mix the two vegetables and cook it as one dish, since it pleases both the adults and the kids.

Parmesan and Panko Chicken Thighs

On days when I am feeling exhausted, the oven does most of the cooking.

It saves me the hassle of having to wipe the stove top, to wash my big frying wok, to wipe the oil splatter off the side table .... the list goes on. All I need to do, with oven baking, is to wash the baking tray!

The recipe for Oven Fried Chicken Thighs with Parmesan and Panko was adapted from About.com. I made some changes to the recipe. The original recipe can be found here.

We all love the crispy panko on the chicken thighs!

Darling son KW thought he was having pork chop, and was wondering why the pork chop was so thick.

4 Chicken Thighs

2 tbsp Butter, melted

1 tsp Honey or maple syrup

1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

1/3 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese (I use grated parm. cheese)

1 1/4 cups Panko Crumbs

1/4 tsp Sea Salt

1 tsp Dried Parsley Flakes

1/4 tsp Paprika

• Heat oven to 400F.
• Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
• Wash chicken thighs and trim excess fat and skin.
• Pat dry and sprinkle with sea salt.
• In a shallow bowl, combine melted butter, honey and garlic powder.
• In another bowl, combine panko, parmesan cheese, salt, dried parsley flakes and paprika.
• Brush or rub chicken thighs with butter mixture.
• Press all sides of the chicken thigh into the panko mixture to coat thoroughly.
• Place on prepared baking tray.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes, or till juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a fork.

I did not follow the amount stated for panko and the grated parmesan cheese. In fact, I had more panko mixture than required. It was a waste to throw it away, so I used the leftover panko mixture to coat florets of cauliflower! Yes, I send the tray of panko coated cauliflower into the oven to bake, even though I had already prepared a vegetable dish for dinner. It's good to eat more vegetables, don't you think?

• Wash and drain the florets of cauliflower.
• Pour a little olive oil to coat the florets of cauliflower.
• Pour the leftover panko mixture into the bowl of cauliflower.
• Mix well, transfer to a baking tray lined with parchement paper.
• Bake the vegetables together with the chicken thighs.
• The cooking time for cauliflower will be shorter than that of the chicken thighs, so keep an eye on both trays.
• Instead of using two separate trays, you could, during the last 15 minutes of baking the chicken thighs, transfer the panko coated uncooked cauliflower into the baking tray that holds the chicken thighs. That is provided your tray is big enough to hold the chicken thighs and cauliflower, all in one!

Darling son YW obediently ate up his portion of cauliflower, and asked for more! He loved the panko crumbs, which fell from the cauliflower, onto his rice. Yummy, he said. I will definitely make this dish again!

Bert and Bert

How do you like this family portrait of Bert and Bert? These two brothers live on Sesame Street and are good friends with Ernie =)

In the bento, we have blanched broccoli florets and oven-baked soy-honey chicken thigh fillet. What are those black strips behind Bert, on top of the rice?

I cut the piece of nori used for Bert's mouth, brow and eyes into small strips. Then I sprinkled them over the rice. No wastage =)

And I sprinkled some onto the rice in Hubby dear's lunchbox! What's in his lunchbox? Along with rice, he gets broiled chicken wings and stir-fried broccoli and mini sweet peppers.

Clean the wings and pat dry with a paper kitchen towel.

Generously sprinkle some sea salt over the wings.

Season with a little ground black pepper and paprika.

Transfer the wings to a rack with a drip pan.

Place the rack at least 6 inches away from the broiler.

Broil the wings for 10 minutes.

Turn the wings over and broil for another 10 minutes.

Each oven is different, so the broiling time may be shorter or longer.

Remove when done and let cool before packing into the lunchbox.

Add a little oil to a hot frying pan.

Add minced garlic to the oil.

Fry the garlic till fragrant.

Add the sliced mini sweet peppers.

Give it a quick stir and leave it to cook for a couple of seconds.

Add broccoli florets.

