Japanese Potato Salad

First thing my colleague said was "Looks like fried rice" when I showed him the picture yesterday. And first thing another colleague said justnow was "Nasi ayam" when he saw this photo just a few minutes ago.

LOL, it's not nasi ayam la, it's my delicious Japanese potato salad.

Pasta Zanmai serves similar stuff at RM7.90 per scoop. Crazy. I tell myself may as well learn and make my own. So I googled how to make Japanese potato salad. Looks easy, and I have all the ingredients.

Just one thing - lots of chopping to do. 

The ingredients are simple - potatoes, eggs, cucumber, carrots, red onion and Japanese mayo (Kewpie). Boil eggs and potatoes, mash them up, chop the remaining ingredients, and mix everything with Kewpie mayo.

And there, Japanese potato salad, no need to pay RM7.90 for a scoop to eat in restaurant already.

Out of topic, I bought this banana walnut muffin from the kedai runcit yesterday, the lady boss said just arrived, new product. When I took a bite, errr, banana essence got la, real bananas don't have. RM1.50 per piece. Can try though.

Ok, bye!

My Big Bowl

Here's my big bowl of homecooked ginger & sesame oil kidney and liver soup. They say preggers cannot eat so much liver, as too much Vitamin A can harm the baby, but, I could not resist the temptation when I think of pork kidney & liver. Thus, I asked my MIL to buy me some kidney & liver from the market so that I can make my favourite bowl of ginger & sesame oil goodness.

My recipe is simple. Wash well your innards. Then ginger and garlic (optional) sauteed in sesame oil. Add water (you don't need chicken stock). Add some oyster sauce, soya sauce, that's it. Let it simmer, then off the fire. Yes, off the fire, then chuck in the kidney and liver. Make sure they don't over cook. Remove pot from the stove, the innards will continue to cook inside, don't worry.

They also say preggers cannot eat so much tuna. But I have been eating tuna sandwiches every morning for the past 3 weeks. Hmmmmm. I have been also drinking old cucumber soup, bitter gourd soup and lots of icy drinks and rock sugar too. Maybe cincai already, 3rd pregnancy ma.

Ok, time to control my diet. Bye.

Last Thursday's Dinner

Was at home last Thursday, no go to work.

I found two packets of Graddsas beef gravy (for meatballs) bought from Ikea and...

the expiry date is coming soon - 09.04.2015. I don't have time to cook dinner on weekdays, and I don't cook dinner on weekends since we'll be going to mil's place or my mum's place for dinner usually.

So I plan to use up the two packets of beef gravy. But wait, let me show you what I cook that night for dinner, since I'm at home, and I have the whole day. I'm roasting half a chicken. Marinade using just Kikkoman soy sauce and Italian herbs.

And I plan to use up the two packets of gravy by cooking spaghetti. Yep, beef gravy with spaghetti. Gonna cut up some luncheon meat too for the spaghetti. I'm gonna call it luncheon meat with beef gravy spaghetti.

Look at those luncheon meat chunks, yummeh.

I fry luncheon meat and onions separately first. Then I made the gravy, just follow instructions behind the packet. Then, I poured the meat into the gravy, mix with spaghetti when it was time to serve.

Anyway, here is my roast chicken...

My luncheon meat-onions-beef gravy spaghetti... And...

Ta-daaa !! Surprise !! I made another tuna-corn salad with hard boiled eggs too. This one, can make in advance and chuck in the fridge. Erm, missing some cherry tomatoes here I know, but I don't like veggies, so no veggies here, teehee.

Just in case you are wondering why I use aluminium trays for the 3 dishes I cooked, well, just for fun. I wanted it to look like a party buffet. Syiok sendiri.

Ok, bye!

Suckling Pig Soup

I know the title sounds rude, but it IS suckling pig (abc) soup.

Hubby brought back some suckling pig heads and hands and feet from his "sau gong" dinner, and the very next day, I used them to boil my abc soup, together with some pork ribs, for taste, of course. Ooohh, and I added one piece of snail slice too.

Ingredients: Leftover suckling pig parts, snail slice(s), carrots, tomatoes and some pork ribs. Done. Just chuck everything into the pot and boil for 1.5-2 hours. Add salt. The taste? Boombasticalicious!

