Summer and Fruits!

I love Summer in the woods ... warm under the sun, and yet, cool with a slight breeze. No, not the warm air that circulates on the little red dot!

The other reason I like Summer, is because we get all kinds of fruits! All types of berries, navel oranges, apples, and watermelons!

However, summer in the woods this year is hot!

The high has been at 32C!

Where did the cool breeze go?

It is hot and humid, just like back home.

I have to get the kids to drink plenty of fluids. We eat less, and ice cream is a regular on our table. It is difficult to get fruits that can please everyone. Some like berries and oranges, others like apples. Juicy watermelon is great on these hot days, but both the boys refuse to eat them! I love watermelon, but I can't possibly finish a huge watermelon on my own!

What is the solution to getting the boys to increase their fruits intake?

A juice extractor!

All of us love our cold watermelon juice.

The boys love their mixed fruit juices ... apples, navel oranges and carrots.

I love my celery and green apple juice!

Everyone is happy!

Cheers to a healthier diet!

Summer Cake

In most food blogs, this cake is known as Fruit Pastry Cake.
To me, it is a "Summer" Cake.

I can use any kind of fruits found in Summer, to top the cake ... strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, pineapples, and many more! I like the cheerfulness of this cake! It brightens my day!

And the clever use of icing sugar to "dress up" the cake!

在炎热的夏天，带来一丝丝凉意！

Recipe adapted from Happy Home Baking.

100g/7tbsp Butter (Soften)

200g Sugar

50g Sour Cream/Yogurt

3 Eggs (Lightly Beaten)

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tsp Lemon/Orange Zest

1.5 cups All Purpose Flour

1/3 cup Wholemeal Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

500g Fruits (Tossed with 2tbsp sugar)

• Grease the sides of a 9" round pan, or 8" square pan.
• Line the base with parchment paper.
• Cream Butter and Sugar and Yogurt.
• Dribble in the eggs gradually.
• Beat till corporated.
• Add vanilla extract and zest. Mix to combine.
• Add flours and baking powder.
• Mix till smooth.
• Pour into pan.
• Arrange fruits on top. Don't press fruits down.
• If using canned fruits, wash the fruits to remove syrup and omit the sugar. Do not use fruits which are too juicy.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 180C/350F for 60-70 minutes.
• Cover top with foil the last 15 mins if the top is getting burnt.
• Leave cake to cool in pan for 5-10 minutes.
• Unmold and transfer to rack to let cool completely.
• Dust with icing sugar.

The aroma of the cake baking in the oven was irresistible!

KW kept asking for more, as he liked the crispiness of the edge of the cake. The cake, however, did not taste as good when left overnight. Putting it back into the oven to bake for a little while helped in bringing out the flavor of the cake again. The next time I bake it, I will use bananas to top the cake, and add some mashed bananas into the cake. Everyone in the house love bananas, but not everyone like strawberries!

Baked Tilapia

It's one of those days when you take out the tilapia fillets and stare real hard at them. You are at a loss.

How should I cook the fish?

What seasoning should I use?

I don't feel like cooking. Take-out sounds good.

Then reality sets in. I'm back in the woods!

Ok, I have to cook =(

With the temperature hitting a high 80F, and I was melting like a stick of butter, I decided to just send the tilapia fillets into the oven. I grabbed whatever I had in hand to season the tilapia fillets, keeping my fingers crossed that they would turn out "edible".

Lemon Juice

Garlic Powder

Paprika

Ground Black Pepper

Dab of Butter

• Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
• Clean and dry the thawed tilapia fillets.
• Pour some lemon juice onto each fillet.
• Sprinkle some garlic powder, paprika and ground black pepper onto both sides of the tilapia fillets.
• Add a tiny dab of butter onto the fillet.
• Bake at 400F till the fish is done.
• Serve warm.

The fillets didn't turn out too bad. I liked the lemony taste present in the tilapia fillets while the boys liked the buttery taste. Each of them had a fillet and finished it!

Three-Colour Rice Bowl

Another recipe from the cookbook Quick & Easy Japanese Recipes.

The recipe is titled "Sweet Soy Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl". However, the ingredients used are very similar to the Bento recipe for "Three-Colour Rice Bento". So I added some greens to the recipe, and turned from it from two colours to three, and titled it "Three-Colour Rice Bowl" instead.

This is one good recipe for bentos!

