Cooking Tips & Recipe

[happysunflower]

sophie,
At the beginning of breast feeding, will have many empty comments from anyone

Just try to hear, nod, and forget

. Till now, almost 10 months, I still have negative comments here and there. Always remember that you know your baby best

 

[ann]

Nancy, oh....you're thinking of getting buffalo too... read that they're the first to have stainless steel rice cooker pot in sg and the pot does not produce toxic and some of the cooker causes hazard to our health.

lyn, you're going bintan... went there last oct and enjoy ourselves alot, wanted to go again in apr but change to phuket.

So you intend to make shepherd pie and bring to bintan? If you're using pork, think shld double check with indon custom whether pork is allow to bring in or not. But then again, I brought some porriage for my ds2 to bintan before and they didn't check the food.

 

[iceystarz]

hi girls...

wah, picnic so early!!! A havent wake up yet leh....

can change to late afternoon or not huh????? sorry ar, juz asking.. cannot nevermind hor.....


sophie,
dont worry abt all those "nonsense" other pple are telling u lah.... YOU are the mummy, and of cos u'll know ur baby best n want e best for her....
abt pacifiers, i'm nt giving ayden... altho my mum did try when he was 3mths old.. but he didnt like it, so all e better for me....


lyn,
how's ur back now??? better??? u went to "western" or "chines" doc for it???

 

[sweets]

Lyn,
I am also refraining from allowing DD to watch TV...but it sure seems easier to do flashcards using ppt. Though I've not started going down that route yet. Wow...what school is that? I'm still searching for schools in Shanghai that does such activities. Though not independent school at her age..like that school principal says ... I have "separation anxiety" issues.


Cecelia, I've been here nearly 4 years and husband about 8 years. Long way more to go though....

Sop, similar to Starz, we stayed away from pacifiers. Agree that you make the decisions...don't let others tell you what to do. Basically listen, come here and release and pretend nothing happened.

Gohong...yummy looking pie. I normally use minced beef, celery, onions, potatos and carrots for mine. Sigh..how to diet like that ?

 

[flower_kitten]

hi all,

will post the recipe another day ok? thanks for all the patience

 

[happysunflower]

annlee,
Which resort did you go? This time we will be going to Bintan Lagoon

We will be staying in a villa with all the cooking facilities. So, will bring ingredients there to make

starz,
Thank you

My back is not so painful already

But I cannot carry baby yet. Gotta let it stabilise for 1-2 weeks. I did not go to western doctor.


furry,
Wah.. you are in Shanghai for so long already ah...

 

[flower_kitten]

Hi, as promised..Shepherd Pie..

Ingredients:
6 potatoes
2 trays of minced meat (any type you like)
1 onion
1 carrot
1 small can of Campbell Soup (I used chicken flavour)
Small amount of button mushroom and bacon (can be substitute with other ingredients that you like)
Mixed Cheese (I used the ready mix one for pizza)

Seasonings:
Black Pepper
White Pepper
Mixed Herbs
Light Soya Sauce
Sesame Oil

Cooking:
1)Wash and peel skin off potatoes..
2)Add sufficient water to cover the potatoes and boil until soft..
3)Wash and peel skin off carrot..
4)Season the minced meat mixture with black and white pepper, light soya sauce, sesame oil and mixed herbs..
5)Chop the carrot into tiny dices or squares..
6)Peel skin off onion and finely diced it..
7)Diced the button mushroom and bacon..
8)When potatoes are cooked, use a masher and mash it to the desired texture for mashed potatoes..
9)Season the mashed potatoes with 2 spoons of Campbell Soup Mix, mixed herbs, black and white pepper..
10)Heat a frying pan and lightly fry the bacon until slightly brown and crispy.. Scoop out for later use..
11)Add in the diced carrot and onion and lightly fry until fragnant and carrots are slightly soft..
12)Add in the minced meat and diced button mushrooms and stir fry until meat is cooked..Stir in the cooked bacon..
13)Season with the Campbell Soup Mix (to be diluted with water first)..Amount to be added depend on individual taste and amount of the meat used..
14)Brush a baking dish lightly with some oil..
15)Pour in the meat mixture as the base..
16)Next add in the mashed potatoes as the top layer..spread the mashed potatoes over the meat mixutre evenly..
17)Lastly, sprinkle desired amount of cheese on top of the mashed potatoes..
18)Bake at 200 degrees for about 5 - 8 mins depending on the individual oven heating speed..