Saved some soup in a jar to make noodles for the boys this weekend too *wink*

Pssstt, please ignore those CNY cookies at the background. Those cookies can make you fat and gain 3 kg in a few days. Really.

Homecooked - A Heavy Breakfast

I woke up early and made these the other day.

1) Homemade chicken nuggets
Ingredients: 1 piece of chicken breast, 1 potato, some carrots. Steam and blend everything together, can add broccoli or cheese. Roll into balls, dabbed in egg, coat with Nestum and lightly fry in cooking oil.

2) Flourless banana pancake 
Ingredients: 2 eggs, 1 banana. Mash banana and crack two eggs, whisk everything using a fork and fry on non stick pan. It tastes like banana omelette. If you are expecting classic pancake texture, this is not for you.

3) Pizza
Ingredients: Bread or wraps or instant puff pastries (depending what you have in the kitchen or how much you want to do), sausages, mixed peas, tomato sauce, cheddar cheese, can add onions or mushrooms, but who wants to do so much early morning? Spread tomato sauce on bread, add sausages, mixed peas and top with cheese. Bake for 10 minutes. 

Heavy breakfast? Yes indeed. Lots of work too. But that's me, when I have the mood, then I'll do it. Else, it's just Fruit Loops+Honey Stars+Koko Crunch with milk for breakfast. 

My Meals

Somebody once said porridge is for poor people (this statement can offend many people), and his dinner sometimes looks like "poor people's food". Puh-leese, poor people don't even have food to eat. Your mum cooks dinner for you, so just appreciate it.

You know who you are. Read mine.

Once a week, I boil soup (in the rice cooker, after I rush back from work) - for next day's dinner. So the next day, I only boil rice, and have that with soup only.

On certain nights, when I'm free after dinner (before I sleep), I'll cook a simple "one-pot" dish (yat wok sook) and keep it in the fridge - for next day's dinner too. So the next day, I just boil rice, and eat this "yat wok sook" dish only. Sometimes, the dish can last for 2x dinner.

When I'm on leave or if I don't go to work, I'll cook one extra dish. Chin tan (fry egg), chau choy (fry vege) and maybe one ginger chicken dish. Simple dishes only.

By the way, I bring my own lunch to work, no fancy lunch outside. Ok, maybe once or twice a week, that's it. But most days, lunch in the office from dinner the previous night. I don't go out as often as you for lunch. From your post, you eat out everyday. Look at my lunch.  Rice (with some furikake), vegetables and some meat only - from last night's dinner.

Sometimes, if I'm hardworking, I'll make breakfast for lunch. Bread with egg, cheese, maybe fry some fish fillets and sausages as a treat once a while - I keep these for lunch while I have a cup of Milo only for breakfast.

Ok, now come weekends. While you are busy going out with friends or eating out with family, I stay home and cook one-pot dishes again. Like this simple spaghetti.

Or fried rice with ham and eggs only.

Hubby never complains about the food I cook. The rule is: I cook what, he eats what. 

Don't complain. Ok baa?

Routine

Simple post today. This was saved in my draft before G got sick. Short one. Sunday. Nothing special. Routine.

First thing when the kids wake up, drawing on the Doodle board, playing blocks, alphabet foams, number foams, the usual ABC-123 thingy, G chewing on flash cards and book corners. I serve breakfast at 7.30am. Porridge for G, and oats for Kz (if there's no bribe), else, I would feed both the same porridge. After breakfast, I steamed Milo cupcakes again, *backside itchy*.

Shower time around 8am. I now shower them together to save time ever since G started walking and could balance himself while standing.

YouTube time after shower. G naps after that. I do house chores and prepare lunch while he naps. Kz would sit at his corner happily with his tablet, a bowl of Koko Crunch, yogurt and juice. I would be watching the Korean drama -  "The Sun Embracing The Moon" at this time. 

Lunch at 11.30am. Both naps after lunch. Here's G, asleep in the stroller. Don't ask. I need the stroller to make him sleep. 

Fast forward, prepare to cook dinner around 4.30pm.

 #1 - My trademark oyster-sauce-tomato-sauce roast chicken

#2 - Vegetables with glass vermicelli & fried fuzhuk

#3 - Simple steamed fish with ginger slices & tomatoes

I do more when I'm at home - during the weekend or when there's a holiday (and hubby needs to work). Am sure most (mummies) agree with me. When I'm working (in the office), I do less, and more relaxed . Afterall I spend most of the day in the office, and by the time I get home, it's already evening *guilty confession*. Anyway, am not complaining. It's normal becoming a slave playmate and play"maid" for the kids :)

Janji everyone hepi!

