Crock Pot Roast Ckn

Wanted to finish up d frozen spices thus went searching for recipes. Found this & decided to give it a try. However, because no amt was stated, thus, I just throw in all bal frozen spices. End result – too much spice added, thus, a very bitter taste. Hayden only ate 2 spoons & pushed d rest away. So I had to dish out scramble eggs for him. Hubby said too much spices & MIL didn’t finish hers too. Sigh...

500g skinless thigh meat
salt & pepper
parsley
basil & rosemary
butter

Directions:
1. Rinse chicken thoroughly. Sprinkle cavity with salt, pepper and parsley.
2. Put in crock pot breast side up. Sprinkle a little salt & pepper on it with seasoning of your choice. Dot breast with butter.
3. Do not add any liquid. Cook on high one hour and low for 10-12 hours.

Everyday Textured Tote

FINALLY! I managed to finish d tote that I started on 04June. Reason it took me so long was:
1) pattern was bored to tears;
2) tote is 45cm in depth!
3) MIL in town & I was buz bringing her ard eating & shopping on most days (good excuse ;-p )

But at least it’s done now. It's really a very useful tote cause it can hold LOTS of stuff. But I might need to re-knit d handle cause it's not very "nice looking".

Cocoa Muffins w/Yogurt

Need to finish up d last cup of yogurt & decided to give this recipe a try. Original recipe asked for ¼cup cocoa powder. But I made a BIG mistake sieving ¾cup cocoa powder instead! So to make up for d diff, I omitted d ½cup chocolate chips instead.
End result – looks horrible (similar to my first 2 attempts) but not sweet at all! Good enough to share with Hayden’s teachers & Hubby’s ofc ;->

1¾ cup All-purpose flour
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup cocoa powder
100g butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup plain yoghurt
½ cup milk
½ tsp vanilla essence

Method
1) Preheat oven at 180C
2) Sieve flour, bicarbonate soda & cocoa powder together. Stir in sugar.
3) Beat egg & vanilla essence be4 adding in all d wet ingredients into flour mixture.
4) Fold till batter is dampened, but not smooth.
5) Spoon batter evenly into lined/greased muffin tray.
6) Bake for 20 mins or till skewer comes out clean.

三润姜汤

MIL having sore throat so I decided to give this recipe a try. Hopefully it will make her feel better after drinking.

三润姜汤(3 Moist Ginger soup)

材料1 (ingredient)
梨: 4个 (去芯, 切小块) 4 Pears (de-core, cut into cubes)
腐竹 : 2块 (泡软，撕成小片) 2 pieces of dried tofu strips (soak till soft, cut into small pieces)
密枣 : 8粒 (洗净)8 Honey dates (washed)
老姜 : 8片 Old Ginger 8 slices
水 : 8碗 bowl of water

材料2
冰糖 : 适量 Rock sugar (moderate)

方法
1) 将所有材料放進煲內, 大火煮滾後转慢火煲1小時
Put ingredient 1 into pot. Bring to boil be4 switching to low heat for 1hr.
2) 加入冰糖, 再煮5分钟即可
Add rock sugar & cook for another 5mins be4 serving.

功能
滋阴润肺, 健脾开胃
Nourish Yin & d lungs, strengthen spleen & open appetite
此甜品因加入老姜, 故滋润而不过寒, 同时有开胃化痰的功效
Because of d added old ginger, this dessert is moist enough & yet not too 'cold'. Also, it helps improve appetite & at d same time useful in disolving phlegm.
适合大部分体质的人食用, 同时有润肤美颜, 保护咽喉的作用
Suitable for most ppl. It's also good for skin & helps protect d throat too.

Thirst Quenching Soup

MIL requested for bitter gourd so I searched d web & found this recipe. Surprisingly, d soup does not taste 'bitter' as I expected.. MIL LOVES it & Hayden drank ½ bowl! & for someone who hated bitter gourd, I actually drank 2 bowls of soup!

