Cooking Tips & Recipe

[nice_to_shop]

not long bean,Hokkien is called Or Gui Dau( translate: Wu Gui Dou....hahaha!) oh...now I recalled...Its FRENCH BEANS!

XO Sauce is my must-have sauce in the fridge! Actually can DIY XO sauce ourselves, I have the recipe, but very ley chey lah!

 

[sophie]

wow, I love French Beans too. Sometimes, depending on season, they have the really small ones in sealed plastic bags from Kenya... no need to cut into small pieces, just cut the ends off... very yummy. I like it the way the la mian restaurants does it - deepfried first then stir-fry with mince meat and sichuan peppers - yummy, but oily!

Thanks for the Xo recipes... now so tempted to go out and buy a bottle immediately!

 

[waterbibi]

Annlee,

Yah i also think better change your maid...360$ salary is quite high so the maid's working attitude better be superb..if not change till you get someone you're satisfied with.

I also like "24"...my husband likes it too.CSI(my fav) and Without A Trace are good too..

Sophie,

"24" was on AXN.

Van the chef,

You getting the sewing machine?The price is very reasonable and performance is great...I find getting second hand machines a bit bo hua.

XO sauce sounds good...i will buy a bottle to try.

 

[ah_cat]

Wow Van,
After u posted the XO sauce, I think the mummies are goin to wipe out the stock..keke

 

[starry]

hi ladies,

dun tink u gals remember as i only post twice. Recently i am trying to cook non carbo dinner. Doing roast, bake and grill until running out of ideas. Somemore the food got to be filling as my hubby used to carbo liao.

Any suggestions?

 

[nice_to_shop]

cat_tail,
hehe,better go NTUC to stock up XO sauce liao! I remember the time when XO sauce is Out-of-Stock, I feel so lost!

Amelia,
If I buy,I want to get a cheap cheap one first,my hb will sure nag n nag if he sees me buying a sewing machine,somemore so bulky, cannot hide from him!

Thanks for the info on your sewing machine. I wanted to gather more info before deciding on one.Still checking out auctions site, hoping that someone will sell off their white elephant cheap.

 

[sophie]

twinkle,
Why no carbo? I read somewhere that sudden stopping of carbo can cause withdrawal symptoms like mood swings, and in serious cases, depression. Totally no carbo very difficult to be filling. Maybe can substitute with a small portion of brown rice which releases energy more slowly than white rice?

 

[ann]

sophie, i've seen the small French bean you mentioned from market recently, didn't know is from kenya.
I tried the fry beans with mince pork at Imperial kitcken, is nice but my sis says at Noble house, this dish is so much better, very nice.

amelia, ya..... her salary is so high and i have to get all the nonsense from her, haiz......

went to have a look on 'CSI' from imdb that sophie mentioned and saw one man face is gone!!!

 

[happysunflower]

annlee,
My cousin's maid throw away her bird nest before... imagine how fuming it can be... I think we have different culture and understanding. It's not easy for them to adapt to our culture and way of life, and vice versa, hence lots of problems, miscommunications...
Last time my parents' maids all about the same... guess it's the culture difference. Can you imagine 1 tin of milo finished in a week? Then they cook big prawns and fish for themselves and cooked too much... end up throw away... very expensive to feed this type of maids... the more you get angry, the more they throw to get on you... My mum and my cousin rather live without maids now... but they can cope so it's ok...
What my aunt does is separate fridge for her family and maid. My aunt dun buy things for the maids, nor treat them like a family. She dun have too much problems...

cat_tail,
It's better to have cameras around the house, but dun let her know the blindspots hor...

Sophie,
Thank you very much for the recipe

Just nice for the weather now... What is "da tou cai"? How does green bamboo shoot look like?

Van,
You are our cooking star here... lol...

sophie, annlee,
That's embarassing.. lol...

sophie,
Putting on weight is better than not putting on weight... cos that could mean baby might not be having enough nutrients...
I have another cousin, she dare not eat a lot during her pregnancy. In the final month, she gotta drink 8 glasses of milk everyday! cos her baby not enough weight. Can you imagine milk as water... ***faintz*** I see already can puke...

 

[ann]

twinkle, is your hb on carbo diet?

sophie, I've tried carbo diet before, didn't know that will lead to mood swing or depression. so dangerous!

