Just sharing - Never fried your OREO if you really LOVE them!

Last weekend, my lovely niece told me that

she tasted a new snack when she visited

a snack bar after a movie with her friends.

It's "Deep fried Oreo" and according to her

it's absolutely amazing!

My kids love Oreo and I love to try new stuff...

So, this afternoon we tried out that "recipe"

I goggled a little about the how to...

Sound super simple and easy

After few minutes...

The warm crunchy pieces are in front of the kids...

Not as easy as it looks...Near failed... heart sausage sunny side up!

How hard can it be to make a sunny side up egg

and a sausage for breakfast?

Well, I nearly failed it!

No, I'm not kidding you...it the picture Jojo me that kidding me...

It's "MISLEAD" me that it easy enough for kids to make it!

This is the one I'm talking about...

A sunny side up framed with heart shaped sausage.

source

It don't have any instruction...

So, I "assume" that it should be slice the sausage in half,

leave a bit uncut at one end...bead it around and 'pinned' with a toothpick...

placed into the pan and crack an egg into the hollow heart shape, right?

NO and Nope!  The sausage got 'split' at the uncut 'end' and even I pinned

both ends with 'toothpick's it still not staying in the right shape and got 'tilted' too!

(I know, how can I describe a 'process' that easy into a DISASTER?)

And the helpful tips from the source...select the sausage that's more softer

so it would shape easily...Oh dear, I bought my sausages from frozen dept!!!

Anyway, with my lack of patience and experience (luckily Jojo and Mei Mei

were beside me, they so look forward for the result...if not...I could have

swallow those sausages raw!) I get a little help with a tools.

A round easy fried mold

Yup...that's save all the toothpicks and the tilted problem.

How you like that...make a heart shape from a round mold!

...and it's works!  Easy Peasy!

(this one...I cut the sausage into quaters...4 long strips

so the egg is kind of 'overflowed'  Mei Mei prefers less sausage!)

MeiJo's 10 Top Rated Bento : Feb ~ April 2013

Our 'judges' have listed their favorite bentos for Feb~April.

Here they are in random order!

(p/s : Mom need to take note that these bento sets

should be prepared at least 2 times within a month!)

#1

Layered mini pancakes with chocolate and peanuts butter.

Stir fried nuggets in sweet n sour sauce served with nori and rice.

#2

Sushi rice balls in animal shapes.

(Mom take note : try to make smiling faces if possible!)

#3

Have you tried fried cauliflower with cheese powder?

I know this is not the first time I share about fried cauliflower...

but have you tried adding some cheese powder into the flour mixture?

It's super duper delicious good

(This is Mei Mei and Jojo comments)

They already have cauliflower with crab filament fried 

on Monday, Wednesday and Friday's bento...

but still want me to repeat.

This is one of their favoritesbento  set for school.

What you do when the weather is hot and your car is like an oven?

I'm not sure about you...

But I ...

I make the best of it...

In fact... I made YOGURT!!!

Tadaaa!!!

My very first homemade yogurt!!!

Not 100% 'home'made...( I'll explain below)

but...truly 100% made by me!

In love with bear...for breakfast!

I always fond of bear since I was a kid

I have dozens of toy bears,

from miniature to gigantic ones.

Bears make me 'beary' happy.

So, today I want to share with you a easy quick beary breakfast

my girls and I love.

There are 'bears' in my bento!!! Easy Bear Bento...

Jojo is always fond of teddy bears...

and recently she really in love with a "rilakkuma"

source

Bento challenge week 2 Thursday & Friday

Hi!  It's easy to start on something...but it could be hard to 'continue'...

Making bento every school days...is not easy...

To all the moms who prepared lunch for your kids to school everyday...

I give you all....all the stars I see from the sky!!!

You all are THE GREATES!!!!

So here comes what I did for the last two days of last week...

For Thursday

Tuna in mayos on potato chips!

Yes, I actual 'pack' chips for the kids!!!

with some rice balls and panda biscuits.

Cheap and useful bento's tools to make your lunch box "WOW"

Thanks for coming by again...

After a week of 'struggling' with my kids' school bento (packed lunch)...

with no so 'consistent' performance...

This week, I started to get 'more prepared'.

I buy some 'tools' to make the bento look more fun and joyful to eat.

Bento 's tools #1

Bento challenge week #2 : Wednesday

Now, I think I'm getting mad about bento preparation...

Every night before sleep...I'll check the fridge to see

what I can prepare for bento the next day.

So, today ... I'm cooking some cauliflower with sausages!

boil some cauliflower for a minute

Bento challenge...week #2- Monday

This bento's thing is really add some pressure into my daily routines.