Princess Ribbon's Mac, Egg & Cheese

Don't expect to see restaurant's style of mac&cheese. And don't compare. It's my version of (very) simple and fast milky-eggy mac&cheese, ready in 10 minutes!

It was 7pm and Kz wanted macaroni. What? Macaroni? I got no soup in the fridge.

I don't have chicken cubes at home. It's MSG anyway. Not good. So how to make macaroni (without soup) in the shortest time? Ok, no soup. How about oriental style fried macaroni? Nope, too late to thaw minced meat and mixed vegetables (from the freezer), too lazy to chop garlic or shallots, soak and wash and chop brocolli, mushrooms and all (and puh-leese, the portion is just for Kz alone, you want me to do all that?).

So, I took the shortest way out. I boiled some macaroni with 2 beef balls and 1 seafood tofu (nothing can go wrong with assorted balls). Once soft, I drained the water, added a cup of milk, one slice of cheese, wee bit of salt (I really mean wee bit) and cracked an egg. So now we have mac & cheese with egg.

I was praying that Kz would shut up and eat up. Surprisingly, he did both, and gave thumbs up too! He said "Hmmm, good!". Kz left what was below. So was it good? You bet. Not self praising, but if this brat says good, means that something is good. 

Frozen Porridge

Maybe this post will get some readers upset with me. Yep, I cook a big pot of porridge, freeze them, heat them up for G everyday - a cube a day. I've been doing this for a week, and so far, G is fine. No tummy upsets or whatsoever.

Brocolli-potato-carrot-egg yolk puree

You see, my mum stopped taking care of G last month. Now G is sent to the nursery downstairs of our condo - for the sake of our convenience. No own-cooked food allowed, not Chinese operated, there, I think I've said enough and you get the gist.

Ok, why a nursery and not a nanny. Don't ask.

I can only give them G's cereals (Cerelac) and basically G's surviving on milk and cereals only the whole day. They cook soft rice (and soup) too, but I don't think G's ready for rice. They agree to cook porridge for G, but I never asked what type of porridge, just have to trust them I guess.

Brocolli puree added into porridge

The only way I can think of is freezing porridge using baby cubes. I want him to have home cooked porridge everyday at least for one meal (until he is ready for adult solid food which he can eat in the nursery). And there's no time to cook porridge by the time I reach home from work everyday. So the only way is to freeze & reheat (in a hot water bath).

Chicken-fish-pumpkin-carrot-egg yolk puree porridge

Ok, you may say - use the slow cooker. Errr, 13 hours cooking in the slow cooker, from 6am til 7pm? (I leave the house at 6.30am and back to the house at 7pm). The porridge would have turned sourish & "out of taste" (believe me, I've tried that).

And.... It's just two tablespoons of porridge. 13 hours boiling. Go imagine.

Steamed Cupcakes Again?

Sometimes the TV works, sometimes it doesn't.

G is a very sticky baby and he glues to me like a koala. I cannot do anything with him around, not even go pee or poo, really! If I really need to poo, I need to open the toilet door wide, and he would wait faithfully in front of me, watching me! Yes, watching me poo.

Anyway, on one "peaceful & quiet" morning (coz both Kz & G are not fighting), I was feeling "itchy" to steam cupcakes again, this time not using Milo, but cheese as I have one slice of cheese left in the fridge. Could have just eaten it by myself, but like I said, I was feeling "itchy". I "invented" and "agak-agak" in my ingredients (again), and came up with my steamed cheese cupcakes

For ahem, presentation and also to attract Kz, I topped the cupcakes with chocolate chips before steaming.

Kids are easy to please (in Kz's case, if there are Kinder-egg, Koko Crunch or trucks, or anything chocolate). Kz looks very happy with the cake. 

I'm not praising myself, but if you see him eating something, means that something is good.

Fast forward, ok, time to nap. Zzzzzz. Sleep longer, babies, kay? And mummy can finally have some me-time and peace.

My Saturday

Now, this is how my Saturday looks like, if you want to know. Princess style? Puh-leeese. Slave style got la.