I tried carbo diet, is filling but i feel dizzy easily, might have not drink enough water.

 

[sunsweet]

i have a pkt of wanton noodles (uncooked) sitting in my fridge.

Other then trying to make dumplings to go with the noodles. what else can have it go with?

hopefully something easy..

 

[starry]

Sophie,

i m trying to loose my bal weight lor. i am having carbo for bf and lunch so only dinner no carbo.

Annlee,

Hubby also take rice like me for dinner, currently we cook a mixture of white & brown rice. If i cook a no carbo dinner then he will hv to follow me liao and i hv to cook something is filling for him. He also trying to lose a little weight.

 

[ann]

lyn, the maid throw away bird nest!!!! I'll faint man luckily my house got no bird nest. Thought they're from poor family and will appreciate food and not waste it but come here and waste my food. Got once, I left quite alot of chicken for my maid cos see her poor thing so give her more and din finish and left quite alot, I ask her you going to throw away, she replied yes cos she can't finish it. If i know she's like that i will eat all by myself and not waste it.

Never mind la.... i give up hope on her liao

Lyn, your aunti give your maid big prawn.... so generous, I myself never buy before cos quite ex

 

[nice_to_shop]

annlee,
previously I always ask my maid to take her portions of food first, as soon as the food is cooked, even before we eat,so that I don't have to worry about how much to leave for her,and whether she's going to finish the food that we left for her.

For whole fish, if she dig out the flesh then the dish won't look good, so I asked her to chop into half or 1/3+2/3 portions before cooking,so she can take a piece,and the whole fish still look presentable.

If she chopped into 3 pieces,take the middle piece and patch back the top and tail portion, still looks quite good right?

Sunsweet,
Don't need to pair wonton noodles with dumplings mah, can go with other liao like chicken wings/drumstick/chop,prawns,fish ball/sotong ball,mushroom and blanched green vege.

Or even heat up a can of curry chicken(or other meat dishes) and pour over the cooked-and blanched-with-cold water noodles.Add some green vege for a complete meal.

 

[ann]

van, is a good idea to let her take her food first, ok noted.

oh yes van you're right, went to NTUC in morning and bought the XO sauce, was wondering how come they didn't stock up the XO sauce, left 4 bottles on the shelf.

 

[iceystarz]

lyn,
thanks.. i do try not to get too stressed.. but reli abit tough...

so scary to hear so many stories of terrible maids...
annlee,
good for u to be firm n get rid of her. but like e others say dont let her know until e last minute so she got no chance to do anything funny...
btw, can ask how u lose e 22kg of pregnancy weight??? hehehe... i'm doing "research" on how to lose weight after delivery.. cos i still got 2mths to go, n already put on 17kg to date...
any other mummies with tips please contribute...

Van,
hehehe.. now then u know u r our idol.. we all always say ur food good enough to sell at restaurant liaoz.. dats y u getting "fan mail" mah... sure if u open shop we all will patronise one...

annelise,
heheh.. dats bcos my food poisoning was so bad, i was completely "dried up" by morning liaoz (from all e vomitting n diarrhoea).. no strength at all to walk, so he got to carry me.. otherwise how to get to e doctor...

but now he cannot carry me anymore... i weigh e same as him now...

sophie,
ya lor... pls dont consciously control ur diet during pregnancy leh... not good for ur baby.. next time if baby born liaoz, then *touch wood* got any regrets, its too late liaoz....
i also very very scared will "bloat" after pg (cos my mum did, n never slim back down).. also no choice, i didnt hv severe morning sickness during e first trimester.. keep eating to "suppress" e nausea.. now already gain 17kg liaoz... i'm way way way bigger than pre-pg size, n worried dat i may not slim back.. after delivery liaoz then work harder to slim down lor...

 

[nice_to_shop]

annlee,
Sometimes what we think is Ho Liao may not be so for the maids,especially Philipino ones. Like one of my maids who lives near sea back home,she gets to eat all kind of seafood everyday, food is not a problem back home,only no money and no job for them.

She was very shock to see that Ikan Kuning cost $4 /kg, when she saw the price on the NTUC's pack. In her home town, these are the dirt cheap stuff. So I could understand when she asked why I seldom buy big prawns, cos she actually didn't even know that those are very expensive in Singapore.

