Baby Girls Diary

MSLS at 27 months

2012-02-04T23:54:00.005-08:00

MS is 13.5kg, while LS is 13.2kg.
LS is diaperless now. Wheareas MS just wear it during night time.
During daytime, they will pee or poo in their potty o toilet without asking our assitance. Quite independent on this. They will say " shh shh..." or "xiao bian " for pee, and "da bian" or " chou chou" for poo.
Have their milk 3 - 4 times per day ( after afternoon nap, before sleep, during midnight, sometimes early in the morning ). Lately LS always ask for milk for twice before bedtime ( after we went into bedroom, and after our reading time ), maybe it is due to we gave her milk frequently when she was having fever recently.
Daily diet consists of bread/ oat with sliced bananas or raisin, fruit juice for breakfast, porridge or rice before afternoon nap, fruits/ bread/ yogurt/ bean during tea time, and rice or noodles for dinner. They requested for rice during dinner and does not want to have porridge anymore. LS is more picky while MS will eat most of the food that we offered.
They know how to wear their shoes, pants, learning how to wear their shirts, and put on the buttons. Especially LS, she tols me she is a big girl now, she wanted to try and wear her shirt by herself.
They loves to brush their teeth, morning and night.
Will demand for what to wear, for examples wanted to wear skirt instead of pants.
Sometimes they will be fighting, when this happened, mummy will asked them to " share share". Most of the time, it works. They will immediately change into " sharing" mode.
They are friendly to people most of the times, by saying " hello".
They can spoon-feed themselves.
Start talking in sentence now. Always like to echo what we are saying. Start having decent conversation and will reply what we asked.
Like to draw on blank paper, with circle or straight line. When I asked them what are they drawing, they will reply back " snake... big house... ship...etc"
Like to play " masak masak" and start enjoy playing lego.
When you asked them questions, sometimes they will say " hmmmm...", like they are thinking of a perfect answer to reply.
When they are reading, they will point at the pictures and mumble some words, as if they are telling the stories.

Apple butter cake

2012-02-04T23:31:00.001-08:00

The girls wanted a cake for their breakfast as I had not been baking cakes for awhile. Just bake a simple butter cake add in with apple cubes for a different flavour. As usual, they like it and request for more...

What you need:
190g butter
140g sugar
3 eggs
190g all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder ( sifted )
3 tablespoons fresh milk
1 green apple ( cut into 1cm X 1cm cube )

What you do:
(1) Add sugar into butter and mix with low speed till smooth and light yellowish.
(2) Add in egg, one at a time, and mix well after each addtion.
(3) Add in flour in three addition.
(4) Mix fresh milk with the batter.
(5) Add in apples.
(6) Pour the batter into a 9 inche baking tray.

(7) Put the tray into the preheated oven ( 180 C or 356 F ) for about 35 minutes or till the surface turned brownish.

An outing to the library

2012-02-02T23:25:00.001-08:00

MSLS went to library this afternoon. They love to go to this machine, to scan for books that they are borrowing.

Before fetching ES, we WENT for a walk at the park next to the library. The weather was not so cold this afternoon, around 9 degree C.

Watching ducks swimming in the pond... Chasing for ducks and screaming loudly as too excited.

It was only 5pm, and the day started to turn dark.

Natural yeast smokehaus blue cheese bread

2012-02-02T23:15:00.001-08:00

Bought a blue cheese during my grocery shopping, thought of using it to add into salad. However, after trying it once, think it is not a good idea as the smell is too strong. What to do with the remaining? I tried putting some into our daily bread, and it gave a great aroma to the bread after baking.

Coated the bread with roasted rolled oat with honey.

Chinese New Year 2012

2012-01-25T00:23:00.001-08:00

We are away from home for CNY this year. We just had a simple celebration with friends. Two days before Chinese New Year, we brought the girls to Umajimaya for the lion dance presentation, to get the "feel" of cny. ES & LS enjoyed it but MS....

She called for help when the lion came to her.

We bought a live dungeness crab for our pre reunion dinner.

The girls were excited to see the live dungeness crab is still moving.

On CNY eve, we attended ES's friend, YJ's party. The girls enjoyed themselve as it is party time again!

At night, we went for a steamboat reunion dinner with daddy's friends.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Happy dragon year from MS! She is getting ready for a dim sum lunch on the first day of cny.

We cooked some simple dishes for dinner during first day of cny.

There was not much of cny atmosphere here. To make it more like cny, I prepared some fried nian gao on the second day. Using low protein flour, baking powder, salad oil and water as the batter, it makes the fried nian gao more crispier than the one that I prepared previously.

We continue our adventure on dim sum lunch with JY's family at WK restaurant on day 2. The dim sum taste much more better than yesterday's and more choices.

恭祝大家新年快乐，万事如意，身体健康！

ES at gymnastics class

2012-01-20T22:54:00.000-08:00

ES went for her gymnastics class once a week. These are taken during her recent lesson.

A birthday gift from MY

2012-01-19T23:28:00.000-08:00

ES received her birthday gift from postman today. It was sent by gong gong, popo, and our three lovely ah yi. Excited! opening her present!

Wow, what is that?

A 3D birthday card!

She received a barbie doll, hair clips ( already pin on her hair ), and a birthday card. She was so happy and she took the barbie along to sleep with her just now.
Thanks for the surprise! from ES...

Breakfast with Mickey and friends

2012-01-19T23:19:00.001-08:00

After exploring Disneyland Park on day 2, we woke up early on day 3 as the girls were excited about The Surf's Up at Disneyland Paradise Pier Hotel! Breakfast with Mickey & Friends is a lively Character Dining experience that features a bountiful breakfast buffet filled with morning delights. The girls snap photos, practice hula hooping and hang ten with some of their favorite Disney Characters, eg: Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto! Scrumptious breakfast specialties include flatbreads from the wood-burning oven, grilled breast of chicken with roasted garlic sauce and signature chilaquiles with shredded beef, salsa verde and queso fresco. All I can said is " you must try this!"

ES requested Goofy to sign on her autograph book.

We had a birthday celebration for the twins too. The staff prepared two piece of Mickey cake and sang happy birthday song to them.

Day 3 was a day to explore Disney California Adventure Park.

Here we are at the Francis' Ladybug Boogie. Ah Ma and ES climbed onto the "back" of one of the ladybugs. As the music starts to jitterbug, they whirled under the colorful canopy past a giant, old-fashioned 45 rpm record. The ladybug not just spin to the music but it grooves on a figure 8 track!

The girls love this Heimlich's Chew Chew Train. We ride around the track as this talkative Bavarian caterpillar invites us on a smell-icious journey through his favorite food!

Chew, Heimlich, Chew!

The hilarious Heimlich winds his way through one snack after another. Smell each snack as he chomps through every delectable tidbit: watermelon, carrots, candy corns and more! He's not particularly "chew-sy" about what he likes to eat. His belly seems to be bottomless!

Army Cargo is out!

ES with daddy go on a ride while MSLS taking a nap in their stroller.

We went back to Disneyland Park later in the evening as there was a light and water show - World of Color.

While waiting for the World of Color, we went into The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventure for three times! The girls loved it!!We went through an ornate 86-foot-long, hand-painted mural as we climbed aboard a giant clam shell and slowly descend below the waves to an underwater world teeming with movement, color and magic. This elaborate "Omnimover"-style ride features high-energy songs, state-of-the-art Audio Animatronics characters and immersive special effects that transport us inside scenes from the animated classic.

On our voyage, we found an ocean of favorite characters from the film including Ariel, Prince Eric, Sebastian, Flounder, Scuttle and even the wicked sea witch Ursula—towering over us at 7.5-feet tall and 12-feet wide!

In addition to the astounding sights, there were some unforgettable songs from the film, including "Part of Your World," "Under the Sea," "Poor Unfortunate Souls" and "Kiss the Girl".

Birthday card from Su Wei Auntie

2012-01-18T23:41:00.000-08:00

ES received her first birthday card ( by post ) today. Although she received it after her birthday, she is still very excited about it.

Why? because it is a little princess birthday card.

She loves it so much as she even bring it to the bathroom during bath time!

Almond cookies

2012-01-18T23:31:00.000-08:00

The girls were busy making some Chinese New Year cookies, almond cookies this afternoon. The recipe that I referred to is actually for peanut cookies. Since there are no peanuts at home, we substitude the peanut with almond. The girls spent almost an hour on making the almond cookies. They enjoyed the session very much as they are allowed to help up.

Made by ES.

Our final product. It is easy to made, yet delicious and melting in your mouth ( Do not overbake it. If not, it will become harden. )

We also received a chinese new year greeting card from Su Wei auntie this afternoon. Thank you!

It's snowing

2012-01-16T23:48:00.005-08:00

Yesterday, It was snowing early in the morning. Not much, it was less than one inche. This is the photos taken while we were on the way to church.

The girls wanted to play with the snow...

Snow covering leaves in front of our house

Continue snowing this afternoon...

MS was so excited and viewing the snow from the window.

What the girls did during a snowing afternoon? MS pretend to be a doctor and doing a body check up with LS.

Hand in hand...

2012-01-13T22:51:00.002-08:00

Few days back, after MSLS's afternoon nap, I heard footsteps from upstairs. The two girls were holding their hand and walking down together.... Haha, sometimes they can be so " good " to each other, and sometimes they do fight for stuff.

They walked to the living room and sat down in front of the christmas tree, talking to each other.

LS is telling a joke? That is why MS is laughing happily?

Natural yeast Marbled Walnut Raisin Bread

2012-01-10T11:27:00.016-08:00

ES loves chocolates. We made a loaf of marble walnut raisin bread and she called it chocolate bread...