 

[ann]

lyn, the last trip we stayed at mayang sari and we chose the seaview chalet, open the door and the sea is infront on us...nice! But don't like their air-con, stayed there twice and their air-con is always not cold. Heard from my hb friend that Bintan lagoon beach is nicer than nirwana area. The next trip my hb wanna try Angsana resort.

furry, didn't get to say hi to you and some of the new members... so you're working in shanghai?

 

[happysunflower]

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[happysunflower]

gohong,
Thanks for sharing the recipe

annlee,
I see... I stayed in Mayang Sari before

I kinda prefer Nirwana gardens to Bintan Lagoon cos I dun play golf. I like the infinity pool at Nirwana garden hotel. This time is ging with dh's friends. 3 families with kids! Gonna be interesting. One wife cannot cook... Now thinking easy to prepare kind of food. Any ideas?

 

[little_cat]

Sop, i gave my two boys pacifier. I dun like the idea initially, but kind of no choice as they can't settle down without it. I only give them when they want to sleep, once they are sleeping, i will take out.

Abt the Picnic :
Date : 24/March/07
Time : 9 am to 12 noon
Venue : Botanic Garden
* exact location will advice thru SMS, pm me your contact if you confirm going.

Lyn, good idea to bring our own utensils.
Take care of your back

 

[ann]

lyn, I stayed at nirwana gardens too but hb prefer the beach .... about the food, how about bbq? Do they have bbq pit over at Bintan lagoon villa? Read other forum that they do bbq at banyu villa and is fun!

oh yes....take care of your back and somemore gotta travel soon....ask your hb to massage your back lah hee.....

 

[little_cat]

Back to Picnic, pleaes pm either Cookiemonster or myself if you are joining.

 

[sweets]

Lyn, we honeymooned at Banyan tree....*eyes glazes over with bliss*....sigh..it was heavenly...but now bo liao lor...

Annlee, yes, working here in SH...DH doesn't allow me to stay home leh...says must work to earn my keep LOL

 

[sophie]

lyn,
Can I check with you - you didn't express any milk out and bottle feed your ds yeah? You only latched?
Did your ds latch continuously during the first 2 mths?

I went back for follow-up appt today and was a little disappointed. They didn't know what I was there for, altho they were the ones who asked me to go back for follow-up. Then they made me tell them the whole history again, and don't have any concrete plans/solutions for me except that I still don't have enough milk, to continue supplementing and express out.
I asked if supplementing (at every feed!) so much will sabotage my milk ss, and they only said reduce the FM yourself.
Now I feel like they made me supplement so much FM and now tell me to clear this mess myself!

Sorry for the grouses gals....

 

[krisjoy]

Gohong,
Thanks for the recipe. Will try it out sometime ;p

Littlecat,
Thanks for organising the picnic. Timing too early for me cos need to go new place to do cleaning...I'll join in the next gathering then. Do take pictures and post them for us to see!

 

[ann]

littlecat, Can't make it for the picnic, is too rush for me. Will look forward for the next gathering! Remember to take picture.

sophie, What is the check up for? don't stress about the milk the supply, try to let baby latch more and 2nd-3rd month the flow will increase.

furry, I also stayed banyan tree in bintan but not pool villa, those standard jacuzzi type... that was 8 yrs ago, at that time still single can afford but now with family cannot spend on those luxury liao...

Oh....you're working in shanghai...same to your hb? My hb came back from shanghai and beijing last 2 weeks and is so cold... In beijing his lip dries up and slight crack quite badly when return to sg. So I presume you need lotsa rich moisturizer over there.

 

[sweets]

Sop, Do take some time to read this site which I found really helpful during my up/down days in initial bfing : Kellymom.com

Bascially adhere to the demand = supply rule..the more baby latches, the more supply there will be. So baby at this time may latch every hour, my cub latched every other hour, for 1 hour each time for the first 1.5 months, until she learnt how to suck effectively as she grew. Its a learning process for both her and you. Poor thing, how come they don't have history charts to jot down your BFing situation? wierd...

Annlee, yes, very dry here...BJ is even dryer as its up north. We stock up on Dermaveen, an anti itch moisturiser whenever we are back home in SG

Yes, my husband works here too ..in fact its cos of him that's why we're here. He's been here 8 yrs already.