I never know preparing bento will occupied so much time and most of all ... the 'brain work'.

I don't mean the preparing time (cooking time)...

What I mean is the time it take to figure out what to prepare for the next day!!!

Oh my!... This is hard.

I did try to look through the bento ideas from Google image bank...

but...they all... all...are so cute...especially those in bear shapes...

but NOT REALISTIC for me!

You must be kidding me...There are REAL moms that 

REALLY prepare these type of bento for their kids!!!!!!

I think I need to attend a SPECIAL CLASS even about

making the bear 'EYES' 'EARS'......

Ok...let's come back to the REAL world.

Evey morning, I prepare breakfast for the kids...

and after breakfast I started to prepare lunch...

and now after prepare lunch...I need to prepare 'bento' for them to bring to school...

which is after lunch...

I don't want to spend my whole morning in the kitchen!!!

I need a fast and easy..yet healthy and 'acceptable' 'proper' bento!!!

So... this is what I did for today.

It's a simple and light one because today the school ends earlier

they will just a short tea break

content :  A cup of yogurt, a pack of tomato stick and a peanut butter sandwich with 'surprise'!

So, what's the suprise?

Bento...Bento...Bento...for school!

I'm a lazy mom...and a lousy cook...

and not very creative in dealing with food!

That's why...I hardly prepare 'bento' (lunch pack) for Jojo

when she starts to go to primary school.

But this year, since Mei Mei is joining Jojo to school...

and after judging the food sale in their school canteen...

I think, I would like to challenge myself to be a 'better' mom this year...

-by prepare some 'mother-love-bento' for the girls to bring to school...

so, they can have some fun when they are eating together during the breaks.

Day # 1...Bento # 1...close to failed!

The first day for school...even though I've try my best to make all the perfect...

there always something 'weird' happens.

Such as...

1.  The rice cooker went down suddenly...

2.  The lunch is late...

3.  Mei Mei and Jojo mixed up their uniform...
4.  Mei Mei misplaced her name tag...
(all first years were given name tag for easier identification)

So... my last minutes bento...

all the packet snacks I can find on hand...

A pack of tomato sticks, panda's biscuit and buns with sausage.

rated by MeiJo : 1 star ( forgot to put mayonnaise in the bun...too dry)

My 'pumpkin' project...

Pumpkin seems to fill the pages of Pinterest lately

Jojo and I can't help but to try our hands

to do something related to 'it'.

And we did a minutes DIY today...

I always adore decor in small scale

So, in the beginning, 

we try to source some some baby pumpkin

from local stores and markets...

But...no luck.

And pumpkins are not cheap too..

So, this morning when I was busy filled up the groceries stock in the kitchen

Jojo gave me a big shout when she came into the kitchen.

"MOM!!! PUMPKIN!  BABY PUMPKIN!"

I was thinking "What the ...until I saw what she was pointing at...

Those white garlic I just bought from the market.

Yes, some of them do have the looks of a mini size pumpkin

and with the help of some imagination ... I guess it's possible...

'Sunflower' egg side up!

I've seen a few fun sunny egg side up preparing

using capsium rings and onion rings too!  

They are so cute...but my little ones don't like those vege!

So, this is what I make for breakfast today...

A 'Sunflower' egg side up!

Not perfect... but the kids love it!

A sunny side up circled by sausage ring!

I cut the sausage in halve and make some small cuts at one side.

Actually, I want to add some garnish for the photo shoot...

but they all gone within minutes.

Hope you love this simple idea.

See you !

Love

PC

Busy...in the kitchen

After married for 12 years... this is the first time ...I make Chinese New Year snack!  Yes...I know...what a shame!  But everyone have their first time right?  Better be late than never!

This snack I'm about to show you is my favorite...only favorite during Chinese New Year and the main ingredient can only available during this time of the year.  It's Arrowhead or more commonly known as "Ngaku" here in Malaysia among the Chinese, Indians or Malays! And this is what it look like...

I 'borrow' this picture from "Table for 2 or more"  I misplace mine somewhere else...

The instruction is so simple, you just need to peel the skin and slice it onto the hot oil!

Deep fry for a minute or two and done!

You can get more details instruction from my sifu - Wendy in above link...

And this is my result Arrowhead chips!

Yum! Yum!  Have a bite?

Oh dear...another 5 days before Chinese New Year...

Gotta go...

Clean

Organize

Shop

Love

PC

Roselle Flower for Christmas ?

I came across Robin's post about Fun and Beautiful Jamaica Tea in her blog - Robin's Road, and found out the Jamaica flower she mentioned is actually what we call Roselle in Malaysia....And I happened to have this plant in my garden.  I just got my 1st harvest few days ago...