ES's birthday party

2012-01-09T23:22:00.001-08:00

We invited ES's closed friends to our house on her birthday. The night before, daddy decorated the house. ES was so amazed and surprised by the birthday decoration when she saw it on her birthday. " I am surprised with all these! " she said.

ES told us earlier that she wanted to have a Rapunzel and Princess party. Therefore, we bought a table cloth ( With Rapunzel ), paper cups ( With Aeriel ), paper plates ( with Rapunzel ) for the kids who attended the party.

On that day itself, we prepared roasted chicken, fried udon, birthday cake, blueberry pie and strawberreis for her party.

ES also prepared Rapunzel gift bags for her friends...

ES having fun with her good friend, YJ and her sister, YY

Birthday girl with her friends.

Daddy light up the star candles for her...

Mummy made her a strawberry sponge cake with classic buttercream icing, decorated with princesses and castle, as per requested.

The " best " family photo that we had on that day.

ES also received an e birthday card from Xuan Auntie for her birthday. Xuan Auntie drew this nice little card for her and posted it through fb.

Overall, she was very excited and happy to have her first party with her friends. Previously, we usually celebrated her birthday with our family members. Thanks for all the birthday wishes all the way from Ipoh,Penang and Singapore ...

Celebrating ES's birthday in school

2012-01-08T23:33:00.002-08:00

ES celebrated her 5th birthday yesterday. We started to prepare for her birthday on Thursday night as she will be having an earlier celebration in school with her classmates on Friday. ES started to prepare goodies bags for her friends in school and for those who will be coming to attend her birthday party.

She also made her own thank you cards for all her classmates.

She drew a picture of a birthday cake and wrote there : Thank you for being my friend.

On Friday, one day before her birthday, Mummy baked some Souffle chesscakes with buttercream icing for her to share with her friends.

Preparing to bring the cupcakes to school together with some cheese pizzas.

During lunchtime, ES's classmates celebrated her birthday. Her friends were so excited as ES prepared a card for each of them together with the goody bags. They do enjoyed the session and Malia, one of her friends asked all of her classmates to sing her a birthday song.

ES with her teacher, Ms Jessica

Strawberry sponge cake

2012-01-03T00:15:00.000-08:00

ES's birthday is coming soon... Thought of baking a sponge cake for her birthday party. Love Sponge cakes as it is not leavened with yeast or baking powder, and not too oily. But I think my skill in making sponge cake yet to improve. The earlier sponge cake that I'd bake was a bit hard and " heavy". Think I need more practice and do not repeat my previous mistakes - especially in folding and beating the egg with sugar. I referred to happyhomebaking's recipe, and glad that finally I made it this time - It is so light and fluffy...

Ingredients: (make a 8 inche round cake)

4 eggs, bring to room temperature
100g caster sugar
4g salt
140g cake flour
30g salad oil**
30g fresh milk
Method:

Sift cake flour, set aside. Grease and line a 20cm round pan, set aside. Pre-heat oven to 180degC or 356 degree F. Position rack at the lower bottom of the oven.
With an electric mixer, whisk eggs and sugar & salt on HIGH speed for about 5 to 7mins, until the batter double in volume and is ribbon-like (the beater should leave a ribbon-like texture when the batter is lifted up). Turn to LOW speed and whisk for another 1 to 2 mins. Whisking at low speed helps to stabilise the air bubbles in the batter.
Add sifted cake flour into the batter. With a spatula, gently fold in the flour until well blended.
With a spatula, mix about 1/3 of the batter with the salad oil in a separate bowl. Fold in this mixture into the remaining batter. This method will help to ensure the oil will be fully blended and at the same time will not deflate the batter.
Add in fresh milk and fold in gently with spatula.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 35 mins, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Unmold and cool completely. ( I baked it with 355 degree F for 26 min )

We finished the whole cake today. ES preferred it without any sour cream, juz with strawberries... While MSLS just eat it the way I prepared for them - Sponge cake with sour cream & strawberries...

Happy New Year 2012!

2012-01-01T00:09:00.001-08:00

While I was putting the girls to sleep on New Year's eve, daddy prepared baked lobster with Tillamook cheese and red wine New York steak, which had been marinated since the day before.

Baked lobster with Tillamook cheese

Red Wine New York Steak

What I can say after finishing the food is : " yummy, delicious and delectable ! "

Happy New Year to all!

鲜奶燉蛋

2011-12-30T23:45:00.001-08:00

Those days, gong gong and popo always brought us to a stall in Ipoh ( on the road side, during night time ) to have a bowl of 燉蛋. I can never forget the taste, it is so smooth and soft, just like tau fu fah.

We had been making this once awhile for breakfast as the girls love eggs very much. I followed christinesrecipes and it turned out almost the same as what I'd tasted before.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
30gm white sugar (or to your taste)
250ml milk

Methods:

Beat the eggs. Warm milk in the microwave oven. Don’t boil it.
Add warm milk into the beaten eggs first, then add sugar. Mix well. You don’t need an electrical mixer. A fork can do. Use a spoon to get rid of the foam on the surface of egg mixture.
Cover the mixture with foil. Steam it for 12 minutes in a wok and cover it with lid. Every 4 minutes, lift the lid up a bit and let some steam release. Done! Serve hot.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-30T23:10:00.001-08:00

Christmas is a time for sharing good feelings.

During Christmas eve, we celebrate the birth of Jesus by attended Children's evening mass at St Matthew Catholic Church. The children put on a play but we did not managed to capture any photos.

This year, we bought a real Christmas tree - Noble fir to put in our living room. According to Daddy, it is rated #1 most realistic tree. Noble Fir is considered an excellent Christmas tree because of its beauty, stiff branches and long keepability. We did not put much ornaments as the two little girls keep on taking down all the ornaments to play.

We string colorful lights on the tree. The glow reflects the cheerful brightness of Christmas. And we also put on the crowning touch - put on the star!

ES presented us her hand made present - a Christmas card and a booklet with her drawings. We are so touched and love it very much.

We also bought a christmas wreath, sold by the comittee of the church and put it on our front door. We decorated it with pine cones, bells and ribbons. ES posing in front of our house with the crown that she made. She made all of us one each, and ask us to pretend to be the king and queen, haha!

The night before Christmas, we wrapped up all the gifts and put it under the christmas tree. ES's gift is too big, we have to cover it with a piece of cloth. Her gift, a doll house is even taller than her!

Early in the morning, She opened her present and she told me, " I can't believe it! ". She can't believed it that she will received a doll house as what she wish to during Christmas.

Preparing for Christmas party in the evening...We are so far from our family members this year. We have Christmas potluck with some friends.

Roasted turkey with stuffing by us, again...

Suan's mum made some cupcakes.

This is a fruit basket by Suan's mum. Nice carving...

ES requested for a gingerbread house for Chirstmas. Did not have time to bake a gingerbread house by myself, or even buy one from the store. Thought of using our homemade bread to make a ginerbread house and the base of a snowman. Just a simple decoration as need to juggle with the three kids.

More food by YJ's mum but did not able to capture...

MSLS were having their dinner on thier high chair. They always behaved well when there are guests at home.

The kids enjoyed the gathering as they have "gift exchanged session".

Wow, what is that?

Happy Birthday song for Jesus...

The kids can't wait to eat the cake.

ES received a drawing penguin during gift exchanged session. The penguin can move around and draw out different patterns. It catched everybody's attention.

Overall, the girls enjoyed it very much as they were having great fun with their friends. More gatherings, they requested....

Christmas gift from ES

2011-12-29T23:59:00.000-08:00

We received a Christmas gift from ES this year. She brought back a christmas card and a book made by her, with the assistance of Ms Jessica few days before Christmas. She asked us not to open it till the day of Christmas.

Merry Christmas mom and bab ( it is supposed to be dad. Lately, she seems to be confused with "b" and "d", haha )

She presented us a book entitled " All About You My Loving Parents". She shared with her teacher what she wanted to write and draw. And this is what she did...

My favorite thing to do with my parents is reading books with them.

My parents are nice looking. ( really, haha! )

Everyday my parents give me a bath.

Before I go to bed, my parents read me a book.

My parents make the best cake.

I was so touched after I read this. What we did for them, It really make an impact or difference... And another thing that i realised, my girl is growing up... She is writing sentences and starts to express her feeling through writing.

MSLS at 26 months

2011-12-29T23:57:00.000-08:00

They are playing pretend play - MS pretend to be a fireman, while LS pretend to be a baby.

MS is 13.2kg, while LS is 12.7kg.
MSLS still wearing diapers during daytime nap and night time. For LS, it is more for " just in case" basis. It had been three weeks she did not pee in her diapers. It was all started during three weeks back, there was a few morning, I noticed she did not pee in her diapers, and keep on acknowledged her that she is doing a good job. From then onwards, she stopped peepee in her diapers. Once awhile she will wake up during midnight, but most of the time she will only need her potty or go staright to the toilet immediately after she wakes up. However, before her sleep, she will requested to go to the toilet for a few times! For MS, she is still trying not pee in her diapers.
During daytime, they will pee or poo in their potty without asking our assitance. Quite independent on this. They will say " shh shh..." for pee, and "chouchou" ( smelly in mandarin ) for poo.
Have their milk 3 - 4 times per day ( after afternoon nap, before sleep, during midnight, sometimes early in the morning.
Daily diet consists of bread/ oat with sliced bananas or raisin, fruit juice or fruit for breakfast, porridge or rice before afternoon nap, fruits/ bread/ yogurt/ bean during tea time, and porridge/rice or noodles for dinner. LS is more picky while MS will eat most of the food that we offered. They were given a candy stick last week during their gymnastic class, they tasted a bit and keep on saying " yummy", as this is their first time eating sweets!
When ES reads her story book before sleep, they wanted to follow what she is reading. They always say out the last word of the sentence when ES is reading.
They know how to wear their shoes, pants, but still find it difficult to wear their shirt, and put on the buttons.
They loves to brush their teeth, morning and night.
Will demand for what to wear, for examples wanted to wear skirt instead of pants.
Sometimes they will be fighting, when this happened, mummy will asked them to " share share". Most of the time, it works. They will immediately change into " sharing" mode.
They are friendly to people most of the times, by saying " hello".
They can spoon-feed themselves.