I miss BTree too ... hehehe now no time to go for such enjoyment liao...

 

[happysunflower]

annlee,
Yes, they do have BBQ pit, but they dun seem interested in BBQ

I feel like telling them to eat out for 1-2 meals. Cos I dun really wanna be cooking all day for everyone..
Banyu villas are within Nirwana gardens.
My back is much better now

I went for accupuncture treatment twice, and a few times of "burning" my back which is my dad's "zhu chuan mi fang".


Littlecat,
I have PMed you

Sop,
First 2 months, I will pump and latch. I pump out when I felt engorged to relieve. After 2 months, 100% latch. I find that pumping will cause me painful nipples plus leaking nipples, so I dun prefer to pump. We will yield lesser milk than we have if we pump too. I read somewhere that the difference in amount of milk is 1oz, comparing pumping and latching. For my case, the engorgement and milk supply stabilise after 3 months

I only supplement for the first 2 weeks. After that, no more supplement FM. For me, I latch hourly when ds needed to be fed hourly. I tolerated with the sore nipples then. My milk supply also went up and down till after 3 months. When I got engorged, and did not pump out, the supply will decrease the next day. When I keep latching and drink lots of lotus root soup, eat oatmeal, I will get engorgement again after 2-3 days. After 3 months, then supply stabilise.
Jia you oo! I am sure you will succeed in breastfeeding. Just persevere on

 

[happysunflower]

.

 

[ann]

lyn, the reason I ask you about the bbq so that you don't have to cook hee... but some ppl wanted to go there to noah or relax so don't really wanna bbq. But for you to cook most meals will take out some of your precious time to enjoy and relax so better to eat out ... for me sure will go for their seafood and if you really wanna cook then do some simple meal like pasta or curry and get some bread. Don't cook all the meals lah...

 

[flower_kitten]

hi all,

i cook laksa yesterday nite

Ingredients:
Rice Vermicelli & Instant Laksa Paste
Tau Pok and Fish Cake
Beansprouts
Fresh Coconut Milk
Fishball
Hardboiled Eggs

Preparation:
Boil rice vermicelli and bean sprouts..
Slice the half-boiled egg..

Method:
1) Lightly fry the Instant Laksa Paste with some oil in a pot until fragnant..
2) Add sufficient amount of water and stir evenly until gravy boils..
3) Add in fresh coconut milk, stir evenly until gravy boils..
4) Add in tau pok and fishcake and bring to a boil..
5) In a bowl, add the boiled vermicelli and beansprouts..
6) Pour in the laksa gravy and arrange the rest of the ingredients nicely..
7) Sprinkle some laksa leaf on top..

I fogot to buy laksa leaf though..

 

[krisjoy]

Gohong,
Really 'xian mu' you...now preggie and can still cook delicious food and have to look after your twins! How did u manage that?

 

[zzzcookiemonster]

Gohong,
I am lured by yr food again leh.
Always Very yummy looking.

Pris,
thanks a lot for the bread recipe. hope i will have some time to try out soon.
Don't know why I cannot access yr blog anymore. It always tell state that 'view might not exist or access to it may be restricted'.
Yr ds very talented in crafts. All the things he did are so nice.

Nancy,
Thanks for explaining how to deal with the biting.
Called the the lactation consultant. They told me to press the lower chin of the baby down whenever he bites and tell him in a stern voice 'No biting, its painful'. Think its helps as baby no longer biting. But for that few days whenever i told him off, he will cry abit.

Furry,
u at pudong or puxi?
heard that in pudong have got kindergarten run by singaporean.

 

[nls]

Hi Gohong!
Yummy looking laksa!

zzzcookiemonster,
Yah at first they do protest and sometimes they forget too! So you just have to be persistent and also reminding after some time all will be well! Happy bfing!

 

[little_cat]

hi Lyn, i have PM u my mobile# cos i check my email, didn't see any email leh...

Picnic:
The list of attendees:

Cookiemonster (sandwich) [2 adult + 1 baby]
Lyn (fruits) [2 adult + 1 baby](?)
Nancy (vege buns) (how many persons)
Little cat (fried beehoon) [3 adults,1kid,1baby]

Ambrosial(hates the sun!!..ok got it, so r u going?)

Nancy, PM u my contact liao...

