Monday 27 October 2014

Strawberry Oat

Prep Time : 10 minutes
Cook Time : -
Yield : 1 bowl of oat
Freezer Friendly : No


Ingredients:
4 tbsp Quaker oat
2 strawberries
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup water

Steps:
1) Add Quaker oat and hot water in a bowl, stir until combined. Add water and stir.
2) Wash and cut strawberries into small pieces.
3) Put the oat and strawberries into blender, blend until smooth.

Banana Steamed Cakes

Prep Time : 10 minutes
Cook Time : 15 minutes
Yield : 3 cupcakes
Freezer Friendly : No


Ingredients:
2 eggs
59g brown sugar
2 ripe bananas (200g)
150g self raising flour
1tsp vaking powder
1 tbsp grapeseed oil

Steps:
1) Sift flour and baking powder, set aside.
2) Whisk egg and sugar until ribbon stage (pale white and fluffy)
3) Add in mashed banana, beat till combine.
4) Gently fold in flour, then oil.
5) Pour into cupcake liner, steam on medium high heat for 15 minutes.

Original recipe:
Kaz Tung @ Healthy Food for Baby FB

Carrot Sticks

Preparation Time : 5 minutes
Cooking Time : 20 minutes
Yield : 1 servings for toddler
Freezer Friendly : No


Ingredient:
1/2 small carrot

Steps:  
1) Wash and cut carrot into sticks. Thickness can be adjusted based kn preference. To start, can consider 1cm x 1 cm x 6cm.
2) Steam under high heat for 20 minutes

Tips: Remember to test it yourself before give to your baby to ensure it is soft enough as all steamers/wok might be different. Over time, you will get hold of the right time for the softness. 

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Zucchini Bread

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time : 45 minutes
Yield : 4-5 adult servings
Freezer Friendly : Yes


There is no zucchini can be found in where I live, in a small town. My friend brought some zucchini for her kids from another town and she is kind enough to give away 2 zucchini for my girl! I was excited about it that I immediately pureed and freeze worrying that it will go bad the next day. I search for zucchini recipe and i decided to make zucchini bread for my girl.

Ingredients :
3 eggs
1 cup grapeseed oil
1 cup brown sugar
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups zucchini puree

Steps:
1) Preheat oven at 165 degree celcius.
2) Ready 2 baking pan (8 inches x 4 inches) with parchment paper. 
3) Put egg, oil and sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat with electrical mixer.
4) Add salt, sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinammon into the mixture. Beat well.
5) Add zucchini puree and mix well.
6) Pour batter into baking pan.
7) Bake for 45 minutes or until the fork comes out clean when put into middle of the cake.
8) Cool on wire rack before removing the cake.

Original Recipe:

Tuesday 21 October 2014

Fluffy Raw Wheat Germ Pancake

Preparation Time : 10 minutes
Cooking Time : 30 minutes
Yield : 16 mini pancakes (6cm diameter)
Freezer Friendly : Yes



Pancake has been my favorite breakfast prepared for my girl because of the simple ingredients, shorter cooking time compared to bread-making and I can always add new ingredients to it for a healthier version. I always opt for this when I am out of time like today because I overslept.

If you want the pancake to look round, ensure the batter is smooth and not too thick that when you drop the batter onto the wok that it could not form a natural circle. Add a little water to the batter to thin it. It will take several tries before you got the right consistency. 

If other ingredients like raw wheat germ is used, it will make the batter a bit rough to deal with, so you might opt to leave it/ opt to add in powdered form ingredients such as brown rice powder for smoother consistency.

The original recipe calls for 70g castor sugar and 10g butter. I prefer less sweet version, so I reduce the sugar to 35g and use brown sugar. Oil can replace butter as I ran out of time to measure and melt the butter.

Ingredients:
3 eggs
35g brown sugar
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp baking powder
120g all purpose flour
2 tbsp raw wheat germ (Optional)
50g fresh milk
10g grapeseed oil

Steps:
1) Crack egg, add sugar and honey. Beat with electrical mixer for 3 minutes.
2) Fold in sifted baking powder and flour using spatula.
3) Turn non-stick wokto low heat.
3) Add raw wheat germ, milk and oil into mixture, use folding motion to mix well.
4) Use a big spoon (about 3 tbsp)drop batter onto centre of wok slowly from distance of 2 inches, let the batter spread into circle naturally.
5) When bubbles are seen ( about 40 seconds), flip the pancake to the other side. You will see the pancake rise (Do not flip/touch the pancake at this point). After 40 seconds, flip the pancake to see if it's cook, it should have the same colour as the other side.