Winter Holiday

2011-12-29T22:41:00.000-08:00

MSLS attended toddler time last week, before Christmas approaching. The theme for the week was Winter Holiday. As kindergarten and schools will be having holiday for Christmas and new year. After story telling, they were given a piece of red paper in triangle shape, tissues, glue to make a Christmas hat.

MS is busy gluing tissues on the red paper, to make a Christmas hat.

Whereas LS wanted to glue it randomly....

Walnut Raisin Bread

2011-12-29T11:58:00.003-08:00

The bottle of natural yeast is filling up to the top... It's time to bake another bread. Bread for tomorrow's breakfast - walnut raisin bread ( Ingredients : natural yeast, unbleached bread flour, olive oil, organic sugar, sea salt, water, organic raisin & walnut ).

Winter Wonderland

2011-12-28T23:54:00.003-08:00

Last Friday, we went to the 19th annual Jubitz Winter Wonderland, which recognized throughout the Pacific Northwest as the "Largest Holiday Light Show West of the Mississippi". Since 1993, a journey through Winter Wonderland has become a Holiday tradition for many families, friends, and social organizations to celebrate the spirit of the holiday season in Portland.

We enjoyed the most spectacular drive-through light show in the region, viewing over 250 colorful light set pieces and many fully animated scenes in our car.

We drove passed the "12 Days of Christmas" and 12 themed display areas including Toyland, Candy Cane Lane, Christmas Tree Lane, Reindeer Road, Sports Corner, and many more!

At the entrance

Glimmers and glows around every corner. We only managed to take some of the photos as busy entertaining the three girls...

Chirstmas card from HL

2011-12-22T23:31:00.001-08:00

Mom, I received my first christmas card by post from Ah Lerk biao ge ( cousin ).

I'm going to paste it together with my christmas decoration.

Look! It fits in nicely together with ES's christmas decoration at the fire place.

Hainanese Chicken Rice for Winter Solistice Festival

2011-12-22T23:10:00.001-08:00

Today is Winter Solistice Festival, which means CNY is coming soon! Steamed chicken with chilli sauce ( with ginger & lime ) or soy sauce ( with fried garlic ) is one of the must have dishes during festive season way back in Ipoh. We only made this type of chilli sauce during festive season and I can't forget it as it taste really good together with steamed chicken.
Therefore, we cooked Hainanese chicken rice today with chilli sauce ( for the two adults, haha! ). As I am cooking the whole chicken, ES got the chance to have her drumstick ( we seldom buy drumstick to cook at home ).

Using steamykitchen's recipe as a guide for tonight's winter solistice festival's dinner. MSLS loves it as they keep on asking for more chicken meat until I have to stop them.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken

kosher salt\
4'' section of fresh ginger, in 1/4'' slices
2 stalks green onions, cut into 1" sections (both the green and white parts)
1 teaspoon sesame oil oil - FOR THE RICE ( I omitted this )
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1'' section of ginger, finely minced
2 cups long-grain uncooked rice, washed and soaked in cool water for 10 min or longer
2 cups reserved chicken poaching broth1/2 teaspoon sesame oil ( I omitted this )
1 teaspoon kosher salt - FOR THE CHILI SAUCE
1 tablespoon lime juice ( iused lemon juice - for making chilli sauce )
2 tablespoon reserved chicken poaching broth
2 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoon chili sauce
4 cloves garlic
1'' ginger
a generous pinch of salt, to taste

Directions:

1. To clean the chicken, with a small handful of kosher salt, rub the chicken all over, getting rid of any loose skin and dirt. Rinse chicken well, inside and outside. Season generously with salt inside and outside. Stuff the chicken with the ginger slices and the green onion. Place the chicken in a large stockpot and fill with cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, then immediately turn the heat to low to keep a simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes more (less if you're using a smaller chicken). Check for doneness by sticking a chopstick into the flesh under the leg and see if the juices run clear or insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh not touching bone. It should read 170F.
2. When the chicken is cooked through, turn off the heat and remove the pot from the burner. Immediately lift and transfer the chicken into a bath of ice water to cool and discard the ginger and green onion. Don't forget to reserve the poaching broth for your rice, your sauce, and the accompanying soup. The quick cooling will stop the cooking process, keeping the meat soft and tender, and giving the skin a lovely firm texture.
3. To cook the rice: Drain the rice. In a wok or sauce pan (use a medium sauce pan if you plan on cooking the rice on the stove top), heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the ginger and the garlic and fry until your kitchen smells like heaven. Be careful not to burn the aromatics! Add in your drained rice and stir to coat, cook for 2 minutes. Add the sesame oil, mix well.
To make the rice on the stove: In the same sauce pan, add 2 cups of your reserved poaching broth, add salt and bring to a boil. Immediately turn the heat down to low, cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit (with lid still on) for 5-10 minutes more.
To cook rice in a rice cooker: Pour aromatics and rice (after frying) into your rice cooker, add 2 1/2 cups of your reserved poaching broth and salt. Follow the instructions for your model (usually this will just mean "turn it on!")
4. While your rice is cooking, remove the chicken from the ice bath and rub the outside of the chicken with the sesame oil. Carve the chicken for serving.
5. To make the soup: You should have six or seven cups of the reserved poaching broth left over to serve as soup. Just before serving, heat up the soup, taste and season with salt as necessary.
Serve the chicken rice with chili sauce, dark soy sauce, cucumber slices, and a bowl of hot broth garnished with cilantro or scallions

I didn't follow this recipe for making chilli sauce, as still prefer our traditional chilli sauce recipe.

Happy Winter Solstice!

2011-12-21T23:48:00.000-08:00

Happy Winter Solstice! This is the second time ES made tang yuan for us. Last year, she helped Ah ma making tang yuan. And this year, she is awaiting for the chance to make tang yuan again. Mummy prepared the dough for her, and she make it into small tang yuan.

There are three different colours - white, orange ( natural colour from carrot ), and purple ( natural colour from berries ). It is more yummy when we dipped it with almond + sugar...

Thiniking of the black sesame tang yuan. But we do not have black sesame at home. So we just used whatever we have at home. We wrapped some tang yuan with almond + brown sugar.

Great fun with friends...

2011-12-18T23:12:00.000-08:00

Baked some chan pau using natural yeast last Friday night, preparing for Saturday's outing. The girls were very excited as they can meet up with their friends, YJ & YY again. And this time, there are more snow at Mt Hood compared to the last trip.

It was a cloudy morning, but luckily the weathere is about 40 over degree F when we reached our destination.

On the way to Mt Hood...

Ready for their playtime...

" Cailou did that also" said ES.

The kids busy buidling their snowman.

The girls really enjoyed themselves...Hope to be back again...

Apple Pound Cake

2011-12-16T23:46:00.002-08:00

Baked an apple pound cake last night for today's breakfast, recipe adapted from Carol Jay. Since we are using 8 inche round baking pan, all the ingredients were X2. Had cut down the sugar content to 140g as does not want it to be too sweet. It is suggested to bake at 320 F for 40 minutes according to the original recipe, but it took me an hour and I increased the temperature to 340 F during the last 20 minutes.

After 1 hour....

MS finished everything when she was given a slice of apple pound cake.

Whereas LS took out all the sliced apple and wanted to give it back to me during today's breakfast, she told me it is " dirty"....

Why read aloud to children?

2011-12-15T23:01:00.002-08:00

Received this interesting broschure during this week's toddlers time - Why Read Aloud to Children? by Jim Trelease. He is the author of the New York Times Bestseller, The Read-Aloud Handbook. There are some interesting notes and facts to take note:

How can something so simple as reading aloud to a child be so effective?

We start with the brain. As lumber is the primary support for building a house, words are the primary structure for learning. And there are really only two efficient ways to get words into a person's brain: either through the eye or through the ear. Since it'll be years before the eye is used for reading, the best source for ideas and brain building in a young child becomes the ear. What we send into that ear becomes the "sound" foundation for the rest of the child's "brain house." Those meaningful sounds in the ear now will help the child make sense of the words coming in through the eye later when learning to read.

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study found that of the children who were read to at least three times a week as they entered kindergarten had a significantly greater phonemic awareness than did children who were read to less often, and were almost twice as likely to score in the top 25 percent in reading.

Everytime when you read to a child, you're sending a " pleasure" message to the child's brain, conditioning it to associate books and print with pleasure. There are, however, " unpleasures" the child comes to associate with reading and school. Learning can be tedious and boring, threatening, and without meaning - endless hours of worksheers, hours of intensive phonics instruction, and hours of unconnected - test questions. If a child seldom experiences the " pleasures" of reading and increasing meets its " unpleasures" the natural reaction will be withdrawal.

What are the skills a child needs for kindergarten?

There is one skill that matters above all others, because it is the prime predictor of school success or failure: the child’s vocabulary upon entering school. Yes, the child goes to school to learn new words, but the words he or she already knows determine how much of what the teacher says will be understood. And since most instruction for the first four years of school is oral, the child who has the largest vocabulary will understand the most, while the child with the smallest vocabulary grasps the least.
Once they begin reading, personal vocabulary feeds (or frustrates) comprehension. And, since school grows increasingly complicated with each grade, that's why school-entry vocabulary tests predict so accurately.