 

[nls]

<font color="ff6000"><font size="+2">HELP!</font></font> Can someone help me, the 1/2 person Thermos Thermal pot that I bought is not able to cook nuts thoroughly! Why??? 1 heating and 10 hours and the nuts are still kind of hard. How??? Today I soak the nut since last night, but don't know if it will be cooked soft or not. All the nuts are meant for ds so must be soft so that she can chew...

 

[ann]

Here is so quiet and suddenly I saw one big HELP word!!

Nancy, how long did you look the nuts? The nuts must be pre cooked till 60-70% soft or more then transfer to thermo pot to get it even softer.
I used to cook black bean chicken soup, cook for abt 25mins till the chicken is totally cooked and then transfer to thermopot for few hours. The black bean is still abit hard, but is ok for me cos i don't eat the beans.

 

[nls]

Hi Annlee,
Hah you mean must cook till 60% then use thermal pot ah? Don't it defeats the purpose of using thermal pot to cook without fire??? How like that my ds's beans must be well cooked or else she will 'give it' back to you leh... I will try out your method now! Thanks!

 

[happysunflower]

annlee,
Any ideas how to cook seafood in the most simple way? If wanna grill, how to season?

zzzcookie,
You bb biting you now ah? Does he has teeth already? My DS also bit me, but not anymore now. I screamed and he cried, then I told him "it hurts mama when you bite". Then thank him when he did not bite

Seems to work for me... Now he dun bite me already, unless he fell asleep and "bu siao xing" closed his mouth.

littlecat,
For me is 2 adults and 1 baby

.

 

[happysunflower]

Nancy,
What about boiling them for 15-20 minutes, then transfer to pot for 2 hours, then take out and boil again then transfer to pot again?
Maybe Van or Sophie can advice you more on thermal pot...

 

[nls]

Is everyone very busy? Not much tips about the thermal pot cooking nuts?

By the way I wish to know if you all know where I can buy kids apron (the type for them to use during craft/drawing)? Thanks!

 

[iceystarz]

hi ladies...

sorry, i cant join u all for e picnic liaoz... cos hb usually work overnite from Fri to Sat.. n this particular Sat he cant come back early.. he'll only b back ard 11+am.. so cant rush there in time... u all enjoy, n take some photos to share here hor.....

nancy,
eh, how soft do u need e nuts to be?? cos for my case, we usually boil peanut & black beans soup... wash & soak e beans in warm water abt 1hr before cooking.. boil over e stove for 30mins... transfer to thermal pot abt 4-5hrs.. then we'll boil again for another 30mins.. n put into e thermal pot another round.. as and when we r having dinner we'll take liaoz... e beans not VERY soft type.. but quite soft liaoz...

 

[ann]

Nancy, starz method is good too....sometimes I'll boil every 3hrs to make the food softer.

lyn, not sure about seasoning cos I don't grill. Or buy those hoisin to season. I've seen on the TV, the chef only put salt and pepper to grill the seafood.

 

[nls]

Hi Starz,
I need it to be quite soft so that ds can eat. Ds do not have a lot of teeth only 9 teeth. Also the multi colour beans, the smaller ones take a long time to get soft even on slow cooker.

Anyway, I did like what AnnLee says and boil for some time and put in the thermal pot repeat and repeat 3 times. My ds has just finish eating the bigger beans okay but the small beans (like dhal) still hard, she just give it back to me loh.

I soak the beans for cooking tomorrow today and will try again and see what's the best method to cook, will update the result.

Annlee,
You have got mail!

 

[sweets]

Nancy, depends on what fish you grill. For Saba and some Jappy fish (not sure what name), I normally just wash and very very lightly put a few drops of soya sauce (jap). Grill and sometimes squeeze a lemon after its done.

Sometimes we place nuts (like sliced almonds?) or sliced lemons on top of the fish to grill. If the fish is fresh, don't need too much seasoning. You can also try those Japanese marinades? Sold in small plastic bottles to brush on.

Annalise, hi...never "met" you before but wow...those trays are SOOO cute !!

 

[flower_kitten]

krisjoy - i think it's because i cook simple meal and now my gers are more well-behaved so i have the time to cook

zzzcookiemonster & nancy - thanks for your compliments

 

[flower_kitten]

hi hi,

some of the stuff which i made over the past few days..

Mee Pok Dry..