清热解渴湯
苦瓜 : 1条 Bitter gourd (wash & cut into strips)
番茄 : 100g Tomato (wash & cut into 4-6 pieces)
瘦肉 : 300g Lean meat (I replace with minced meat balls)
姜 : 3片 Ginger 3 slices
黃豆芽 : 200g Yellow bean sprout
水 : 适量 appropriate amt

方法 Method:
1) 黃豆芽洗净后放入鑊中干炒至有香味
Fry bean sprouts in boiler till fragrance
2) 把所有材料放入煲內, 大火煮滾，转慢火煮2小時即可
Then add rest of ingredients into boiler. Bring to boil be4 switching to low heat for another 2 hrs.

功能 (Function)
下火清热, 生津止渴。
Lower & clear inner heat level, helps quench thirst.
天热、熬夜或过食燥热食物后，身热、口渴、尿黄、大便硬等。
For ppl who:
1) feels hot often;
2) has lots of late nites
3) has too much heaty foods
4) feel thirsty often
5) has yellow urine
6) hard stoods, etc...

Milky PorkFloss bun

MIL loves bread with fillings so I decided to used up d frozen Hokkaido Milky (HM) dough for my pork floss buns. End result - very nice looking 'cupcake' pork floss buns. As usual, HM never fails me by rising very nicely (except 1, might be due to insuff dough divided).

Sweet Bread

Saw Blessed Homemaker's post on this recipe & gave it a try. As usually, mine never looked as nice as hers.. sigh.. I hope it's due to d diff oven/bread machine that we have. ;-d

Ingredients
230ml low-fat milk
2 tbsp butter/margarine
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp honey
4 tbsp sugar
520g bread flour
1 ¼tsp yeast

Summer Berries Cheesecake (no baking)

Hubby's ofc gals requested for blueberries cheese cake & since I have some frozen summer berries left, I decided to give these 2 recipes (No-bake Cheesecake & Fluffy 2-step Ckeesecake) a try by combining them together into 1 cake (bery ambitious ;-p). Made lots of changes though..
End result – a very colorful berries cheese cake! & taste more like ice-cream cake instead. Both hubby & MIL loves it but I will need to wait till tomrw if hubby’s ofc gals share d same comments..

Base (8x8) (adapted from SB MM Cake)

• 200g digestive biscuits
• 80g melted butter

Crushed & mix well together. Press into pan & refrigerate for later use.

1st layer

• 250g cream cheese - soften
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 200g frozen summer berries
• 150ml whipping cream
• 100ml whipped cream

Blend all together till smooth be4 pouring onto d prepared base. Put into freezer for ard 15-20min.

2nd layer

• 200g cream cheese – soften
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 100ml whipped cream

Blend all together till smooth be4 pouring on top of d 1st layer. Put back into freezer for ard 15-20min.

Jello layer

• 50g jello
• 200ml water
• 2 tsp gelatin powder

Boil all till dissolved. Spoon onto cake & put back into fridge to chill.

Optional: u can place fresh fruits onto cake be4 spooning d jello layer.

玉竹鸡汤_Odoratum chicken soup

MIL told me to finish all d dry ingredients so that I dont have to ship all back again when we relocated back home. So I search d web & found this recipe to finish up d odoratum. End result - this is d BEST soup that I have tried! It's really very tasty! YUMMY!