We make it a habit to read to the three girls before bedtime. Hope through this, we can send more " pleasure" message for them...

Strawberry butter cupcake & blackberries cupcake

2011-12-14T23:57:00.003-08:00

Strawberry butter cupcake

I remembered when I was a kid, popo always make steamed pau, butter cake, chiffon cake etc for us to bring to school. Our friends also got to know popo through the food that we were sharing with them, as popo always gave us extra so that we can share with our friends too. Saw this butter cupcake recipe from quay po cooks using sour cream, looks interesting. Gave it a try last few days, and the cupcakes were finished within a day. We finished up the last cupcake by cutting it into quarter during tea time, ES, MSLS, and me shared it. They asked for more after finished the cupcake and I had to show them there is no more in the container; Daddy even requested if he can bring it to office for tea time, haha...

Ingredients: ( 15 cupcakes )

250gm Tillamook butter

220gm castor sugar

4 eggs

150gm Pillsbury Cake flour

35gm plain flour

120gm Tillamook Natural sour cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Blackberry jam
Strawberries

Method:

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in egg one at a time and add vanilla extract.
Fold in shifted flour and sour cream. Pour mixture into baking cups. For strawberry butter cupcake : Fill up 1/4 of the baking cup, put in sliced strawberries, fill up the baking cup again with mixture till 2/3 full. For blackberries cupcake: Fill up 1/4 of the baking up with mixture, add in 1 teaspoon of blackberry jam, fill up the baking cup again with mixture till 2/3 full.
Bake at 180 degrees C or 375 degrees F for about 30 minutes.

Blackberries cupcake

Simple breakfast on Saturday morning

2011-12-14T01:05:00.002-08:00

We had a simple breakfast, souffle cheesecake and french toast on Saturday morning, It was -3 degree C out there. The girls behaved well this morning, and we chat through our breakfast. As expected, they loved the souffle cheesecake very much. MSLS asked for more, nope nope nope... one is enough...

We always have French Toast if we go to Old Town Kopitiam. Make some french toast for our breakfast and we topped up with maple syrup. Whereas daddy requested to put some chocolate chips vanilla ice cream as topping.

French Toast recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup of fresh milk

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1/4 tsp salt

2 tablespoon butter

Method:

In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together fresh milk, eggs, honey, and salt.
Dip bread into mixture, allow to soak for 30 seconds on each side.
Over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a nonstick pan. Place bread into the pan and cook until golden brown. Serve with maple syrup, ice cream or fruits.

The happy look from ES after her breakfast. MSLS where still enjoying their cheesecake...

Presto the Magician

2011-12-14T00:33:00.002-08:00

Last Saturday, Presto the Magician came to ES's school. He is the Northwest's Children favourite's magician. His show involved those Christmas-themed magic like Rudolph’s nose disappears, reappear and changes colors, Santa gets stuck in a chimney, and finally a show on what super-cool present Santa promised him!

Presto and Bunny

His show sparks the excitement and wonder of magic. ES laughed and she really enjoyed the show. However, the two little girls were busy exploring toys in the classroom, haha...

Soufflé Cheesecake

2011-12-09T23:29:00.002-08:00

Daddy bought some philadephia cream cheese the other day as it only costs USD1.50 during promotion. Didn't have time to bake anything with it. The girls slept early tonight and browse through some recipes, found this from cornercafe. Looks good as it is easy to make, I have all the ingredients, and the best thing is it is light and fluffy, not too filling. I cut down the amount of sugar in the original recipe, and the it is just nice, not too sweet.

Thie girls will be happy to see this during Saturday breakfast time.

Ingredients ( 12 cupcakes )
125g cream cheese
60ml milk
40ml canola oil
3 egg yolks
20g caster sugar
20ml lemon juice
30g cornflour, sifted
3 egg whites
40g caster sugar
http://cornercafe.wordpre
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 150°C. Line 15 muffin holes with paper cups (use a 12-hole muffin tray plus 3 more in a 6-hole tray, or fill the remaining batter in a remekin). Place a large tray of hot water inside the oven just below the shelf where the cheesecakes are to be baked.
2. Soften cream cheese with milk and oil in a bowl placed over simmering water, or in a double-boiler. Whisk until smooth, remove from heat and let cool until lukewarm.
3. Beat egg yolks with 20g sugar until combined, beat in lemon juice. Gradually whisk in cheese mixture to combine. Lightly whisk in sifted cornflour, mix well.
4. Beat egg whites until foamy. Then gradually beat in 40g sugar, spoonful by spoonful, until firm but just under stiff peaks stage.
5. Fold 1/3 of the egg white mixture into the cheese mixture until thoroughly mixed in. Repeat two more times with the remaining egg white mixture.
6. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup nearly to the rim.

7. Place the muffin tray on the shelf just above the tray of hot water.
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the tops of the cheesecakes are lightly browned.

Marathon style Chicken pie & apple pie

2011-12-09T22:57:00.002-08:00

ES asked me the other day if I can make her an apple pie. Saw this recipe from Min's blog & elinluvdelights. Like it because they are using yogurt for pie making. I started making the pastry and filling at 12pm, when MSLS were taking their nap. I put the dough into the fridge for almost 9 hours, as I continue working on the pies after all the girls had slept at night, then only I started to put the pie and filling into the muffin pan and baked it. We made a dozen of chicken pie as i used X2 of what the original recipe recommended.

Pastry:
300 gm butter
500 gm plain flour
2 tsp sugar
2 egg yolk
A pinch of salt

thymes

200 gm yoghurt

Put all the ingredients, except yoghurt, in a mixing bowl. Rub butter into flour mixture until like breadcrumbs. Add in yoghurt and mix to a dough.

Dough will be very soft so need to keep it refrigerated for at least 30 mins.

Filling: ( adjust to own preference)
1 big onion diced

diced cooked potatoes
Carrots
Sliced wild mushrooms
3 chicken thigh, diced

oil

½ cup water

Seasonings :
2 tbsp cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp water
2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp rice sake
salt n pepper to taste

Heat abt 2 tbsp of oil and fry potatoes until golden. Set aside.
In a clean wok, heat 2 tbsp oil. Fry the onion until transparent. Add mixed vegetable, mushroom, chicken. Add in potatoes.
Add in water and cook for abt 5 mins. Add in seasonings.
Add in the cornstarch and stir to thicken mixture. Cool and set aside.

this dough is enough to make 12 half-cup muffin size pies.

Roll out the dough, cut the size required and place in a pie dish. Poke holes at the base using a fork. Put 2 - 3 tablespoons fillings in. Cut another piece of dough to cover the top. Poke a few more times using fork on the cover of the pie. Brush with 1 beaten egg. Baked in a preheated oven at 180°C for 25 - 30 mins.

The extra dough was used to make a small apple pie. I just put in some sliced green apple and cream cheese+sugar on top of the pie. The combination of green apple with cream cheese + sugar turned out well.

We finished everything within 2 days... However, ES still prefer egg tart that apple pie or chicken pie...

Freezing Saturday evening

2011-12-09T00:15:00.003-08:00

To be a member of Oregon Zoo, one of the benefits is we can enjoyed the Zoolights without purchasing extra tickets. We decided to bring the kids to see the Zoolights during last Saturday evening, We reached there at about 5pm and the parking lots were full. We were lucky as we managed to get a parking after 15 minutes. This trip we aim to see the light, not the animals, haha...

There were more than a million lights transform the Oregon Zoo into a land filled with moving sculptures, forests of lighted trees and animal silhouettes.

There was zoo's light-bedecked steamer train, which provides a unique view of the ZooLights splendor. We did not take a ride as the queue was too long and it is so cold.

Half way, we met Dinasour and Santa helper. MSLS were so excited till they have no time to look at the camera.

There was a choir preforming during our visit. The girls love their singing, they just sing without playing any musical instrument. Really nice...

Raspberries...

2011-12-08T00:25:00.003-08:00

Bought a packet of raspberries last weekend. Just want to give it a try as raspberries have an ORAC value (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) of about 4900 per 100 grams, one of the top-ranked ORAC fruits. Cranberries and wild blueberries have around 9000 ORAC units and apples average 2800.

Baked a victoria sponge cake referring to this recipe . Cut the 8 inche cake into half, put on some cream cheesse+sugar, raspberries and one layer of yoghurt on the top.

Prepared it for Sunday breakfast. The girls loves it and they sang birthday song before cake cutting, haha.

Baked some raspberries cream chesse bun with natural yeast on the next day...

Should put more cream cheese and raspberries next time... MSLS loves it, but ES seems like not so favour on this.

Toddlers time - Wolf

2011-12-06T00:06:00.002-08:00

MSLS attended toddlers time this morning. This week's topic was " wolf ". This week's stories caught both of their attention. During storytelling, the librarian used dialogue reading style by asking " what" questions. MS was actively saying out the sound of the wolf after the librarian read it out. Everybody laughed....

The girls were given a shaking bag in as there was music time in between storytelling.

After storytelling, they were provided with some papers, string, crayon to make their own book. They were instructed to draw a simple picture on what they heard today.
LS is trying hard to draw out some pictures...

Overall, this is really a fun and good experience for the kids to participate in. More fun in this way to cultivate their reading habit from young...

Toddlers time

2011-12-04T01:22:00.001-08:00

The topic for this week's toddlers time was " bath time ". After storytelling, MSLS were given a picture of the bathtub and they were asked to paste soap, pail, duck, frog and etc on the bathtub.

MS was busy colouring....

