Rice Balls and More!

There are days when I feel lazy, and want something that is easy to prepare and to eat for either lunch or dinner. Something light, something that can be eaten in a short time.

Since I had a pack of smoked salmon sitting in the fridge, why not use it for rice balls? These little rice balls, topped with small thin slices of smoked salmon, would make a lovely lunch item. And they are not difficult to make at all!

First, seasoned your rice with some sushi rice vinegar.

Cut the smoked salmon into slices.

Place the slice of smoked salmon onto a big sheet of cling wrap.

Top the salmon with some rice.

Pull the ends of the wrap together and twist!

Shape the rice, remove the wrap and done!

I had a really small pack of smoked salmon, and managed to make only 9 rice balls. Only 8 in the photograph? I ate one before taking the photograph ... food tasting =p

That's definitely not enough for everyone. And what about the vegetables?

I stir fried a packet of shitake mushrooms with some olive oil, garlic and vegetarian oyster sauce (less salty than the actual oyster sauce). Using my triangular rice mould, I made four onigiri. I didn't do a good job, as some of the fillings were falling out, and the wrong way too! The rice should wrapped the fillings, so I should not see the fillings =p Will not make the same mistake twice!

In order to use up the leftover SPAM from another meal, I decided to make Musubi! And to complete the meal, a bowl of miso soup with some silken tofu thrown in!

We each had two rice balls, an onigiri, a musubi and a bowl of soup! I was stuffed that afternoon =)

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!

Quick Fix Burger

Darling sons had early dismissal at 11.30am today. Lunch would be at home and had to be a quick fix meal. Hubby dear and I need to attend darling son KW's play, "Stone Soup", in his classroom in the morning. He played one of the soldiers who cooked the stone soup. Maybe I should ask him to cook "stone soup" for our next meal =p

Since I had only half an hour to prepare lunch, I settled on having a Quick Fix Burger. Simple ingredients ... cheese, lettuce, omelette, and bacon.

Bacon is definitely not an healthy ingredient for daily consumption, but a once-in-a-long-while-luxury item. You can bake the bacon while frying the eggs, or fry the bacon in a heated pan without adding any oil. I tried to pile as much lettuce as I could, onto the sandwich thins, and added a slice of cheese. The lettuce was mixed with a little mayo plus honey before putting onto the sandwich thins.

And remember to add a glass of milk to the meal ... we were stuffed by the end of lunch!

Fuss-Free Meal

My Sunday lunch with the kids ...

Hubby dear had to sit for his exam in the morning. Strange to have an exam on a Sunday morning, isn't it? Oh well ...

That left me and the kids eating at home.

It was kind of difficult to cook for just the kids and myself. Since I had a bag of russet potatoes sitting in a corner of my kitchen, I thought I would prepare a simple lunch ... Baked Russet Potatoes with Parmesan Cheese, Salad with Honey Sauce, and little smokies (sausages).

It had been a long time since I last baked these potatoes!

This time round, I omitted the dried herbs.

I didn't follow the recipe exactly either.

I peeled and cut the potatoes into wedges. Drizzled enough olive oil/vegetable oil, not too much, into the big mixing bowl to coat the potato wedges in it. Poured some grated parmesan cheese to coat the potato wedges. Transferred the wedges into a tray lined with parchment paper. Baked at 450F for about 35 minutes, or till the wedges are cooked and browned.

It's definitely healthier than eating fries at the fast-food joint!

Complete the meal with a bowl of salad, a few mini sausages, and a glass of fruit juice!

Mmmmm .... the kids didn't eat many of the sausages (phew!). If I could, I wouldn't cook the sausages for them ... too bad I ran out of Potstickers! I'm glad they asked for extra serving of the salad! Between the three of us, we finished off a bag of Romaine Lettuce!

"Sealed" Toast?

"Sealed" Toast?

Yes, I used my new "toy", the Sandwich de Panda Sandwich mold, to "seal" the edges of the two slices of bread. The mold cuts the crust around the slice of bread, and then "seal" the two slices of bread together. Wow! It was so neat!