Adapted from Quick & Easy Japanese Recipes

(Periplus Mini Cookbooks)

Serves 4

Preparation Time : 5 mins

Cooking Time : 20 mins

250g Minced Chicken Meat

3 Eggs

2 cups Uncooked Japanese Rice

4 tsp Sesame Oil

For the minced chicken meat

3 tbsp Soy Sauce

4 tsp Sake

2 tsp Sugar

2 tsp Mirin

For the scrambled eggs

4 tsp Mirin

• Cooked the 2 cups of rice accordingly.
• Combine the ingredients for the minced chicken meat in a small bowl. Set aside this soy sauce mixture for later use.
• Heat 2 teaspoons of the sesame oil in a medium frying pan or work over medium heat and fry minced chicken.
• Use a fork to break up the meat. Cook 2-3 minutes or until chicken is just cooked.
• Season with soy sauce mixture and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes or until all the cooking liquid has evaporated. Remove to a medium bowl and set aside.
• Lightly beat eggs with 4 teaspoons of mirin until just combined. Set aside.
• Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of sesame oil in frying pan over medium heat. Add egg mixture and stir continuously, with 2 to 3 pairs of chopsticks, until firm and the consistency of scrambled eggs.
• Filled two deep bowls with rice.
• Place the blanched broccoli, scrambled eggs and chicken mixture on top of the rice.
• Serve immediately topped with thinly sliced spring onions.

I cut the broccoli into tiny florets. You can microwave the broccoli or blanch them in boiling water. No salt is necessary as we enjoy the crunchiness and natural taste of broccoli.

Honey Chicken

I dislike deep frying meat.

It's messy, not to mention unhealthy.

After deep frying, the whole house smells oily, especially in Winter, when I have to keep the windows closed throughout the day. But hey, it's summer now, and there is no excuse for not wanting to prepare this dish! I can open the windows to air the house. Unhealthy? Yes, but I rarely do deep frying. Maybe once in every two months ... sometimes even longer. There is no reason to give this dish a miss!

Adapted from Chicken Favourites

(Periplus Mini Cookbooks)

Serves 4

Preparation Time : 10 minutes + 10 minutes standing

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

1 kg Boned chicken breasts, skin on (I replaced with Chicken Thighs)

2.5 tbsp Cornflour

125g Self Raising Flour

1 Egg, lightly beaten

1 tbsp Soy Sauce

3x2cm Fresh Ginger, finely chopped

4 tbsp Honey

2 Spring Onions, thinly sliced, to garnish

• Cut the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces.
• Put them in a bowl with 1.5 tablespoons of the cornflour. Shake to coat well, then leave for 10 minutes.
• In a separate bowl, mix the flour and egg with 1.25 cups cold water until you get a loose batter.
• Fill a wok with enough oil to deep-fry the chicken pieces, then heat until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 10 seconds.
• Dip the chicken pieces in the batter, allowing the excess batter to drip off. Fry the chicken pieces in batches until crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels.
• Mix the soy sauce and remaining cornflour in a small bowl.
• Drain the oil fro the wok and wipe the wok clean.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil.
• Add the ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute.
• Add the honey and when it is heated through, add the chicken pieces and coat well.
• Stir in the soy and cornflour mixture and cook for 1 more minute.
• Pile into a bowl and garnish with the spring onion.

The kids love anything deep-fried. So they welcomed this dish with a broad smile. But I'm sorry to disappoint you boys ... Mama will not be cooking this dish in the next month or so ... Too much work, too messy, to much cleaning up, and not very healthy.

Steamed Salmon Rice with Mushrooms

You know how sometimes, you turned brain-dead from too much cooking?

You buy the usual meat ... chicken, turkey, seafood.

You buy the usual vegetables.

You open the freezer/fridge, stare very hard, and don't know what to cook!

I am thankful for the cookbooks I have at home.

This is yet another dish from the stack of cookbooks I bring back from Singapore ... Steamed Salmon Rice with mushrooms. An easy meal to prepare, especially when I am in a hurry. It frees me to do other chores and there is minimum cleaning up!

Adapted from Quick & Easy Japanese Recipes

(Periplus Mini Cookbooks)

Serves 4

Preparation Time : 15 mins

Cooking Time : 25 mins

6 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

2 cups Uncooked Japanese Rice

2 tbsp Soy Sauce

3 tbsp Sake (I used Shaoxin Wine)

3 tsp Rice Vinegar

1/2 tsp Salt

70g Thinly sliced leek, soaked in water (I omit this)

200g Salmon fillets, cleaned and skin removed

4 tsp Mirin

2 Shiso or basil leaves, shredded (I omit this)

To garnish

Nori Lightly toasted and cut in thin strips

Sesame Seeds Roasted

• Place shiitake mushrooms into a bowl, cover with 500ml boiling water and soak for 10 minutes. Drain, squeezing gently to remove any excess liquid, remove tough stalks and slice thinly. Reserve soaking liquid to be added to the rice.
• Wash the rice and place in a rice cooker with soy sauce, sake, rice vinegar, salt and reserved shiitake liquid. Add enough water for cooking the rice. Stir to combine.
• Place leek, salmon, and reserved shiitake mushrooms on top of the rice.
• Start the rice cooker.
• When the rice is cooked, sprinkle with mirin and gently flake salmon with a fork. Add shiso and stir lightly to combine.
• Serve topped with nori and sesame seeds.

I microwaved the carrots till soft and added it to the rice as a side dish. No seasoning is required for the carrots as the natural sweetness is enough to balance the seasoning from the rice =)

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!