LS wanted to colour her pail in black colour...

After toddlers time, they borrowed some story books and played awhile in the library.

Sunny day

2011-12-04T01:09:00.000-08:00

It was a sunny day last Friday, the weather is around 7 degree C. As it was raining during the last few days, it was a good day to bring the girls for a walk to the playground. They were so happy as quite awhile they are not been out to the playground.

Hand in hand... Here we go to the playground

MS climbed up to the top all by herself...She did not want me to help her...

(we have sinned) Here come Santa Claus...

2011-12-02T23:53:00.002-08:00

Ok we xould not resist it.... Brought the girls to Washington Square this evening to meet Santa Claus. MSLS behaved well this time, as they did not cry when they see Santa.

We kept telling ES that Christmas is Jesus's birthday and if she behaves, dear Jesus will ask Santa to bring present to her on Christmas

Disneyland Park

2011-12-01T23:48:00.004-08:00

After Hollywood, our next destination was Disneyland Park, a place where ES awaiting for months. We wake up early in the morning, after having breakfast at the hotel, we walked towards Disneyland Park which is about 5 minutes away from our hotel. We would like to go on a more relax way this time as we are with the three little girls, and we can't rush from one place to another as last time. This is the lands where stories come to life around us, immersing us in tales from some of our favourite Disney films...

As we went there before Halloween, the park was full of Holloween decoration. Right from the entrance...

Here we are at the entrance and Main Street, U.S.A., the entrance to Disneyland Park.

We strolled down the street where turn-of-the-century architecture and transportation recreate a bygone era.

The first Disney character we met at Main Street, Minnie.

The girls were so excited and wanted to give a hug to Minnie.

MS walking with Chip and Dale.

Located beyond Sleeping Beauty Castle, Fantasyland is the place where we met the heroes and villains of the favorite Disney stories. We encountered princesses from the royal realms of Disney films such as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. or fly over London with Peter Pan. Revel in the enchantment that surrounds you!

One of ES's favourite character, Rapunzel...

ES was taking a spin in a tea cup.

Our next stop was at Mickey's Toontown. It is a miniature interactive metropolis full of topsy turvy architecture and screwy sculptures.

Hi, Pluto...

We visited the charming houses of Mickey, Minnie and other classic Disney characters.

Stopped by the face-painting area.

Haha, my Halloween face-painting...

In the evening, there was Mickey's Sounsational Parade. The streets of Disneyland Park was filled with a brand-new musical parade featuring live musicians, dancers, thrilling rhythms, bold percussion, Disney Characters and whimsical floats that bring to life beloved melodies from classic Disney movies.

Roasted Turkey with Cranberry Apple Sauce

2011-11-30T23:02:00.001-08:00

Baked roasted turkey during Thanksgiving. Wondering how to cook a 16 pounds turkey. Search quite a number of recipes from internet, and finally we decided to use our own recipe on how we cook roasted chicken.

Roasted Turkey
What you need:
Turkey marinated with creamy butter ( we used a 16 pounds private selection turkey )
2 lemons ( boiled it with water )
thymes
salt
4 potatoes
3 carrots

Method:

Thaw the frozen turkey in cold water. Change water every 30 minutes. 16 pounds turkey will take about 8 hours to thaw.
Cut potatoes and carrots into small cube and boil with water. Add in some salt in the hot water. Put aside.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Clean turkey (discard giblets and organs), and place in a roasting pan.
Apply salt and follow by thyme to the outside of the uncooked turkey. Put the 2 lemons in the cavity.
Add in cooked potatoes and carrots in the pan after 3 hours.
Bake for 4 1/2 hours, or until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the thigh measures 165 degrees F as recommended by USDA. Remove bird from oven, and allow to stand for about 1/2 hour before carving.

Cranberry Apple Sauce
What you need:
1 packet of 12 oz cranberries
2 red apples ( chopped )
1 orange, juiced
3/4 cup of water
3/4 brown sugar
almond ( chopped )

Method:
Combine the sugar and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the cranberries, apples, orange juice, cinnamon, almond and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the sauce cool.

Serve in a side bowl with roasted turkey.

Blackberries Cream Cheese Bread ( natural yeast )

2011-11-29T00:25:00.001-08:00

Bought one box of blackberries yesterday and made a jar of blackberry jam this afternoon while the two little girls were taking their nap. As we need to bake some breads today for breakfast, I added in blackberry jam and cream cheese when I rolled the dough.

Bacon Mushroom Pizza & Tomatoes Garlic Pizza

2011-11-28T00:48:00.004-08:00

After 2 days of holiday and now it is the end of this weekend. Feel like wanted to have pizza again...

We bought a packet of bacon before thanksgiving, but think we will never buy it again. It is so oily even if I do not add in any oil to cook. So, this will be the last few pieces of bacon that we have from the packet. I have to " absorb" the oil before putting on the pizza crust, haha...

The topping is a combination of bacon, mushroom, spinach, tillamook cheese, and some cream cheese with a pinch of sugar.

This is more healthier... Just some baked tomatoes with garlic ( grilled with butter before that ) and tillamook cheese. We ordered this pizza at a Mediterranean restaurant recently, and it taste yummy even just with some simple ingredients.

For the pizza crust, I am using the same recipe as here. The crust tasted like domino's pizza crust, as I just put a thin layer of dough on the baking pan.

Thanksgiving Day

2011-11-25T01:23:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving Day is a holiday on the fourth Thursday of November. It is traditionally a day for families and friends to get together for a special meal. It is a time for many people to give thanks for what they have.

Early in the morning, ES gave mummy a card for thanksgiving. She did this in school the day before Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving meal often includes a turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, gravy, vegetables. Therefore, We decided to bake a roasted turkey with cranberry apple sauce for the gathering with daddy's colleagues. We used the same recipe on how we cooked roasted chicken - 2 lemons, thymes and salt, as the turkey already been marinated with creamy butter.

MS can't wait to taste it, haha....

The turkey is so juicy and yummy after baking for 4 hours, as it was finished during the gathering.

Ready, Set, Go....

2011-11-23T00:40:00.000-08:00

ES was reading a story book just now. In one of the pages, there is a word " said". When she read out that, MS who sits beside her quickly replied " GO"...
We can't stopped laughing as she thought ES is going to say " Ready, Set ( Said ), Go " as what ES usually said.

We are 2 years old...

2011-11-23T00:30:00.000-08:00

MS is 13kg, while LS is 12.6kg. MS tends to eat more than LS, sometimes when she had finished her food, she will try to ask from LS. Looks like have to control her intake again...
Still wearing diapers during daytime nap and night time. No longer wearing diapers when we travel, but we always put a potty in our car during long journey, just in case. There is once recently, MS tend to be too excited with what she is playing, and forgotten to go to the potty, she pees on the floor :(
Have their milk 3 - 4 times per day ( after afternoon nap, before sleep, during midnight, sometimes early in the morning for LS. Sometimes LS tend to wake up very early, as early as 5 am. In order to put back her to sleep, have to give her some milk ).
Daily diet consists of bread/ oat with sliced bananas or raisin, fruit juice or fruit for breakfast, porridge or rice before afternoon nap, fruits/ bread/ yogurt/ bean during tea time, and porridge/rice or noodles for dinner. LS become a bit picky about what she is eating lately. For example, she pick out all the purple carbage during today's dinner and does not want to eat it.
When ES reads her story book before sleep, they wanted to follow what she is reading.
They went for their gymnastic bumblebee class since beginning of this month. They likes it...
They know how to wear their shoes.
They loves to brush their teeth, they do it 2 times per day.
MS will show you a smiling face when you wanted to take her pictures, while LS will remain " cool".
They can talk a lot now... Mixture of Mandarin and English. E.g: wait, shoes, jacket, grapes, orange, apple, pear, red, green, yellow, island, plate, fork, spoon, fan ( rice in mandarin )
They loves nursey rhymes. Sometimes they can sing along by saying out some words in between when we are singing.

Tomatoes from our backyard

2011-11-22T23:59:00.001-08:00

After almost three weeks, some of the green tomatoes planted by ah ma had turned to red colour...We put it near the heater, the temperature maintain at about 75 F.

Sunday

2011-11-21T00:53:00.000-08:00

The day started with -4 degree celcius when we wake up this morning. Ice formed on the fence...

It was about 5 degree celcius in the afternoon. We decided to go for a walk...

Natural Yeast vs Active Dry Yeast

2011-11-21T00:21:00.000-08:00

During last few days, the natural yeast did not rise much after feeding. As the weather is getting colder, and sometimes it is not so ideal for the growth of natural yeast. The ideal temperature for natural yeast to grow is about 32 degree celcius. So, we had to put it near the heater, sometimes above the oven, and near cooking place to provide a higher temperature for it to grow.

As we need to replenish our daily bread, in order not to take chance of not able to make any bread, I back up with water roux method with active dry yeast. However, the natural yeast rise quite well on that day, decided to use it first as I can keep the water roux batter into the fridge for few days.

Bread using natural yeast. Need more time in proofing, almost double the time of using active dry yeast.

Bread using active dry yeast.

Both looked almost the same...

Moist brownies for Thanksgiving's Potluck

2011-11-17T23:41:00.002-08:00

ES's school organised potluck before Thanksgiving, which is next Friday. Had baked some moist brownies for her classmates and their families. I used another recipe which need to add in chocolate bars and chocolate chips as what suggested by Daddy.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder
5 ounces semisweet chocolate bar, finely chopped
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
30 almonds ( chopped )

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8x8-inch pan. Line with parchment paper and let it hang over two sides. Butter the parchment.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt; set aside.
3. In a large saucepan, combine butter and espresso powder. Heat on low and stir until butter has melted. Add chocolate, and stir constantly until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and stir in both sugars until combined. Let cool slightly.
4. Whisk eggs and vanilla and keep moving the batter around until combined and no longer grainy-looking. Add flour mixture to batter and stir just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Add in almond on top of the batter.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top with a greased spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a just a few moist crumbs attached (28 to 30 minutes). Don't over bake! Let cool completely. Cut into pieces and serve or store.