玉竹鸡汤
材料 (ingredient) 1
鸡 : ½ 只 (I replaced with 300g ribs/minced meat)

材料2
玉竹 : 50 – 100g Odoratum
去核红枣 : 15粒 Red Dates (de-core)
枸杞子 : 1– 2 tbsp Wolfberries
姜 : 1 小块 Ginger

材料3
水 : 适量 Water: own judgment (I used 1.5l to cover d ingredients)

方法 Method:
1) 把鸡洗净, 斩成小块, 投进滚水中川烫片刻, 捞起待用
2) 把材料2清洗干净, 加入适量水, 大火煮开后, 以中小火熬煮 ½小时
3) 加入鸡块, 继续以中小火熬煮½小时, 试味
1) Wash chicken, cut into pieces, blanch the chicken with boiling water, drain
2) Wash Ingredients B, pour in water, bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to medium heat & boil for another ½ hour
3) Add in meat, simmer for another ½hr over medium heat

莲藕补血汤

Look through d fridge & found some bal lotus root so decided to give this tonic a try.

莲藕补血汤 (Enrich blood Lotus root tonic)

材料1
莲藕 : 600g (洗淨, 切段, 拍鬆) Lotus roots (wash, cut, pat/slap loose)
紅萝卜 : 300g (去皮切段) carrot, de-skin & cut into sections
眉豆 : 150g (洗净) black-eye bean, wash
冬菇 : 10朵 (洗淨, 浸軟) dried mushrooms (clean, soak till soft)
红枣 : 10枚 (洗净) red dates (wash)

材料2
水 : 12碗 water 12 bowls

1) 把已处理好的材料1全部放进煲内
2) 加入材料2的水, 浸泡1-2小时
3) 以大火煮滾后, 转为慢火煲2小時, 加鹽调味即可
Put all ingredients into a pot & soak for 1-2hrs.
Bring to boil be4 switching to low heat & continue cooking for another 2hrs.
If desired, add salt be4 serving.

注: 可加入 / 瘦肉 / 排骨 / 八爪鱼 / 素肉同煮
Note: can also add lean meat / ribs / dried octopus / vegetarian-meat

功效 (Function):
a) 益气 beneficial qi (vital breath)
b) 养血 enrich/increase d blood count
c) 滋补强身 nourishing health
d) 消除疲勞 eliminate fatigue
e) 养颜润肤 Beauty emollients - bring out color & moist d skin
适合一家大小常饮用
Suitable for d whole family & can be drink regularly.

山药枸杞粥

Since I have dugged out d congee recipe book, shd just at least try out more recipes be4 storing it again. So for tonite, am trying out this chinese yam w/wolfberries congee. For some reason, it didnt turn out looking like d pic in d book. But other than that, it actually tasted ok.

• 100g beef - dice up
• 2 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp cornstarch

Mix d above ingredinets well.

• 1 cup rice - rinse/drain & leave aside 15mins
• 3 tbsp wolfberries - rinse well
• 200g Chinese Yam - remove skin & cut into small piece. Since it turns brown after oxidation, cut it only be4 cooking.

1. Bring 8 cups of water to boil.
2. Add in rice & bring to boil again. Then switch to low heat for 10mins.
3. When cooked, add in Chinese yam & wolfberries & cook further 5mins.
4. Add in beef & cooked till beef is done.
5. Season w/salt be4 serving.

Notes - Fresh Chinese yam is coated with white sticky goo, which is good for complexion.

SB Marshmallow cake again

Since I still have some ingredients left, I decided to finish all on d strawberry marshmallow cake again. However, after finishing d base & leaving it in d fridge, I realized I only have 90g marshmallow instead of d required 150g. But I decided to go ahead & apportion rest of d marshmallow fillings accordingly. Thus, I ended with a thinner middle layer, which actually works out fine because then, it's not as sweet as d 1st attempt. Great!

Adjusted Marshmallow filling:
90g Marshmallow
180ml UHT milk (full cream milk)
120ml Whipping cream
1.5 tsp Gelatine powder

Cream Cheese loaf again

Mmmhh.. not sure what happened but tried this again for d 5th time & it fails just like d first 3 attempts.. I did as per d 4th attempt (which was very successful) & not sure why it's like d first 3 attempts.. ;-<
& MIL commented that it's not as soft as d Hokkaido Milky load on d 3rd day.