Monday 20 October 2014

Fluffy Steamed Cream Cheese Cake

Preparation Time : 10 minutes
Cooking Time : 20 minutes
Yield : 4 cupcakes (6cm diameter)
Freezer Friendly : No


I have failed a few attempts before I found this recipe which works for me. To me, steamed cakes have simple recipe but easy to fail and the most common is the cake collapse after opening the wok lid. I have taken care to follow strictly to the steps and finally i succeeded :)

My point to note:
- Must follow : Melt cream cheese and beat with hand whisk. (In my previous tries, I did not fully melt the cream cheese, thus I have skip the beating part.)
- Must follow : Crack the egg and mix 1 by 1. (In my previous try, I beat the eggs before mixing)

So here is the recipe, happy cooking!

Ingredients:
120g cream cheese
30g brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1 1/2 tbsp grapeseed oil
90g cake flour
1 1/3 tsp baking powder

Steps:
1) Melt the cream cheese by heating in oven for 2 minutes under 200 degree celcius. Double boil method works too.
2) Beat cream cheese with hand whisk.
3) Add sugar and mix well.
4) Crack an egg into the mixture, mix well. Crack another egg and mix well. Add in milk and oil. Mix well.
5) Add in sifted cake flour and baking powder, fold the flour using a spatula by cutting the mixture in middle, fold. Turn the bowl 90 degree, repeat folding motion till mixture well incorporated.
6) Steam in wok on low heat for 20 minutes.
7) Extra careful when opening the lid as water might drop on the cakes which will make the cakes looks uncooked. Otherwise, use a steamer cloth to wrap the lid.


Did this again today 3/2/2016, perfect for my preschooler's snack!

Original Recipe:
https://en.cookpad.com/recipe/575163

Sunday 19 October 2014

Sunmaid Raisins


The only single ingredients in Sunmaid raisins is California seedless raisins. No preservatives, artificial flavoring or colouring or sugar.

This makes a healthy snacks compared to the previous normal raisins my mom bought from the wet market which I think they at least contains sugar as those tastes obviously sweeter than Sunmaid raisins.

I have given the wet market raisins to my girl as snacks for quite sometimes so today, the first time she tasted Sunmaid raisins, she does not seemed to enjoy eating as much as the wet market raisins. She does not like the little sourish taste of it like me. I do hope she will accept this later. 

Update @ 08/11/2014
Sunmaid raisin is fully accepted since 2 weeks ago. She knows when I say raisins, she will says "Oi" in Cantonese which means "want". I am a happy mom!

Brocolli Congee

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield : 3 servings for toddler
Freezer Friendly : No



Ingredients:
5 brocolli florets
2 oz lean pork
1/2 cup white rice
2 tbsp lentils
Water as needed
Little Liquid Amino
Pinch of salt and sugar (for blanching)

Steps:
1) Wash brocolli and pork. Cut into small cubes.
2) Blanch brocolli in boiling water with pinch of salt and sugar for 1 minute to remove dirt. Drain and put into a bowl of water to preserve colour.
3) Wash rice and lentils.Put in rice cooker. 4) Add blanched brocolli, pork and water as needed. 
6) Turn to boiling function, let boil, then turn to congee function which will take 1 hour 30 minutes.
7) Add few drops Liquid Amino for taste. Stir with ladle and serve warm.