Add a little water. Just enough to cook the vegetables.

Mix well and let the vegetables cook.

When the vegetables are cooked, add some sea salt to taste.

I put the vegetables into cups, as I did not wish to have the sauce from the vegetables mixing with the chicken wings. Hence, I used only a little water to cook the vegetables. However, if you are cooking this dish for dinner, and like to have a little more sauce in the dish, then add more water/chicken stock to cook the vegetables. You can also use oyster sauce in place of sea salt.

The weather this morning was just gorgeous! The sun was shinning brightly and cheerfully, and the temperature was just above zero degree Celsius! Nice and cool weather! I looked out of the living room window and saw the shadow of the tree on the wall .... lovely!

And check out the shadow of the tree on the snow covered ground! Beautiful! I'm looking forward to the arrival of Lady Spring, although the 2 inches of snow accumulated yesterday remind me of how beautiful Winter can be.

Meet the Minion!

Meet the Minion, from Despicable Me!

These little fellows are busy working for Gru, building this and that ... so they need tools!

Minion and tools ... they make a good bento lunch for boys =) Plus, it is not difficult to put together the Minion. Simple tools like straws and piping tip, or any circular objects you can find in your home for cutting circles of two different sizes. Cheese slices ... Cheddar and Swiss, two colours, for the eyes.

Darling son KW will be bringing this Minon, Despicable Me lunch to school. In the lunch box, he got a rice ball, shaped like Minion's head and hidden under Minion, blanched broccoli florets, and pan-fried chicken. How about Darling son YW? He had a terrible sore throat last night. I thought I should let him bring something light for lunch ... blanched snow peas, prawns cooked in salted water, and rice. So two different sets of lunch for school.

Midway through lunch preparation, I noticed that Darling son YW was not his usual self. He looked tired and his face was very red. A mother's instinct, I would say, and I quickly took his temperature. He was having a high fever of 102F/38.8C! So the boy would be staying home today! He could still have prawns and snow peas for lunch, with rice in a bowl of miso soup.

Hubby dear was one lucky guy today! He's got a combination of both meals!

The medication did bring Darling son YW's fever down, but after lunch, it went up again to 102F/39C. I hope he will get well soon, after a day or two of rest. So for now, I will be preparing two sets of meals, till the little boy recovers!

A Promise. Echo-Echo.

I promised my little boy yesterday, that I would include Echo-Echo from Ben 10 Alien Force in his lunch today. He was really looking forward to it! I did my homework yesterday and came up with a sketch and template of Echo-Echo.

As usual, with the mad rush in the morning, I realised (again!) that I didn't have time to include the details, despite planning for it! The thin strips of nori were already cut, but I just didn't have the time (and stable hands) to put them on the figures. I was lucky to be able to include the eyes, cut from a leaf of lettuce, and the Ben 10 logo. Upon see his lunchbox, the little one said "Echo-Echo!". It's a "Pass", from my little teacher, for my assignment, I suppose?

The boys got an extra side dish for their lunch, apart from the usual meat and vegetable .... bacon wrapped asparagus!

I baked these bacon wrapped asparagus last night, to test if the boys like it. You don't want to include a new dish, only to have them bring home to you after school, untouched. Bacon is not exactly a healthy choice of food, but as long as we consume it in moderation, it works just fine. Another vegetable included in their diet, especially for Darling son KW, who requested that I "cut off the green part sticking out". He didn't mind popping the hidden asparagus into his mouth, since I cut the spear of asparagus into smaller chunks.

4 spears of Asparagus

2 slices of Bacon

• Half the slice of bacon lengthwise.
• From a slice of bacon, you now get two thin slices.
• Remove tough end of asparagus.
• Wash and pat dry the asparagus.
• Wrap the half-sliced of bacon around the spear of asparagus.
• Put the bacon wrapped asparagus in a lined tray.
• Bake at 400F for about 20 minutes.
• You may want to turn the spear of asparagus half way through cooking.