Fillings for the bread?

Spreadable strawberry cream cheese on the two slices of bread.

Sliced ham, sliced cherry tomatoes, and some shredded cheddar cheese.

I especially like the Panda stamp on the bread!

The panda stamp would have been more distinct if I had used white bread instead of whole wheat bread.

Nonetheless, it was a yummy, crispy, creamy and toasty brunch for me!

Pizza Bread

Hurray! No more fever this morning!

But my Mama was too tired to cook a proper lunch for us today.

She said that we could make our own lunch. I wonder, how?

Near lunchtime, I saw many bowls on the dinning table.

There were pasta sauce, ham, canned mushrooms, pineapples chunks, and shredded cheddar cheese. We were each given two slices of Honey Whole Wheat bread.

We could put the ingredients in whatever order we liked.

I had fun spreading the pasta sauce on the bread!

Mama helped us put the bread into the oven to toast.

We love toasted bread! We love pineapples too!

Yummy Pizza Bread with a glass of milk! Mmmm .

And Brownie Cakes for tea later, yeah!

GingerBREAD Boy

My little boy had been sick since yesterday.

Temperature went up to 40C.

He was still able to eat, which was a good sign.

Besides drinking water and Gatorade, I tried to make meals interesting for him. One can't be eating porridge for the whole week he is sick, right? Since he had scallop porridge yesterday, and rice in miso soup with broccoli yesterday, it would be good if I can prepare something colorful to cheer him up. Pizza bread, in the shape of the gingerbread boy ... little darling's favorite.

1. Cut bread using cookie cutter.
   
2. Be careful not to break the sides of the bread when cutting.
   
3. For the 'frame' : Spread butter and sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on it.
   
4. For the 'boy' : Spread pasta sauce. Sprinkle with sliced ham, button mushroom, shredded mozzarella cheese, shredded cheddar cheese.
   
5. Place the 'boys' and 'frames' onto baking sheet.
   
6. Bake in oven at 350F till browned.
   
7. Let cool on cooling rack before serving.
   

No, the gingerbread boy didn't run away ;p

A Toasty Cold Sunday

It's a bright sunny Sunday morning.

No school, no packing of lunch boxes.

Don't be deceived by the bright sunny morning ... it's freezing outside, with a temperature of -13 degrees Celsius! Since there's no need to rush the kids through breakfast, I took my time to prepare toast for them.

The kids love the gingerbread man.

I used the gingerbread man cookie cutter to cut out the shape from a slice of bread. It's a waste to throw away the sides, so I took care not to break the sides when I cut. The slice of bread, after removing the cut-out gingerbread man, looked like a frame. The little one asked for cut-out hearts instead.

• Butter the slice of bread.
  
• Place the cookie cutter in the centre of the slice of bread.
  
• Press the piece of cut-out bread, and the remaining of the bread onto a plate of grated parmesan cheese. Shake off excess cheese.
  
• Place the bread on a cookie sheet.
  
• Bake in oven at 35oF. I used the top heating element in the oven to brown the cheese, so that the top and bottom of the bread is browned.
  

Warm, crispy bread on a sunny cold Sunday morning!

Baked Potato Wedges

In a dark corner of the cupboard sat a bag of russet potatoes.

"Let us out! It's cold and dark here!"

"Ok, your wish is granted!"

So into the hot oven they went.

Here's presenting to you ... Baked crispy potato wedges!

4 Medium-sized russet potatoes

1 tbsp Olive oil

1 tsp Italian Mixed Herbs

1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Cut the potatoes into wedges.

Mix seasoning and oil with the wedges.

Bake at 425F for about 30 mins.

How about those mouldy potatoes?

I turn them into 'potato stamps'!

Do you see the heart shape, mushroom, star and fish?

Dip the 'potato stamps' into some poster colour and stamp on any paper. Recycle, reuse and reduce =)

The kids had fun stamping, while I, had fun baking and curving the shapes on the stamps for them.