When I ta bao yong tau hoo for my maid, and she threw away more than half a packet,I was initially quite angry, but later found out that she didn't like to eat that at all, so I stopped buying for her,save my $2.50.

 

[krisjoy]

Annlee,
Your are so lucky to go back to normal weight

how did you manage to do that?

Starz,
How much weight have u gained? I hv put on 8.8kg...think it's a bit too much for 28 weeks preggie?

Sophie,
I love watching CSI! When I was on MC for 2 weeks during my 1st trimester, I watched the whole season. Some people find it gross but I find it intriguing lor...very anxious to know who the murderer is! Then my sister asked me to stop watching all these movies..hehehe..

 

[ann]

starz,

I lost 15kg after giving birth and during my confinement. Should be losing the water from my body as im water retention. During confinement, my breakfasti eat very little oat porriage cos no appetite, lunch and dinner i eat plenty of boiled veggie without oil and herbal soup, of course with those standard confinement food but not much.
After confinement, I eat quite alot but weight maintain the same cos I'm breastfeeding, cannot go on diet.

Only these few months I start to lose weight and lost all the 22kg. But the way I lose them is not healthy and you might not take it. I lost weight by not eating anything, only light dinner. Is the simple and free to to do it but I don't encourage you to do so.
A lot of people say do exercise lah..... but for me no no to exercise leh.

 

[ann]

oh yes van, I remeber my maid told me in their country their can tuna is very cheap and luncheon meat very expensive.

 

[sophie]

annlee,
Eh, CSI is only for the brave-hearted, cos a lot of gory scenes. So is 6 Feet Under. That's why better not watch with kids!

You manage to lose all the weight? But very siong process, have to forgo food... I cannot cos got gastric problems.

Lucky you, managed to get hold of the XO sauce! I only saw Lee Kum Kee one, but Woh Hup out of stock, so tomorrow will go try another NTUC

lyn,
I don't know how da tou cai and green bamboo shoots look like... the pic in the cookbook shows only a bowl of cooked soup with ingredients all chopped up, so cannot see also. Van, can help?

Hmm... 8 glasses of milk a day? Think I will puke up!

Van,
The chopping up of fish for maid is quite clever!

starz,
Yeah, after listening to what you guys say about weight, plus after talking to my friend today, I think I won't try to control my food intake intentionally. Will probably try to eat more healthily then.

Krisjoy,
Watch CSI while preggie?! Not scared?

btw, I bought the Vitasence moisturiser + day protector today with 20% discount at Watsons

Quite excited to use it!

 

[starry]

annlee,

alot of ple also tell me do exercise but i really hv no time beside working long hours and taking care of bb.

 

[happysunflower]

annlee,
I am also eating lots and lots now. I feel so hungry so often. I can be eating non-stop from the time I wake up till I sleep. I eat lots of rice though... very difficult to control... Just now I was telling my hubby that I am getting fat

I have been eating too much meat lately

Van,
Good idea to portion out the food for your maid first...
There's once I went to eat in a Thai restaurant. The family sitting behind us let the maid eat last... You know, when I turn around, I saw so many dishes they left for the maid... ***faintz*** In the end, waste quite a lot of food...I also find it quite uncomfortable that the whole family gotta sit at the table and wait for the maid to eat...
Do you bring your maid out to dine? Does she sit togather at the same table?

annlee,
Secarly if never leave lots for the maid, she complains say never feed her ah... My mum and my cousin kena that before...
Oh yes, some indo maids love lots of instant noodles and MSG...

twinkle,
HOw much more do you have to lose?
To cut down carbo, gotta be in stages leh.. else later get withdrawal symptoms... To lose weight, I personally think meat should be cut down too... But it's not easy especially if we eat out a lot here...

Van,
Is there MSG in XO sauce?? If not, I will wanna get a bottle too... kekeke... I think I gotta throw away my oyster sauce already cos got MSG.

sophie,
Wah.... 2kg in one week ah... Did your gynae do diabetes test for you? That time I gained like 2kg in 3 weeks, my gynae started to do diabetes tests for me on every alternate visits. And I gained 1kg per week towards the end due to my durian indulgence... lol...

annelise,
My cousin son did not have any scars or anything serious, how to go to the police? Now the effects show up when he goes to school. I suspect he was sexually abused too. He now need to see psychiatrist... It's like got money also cannot buy back history...

