枣香红豆牛蒡煲猪脚 & Cream Cheese Bread again

Made 枣香红豆牛蒡煲猪脚 & cream cheese bread again. d 枣香红豆牛蒡煲猪脚 were just as good as d 1st attempt & all was gone be4 I remember to take any pic. As for d cream cheese bread, failed attempt. I changed d bread machine setting from normal to fast cycle & end result - dough didnt have enough time to rise as nice as previous 'Whoa" attempt.

Cream Cheese bread

I have been looking for new bread recipe to try out when I came across Blessed Homemaker's fav cream cheese bread recipe. I remembered she mentioned that she prefer this to Hokkaido Milky bread cause it's supposed to be softer. But my past 3 attempts proved otherwise. As I go through d recipe again, I remembered I always have problem w/d liquid ingredient because d original recipe was stated in 'grams', which is weird for liquid ingredient. So I decided to make a slight change & give it another attempt. End result – d top of d bread collapsed but it is SOFTER than Hokkaido Milky bread! Hurray!

Instead of 160g water (= 180ml), I changed it to 160ml of fresh milk instead.

Sweet Corn Congee w/Spare Ribs

Hayden started coughing again so I thot of cooking porridge instead. Dug through d book's carton (which was not unpacked due to limited space) & found d congee recipe book by Amelia Liang (which I bought after Hayden was born). Decided on this simple recipe cause I happened to have all d ingredients on hand. But since Hayden dont like to eat d corn bits, I blend it after it's been cooked be4 adding it back to Hayden's congee. He finished 2 full bowls!

• 1 cup rice
• 2 stalks sweet corn
• 300g spare ribs

1. Rinse rice, drain & leave aside 15mins. Rinse, clean & cut sweet corn into small sections.
2. Scald spare ribs in boiling water. Remove.
3. Prepare another pot & bring 9cups of water to boil.
4. Add ribs & cook over low heat for 15mins.
5. Add rice & continue cooking for 5mins. Leave lid slightly opened to prevent overflow.
6. Add corn & continue cooking for 10mins.
7. Season with salt if desired. Turn off heat & cover to let it steep for 10mins be4 serving.

Notes: Corn is rich in glutamic, which nourishes & aids d functioning of d brain. It is most suitable for d working class.

Future dancer in training

Was gg through my files & found this clip that I really want to share! Enjoy!

Hokkaido Milky Bread

This recipe never fails me, it also rises so well that my bread machine is not tall enough. So this round, I divided d dough & freeze 1/3 of it. Wow la! Another successfully attempt & this time, it missed d bread machine cover by only ½ inch!

Being appreciative too!

Was reading Blessed Homemaker’s post on ‘Being Appreciative’ & it got me thinking. I have never been close to my mum & I rarely see her. In fact, I only see her once a yr during CNY after I moved out when I was ard 20+. All this changed when Hayden was born.

1st of all, doc advised my hubby not to put baby with me in d same room after birth (not my doing) in order for me to recoup from my SLE condition (which has worsen due to d pregnancy). 2ndly am not really good with kids, even after Hayden was born. Thus, I felt so blessed when my mum agreed to quit both her part-time jobs & move in w/me to help take care of Hayden after he’s born. Therefore, Hayden has been sleeping with my mum during his first 1½ yrs in this world. She’s d one giving him his night feed, changing his diapers & bathing him. Thus, compared to most 1st time mother, am very, very blessed.

Then when Hayden was 6mths old, Hubby got posted to Bangkok & I mgd to get trf to Bkk ofc too (lucky me). & again, my mum made my day by agreeing to come with us to continue taking care of Hayden while both of us continue to work in Bkk. It’s not an easy decision for her due to her limited knowledge of English.

During her 13mth stay in Bkk with us, she rarely goes out at all due to her limited English. & there is only 1 Chinese cable channel available for her to watch. We tried to bring her out every wkends to malls & farm stay, but, it’s home every day when both me & hubby were working. Thus, to most of her friends back in SG, our Bkk apt is almost like a prison to her. But she stay with us for 13mths till my elder bro asked her to go back to help with his son (whose 6mths younger than Hayden).

After she went back, I had d most diff time of my life taking care of Hayden cause I had it so easy when my mum was ard to help. Now it’s been almost 10mths since my mum went back SG & 3mths since I got retrenched, am slowly getting used to taking care of Hayden. Even though at times, I still wondered why I ever decide to have a kid.