I didn't add any salt or pepper. The asparagus was soft and well seasoned by the saltiness from the slightly crispy bacon. While the bacon was sizzling away in the oven, I pan fried the chicken thigh chunks.

These chicken thigh chunks were cut and marinated with Shaoxing Wine, and left in the fridge overnight. I coated the chunks with some cornstarch and salt, and pan fried them with some olive oil. Since they were bite size chunks, they cooked faster than when you fried a whole chicken thigh.

Oily bacon and oily spears of asparagus, with panfried chicken ... unhealthy? I added more vegetables - orange cauliflower. Scoop some rice into the lunchbox and that completes the meal. This is the lunchbox for hubby dear. No Echo-Echo for him =p

Three lunchboxes in one morning. It is no wonder the kitchen was in a terrible mess after packing the lunchboxes. Let's hope the boys, big and little, come home later with an empty lunchbox.

Mini Sweet Peppers

I was at the supermarket today, when I started gravitating towards the section where the leafy vegetables were kept. Amongst the bed of greens, sat a few rows of yellow, red and orange. I would normally give this colourful section a miss, but today, the boxes of mini peppers seemed to be calling out to me =)

Nowadays, I don't really fancy eating meat. My little boy will sometimes run into the kitchen when I am cooking or baking the meat, and ask me what I'm cooking. "Smells good!", he will say. But I felt otherwise. When I was pregnant with my second boy, I couldn't tolerate the smell and taste of pork. This intolerance continued even after the birth of the boy. Coincidentally, my little boy doesn't like eating pork. He will try very hard to stomach a small amount of the meat, and rather have his rice and vegetables whenever pork is served. Even when the pork is cooked and masked by the rich flavor of char siew sauce, I still find the distinct pork taste lingering after swallowing the Char Siew. And I am not referring to Americanized Char Siew. Char Siew back home, served at the hawker centres. Bad huh? Maybe that was the main reason I went ahead and bought the packet of mini sweet peppers today =)

A simple stir-fry vegetable dish for lunch today.

• Minced a few cloves of garlic and thinly sliced one medium shallot.
• Heat up pan and add some olive oil.
• When oil is hot, add the minced garlic and sliced shallot.
• Fry till fragrant, but not browned.
• Add the sliced peppers and mix well with the garlic and shallot.
• Add the baby spinach. Mix well.
• Add some chicken stock.
• Cook till the spinach soften.
• Turn off heat, and add salt to taste.
• Do not overcook if you want the peppers to have a little crunch when you bite into them.

Since the vegetables had quite a good amount of liquid in it, I thought it would be nice to add some pasta to my share of the vegetables. Tomato and spinach shells, it will be.

While waiting for the pasta to cook in the pan of boiling water, I chopped some grape tomatoes and added them to my bowl of vegetables.

Hubby dear had his standard lunch of rice, vegetables and baked fish, while I enjoyed my bowl of pasta with lots of vegetables! Satisfying lunch for me =)

Stir Fried Garlic Broccoli

This is one simple dish.

I am sure many moms cook this every now and then.

Why is there a need to post the recipe then?

Well, if I do fall sick, my dear hubby will have to do the cooking!

I am sure he has no problem dishing up this vegetable meal, but I think he will take comfort in having some recipe to refer to, so that he doesn't need to bother me while I rest in bed, that is if I do fall sick. And I will also have the full assurance that the kids will not go hungry or have to wait very long before they get to eat their meal =)

• A head of broccoli, cut into small florets.
• Wash and set aside.
• Mince some garlic and set aside.
• Heat up a large frying pan.
• When hot, add some olive oil.
• Add the minced garlic.
• Fry till fragrant, but not browned.
• Add the florets of broccoli.
• Mix well with the garlic.
• Add some chicken broth.
• Cover and cook till broccoli soften, but still with a crunch.
• Cover and cook longer if you like them soft.
• Season with a little sea salt if necessary.

I can just eat this with plain rice and nothing else!