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

2011-11-16T01:00:00.000-08:00

It is time to replenish some cookies at home, as ES always requested for snack in between meals.

What you need ( for 32 pieces ):

1/2 cup plus 6 tbs butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon grond cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups old fashioned oat

1 cup raisins

Method:

(1) Heat oven to 350 F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed unti creamy. Add eggs and vanilla extract. beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, connamon and salt, mix well. Add oats and raisins, mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto baking tray.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes pr until light golden brown.

ES's decoration

2011-11-16T00:30:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, ES drew this and we paste it on the wall near our dining table. She loves drawing and colouring. This can really keep her busy for a few hours.

After a long drive...

2011-11-15T00:27:00.007-08:00

During last end month ( 23 Oct 2011 ), we drove all the way from OR to LA. It was a really long journey, as we left our house at 4pm Saturday and we reached our destination at almost 9am, Sunday. This is really a great challenge as we need to be in the car for long hours, as we are not traveling alone as like the previous experience, we are with the three kids. Everything worked out well, as they slept after their dinner, and did wake up once for milk during midnight. Our main driver, daddy had did a great job as he drove most of the time.
During our journey, we passed by desert...

mountains and dam...

Mountain with snow-covered peak...

And finally after 17 hours drive, we reached Hollywood, a famous district in Los Angeles, California.

In front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, also known as Mann's Chinese Theatre, is a movie theater at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. It is on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame.

It has been home to many premieres - including the 1977 launch of George Lucas's Star Wars - birthday parties, corporate junkets and three Academy Awards ceremonies. Among the theater's most distinctive features are the concrete blocks set in the forecourt, which bear the signatures, footprints, and handprints of popular motion picture personalities from the 1920s to the present day, including harry potter & etc..

ES with the pirate.

Look, I found Mickey Mouse at the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of HollywoodBoulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California. The stars are permanent public monuments to achievement in the entertainment industry, bearing the names of a mix of actors, musicians, directors, producers, musical and theatrical groups, fictional characters, and others.

ES with one of her favourite characters, Shrek.

After checked into the hotel, which is just few minutes away from Disneyland, we had a walk at Disney Downtown.

Leaves

2011-11-12T01:01:00.003-08:00

                                              ES learned this poem from school last week:

                                                                          Leaves

Red leaves and yellow leaves

Orang leaves and brown,

Leaves are dancing everywhere,

Happily dancing down.

MSLS went out for a walk in the afternoon. The weather was about 13 degree celcius at about 3pm. Decided to bring them out for a walk as this is one of the few sunny days. After this week, it will be colder, and weather.com forecast there will be snow next Friday. They are so happy and keep on saying 好玩 ( fun in Mandarin ).

Walking towards the park.

We saw leaves with different colours, just like the poem.

MSLS stopped by and touched the " happily dancing down" red leaves.

After some walking, we saw some yellow and brown leaves.

Some orange leaves in between...

MS picked up a leave for LS...

Char Siew Pau ( Natural Yeast )

2011-11-12T00:27:00.003-08:00

The bottle of natural yeast at home is growing very well. It touched the top of the bottle after 3 days of daily "feeding". Have to make something with it but we still have enough suppply of bread. Thought of trying Char Siew Pau using natural yeast. This is my first attempt of making Char Siew Pau and first attempt of using natural yeast for making steamed bun. I added in carrot so that it does not look so plain ( leftover from our juice this morning ). No time to get a better shot as everybody wanted to try the Char Siew Pau immediately after I took out from the steamer.

The kids really enjoyed it...The most happiest moment is when you see them enjoying the food that you had made...

MS enjoying her char siew pau. She hold it carefully, so that she wouldn't dropped it...

ES took 2 1/2 of this...Char Siew Pau is always her favourite!

Fudgey Cocoa Brownie with Haagen Dazs Ice Cream

2011-11-10T00:05:00.000-08:00

Thought of having this last few days. While the twins are taking nap, I baked this. It is really easy to make and if you want to make something with short preparation time, this is the one...

What you need:

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:
1.Preheat oven to 180C.

2.In a medium bowl, combine melted butter and cocoa powder. Stir until cocoa powder is dissolved.

3.Add sugar and mix well.

4.Add eggs one at a time, and stir well.

5.Stir in flour, vanilla and salt until just combined.

6.Bake in an 8 inch square pan for approximately 25mins.

Sesame buns using natural yeast

2011-11-09T23:56:00.002-08:00

This is the natural yeast that I used.

Had been tempted to try making natural yeast quite awhile, but keep on delaying the plan. Just baked some sesame buns using natural yeast today and glad that my first attempt is successful. Came across this interesting article about natural yeast:

天然酵母面制品的特点

据传3000多年前，埃及人利用酵母制作发酵面包。发酵面包的方法也许是偶然发现的，和好的面团放在温暖的地方，受到野生酵母菌的侵入，导致发酵、膨胀、变酸。经过烘烤可获得可口松软面食。

我国很早就利用酒酿活酵母制作馒头。这种馒头发酵时间较慢，但是有酒酿香味、独特的嚼劲很可口。

天然酵母面制品，完全使用天然物质，发酵时间长，发酵的材料不同，面制品的风味就不同，例如用果皮发酵的酵母除了酵母之外，还有乳酸菌，因此面制品带些酸味。苹果酵母制作的面包有苹果香味。

天然酵母面制品没有面包工厂制作的面包那么松软，面包皮较硬，面包带有独特的咀嚼感。有些人喜爱吃面包厂的松软的面包。但是有些人则非常喜爱天然酵母面制品的风味及嚼劲，越吃越喜爱。要面包松软些除了天然酵母之外，加入少量市售的活性干酵母。

Toddler Time

2011-11-09T00:11:00.002-08:00

MSLS went to the main library on Monday morning to attend the toddler time. The toddler time includes stories, songs, fingerplays, and plenty of group participation for 2 year-olds.

This is their first time attending the session. The stories are more simpler, compared to family storytime. And after stories, they were asked to make a puppet with mummy's help.

MS is busy colouring...

ES's October Monthly Assignment

2011-11-07T23:36:00.001-08:00

ES brought back a story book - The Mitten from school last month. We were given some instructions and have to return the book and homework by end of October.

We read this fun book with ES several times. After she is familiar with the story, she retell and read the story to us.

We did Sample Book Bag Projects with her and this is how it looks like. We like the idea as she starts thinking on how to make a new book cover and alternate ending, compared to the original story.

This is her new book cover.

ES drew a picture from the beginning of the book.

Nicki wanted a white mitten.

This is a scene from the middle of the story.

Her grandma, baba knit him a pair of white mittens.

This is her new ending for the story.

Rapunzel lives happpily with Nicki in The Mitten.

Her favourite character in this book is the owl, because it is not afraid of dark.

She was asked to identify a " problem" and "solution" based on the story. The "problem" that she had identified is the mittten is white colour, therefore it is difficult to find if it is dropped in the snow.

Therefore, she suggested to knit Nicke a purple mitten.

She shared the story with the class and this is the comment from her teacher. Her friends love the way she create her new book cover - cut out the alphabets from the magazine and make it as the title of the book.

Santa Claus

2011-11-07T23:11:00.001-08:00

ES brought back her drawing from school today.

When Christmas, I want a Santa Claus.

My dad bought me a big present. 

She keeps asking if Santa Claus will send her present. And she said Santa Claus cannot come down from our chimney as it is too hot, he should ring our bell and send her the Christmas present :)

A misty morning

2011-11-05T00:03:00.001-07:00

A misty morning does not signify a cloudy day

It is true that the sun came out in the afternoon...

*The temperature was almost 0 degree celcius when we took this photo.

Halloween

2011-11-04T23:57:00.003-07:00

ES in front of her school, with Halloween decoration. She is wearing a fireman hat given by the firemen who did a demo in their school.

Halloween (a shortening of All Hallows’ Evening), also known as Hallowe'en or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31 ( but not for us ), the night before All Saints' Day. Typical festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (also known as "guising"), attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, watching horror films, as well as the religious observances of praying, fasting and attending vigils or church services.

Trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for children on Halloween. We saw children go in costume from house to house in our neighbourhood, asking for treats such as candy or sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick" refers to a (mostly idle) "threat" to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given. However, they will just go to those houses with their front light on.

As we just back home, we did not do anything during halloween, but just relax at home...

Cranberries

2011-11-04T23:40:00.000-07:00

Not much exploration to cranberries before that. Saw it at FM last two weeks, and we bought back one packet of 12 oz cranberries. Cranberries are considered too sharp to be eaten plain and raw, as they are not only sour but sometimes can be bitter. However, MSLS said it is yummy...

Cranberries are harvested in the autumn, between September and December. Ripe, mature fruits are round and deep red, and one of the criteria widely believed to determine the quality of a cranberry is whether or not one can bounce the berry down a staircase. If the fruit bounces well it is a quality product; if it falls flat it is not a good berry. In fact, the “egg beater” machines used by cranberry farms is engineered on this principle, and it filters out “bad” berries automatically.

The American cranberry was used in American cuisine before the first pilgrims landed on the nation's shores. Native American tradition incorporates cranberries into many dishes, few of them main courses except for pemmican , and it is widely believed though historically dubious that cranberries were served at the first Thanksgiving dinner.