Hokkaido Milky loaf w/ Wolfberries

This recipe really never fails me. This rd, I added a handful of wolfberries & it still never fails me. & it's still very soft on d 3rd day! :->

Safari Camp Stay

Due to d upcoming long wkend in Bkk, we decided to try out d safari camp. Hayden had so much fun trying to feed d animals. However, we were glad that we only stay 1 nite cause d very next day, it started to rain.

Peanut Congee w/Bonito Flakes

With yesterday’s failure, I thot of trying another congee that has more taste. Saw this recipe w/Bonito flakes, should do d trick. & true enough, Hayden finished 1½ bowl!

• 1 cup rice - rinse & soak 20mins be4 draining
• 200g pork ribs - scald in boiling water & remove after blood has been washed off
• 1 stalk spring onion - chop
• 1 small piece ginger - shred
• 1 cup raw peanuts - cook in water for 5mins be4 using to remove its puckery taste
• 1 cup bonito flakes
• salt for seasoning

1. Bring 10cups water to boil
2. Add ribs & peanuts, bring to boil again
3. Add rice & ½cup of bonito flakes.
4. Cook over low heat for abt 2hrs. Season w/salt.
5. Sprinkle chopped spring onion, shredded ginger & remaining bonito flakes on top be4 serving.

Lotus Roots Congee w/red Dates

Hubby's away on buz trip & Hayden still coughing slightly, so I decided to go 'healthy' & cook congee instead. Referring back to d congee recipe book, I decided on this Lotus roots congee. Same as d sweet corn congee, I blend d cooked lotus roots to be added into Hayden's bowl of congee. End result - Hayden hated it! Took us almost 1hr to feed ¾ bowl to him! Sob... MIL mentioned that it’s actually a bit plain, but still ok for her.

• 1 cup rice - rinse, drain & leave aside 15mins
• 200g lotus roots - Remove skin, rinse/clean & roll-cut int pieces
• 12 red dates - rinse & drain
• 300g spare ribs - scald in boiling water, remove after blood has been washed off
• salt for seasoning

1. Boil 9cups of water.
2. Add ribs & cook over low heat for 15mins.
3. Add rest of ingredients & continue cooking for 15mins. Leave lid slightly uncovered to prevent from overflowing.
4. Season w/salt & cover to let it steep for 10mins be4 serving.

Note - Lotus roots r rich in fibre & aid digestion.

Strawberry Marshmallow Cake

Tomorrow is Hayden's sch end-term party & he's required to bring a dish. So I tried out this cake recipe that's been on my to-dos for d longest time. However, as there is no timing stated at all in d original web, mine 1st attempt was horrible! D marshmallow filling was not hardened enough when I pour in d jello filling! Thus, most of d jello fillings flow into d marshmallow filling, leaving behind only a very thin layer of jello to cover d sliced strawberries. So thin that some of d strawberries r sticking out! So to 'save' it, I used up d bal ½pkt jello & this time, I spooned it onto d cake & mgd to cover all d strawberries. Therefore, if u look closely at d cut cakes, u can c that some has mixed color in d marshmallow fillings.

Base:

200g digestive biscuits
80g melted butter
Crushed biscuits & mix well w/butter. Press into a 8” tin. Refrigerate for later use.

Marshmallow filling:
150g Marshmallow
300ml UHT milk (full cream milk)
200ml Whipping cream
2 tsp Gelatine powder
Put all the ingredients into a pot & boil over small fire till gelatine is dissolved.

Jello topping:
½ pkt Jello
200ml Water
2 tsp Gelatine powder
Boil all ingredients until dissolved.

Assembling the cake:
Pour marshmallow filling into d prepared baking tin w/biscuit base. Put in freezer until slightly harden but not totally frozen. Take it out & arrange sliced fresh strawberries. Put it back to freezer to harden a little. When slightly harden take it out & spoon d cooled Jello on top. Put in fridge to chill. Cut into small pieces to serve.