And I had to fight with darling son KW over the last few pieces of broccoli last night, LOL.

Green Chilli

Very often, we take things for granted.

Simple things in life.

I have always taken green chilli for granted. Those green chillies which add to your "zhichar" noodles or wanton noodles. Whenever we eat out at hawker centres, the jar of green chillies is always there for us. You have a choice not to take it, but if you want it, it's always there for you.

But when you are far away in the woods, most things have to be made from scratch. No green chillies to go with your wanton noodles. Even the chilli sauce tastes different. No sambal chilli, no nasi lemak, no char kway teow, no sausage buns. You want them, you think of a way to make it.

I'm beginning to fall in love with those Jalapeno Peppers. They seem to be a good choice for making green chillies, the kind that you eat with your wanton noodles. So I decided to give it a try. The ingredients are not expensive, so no heartache even if I fail =)

Jalapeno Peppers

Distilled White Vinegar

Sugar

Yes, it's that simple.

Wash and clean the peppers.

Cut the peppers, and with the seeds, put them in a bowl.

Sprinkle some sugar over the peppers and mix well.

I use a tablespoon of sugar for 6 peppers.

Add more sugar if you like your chilli sweeter instead of sour.

Put the peppers into a small jar.

Pour enough vinegar to cover the peppers.

Keep in the refrigerator for at least two days before eating.

Wow! The peppers, despite soaking in the vinegar for two days, have a crunch to it, unlike those back home. I like its spiciness, and with a tinge of sweetness. The sour taste is a tad too strong for hubby dear, so I will add more sugar the next time I make it.

I miss it so much, I can eat just eat it with plain rice! YUM!

Five-Spice Chicken with Garlic and Spring Onions

I must admit, after three weeks of holiday in Food Paradise, I am in no mood to cook!

We went back to Singapore for a three-week holiday. There was so much to eat, and such easy access to food, that I was hardly hungry! Reality sunk in when I finally returned to the woods. The first few meals were take-out, or fast-food. I was really busy with unpacking, washing, and cleaning the house. A trip to the supermarket was necessary. But what should I buy? What should I cook? Thinking about it gave me a headache, not to mention having to cope with jetlag.

We brought back to the woods, from Singapore, lots of books ... both textbooks and cookbooks. A quick browse through the stack of cookbooks, and I decided on this dish for our dinner ... Five-spice Chicken with Garlic and Spring Onions.

I am not a fan of spring onions. I will not buy them when I'm at the supermarket. So why this dish? Our kind neighbour came by and brought us a huge bunch of spring onions, and chives! Just the right ingredient for the dish. To my surprise, the dish turned out to our liking =)

Adapted from Homestyle Chinese Cooking

(Periplus Mini Cookbooks)

Serves 4

Preparation Time : 20 mins

Cooking Time : 6 mins

350g (12 oz) Chicken Breast, cubed (I used Chicken Thigh Fillets)

3 tbsp Sesame Oil

5-6 cloves Garlic, minced

2 Spring Onions, cut into sections

Marinade

2 tbsp Rice Wine

1 tbsp Soy Sauce

1 tsp Sesame Oil

1 tsp Sugar

1/2 tsp Salt

2 tsp 5-spice Powder

1 tsp Cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tbsp water

• Place the chicken in a bowl with the Marinade, stirring to coat the chicken well. Set aside for 15- 20 minutes.
• Drain the Marinade, reserving all the liquid.
• Heat the sesame oil over high heat, and when hot, add the garlic and chicken.
• Stir fry for 3 to 4 minutes, then add the reserved Marinade and spring onions, and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Transfer to a serving dish.

From the cookbook ... You can also add 1/2 cup of fresh or frozen green peas after stir-frying the chicken for a minute or two. A sprinkling of minced fresh coriander leaves on the finished dish goes well with these flavors.

My coriander plant died when I returned from Singapore, so I skipped this ingredient for the dish. Since my boys were not fans of green peas, I replaced the peas with cauliflower. I microwaved the cauliflower to soften them.