 

[nice_to_shop]

Sophie,
All the while I thought Da Tou Cai is mustard green, a kind of green vege that taste bitter, also called Gai4 Cai4,can be found in wet market and sometimes supermarket. My aunt loves to cook Gai4 Cai4 rice,which I dislike.Amelia,my Hokkien Clan member, has tried that too.

Is your recipe taken from Asian or Western Cookbook? If if it's western cookbook, it can also be the root version of rutabaga.Something that looks like turnip:

 

[happysunflower]

I was looking at the new photos of you gals...

cat_tail,
Your dd has chubby cheeks and big eyes... very cute... You have many cats? Are those shelves for the cats to sleep on? Very special...

ann,
Your son looks so cute in that tigger outfit... Where did you buy that outfit?

 

[ah_cat]

van,
Today will pop by the NTUC to get the XO sauce. Hopefully there is one left for me...haha

lyn,
Thanks for your compliment.

Yup, just 2 cats only not many. That green shelf is called cat tree. It's very good cos the cats luv to laze on the high spots & watch the world going. It also comes with few scratch poles to keep them from destroying my furniture.

I think my maid noes where are the cameras even though I din tell her. Also good lah, it will remind her that I am watching her every move.

Aiyo.. your cousin's son is so poor thing.

annlee,
I always told my maid to keep the leftover food for her next lunch. U can do tat oso for yor next maid. So how's things goin with your yaya maid? Pick a new maid already?

 

[ann]

sophie, then I will like CSI. I like those exciting show but not ghost film hee......

Yes, I managed to lose all after Breastfeeding and BF is good, helps to maintain or even lose weight. Good for baby and mummy!

Don't worry about putting on weight. For me, I eat moderately and all healthy food during preggie and still put on lotsa weight. So after giving birth, I lost alot of water in my body and is all the water that makes me heavier luckily not fats as is difficult to burn off those stubborn fats or cellulite.

twinkle, I got no time for exercise plus lazy too. Try doing yoga at home and body ache so give up unless someone do with me or don't think I will do it. Me lazy bum!

lyn, is ok for you to eat alot since you're BF. In the picture you looked ok not fat at all. Only that try not to take too much meat, later when stop BF and wants to lose weight will be quite difficult because of all the fats store in the body difficult to burn off and worst if don't exercise and later turn to cellutite. I know you don't want that right...

My previous filipino maid accused me of not letting her eat enough, I'm innocent and shocked!! After I realised that I told her to eat bread for breakfast, lunch noodle or rice. But she wants bread with noodle together with I don't know and accused me not letting her eat. Anyway, we didn't give her any chance, another reason is that she cried everyday and we let her call home 5 times in 2 weeks times and she's still like that so we really got no choice and to let her go after 2 weeks.

The XO woh hup contains MSG, although I'm anti-MSG but is ok lah..... wanna try it.

sophie, are you the one who mentioned organic XO sauce?

 

[ann]

cat_tail, my maid is from bad to worst since after her first salary. Now just ignored her when she did something wrong cos scare she knows something fishy that i wanna change her and she will make things even worst for me.
Now waiting for my hb aunti to pick one for us. We want a indon maid now but gotta wait cos Hari Raya coming so most of them not willing to come out.

lyn, my son tigger outfit is from HK, that time my hb trip and bought for him. There's also a tail behind it.

 

[nice_to_shop]

annlee,
that is one of my fear, maids accused employers ill treating them, including not giving them enough food,that's why always ask them to take their portion first.

I also always buy a tin of assorted biscuit, and always have bread and instant noodles at home, they are free to eat .

When you find a new maid, better set a routine for her, like a simple time-table. So if she is expected to change bedsheet say, on Friday, and she didn't,you would straight away notice. Some maids are not so organised, so we have no choice but to organise and spread out her duties for her,but must stressed that Children's Safety is still the No. 1 priority.

lyn,
I brought my maid out to dine,sit at the same table of course. If it's at coffee shop, sometimes I give her money to order from the stall herself, unless I know what we are ordering is something she would eat, then order for her.