Cranberries Cherries Raisin Bread with Cream Cheese Filling

Preparation Time : 15 minutes
Cooking Time : 2 hours 15 minutes
Yield : 8 buns
Freezer Friendly : No

Ingredients:
3 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 egg
150ml low fat milk
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp Himalaya rock salt
100g wholemeal flour
150g bread flour
2 tsp instant yeast
6 tbsp mix of dried cranberries, raisins and sweet cherries
125g cream cheese

Steps:
1) Put all ingredients in accordance to order above except the dried fruit and cream cheese into breadpan. Yeast should be placed on top of the flour, avoiding sugar, salt and the liquid.
2) Select knead function for 20 minutes.
3) Add in dried fruits at approximately 3rd minute of kneading.
4) Proof for 1 hour.
5) Pre-heat oven to 170 degree celcius.
6) Take out the dough, punch out excess air, hand knead for 1 minute.
7) Divide dough into 8 portions. Flatten each dough, put cream cheese filling and seal the dough by folding the dough from 4 corners at top, bottom, left and right.
8) Proof the dough for another 30 minutes.
9) Bake in oven for 20 minutes.



Wednesday 15 October 2014

Pumpkin Noodle in Tomato Soup

Preparation Time : 5 minutes
Cooking Time : 45 minutes
Yield : Serving for 1 adult
Freezer Friendly : No



Ingredients:
1 pack of organic pumpkin noodle
2 tomatoes
2 oz pork tenderloin
2 oz chicken breast meat
Water as needed
Pinch of Himalaya sea salt
Little Liquid Amino

Steps:
1) Wash and cut tomatoes,pork and chicken into small cubes.
2) Pour about 3 cups of water, pork and tomatoes into a pot and bring to boil.
3) Turn heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes. 
4) While waiting, Steam the chicken under high heat for 15 minutes. I added a little Liquid Amino for taste before steam. Shred the chicken using hand.
5) Cook the pumpkin noodle under boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain the noodle and set aside.
6) When the soup base is ready, add pinch of salt, pumpkin noodle and shredded chicken as topping.

I found the Organic Pumpkin Noodle in one of the organic shop in my area. The noodle is just made of organic pumpkin and wheat flour. Personally, I am quite happy with the product and do not intend  to invest in a noodle machine at this moment. The most important is my girl likes it!

Steamed Egg

Preparation Time: 2 minutes
Cooking Time : 7 minutes
Yield : 1 serving for kid
Freezer Friendly : No


Ingredients:
1 egg
1 tbsp grated cheese
Water ( same amount of liquid as the egg)

Steps:
1) Turn high heat for wok.
2) Crack egg into a bowl. Beat with fork/chopstick.
3) Add water. Stir with fork/chopstick.
4) Add cheese.
5) Turn heat at low, steam for 7 minutes.



3 Ingredients Sponge Cake

Preparation Time : 10 minutes
Cooking Time : 20 minutes
Yield : 5 cupcakes
Freezer Friendly : No


Ingredients:
3 eggs
60g cake flour
40g brown sugar

Steps:
1) Preheat oven at 170 degrees
2) Separate egg yolk from egg whites.
3) Beat egg white using electric mixer until stiff peak.
4) Add brown sugar in 3 portions, beat with electric mixer till combined.
5) Add egg yolk 1 by 1 and beat using electrical mixer till combined.
6) Use a spatula to fold cake flour into the batter in 3 portions.
7) Pour into cupcake liner. Tap the cupcake liner a few times to release air bubbles.
8) Bake for 20 minutes.

Original Recipe:
https://en.cookpad.com/recipe/2127817

Sunday 12 October 2014

Brocolli Cauliflower Porridge

Preparation Time : 20 minutes
Cooking Time : 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield : 3 servings for toddler
Freezer Friendly : No




Ingredients:
5 brocolli florets
5 cauliflower florets
1/2 carrot
2 oz lean pork
1/2 cup white rice
2 tbsp lentils
1 tbsp tri-quinoa
210 ml Anchovies Stock
Water
Pinch of salt and sugar (for blanching)

Steps:
1) Wash brocolli, cauliflower and carrot, peel carrot, chop all veges into small cubes.
2) Blanch brocolli and cauliflower in boiling water with pinch of salt and sugar for 1 minute to remove dirt. Drain and put into a bowl of water to preserve colour.
3) Wash rice, lentils and tri-quinoa. Put in rice cooker. Add brocolli, cauliflower and carrot. 
4) Wash pork and cut into pieces. Wash again before placing into rice cooker.
5) Add anchovies stock and water as needed. 
6) Turn to boiling function, let boil, then turn to porridge function which will take 1 hour.
7) Stir with ladle and serve warm.