Since then cranberries have been used largely as a traditional dish, served jellied or in whole berry as a sugared sauce. They are rarely served apart from the American holiday of Thanksgiving, though both sauces are carried year-round in grocery stores.

Some tribes incorporated myths about the cranberry into their religions or oral traditions. The fruit was also utilized medicinally as a ward against indigestion and as a poultice for wounds.

We decided to make cranberries sauce with the leftover, as we does not like to eat it in raw, except the twins.

What you need:
3 cups of cranberries
2/3 cup of brown sugar
2/3 cup of orange juice

What you do:
(1) In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, dissolve brown sugar in the orange juice. Stir in the cranberries and cook until the cranberries start to pop . Remove from heat and place sauce in a bowl. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.

Can't wait to taste the cranberries sauce. It is often cranberry sauce is included in most American households' celebration of Thanksgiving.
We had Grilled Pork Rib with Cranberries sauce for dinner...

What you need:
salt, sugar for marinate
cranberries sauce
pork rib
garlics

What you do:
(1) Marinate the pork ribs with salt, sugar for 3 hours. Add in garlics too.
(2) Cover with aluminium foil and cook in oven ( Broil - low ) for 1/2 hour. Open the aluminium foil, and cooked for another 15 minutes.

Tomorrow I will go to Disneyland!

2011-11-02T23:50:00.000-07:00

Almost everyday, ES will bring back a piece of paper ( just like the above ) from school. They are asked to draw a picture and write a sentence regarding the picture that they had drawn.

This is what she had drawn last two weeks. As she might not be able to spell out all the words, sometimes she just write the first aphabet of each word.

Raisin Cinnamon Roll & Carrot Bread ( Water Roux Method )

2011-11-02T23:42:00.000-07:00

Just baked some raisin cinnomon rolls and Carrot Bread this afternoon. Fresh from the oven!

Full of green tomatoes

2011-11-02T23:33:00.002-07:00

This is how the tomatoes look like after our trip. Still in green colour...

The weather is getting colder, as sometimes it can be O Celcius or even -2 Celcius in the morning. Ah ma had went back to hometown, and after we came back, we had to cut out all the tomatoes from the plants in order to prevent it from getting frostbite. However, all are still in green. We put the tomatoes in a paper box, hopefully the tomatoes will turned red...

Think next year we have to plant it more earlier to prevent it from frostbite....

Happy birthday, MSLS!

2011-10-29T23:42:00.000-07:00

We celebrated MSLS's birthday before we went for our trip. They just turned 2 years old on 28 Oct. As usual, they were so excited when they saw the cake. They were even more excited when we requested them to blow their cake. Mummy baked a carrot almond cake with cream cheese frosting for them.

We cooked country pasta with tomatoes and pork for the party.

Not forgetting, our favourite fruit pizza. This round we tried the Peach and cranberries pizza

The two birthday girls enjoyed their food very much...

The Berlin Inn

2011-10-22T00:39:00.000-07:00

Went to The Berlin Inn, a German restaurant last Saturday. Just a brief write up about the restaurant. The Berlin Inn is owned and operated by the Brauer family. Albert & Marianne Brauer emigrated from Germany in 1957. After settling in the Portland area, they raised two children: Karen and Brainard.

Karen, sparked by her mothers talents of cooking great food and desserts, chose to be professionally trained in the art of Pastries. In the fall of 1991, Karen and Marianne teamed up to open The Berlin Inn. They wanted to recreate the flavors of Germany for the people of Portland to enjoy. With the entire families hard work, the Berlin Inn Restaurant & Bakery was opened in April, 1992.

The Berlin Inn's culinary team is proud to recreate the distinctive flavors of the cuisine and pastries for which Germany is famous. The foods prepared at The Berlin Inn are made from scratch with only the freshest ingredients available. They use only non-cholesterol canola oil for all of our grilling & sautéing, and contain no MSG. Besides that, Vegan, Vegetarian & Gluten Free options are available throughout the menu.

Octoberfest.... Daddy ordered a glass of German beer

MS is enjoying her oranges while Ah ma is enjoying the beer

Inside the restaurant...

The view from our table... cloudy and cold day...

Some of the dishes that we ordered.

Raisin Whole Wheat Bread ( Water Roux Method )

2011-10-21T00:20:00.000-07:00

Ah Ma made a bottle of grapewine with some fresh grapes three months ago. Yesterday, we opened the bottle and the wine tasted really good. The fermented grapes were used to mix into the whole wheat bread, and the bread was so yummy, with the aroma of wine...

Happy Birthday to Mummy!

2011-10-20T08:17:00.001-07:00

We celebrated Mummy's birthday yesterday. Mummy baked a nectarie sponge cake. With the help of ES, We decorated the birthday cake with almond, nectarie and icing made from whipping cream. Of course, had to thanks daddy for the Wilton cake decorative set, just in time for decorating the birthday cake.

MSLS were so excited when they see the birthday cake.

The girls waiting for their turn to blow the candles!

Can't wait to taste the birthday cake!

After cake cutting, we went to Red Lobster for more seafood...

Read All About Me!

2011-10-20T00:25:00.001-07:00

Every month, ES will be working on a family project. This is what she did during last month. With the assistance of mum and dad, ES completed this task - including some fascinating facts regarding her, her favourite things, 3 things that is cool about her...

Fall colour

2011-10-20T00:13:00.000-07:00

Fall is a special time when nature’s work transforms the landscapes into a natural patchwork of vibrant hues. This is the fall colour that we saw during morning walk. Weather is getting colder and these were taken during sunny day ( as it ismostly cloudy now, especially during morning ). We like the colours, as this is the nature's most spectacular season, with yellow, red, green leaves at the same time.

Whale Hunting....... from Depoe Bay

2011-10-16T18:58:00.004-07:00

Lincoln City - the best place on the Central Oregon Coast for whale watching. Whale - watching is year-round activities in Lincoln City.

Gray whales migrate South from their feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi seas around Alaska from mid-December through January. They are heading to their breeding grounds in Baja California, Mexico, where warm-water lagoons become nurseries for expectant mothers. Then from late March to June the whales migrate North back to Alaska. On each trip, approximately 18,000 gray whales pass close to the Oregon Coast.

Some gray whales do not continue on to Alaskan waters but stay off the coast of Oregon between June and November. These part-time residents number about 200. About 60 whales are seen repeatedly off the central coast and have been photographed and identified. Of these, about 40 hang out between Lincoln City and Newport each year because that seems to be what the food supply will support.

So while we were there for the kite festival, we took a boat, Morning Star, ride out from Depoe Bay... whale hunting. Morning Star is a full time fishing boat and part time whale hunting, with eyes, not harpoon :) While we were waiting to get on Morning Star, the fisherman were actually unloading their catch....

Pacific ocean wasn't in a good mood that day, it was pretty choppy. The boat was rocking from left to right. After 30minutes a few of the parties that got on the boat begun to feel seasick, with 2 of them deciding to return the clams from the chowder that they had before the ride back to the sea :)

Fortunately for us, the fishermen that manned the boat found 2 whales on 2 different location. The first one was quite a show whale, deciding to give us the tail.

Actual picture taken

while the 2nd one was pretty shy, just giving the whales spouting. At the end of the boat ride... most of the people on the boat were mostly sitting quietly... trying their best not to throw up :)

It was really a good experience to see the whale in their own habitat... can strike out one of the must do list before we bid life goodbye.

Kite Festival

2011-10-13T22:55:00.002-07:00

Last Saturday, we went to Kite Festival at Lincoln City. It took us about 2 hours to reach there. Lincoln City Fall Kite Festival is held on the beach, in the center of Lincoln City, at the D-River Wayside.

September 29, 1979 was the date of the very first Fall Kite Festival in Lincoln City. Many of the original organizers still participate in stunning aerial displays and exquisite kite ballets. Several featured fliers say their passion for kite flying started in Lincoln City.

This year’s theme is “Rockin’ the Rokkaku!” The festival included kite flying demonstrations by experts, including Connor Doran, a finalist in 2010 on the top-rated NBC series, America’s Got Talent! Connor auditioned along with 90,000 people and brought indoor kite flying to the world.

The weekend includes featured flyers, family-friendly activities like kite-making, a kid’s kite parade, a Rokkaku (six-sided kite) aerial battle with past national champion.

22 kites flying at the same time and "dancing" along with the music

The kids enjoyed playing sandcastles more than the kites.

Raisin & Sunflower seeds bread ( Water Roux Method )

2011-10-11T23:44:00.001-07:00

Bake another bread with Water Roux Method today. As we almost finished one loaf of bread everyday, therefore, I tried out this - Raisin & sunflower seeds bread, add in with whole grain ( 10 grains - wheat, rye, triticale, oats, oat bran, corn, barley, soybean, brown rice, millet, flaxseed ) from Bob's Red Mill.

Tomatoes from our garden

2011-10-11T23:32:00.001-07:00

Ah ma had planted some tomato plants in our little garden. The plants are full of green tomatoes now and we just hope it will turned to red colour before the weather getting colder.

Had read through some articles, and had learned more on planting tomatoes and how the green tomatoes can turned red.

Standard sized tomatoes require 40 to 50 days after blossom set to reach maximum green size. Newly setting blossoms, small and very green fruit won’t mature in the remaining growing season and are best pruned off.

New, vigorous shoots also may be clipped back. Don’t prune off an excessive amount of fully formed leaves as these supply nutrients to fruit. Pruning directs plant resources to fruit that has a chance of maturing.

When the fruit set is heavy, it can work against gardeners. Ripening numerous fruit takes a lot of energy from the leaves and tends to delay the whole crop turning red. If there are only a few weeks before frost and fruit is not ripening, try removing some of the mature green fruit to ripen what’s left on the vine.