If it's at Chinese restaurant, I would ask her to take her portions first. Whether she would first or later depends on whether we need her to take care of baby at the moment,but definitely don't have to wait until everyone's done then eat.

 

[starry]

Hi Lyn/Annlee,

i hv abt 5kg to go and i had stop bf. Like Ann mentioned harder to lose cos i eat alot of rice when preggie and after delivery. I simply love rice when preggie.

i eat most of my dinner at home and in my family we eat meat for 3x a week as we prefer to eat fish. tat y i m thinking eating light and no carbo dinner may help?? since lunch already eat out liao.

 

[ann]

van, from last incident now I'm smart already. I buy 2 packets of rice, luncheon meat,bread egg,sausage ,instant noodle for lunch and all she can eat as much as possible. Cos I didn't cook lunch so i bought all the easy prepare food for her and lucky she likes it.

All the while I got a simple time table for her and stick beside the fridge so she got no reason to say what she didn't do. Always remind her to follow when things she did not follow. And my sons and our bedsheet stated clearly when and what to wash.
But what to do, she just don't care and not following. I talked to her until I don't have to think what to say.... words just come out from my mouth automaticly, I didn't shout or scream, tell her nicely and she's still like that.

 

[nice_to_shop]

lyn,
I heard of two cases of maid sexually abused the kids. One was mentioned in newspaper, a woman relate her problematic maids'experience.Her first maid stole her money and jewellery, second maid sexually abused her Primary 5 son, third maid slept with her husband.

Another case I heard from a friend.It's her friend's maid,but it's too.....errrr.....better not to talk about the details.


...just to say that your suspicion of your cousin's maid sexually abused the kid is possible.

 

[ann]

twinkle, I love rice too..... is so nice to go with gravy like asam pedas gravy, curry etc...
I have cut down alot on rice, you can try eating half portion of the rice that you normally eat. For me rice and bread makes me bloated and put on weight easily, so i only allowed myself 2-3 tablespoon of rice per day. But that's for me, don't try it if you can't.

 

[nice_to_shop]

Going IMM now...need to buy baking supplies and gift boxes/trays/bags for cookies....baking for teacher's day gifts.

 

[mayng]

every fri my maid will wash the toilets, and every sun to wash car and every 2 weeks change Bedsheet once. She dun have to be told wat to do and constantly on the ball. every morning she will be up at 7am to clean the flr and 7.45am to make a half cup of hot coffee for him. thereafter she will hang the washed laundry and has her cup of coffee n bread. then routine is set by me when she first came, so she is still following till date n i have no problem with her. she is a smart worker and dun have to be told. i never have to nag or scold at her.

as for dining out, we always eat together, usually i let her eat first so she can look after my girl while i finish the food and go. At home, when my mum is ard, she will help to look after my girl till everyone finished the food then will be her turn. At times, hb will keep big portion of food thinking she can eat, but i guess she paisey, so left alot again.

i always believe, how one treats the maid, the maid will in return treat the child the same too. I treat my maid like a help and little sister, that's why she takes care of my girl n the household well.

 

[mayng]

Van: never jio!!!

 

[iceystarz]

morning ladies...

krisjoy,
i double ur weight gain lah... 17kg at 31weeks... *haiz*... dats y now keep asking for "tips" on how to lose weight later..


annlee,
huh, dont eat at all until dinner ar.. dont think i hv e determination to do it leh.... i'll probably faint also..

i also intend to breastfeed as long as possible.. dats y thinking it muz be difficult to diet then, as heard from so many mummies that during breastfeeding always hungry one...

hehehe... i'm also a super lazy bum.. never exercise one.. only recent weeks hubby keep dragging me go swimming cos he heard it will help labour process...

sophie,
u already very health-conscious, so shdnt be too worried abt putting on too much weight lah... i'm e extreme type.. most preggies dont put on so much weight as i do... e only thing i guess is, dont take supper, not even milk or those milo drinks late at night.. take less carbo as in white rice, white bread..


lyn,
finally checked with my mum wat she put into her potato stew...
ingredients:
potatoes, carrots, onion n pork (we use e "3-layer pork" type at home leh.. not healthy..