Hubby works on Saturday, many should know by now already. G wakes up as early as 6am! And that means, I can't do anything much, as he is a sticky baby and will require me to be by his side at all times. Kz wakes up about 7.30am usually. Both will have their bath around 8am, then it's breakfast. Porridge for both of them (which I cook at 5am). Kz hates porridge, but I manage to force him to finish the porridge with bribery (not gonna mention what kind of bribes as health freaks will condemn me here). Out of convenience, I feed both of them the same porridge so that I do not have to prepare separate breakfast for Kz.

Nap time for G around 9am, while Kz glues himself to the TV and YouTube. 

*Note: Don't condemn me, I have to do this, else, I can't do any chores.

Lunch for both around 11.30am. The same porridge for G, and noodles (cooked with stored-soup-in-jars) for Kz.

Noodles cooked with (leftover) soup stored in jars, vegetables, assorted balls and an egg. I do this almost every weekend and so far, Kz has nothing to complain and would gladly eat it. I boil my soup one day in advance, on Friday, then store them in jars, and (make it a point - must) finish them on Sundays. Afterall, leftover food is not good for health, but out of convenience, had to do it. I will have no time to prepare lunch if I hadn't prepared the stored-soup-in-jars earlier. 

A few noodle-meals to share using my stored-soup-in-jars. Kz loves these, and would (usually) finish (almost) all of it.

Then, nap time for both G and Kz around 1pm.

Hubby comes back around 2pm.

Then it's the usual routine - going to the supermarket to shop for groceries, then to the MIL's place for dinner. My life boring?

Oh, here's me, with G in the kangaroo pouch. Nooooo, you really think it's called a kangaroo pouch? Duh. It's called babywearing la ~ carrier. I use the carrier now instead of the bulky stroller, works ok with me.

A Mini Announcement & Steamed Cupcakes

Hello dearies & sweeties,
I have a mini announcement to make. I have just changed my blogger name to Princess Ribbon, as given to me by those crazy bloggers whom I have known here from the bloggerworld. They are nice people, and whatever they suggest, I will consider. Glamour, heh? I think Princess Ribbon is more vogue la, rather than using my real name to blog. So, Princess Ribbon it will be, kay?

Ok, back to my post for the day. It's about bedtime snack and steamed (Milo) cupcakes.

Kenzie kept saying he wanted to have cake that night. He kept saying "I want cake". Then after a few minutes, he repeated, "Mummy, I want cake". I ignored. Then he said, "I want birthday cake". I told him it was already late and we couldn't buy any cake, we can have cake on other days. He then sang the Happy Birthday song and kept repeating he wanted cake. I think there were birthday celebrations for some kids at the kindergarten, he kept singing the Happy Birthday song whole of that week. 

So I was thinking, ok, why not steam some cupcakes for him. It was a very simple and fast process, so why not?

I quickly prepared my ingredient and mixed everything together. No measurements, I just dumped in whatever I felt right ~ a few tablespoons self-rising flour, a few tablespoons Milo, one tablespoon icing sugar, one egg, few tablespoons cooking oil, half a cup of milk and a small handful of chocolate chips. I poured into my paper cupcakes and (regretted) sprinkled some confetti on top of my cupcakes and steamed for about 15 minutes. 

Boo! Big mistake! Look at the smeared cupcakes. Stupid confetti. Should have made-do without it or only sprinkled them when the cake was almost done.

Nevertheless, Kenzie was patiently waiting by my side for the cupcakes to be ready, and he was very excited when he saw me taking out the cakes from the steamer. I let him wear a birthday hat, heh.

He just couldn't wait to dig in. But I said wait, let mummy take picture first. Afterall, being able to make four cupcakes in 15 minutes is a (very) clever thing already, because I'm not a good cook, and I don't bake (nor cook) very well.

Hang on there for just a few more seconds, baby. Mummy needs to take more pictures first, so that can have more choices to choose later (for my blog), hehe.

Ok, ready to be eaten now. He finished one cupcake, and asked for another one after that. I had to say no because it was almost time for bed and I was a bit worried on the sugar rush and all.

So, Kenzie had one cupcake. Mummy had half and daddy had half. So there were two cupcakes left. Guess where it went? No prize for guessing correctly though. Yep, packed individually for two jokers colleagues and brought to work the next day. Though a bit dry and yucky the next day, they still stuffed into their mouths and kept praising very nice & good good!  

I grinned the whole day.