 Roselle juice is simply delicious and healthy. Rich in antioxidants and healing properties.

  You can find a very clear step by step instruction on how to prepare the juice in Robin's post.

The drink looked pretty too, like a good red wine.

Robin suggest this might be a good beverage for Christmas time

The nuts which contain seeds are left to dry indoor, There should be a lot of them.   

I'll be glad to do giveaways....For know who interested please let me know!

Have a blessed day!

Love

PC

Oyster sauce + Tomato ketchup = Kung Pao sauce!

I like to cook, but I hate to clean up after the job...5 minutes cooking = 15 minutes cleaning + 15 minutes mopping and another 15 minutes cleanup after eating!

But still, I love to cook.  Simple and easy recipe always please the lazy me!

Today, I want to share with you another simple recipe = Kung Pao Chicken ( or Gong Pau...anyway you spell it... in Chinese is 宫保).

Original recipe                                                                My way

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs Boneless Chicken Breast - cut into small cubes          5 chicken wings + 5 drummet
3 stalks Celery - sliced                                                                    Any veggie in fridge (carrot, broccoli, etc)
1 large Red or Green Pepper - sliced                                           Garlic - minced
1/2 cup Cashew Nuts                                                                      Ginger - sliced
3 cloves Garlic - minced                                                                 Scallions or Onions
3 Dried Chili - crushed
1 stalk of Scallions - cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Sauce Ingredients                                                                    
4 tbsp Rice Wine                                                                           4tbsp Hoison / Oyster sauce
4 tbsp Hoison Sauce                                                                     1tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp Bean Curd Paste                                                               1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp Black Bean Sauce                                                              2 drop of dark soy sauce (for color)
2 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Cornstarch
1 tbsp Red Pepper flakes

Marinade Ingredients
2 tbsp Cornstarch                                                                        boil fresh chicken meat in milk for 5 minutes
2 tbsp Rice Wine
2 tsp Baking Soda






Method


1.  Brown the chicken on pan
2.  Add in ginger and scallions / onions and any veggie you may want to add (if use broccoli - boil it first and garnish when done)
3.  When the veggie soften, add the all the sauce ingredients, quick stir for seconds and add in some water.  
4.  Dish up with the sauce boiled and thickening.

I hope you enjoy this 5 minutes instant recipe of mine!

love

PC

Do you "Dim Sum"?

It's been a long time since I last share you something from the kitchen.  Well, I did cook a few dishes, but just didn't manage to snap the photos as there're guests around the house...(Did I told you my far away aunt come over for a short stay and my In-Law come over too?) I guess it's not polite to ask the guests to stop thieir chopsticks and let me a photo session of the dishes!  Wouldn't it?

Anyway, I made a 'small snack' during the tea time yesterday, and I managed to keep a few to share with you. This is what I made...it's not perfect but it's easy, simple and Yum Yum!

It's steam chicken and shrimp dumpling.  It's a kind of "Dim Sum". 

Dim Sum is is a Cantonese term for snack. However, dim sum more typically refers to a style of Chinese food prepared as small bite-sized or individual portions of food, traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates.  Dim Sum if direct translate from Cantonese means "Touching (Dim) Heart (Sum)", it most favorable especially among the elders Chinese people.  Normally, we have Dim Sum for breakfast but it could be brunch or late supper! Normally, we will say to go for "Yum Cha" - Drink Tea, when we go to a dim sum restaurant.




For the recipe..I got this one from http://rasamalaysia.com a local food website, you can find all sort of Malaysian cuisines here.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb chicken thigh (deboned and skinless)
8 medium shrimp (peeled, deveined, and diced into small pieces)
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
2 dashes white pepper
1/2 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 tablespoon egg white
A pinch of salt
Round wonton skin
Carrot and some black fungus (finely chopped) and peas 

Method:

Using a mini food processor, ground the chicken but make sure that it’s corsely ground. Mix the chicken with other ingredients and seasonings and set aside in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Place about a tablespoon of filling on each wrapper, wrap up the whole thing or any dumpling shape you familiar with.  Steam for about 5 minutes. Serve hot.  (The wonton skin dry easily when cold off so better enjoy when it's warm, I love mine with some chili sauce!)


*P/S - My aunt 'redo' the dim sum the next day...she said the dim sum wrapping with wonton skip should be wrap this way...Hmm... she is using the same ingredient and the method I mentioned above...but some how, it taste much nicer!  I still got a lot to learn....

Eat * Love * Enjoy

PC

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