)
fry e onions until fragrant, add in e pork..
continue until pork is half-cooked..
add in potatoes n carrots.
add in oyster sauce n dark soya sauce.. (mum doesn't measure how much.. she says in moderation)
fry abit more, add in some water (again "agar-agar").. switch to low flame and simmer...

paiseh cant give u more specific instructions, u know "older generation" cook, they dont use any form of measure for their ingredients.. everything by "experience" liaoz...

e other dish that my mum cooks (i think shd be "hokkien" dish), is stew pork ("3-layer" pork) with tau-pok, tau-hu, mushrooms (sometimes add tau-kee n/or chestnuts).. also using e same sauces : oyster sauce and dark soya sauce.. but the difference in "taste" comes from adding GARLIC but not onion...
now then i realise e same sauces, when add onion and garlic will produce different taste....
hehehe....

 

[ann]

heh.... i really can't stand sexually abused a child or slept with hb, OMG..... so disgusting

My ex-boss caught her maid sleeping naked in their sofa and ask why, the maid say is too hot.

My friend told me her friend saw from the camera that her maid playing with their son little ****, mummies should know what i mean

 

[iceystarz]

sorry ladies, i also go out of topic for awhile hor..
i actually also have a "stupid" question to ask...
during pregnancy rite, water retention is caused by
a) drink too much water
b) eat too much salt
c) never drink enough water

which of the above huh??? i have heard so many different causes and reasons of water retention.. and i also dont know how to gauge if i'm having water retention or not....

i dont eat much rice actually.. also dont know why i "grow" so much...

 

[sophie]

Van,
My recipe is from Chinese cookbook. I looked at the picture and didn't see anything green. The only green thing is the cucumber. But I saw some white "radish-like" lumps, so it's probably the second one.

lyn, starz,
On hindsight, I think it could be because I ate durians that week, plus forzen spaghetti for supper

Will try to eat mroe healthily from now on!
No, I didn't do any diabetes check cos it wasn't time for my doctor visit yet. Tomorrow is my appointment, so I'll probably tell the doctor my family history of diabetes.

annlee,
No, not organic XO sauce, but vegetarian XO sauce also sold at NTUC for $4. But yesterday a friend told me she bought some organic sauce for her son at this baby/kids massage place in Changi; her son loves it, but very expensive at $18 I think!

Hmm.... my friend's new maid also "showing her face", and after we talked about it, we concluded that it could be cos it's 1 more month to her taling her full salary. *sigh* Having a maid is not easy!

 

[ann]

carole, you're lucky to have a good maid.

sophie, I'm going to cook the eggplant that recommend again tonight. I really likes it.
And also XO sauce kailan that van recommended.

 

[sophie]

annlee,
You cooking eggplant again?

Heh, I was also craving for it, but I remembered you said better not eat so much eggplant, so I try and ration it to once every 2 weeks - means this week don't have!

A picture to brighten up this page... haha, I hope it's "brighten", cos the fish looks a bit messy! My dinner last night - Baked Fish with stuffed herbs:

 

[ann]

sophie, organics are so expensive. I'm looking for Organic Ketchup for my son, he love ketchup and sometime goes everything with it. And is healthy too, lotsa vitamin...

 

[sophie]

annlee,
Woah, organic ketchup? Never seen it around before. But if I do, I'll let you know!

As for the eggplant dish, if you want the eggplant to be more "pang", you can roast it instead of steaming. But roasting takes a much longer time (30mins), and I don't normally do it cos too "heaty" and waste electricity.

starz,
My friend lent me the "What to Expect when Expecting" book, and it says fluid retention is due to standing for overly long periods of time and not drinking enough water. It says that we should drink more water to help the body flush out the toxins, and this will help excess fluid water retention. Excessive salt intake can also contribute to water retention.

I believe in the drinking enough water thoery, cos if we don't drink enough, our body thinks it's going into a "drought", and hence starts to store water for "emergencies"... just like crash diet does not work in the long run, cos suddenly going off food means the body thinks it's going into starvation, and it compensates by storing more fats and slowing down metabolism, then in the long run, you find that even if you cut down on a lot of food, you don't lose as much weight. To me, I think the trick is to do everything slowly e.g. last time when we fast, we have to slowly reduce our portions of food till zero, then when resuming food intake, slowly start with tiny portions again to get the body used to the routine.