Learning to take care of Hayden makes me really appreciate my mum. She has helped me so much during Hayden’s first 18mths. Now that she’s back in SG with my elder bro, I just hoped that my elder bro understand what a gift he has recd & learn to appreciate her more.

Light Oat bread

During d previous kitchen cupboard 'spring' cleaning, I also found some rolled oat so I decided to give this recipe a try. Made some adj to include d rye flour so that I can finish mine up, thus, ended with huge dough so I freeze half of it. End result - d bread is so soft that Hayden even ate d crust! Only problem I have with this bread is - it crumples easily thus, diff to spread butter/jam on it.
Here's my adjusted ingredients:

• 1¼ cup warm water
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1¼ cup rye flour
• ½ cup rolled oat
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1½ tsp yeast

Put all into bread machine & select rye bread setting.

Light Rye Bread

Was gg through my cupboard when I noticed that I still have some rye flour so I search d web & found this recipe to try. End result - a very soft bread! However, as with other rye bread, usually 1 feels dry @ d thoart after eating it. Not sure if there is any way to adj that.. mmmhh... Also, it's a really small loaf, even for my small family, so might increase d portion next time. Here's my adjusted indregients:

• ¾ cup warm water
• ¾ tbsp butter
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1 cup bread flour
• 1 cup rye flour
• 1½ tbsp brown sugar
• 1¼ tsp yeast

Put all into bread machine & select normal fast bread setting.

Blueberries bread

After getting back from Korea, I still have no time for groceries shopping, thus, got to make do with whatever I have on hand for bread & this is what I tried - Blueberries & cranberries loaf. Original recipe asked for cranberries too but I only have blueberries on hand, so I changed cranberries to blueberries (beside other small changes). Result - a very soft bread but for some reason (which I cant put words to), I felt that it tasted plain, very plain. Almost like no real 'bread' taste.. weird.. But Hubby said it taste great cause it's really very soft, so I guess it's ok then..

• 280ml water
• 20g butter
• 400g bread flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tbsp brown sugar
• 3g yeast
• 90g dried blueberries

Place all ingredients into bread machine & select fast white bread setting.

Seoul & Busan trip

Just got back from Busan in d afternoon & has finished unpacking. Phew! We stay in Seoul for 2nites be4 flying off to Busan on d 3rd day. We stay in Busan main city for 2nites be4 moving again to Novotel Ambassador hotel, which in on d famous Haeundae beach. It really was very nice. & I got my wish fulfilled by eating d famous 'moving' octopus! Alive! YES!

Pork ribs soup

I have just got back from SG on Tues & will be flying again tomorrow to Korea. Thus, I didnt have a chance to go groceries shopping. So for tonite's dinner, I decided to just put whatever I can find in my fridge into d slow cooker to make udon soup for Hayden. & after 3hrs, what a surprise! Soup actually tasted very good with no seasoning added at all! Very healthy & sweet!

• 200g pork ribs
• 1 pear
• 1/2 radish
• 6 red dates (de-core)
• 10g wolfberries
• 2 dried scallops

Everyday Textured Tote

Since I now have some time on hand, I decided to give this pattern a try. It's a very, very easy pattern using mostly Seed Stitches. & since I only have enough wool of green & orange, that's d color am making. I have only started this last nite & it's coming real well. Hopefully I can finish this fast. & hopefully it will turn out just like d pic in d original website.

Coconut Bread

Landed ard 8pm & after unpacking, realised that I have all d ingredients to try out this recipe. Result - it actually taste much better after being toasted.

Cant remember who give this to me so if u know the orignator, please let me know so I can credit him/her accordingly.

• 2 Eggs
• 300ml Milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla Essence
• 2½ cups Plain Flour
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 cup Caster Sugar (used only 2/3cup brown sugar)
• 150g Shredded Coconuts
• 75g Unsalted Butter (Melted)
• Icing Sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F).
2. Lightly whisk eggs, milk and vanilla together.
3. Sift flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl, add sugar and coconut, and stir to combine.
4. Make a well in the centre and gradually stir in the egg mixture until just combined.
5. Add melted butter and stir until the mixture is just smooth, being careful not to over-mix.
6. Pour into a greased and floured 21 x 10 cm (81/2 x 4 in) loaf tin and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, or until bread is cooked when tested with a skewer.
7. Leave in tin to cool for 5 minutes, and remove to cool further on a wire rack.
8. Serve in thick slices, toasted, buttered and dusted with icing sugar. Makes 8-10 thick slices.