Saturday 11 October 2014

Family Breakfast (egg-toastbread-oat)

Preparation Time : 10 minutes
Cooking Time : 20 minutes
Yield : 2 adults
Freezer Friendly : No



Menu:
4 half-boiled eggs
4 slices toasted soft butter white bread
2 bowls oat

Half-boiled Egg Ingredients:
4 eggs at room temperature
Boiling water
Soy sauce and pepper

Steps:
1) Put water to boil in a pot.
2) Once water boiled, off fire, use a slotted spoon to put all eggs into the pot.
3) Close the lid, wait for 6 minutes.
4) Take out the egg and let it cool.
5) Crack open and serve with pepper and soy sauce (Optional)

Toasted Bread Ingredients:
4 slices soft butter white bread
Butter

Toasted Bread Steps:
1) Preheat oven 170 degrees.
2) Spread thinly a layer of butter at both sides of bread.
2) Bake for 15 minutes.

Oats Ingredients:
4 tbsp Quaker Instant Oats
2 tbsp brown rice powder
Hot water as needed

Oats Steps:
1) Put oats and brown rice powder into a bowl.
2) Pour in hot water and mix well.


Original Recipe:
http://www.feasttotheworld.com/2013/09/singapore-half-boiled-eggs-100-pure-egg.html?m=1

Tuesday 7 October 2014

Soft Butter White Bread

Preparation Time : 15 minutes
Cooking Time : 3 hours 19 min
Yield : 10-12 slices of bread
Freezer Friendly : Yes


Ingredients:
1 cup low fat milk
1/2 tbsp honey
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp Himalaya salt
1 egg
300g bread flour
50g cake flour
3/4 tsp instant dry yeast
3 tbsp chopped butter

Steps:
1) Remove breadpan from breadmaker.
2) Put in all the above ingredients except butter (in sequence listed above).
3) Insert and lock breadpan into breadmaker.
4) Select Mode No.1 (basic bread), select weight 900g, select crust intensity light, press start. (I use Donlim Breadmaker)
5) When all ingredients are combined, around 2 minutes, add in chopped butter bit by bit. 

Tips : Remove bread from breadmaker immediately when the bread is ready to avoid the bread shrinking.

Original Recipe:
Donlim Breadmaker Recipe Book

Monday 6 October 2014

Soft Pumpkin Bread

Preparation Time : 35 minutes
Cooking Time : 3 hours 19 minutes
Yield : 10-12 slices of bread
Freezer Friendly : Yes


Starter Dough Ingredients:
100g bread flour
70g boiling water

Starter Dough Steps:
1) Pour boiling water onto bread flour, mix with fork. 
2) Refrigerate for 20mins or overnight (more than 8 hours).

Bread Ingredients:
Starter dough
40g grapeseed oil
100g pumpkin puree
50g water
2 tbsp formula milk (or normal milk powder)
2 tbsp brown sugar
Pinch of salt
200g bread flour
50g all purpose flour
1.5 tsp active dry yeast

Bread Steps:
1) Remove breadpan from breadmaker.
2) Put in all the above ingredients except starter dough (in sequence listed above).
3) Insert and lock breadpan into breadmaker.
4) Select Mode No.1 (basic bread), select weight 700g, select crust intensity light, press start. (I use Donlim Breadmaker)
5) When all ingredients are combined, around 2 minutes, add in starter dough bit by bit. 
6) Bread should be done in 3hours and 19 minutes.

Tips : Remove bread from breadmaker immediately when the bread is ready to avoid the bread shrinking.

Serve with your favorite jam or toppings, otherwise, throw into freezer ziplock bread for the coming busy week on-the-go breakfast! To serve, just steam for 15 minutes ( I throw into the steamer straight from the freezer the moment I wake up so that when I am ready to go, so is the bread) and it tastes as soft as freshly made!

Original recipe : Donlim Breadmaker Recipe Book

Sunday 5 October 2014

Traditional Shortbreads

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time : 20 minutes
Yield : 1 mason jar biscuits
Freezer Friendly : No


Ingredients:
40g sugar
100g unsalted butter
150g all purpose flour

Steps: 
1) Preheat oven 165 degree celcius.
2) Mix all ingredients and form a dough
3) Roll the dough using rolling pin till 1cm thick. 
3) Cut into rectangles ( or any desire shapes). Move to tray with parchment paper.
4) Once on tray, poke holes using fork.
5) Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
6) Let cool, once cooled, put into mason jar or any air tight container.