 

[krisjoy]

Van,
Show us the pics of your teachers' day gifts once they are ready

What do you intend to bake? Cookies?

Starz,
I read in the Nov MTB thread that you oredi have stretch marks that are red in colour. I have a brown lining that stretches from the belly button downwards. The lining is quite thick and also a bit brown in colour. Is this stretch mark huh?

 

[iceystarz]

sophie,
hehehe... thanks.. i also hv e book, but no time to read now... cos always collapse onto e bed whenever i reach home.. otherwise its veg-out in front of e TV...

krisjoy,
no, tat line is not stretchmark.. apparently everybody have that brown line.. mine even stretch above e belly button... its a discolouration on some stretched something lah... hehehe.. cannot remember liaoz... u try asking e MTB thread again...
stretchmarks i hv it on my butt now... to put it "nicely", it looks like a few wavy lines.. machiam u draw squiggly lines on e sand dat type... hehehhe....

 

[spongme]

hi, ladies!
miss chatting with u all so much! I was down with high fever since Sunday nite, co. doc only gave me 1 day MC so yesterday came back to office to sleep (serious)... can't work, head gonna burst looking at PC.

sophie,
yr fish looks great, what herbs did u use?

Van,
hehehe, u r indeed our STAR! So happy u come here to share yr knowledge with us! how's dd now? sorry to hear she vomitted, she so poor thing!!!

starz,
don't worry abt yr weight gain lah, my colleague she 44kg became 66kg, gained a whopping 22kg, never bf, still managed to lose her weight! Eat to yr appetite, just don't go hungry ya!

twinkle-starry,
A few months after delivery, I still never lost all my weight gain, so I reversed my eating, ate heavy breakfast, light lunch and half my usual dinner portion. It works! Now I'm slightly below my pre-preggie weight.

krisjoy,
yr weight gain not much leh, so lucky, at least when walking about not so tiring ya.

annelise,
yr hb temper very good hor, run out of petrol he never scold u ah, hahaha...

annlee,
sorry to hear abt yr terrible maid! how dare she deliberated not follow yr instructions!!! some more waste food, I can't stand ppl who simply waste food.

carole, cat-tail,
wah, lucky u all got good maids!

lyn,
pls post pic of yr precious Baby A!

 

[sophie]

starz, Krisjoy,
Is that vertical brown line linea nigra?
I read that before we get pregnant, there is already a faint line, but it's white in colour and so mostly invisible to us (think it's called linea blanc, simply meaning "white line")
Then during pregnancy, due to the hormones, it turns dark and is called linea nigra, meaning "dark line" or "black line".
(I remember this word linea nigra very clearly cos I love such Latin/non-English words

)

sp,
Drink more fluids even though you're in the office now. The aircon can be very drying and the extra fluids will help to regulate your body temperature. Take care!

For the herbs, I just stuff with any fresh herbs that I have left in my fridge - chinese parsley, arugula, mint, oregano, basil, dill... anything, and you can mix and match and chop then stuff them all in with olive oil, lemon juice, finely grated lemon rind, large slices of garlic for flavour, salt and pepper. Maybe can even try chopping and pounding lemongrass?
So this dish is a good for leftover herbs that you cannot finish and don't wanna waste

Do not mince garlic till small, cos when kids bite into the minced garlic, it can taste quite yucky cos due to the moisture from the fish, it will not be brown. Just slice them up in big pieces so you can remove them when eating.

 

[ah_cat]

annlee,
Oh yah, it's Hari Raya season. Hope the next Indo maid is better. Have u set yor own criteria to choose one? I suggest it's better to pick a young, married one with children. Best is around 20-25 yr old, with no frds or relatives here.

sp,
U take gd care of yourself & drink more herbal tea.

Sophie,
Your fish looks yummy & very mediterian style.

 

[krisjoy]

Starz,
ok, understand liao

i am so paranoid about stretchmarks lah..

sp,
hope u are getting better!

Sophie,
That's a very healthy dinner! Yes, i think that is what it is called. Mine stretches all the way up and down from the belly. But somehow the bottom line seems thicker so i thot it is a stretchmark. Mine only appears on my 5th month..