Konnyaku Jelly

 

[happysunflower]

Gohong,
Wah.. you are very "on" in cooking. Good good... Better to eat homecooked food

. Ever since baby was born, I hardly cook anything interesting. Now I "eat to live" only.

Nancy,
Can share with me what kind of beans do you give your DS? Are you a vegetarian?
I will not be giving my DS meat and fish for now. I dunno when to introduce beans though. When did you start to introduce beans?

 

[little_cat]

Nancy, my method is closed to starz, soak the beans first before cooking. Then if u want it really soft repeat few time.

starz, may be we can arrange one indoor one later.

gohong, like your jelly! what u put inside? cos one glance like 2 tone colour.


Picnic:
The list of attendees:

Cookiemonster (sandwich) [2 adult + 1 baby]
Lyn (fruits) [2 adult + 1 baby]
Nancy (vege buns) (how many persons?)
Little cat (fried beehoon) [3 adults,1kid,1baby]

Ambrosial(hates the sun!!..ok got it, so r u going?)

annelise, r u joining us ?

nice ice cube, but i try to discourage my ds to take ice, if i get those then he got more excuse liao...

lyn, i try grilling big prawn (those i bought during CNY), with chop garlic, salt, oil & oyster sauce. Stir them well, cut open the top part of the prawn, stuff them in, grill till cooked.

 

[waterbibi]

LittleCat,

giving the picnic a miss because i really cannot tahan heat.

 

[nls]

Littlecat,
I think I cannot go to the picnic now as ds coming down with fever again!

Don't know why recently she's always sick (is it because I let her walk in the sun?).

By the way I think Gohong put Nata De Coco in her konnyaku jelly.

Lyn,
Yes, we are vegetarians. I started giving her beans after she's 12 mths. I give my ds, kidney red beans, multi-coloured beans (prepacked - 5 colours I think), lima beans, cashew and almond.

 

[flower_kitten]

lyn - ya lor..i got to cook to satisfy my craving leh..coz sometime easier to cook then go buy lah..

littlecat - i put nata de coco and a kind of seed..i called it black seeds inside the jelly

nancy - you guess it correctly..

 

[little_cat]

gohogn, oh the kiwi seed.. it really looks yummy to me

i remember last time I put that in, my DS say, i dun want the one with 'ants'.. faintz...
U so good can cook whatever food u crave. I remember last time my first PG i was so busy with morning sickness can't really cook.
The 2nd time is better, esp towards to 2nd and 3rd tris, happy cooking.

nancy, no worry, u take good care of her. We can always organize again. No lah, walk in the sun won't give her fever.

Now i know where and when to organize for gathering liao
- no sun
- not too early

hmm.. think BBQ at nite is good for all? may be some will say, i hate mosquito... keke!

i try giving my baby apple juice (dilute with water), and use spoon to feed him. He likes it and keep wanting more... but since it is first time we only give abit then he complain...

 

[happysunflower]

littlecat,
hmm... grill prawns with chopped garlic, salt and oyster sauce sounds easy and good

Maybe I will grill for the rest to eat. Thank you

Nancy,
Can share with me some recipes of vegetarian cooking?
I only know how to boil mixed beans soup, and I eat without sugar and salt. I just add whatever I can find in my cupboard... kekeke...
Do you cook the kidney red beans, multi colored beans, lima, cashew and almond all in one go? Or separately? Where do you buy the multi colored beans?

 

[flower_kitten]

littlecat - your DS so cute

..i agree with you..i was also very ill with morning sickness for my 1st pregnancy..2nd pregnancy is definitely better for me

 

[krisjoy]

Annelise,
Welcome back! Hope you enjoyed your trlp!

Littlecat,
BBQ sounds good to me. Gathering at anyone's house here is also good ;p

Gohong,
Your mee pok looks like the hawker version. How did u make the sauce to toss the noodles? Aso, does your noodles have the starch taste? I remembered making wanton noodles a few years back and the noodles has that starch taste leh...

 

[starry]

Morning ladies,

Picnic sound good but too sad me not able to join this round. I still not in town.

Sophie, long time never hear fm u liao. doing well?

annelise, great trip and hv fun hor.

 

[sweets]

Gohong, share your meepok recipe please. Its something I really miss here and have not found a replacement yet.

 

[happysunflower]

twinkle,
Where are you? How long will you be out of town?

littlecat, zzzcookie,
I will be bringing grapes, and plum. I just went grocery shopping yesterday. Any other preference?