It serve as on-the-go snacks, easy to carry for outings. Mummy love it with a cup of hot coffee too!

French Toast (Quicky Version)

Preparation Time : 5 minutes
Cooking Time : 15 minutes
Yield : 24 small pieces
Freezer Friendly : No


Ingredients:
4 slices of bread cut into smaller pieces

1-2 tbsp grapeseed oil
2 eggs
1/4 cup of milk
1tbsp grated cheese

Steps:
1) Beat the eggs, add in milk and grated cheese (cheese can be melted before hand if you prefer) and mix till combined.
2) Dip the bread into the mixture, ensure coated both sides.
3) Heat up non-stick pan (heat on high), pour 1/2 tbsp oil, turn to low heat before put the bread onto the pan to pan-fry. Flip to the other side around 20-30 seconds to avoid burnt. Flip it again to reach the toasted look.
4) Add oil as needed until all the bread was pan-fried.
5) Best served with drizzles of honey (only if your baby is above 1 year old).

Here is another updated version with spinach bread and raisin butter bread. I omitted cheese in this version but it still tastes great.


Did it again, this time much better with more even browning than the first time. Tips? If taking long time to brown, switch to medium heat, if brown too quickly, switch back to low heat :)

Baked Rice Frittata

Preparation Time : 30 minutes
Cooking Time : 20 minutes
Yield : 6 rice frittatas
Freezer Friendly : No


Ingredients:
1-2 oz minced chicken breast
1 small carrot, diced
1/2 cup rice
1/2 cup water
2 eggs
2 tbsp grated cheese

Steps:
1) Preheat oven at 170 degree celcius.
2) Steam minced chicken breast, carrot, rice together with water for 20 minutes. 
3) Put the steamed ingredients, 2 eggs and 1 tbsp of cheese in a bowl, mix well.
4) Pour the mixture into muffin pan.
5) Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of mixture.
6) Bake for 20 minutes or till egg is set.


Fluffy Milky Steamed Cakes

Preparation Time : 15 min
Cooking Time : 15 min
Yield : 6 cakes
Freezer Friendly : No

I notice I ran out of eggs early in the morning. So what I have planned the night before does not work. I search for eggless pancake recipe and I found this.

The secret to success in this recipe is the condensed milk, so ensure no skip on this ingredient.

Ingredients:
50ml low fat milk
2 tbsp condensed milk
30g brown sugar
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
100g multi purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder

Steps:
1) Mix everything except the flour and baking powder in a bowl.
2) Combine sifted multi purpose flour and baking powder into mixture using spatula. 
3) Put cake liners on muffin tray. Pour mixture into cake liners.
4) Pre-heat wok at high and steam at medium heat for 15 minutes. 

                      Did this again!


When I am out of time, I just do it in a big bowl and cut it like a cake. :)

Original Recipe:
http://baketilgolden.wordpress.com/2013/07/27/recipe-fluffy-vanilla-steamed-cakes-mushipan/

Fluffy Egg-free Pancake

Preparation Time : 10 minutes
Cooking Time : 20 minutes
Yield : 15 mini pancakes
Freezer Friendly : Yes


Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup fresh milk
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tbsp baking powder
Butter & honey for topping (optional)

Steps: 
1) Put flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a bowl and mix using hand whisk.
2) Gradually add milk, follow by oil into the mixture. Stir till combine using hand whisk.
3) Heat a non-stick pan, turn to medium low heat.
4) Using a small ladle (about 4 tbsp) batter pour the batter in middle of the pan about 3-4 inch from the pan, let the batter spread into even circle.
5) When bubbles are seen, flip on the other side. If batter run out of the way, use a clean spoon to perfect the edge.
6) Serve with butter and honey or freeze for on-the-go breakfast!


Original Recipe:
http://www.rakskitchen.net/2012/08/eggless-pancakes-recipe-pancake-recipe-soft-fluffy.html?m=1