Just top your bowl of warm rice with a big spoonful of chicken and cauliflower and viola, you are ready to eat!

Garlic Butter Noodles

My elder boy loves noodles, any kind ... egg noodles, fat yellow noodles, flat noodles, soba, spaghetti. Usually, the sauce I use for the noodles will either be soy sauce mixed with some sugar and sesame oil, or ketchup with oyster sauce and sesame oil. However, I can't be using the same sauce for my noodles all the time! Even spaghetti sauce has a variety of taste!

I was searching for a new taste when I chanced upon The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook ... Garlic Butter Noodles! Simple and readily available ingredients! I had to give it a try!

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

1 tablespoon of oyster sauce

2 teaspoons of soy sauce

1. Heat a frying pan.

2. Add 3 tablespoons of butter, with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.

3. Heat up the oil.

4. Add minced garlic and fry till fragrant.

5. Mix the brown sugar, soy sauce and oyster sauce in a small bowl.

6. Add the sauce to the pan of garlic oil.

7. Give the sauce a quick stir and turn off the heat.

8. Add the cooked noodles. Mix evenly with the sauce.

9. Serve warm.

I love the taste of this sauce! A little sweet, a little salty, plus the buttery and garlicky flavor ... hmmm..... Instead of using the sauce for noodles, you can also use the sauce over raw spinach! The spinach is softened a little by the sauce, but yet retains a little crunchiness. Awesome!

Chicken Rice and Oyster Sauce Bak Choy in Garlic Oil

The kids had to attend Chinese lessons this afternoon, and hence, it was a good time for me to drop by the Asian Mart. I saw this packet of Bak Choy (小白菜) and thought it would be the perfect vegetable to go with our dinner this evening ... Chicken Rice.

I would usually blanch the Bak Choy and pour some sesame oil and oyster sauce over them. But thanks to NoobCook, I decided to use a different sauce ... Garlic Oil and Oyster Sauce Bak Choy!

Garlic Oil

• Heat up 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a pan.
• Finely chopped 8 cloves of garlic.
• Fry the chopped garlic till light brown.
• Remove the pan from the heat immediately when the garlic starts to turn a light brown. The garlic will continue to cook in the hot oil. Take care not to burn the garlic.

Oyster Sauce Mixture

• 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon of hot water
• 1/2 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Garlic Oil

Pour the garlic oil over the blanched Bak Choy, followed by the Oyster Sauce Mixture. Mix well and serve. I cut the stalks of Bak Choy into halves, as it is easier for the kids to eat. I like my vegetables to be crunchy, but the kids find it difficult to chew. Hence I blanched the vegetables longer to soften them. It still tastes great with this sauce! Most importantly, the kids love it and it goes well with my dinner ... Chicken Rice!

Oh, how I miss the Chicken Rice back home. I have been relying on the packets of Chicken Rice premix, and sadly, I am down to my second last pack! Chicken Rice is definitely on my "To Eat" list when we return home for visit this June!

Sesame Oyster Sauce Spinach

Darling son KW is picky about the kind of vegetables he eats. He loves broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and 小白菜. Beans, peas, tomatoes and capsicums are out. No way he will eat them. He fell in love with romaine lettuce while we were on holiday last summer. Phew! Another vegetable to add to his "LIKE" list. Carrots? He will eat it if they are cut into very thin strips and mixed in fried rice ... too tedious for him to pick the finely cut strips of carrots out!

Hence, my hands are tied when it comes to cooking vegetables for the boys. It must be a dish which everyone will enjoy. Spinach is one common dish, and a regular on our dinning table =)

I usually buy baby spinach packed in a bag. They are easier to store, and last longer than a bundle of spinach. I blanch the spinach in hot water, drizzle a tablespoonful of sesame oil, followed by a tablespoonful of Shitake Flavored Vegetarian Oyster Sauce.

Let's hope he will be strong like Popeye, since he always asks for a second helping when it comes to eating spinach!