Cooler September temperatures help fruit to ripen because the red tomato pigments, lycopene and carotene, are not produced above 85 degrees F nor lycopene below 50 degrees F.

As late September approaches, gardeners often try to extend the life of their plants by covering with cloth or plastic. Covering plants works well for nearly red tomatoes, but not as well for mature green ones. Though foliage may sometimes be saved, research shows that chilling injury on green fruit occurs at temperatures of 50 degrees and decay losses rise markedly on fruit exposed to 40 degrees F. Red ones well on their way to ripening tolerate colder temperatures.

Before frost hits and plants go down, pick and bring fruit indoors to ripen. Extended exposure to cool temperatures interferes with ripening and flavor development. Clip fruit with a very short stem piece left on but one that’s not long enough to punch holes in other tomatoes. Stems ripped out of fruit will open them to decay.

Eliminate green fruit, as research shows it’s more likely to spoil than ripen and never develops the flavor consumers want anyway. Mature green fruit will develop good flavor. Mature green tomatoes are well sized and have turned light green to white. If cut open, seeds are encased in gel and no empty cavity space is present.

In addition to mature green, sort and store fruit by these groups as they will ripen at similar speeds. Fruit may be "turning" with a tinge of pink color showing, "pink" with 30 to 60 percent color showing, "light red" with 60 to 90 percent color present, and others "fully red" but not soft.

Store mature green tomatoes at 55 to 70 degrees F. Once fruit is fully ripe, it can be stored at 45 to 50 degrees F with a relative humidity of 90 – 95%. Recommended refrigerator operating temperatures of 40 degrees are certainly too cool to ripen mature green tomatoes and are colder than desired for ripe ones. Ripening enzymes are destroyed by cold temperatures whether in the garden or in a refrigerator.

Ripen tomatoes in well-ventilated, open cardboard boxes at room temperature checking them every few days to eliminate those that may have spoiled. Mature green tomatoes will ripen in 14 days at 70 degrees F and 28 days at 55 degrees F.

How to Make Tomatoes Turn Red
Getting tomatoes to turn red is not difficult. There are several methods that can be used for making tomatoes turn red.

One way how to turn green tomatoes red is to ripen mature green tomatoes in a well-ventilated area at room temperature, checking their progress every few days and discarding unsuitable or soft ones. The cooler the temperature, the longer the ripening process will take. For instance, mature green tomatoes will usually ripen within a couple of weeks in warmer temperatures (65 ºF – 70 ºF) and about a month in cooler temperatures (55 ºF – 60 ºF).

One of the best ways for getting tomatoes to turn red is by using ripening bananas. The ethylene produced from these fruits helps with the ripening process.

If want to know how to turn green tomatoes red but only have a few on hand, using a jar or brown paper bag are suitable methods. Add two to three tomatoes and one ripening banana to each jar or bag and seal closed. Place them in a warm area away from sunlight and check regularly, replacing banana as needed. Tomatoes should ripen within one or two weeks.

Cinnamon roll with Apple & Raisin ( Water-Roux Method )

2011-10-08T00:29:00.000-07:00

The tangzhong method has been circulating in the Chinese baking community since Yvonne Chen's "Bread Doctor" from Taiwan (陳郁芬。《65C湯種麵包》。臺灣) was first published in 2003 or 2004. The secret to the success of this method lies in the tangzhong, or the water-roux starter (湯種). It was an ancient Chinese method used in the making of Chinese steamed buns (e.g. bao 包 and mantou 饅頭), dumplings (餃子), glutinous rice balls or tongyun (湯圓) and so forth. The Japanese recently revived the method, and it later became very popular in Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Malaysia and other Asia regions.

In Japanese, tangzhong means either a warm or thin starchy (flour-based) starter. Bread that's made with tangzhong is called tangzhong bread. So, how does it do the magic of producing bread that stays soft and fluffy longer without the addition of any "artificial ingredients?" As you cook the flour-water mixture for the tangzhong over gentle heat, the starch begins to react with the water via gelatinization. The mixture will subsequently thicken up as the starch traps and locks moisture from the water. The cooking will have to be stopped once the mixture has reached 65C.

I had been tempted to try out this method, but as it's time consuming to try somrthing new, therefore I keep on delaying the plan. This afternoon, while the three girls were taking their nap, I tried out this method and made some cinnamon rolls with apple + raisin today. The bread turns out to be really soft & fluffy.

How to prepare Tang Zhong? We just need 1 part of bread flour in 5 parts of water to 65°C. The tangzhong can be stored up to a few days as long as it doesn't turn grey.

Basic Scones

2011-10-04T23:17:00.002-07:00

When we do not have enough bread for tomorrow's breakfast, this is what I will be thinking of - Scones. I first tasted it at Cameron Highlands. And I do enjoyed having tea with scones at David Brown Restaurant at Bukit Bendera too, the scones really taste good when add on with butter and jam.

What you need: ( makes 11 scones )

375g all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
one pinch of salt
75g cold unsalted butter (cut into small cubes)
45g caster sugar
2 (large) egg plus enough fresh milk to make up to 210ml

What you do:
1.Lightly beat the eggs and add in fresh milk to make up to 210ml.

2.Sift all purpose flour and baking powder. Add in salt and sugar and mix the dry ingredients together. With fork, mix the cold butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. If the butter starts to melt during this process, stop and place the mixture in the freezer for 10-15mins to prevent the butter from melting further. Continue the process when the mixture is well chilled.

3.Keep the mixing bowl (with the flour-butter mixture) in the fridge for at least 30 mins.

4.Remove bowl from fridge. Add in egg & milk mixture and stir until just combined. The mixture will be sticky, moist and lumpy. Give a few light kneading (not more than 10 seconds) so that it comes together to form a dough.

5.Cover the dough with cling wrap. Keep dough in fridge for about 30mins. This step is to keep the dough cold in order to prevent the butter from melting. During baking, the heat will cause these tiny bits of butter to melt into the dough and leaves pockets and layers in the biscuits for them to rise nicely. If the butter melts before baking, the scones will be hard and flat.

6.On a lightly floured surface, cut out the dough ( into 1 inche - height ) with a lightly floured biscuit cutter . In order for the biscuits to rise evenly, press the cutter directly down and lift it straight up without twisting. Dip the cutter into some flour after each cut.

7.Place cut scones on baking tray . For soft-sided biscuits, place them close together on the baking sheet so that the sides are touching. For crisp-sided ones, place them 1 inch apart, these will not rise as high as biscuits that are baked close together. Brush the tops with some milk.

8.Bake at preheated oven at 200degC or 395 F for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Insert a toothpick in the center of the biscuit and if it comes out clean, means the scone is ready. The texture of the interior should be light and soft. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.

Ray's Boathouse

2011-10-04T07:45:00.001-07:00

After pike place market, we went to Ray's Boathouse for dinner. Widely regarded as a "must visit" by locals and travelers alike, Ray's Boathouse is world-renowned for its impeccably fresh Northwest seafood. Their culinary professionals hand select the best products from local purveyors and then prepare them simply to enhance the naturally fresh, clean flavors and succulent textures. The menu changes weekly to reflect what is seasonally and locally available. .

We were sitting upstairs, and the view was superb. As it was quite cold, we prefer to had our dinner indoor.

They provided crayon and coloring paper for the kids, which kept the three girls occupied before the food arrives.

Clam Chowder

Beer Clam. This is really delicious. As we had just finished up the only bottle of sake at home, instead of using sake in my daily cooking, now I started to add in beer in some of our dishes.

Alaska Salmon

Dungeness Crab Cake

Overall it was a great dining experience, only thing was the food was a little pricey... But we will go again.

Pancake Sunday

2011-10-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

Pancake is one of the simple breakfast that I love to prepare. As I do not have to wait for proofing time like making bread. This morning, we made Blueberry bananas pancake with yogurt, referring to this recipe.

And also, rum raisin ice cream + bananas pancake.

Autumn

2011-10-01T07:50:00.001-07:00

Autumn had just started last Sunday. The weather is getting colder. Compared to last two weeks, we often see sunshine and sometimes the weather is hot.

Expected to have rains these few days, but we seldom see heavy downpour here, just once for the last 5 months.

King Salmon Cake

2011-09-30T08:59:00.001-07:00

Feel bored of eating fried salmon. Tried something new last week - King Salmon Cake.

What you need:

Canola oil, for frying

1 1/2 lbs of cooked king salmon ( 2 slices )

7 digestive biscuits ( the original recipe used cracker meal )

2 large eggs, beaten

1 red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 lemon, zested and juiced

sugar and salt

pepper

What you do:

Flake the cooked cooled salmon with a fork, Add digestive biscuits to the bowl and work through the fish with your hands.
Add the eggs, red bell pepper, sugar, salt, and pepper and the zest of lemon to the bowl. Combine the ingredients well with your hands. If the mixture is a little wet, add a bit more digestive biscuits.
Form 3-inch patties of salmon cakes 1-inch thick. Fry cakes until golden in a single layer 3 - 4 minutes on each side.
Served with salad greens or chili mayonnaise sauce.

Every Child Ready to Read

2011-09-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

Saw this parent guide to early literacy for talkers : Two- and Three-Years-Olds at the library. Wanted to jot down here to remind myself on how to help MSLS to be ready to read.

According to research, there are six pre-reading skills that children must learn in order to learn to read.

What can I do to help:
(1) Vocabulary

Talk with your child about what is going on around you. Talk about feelings - your and your child's.
When your child talks with you, add more details to what she says.
Speak in the language that is most comfortable for you.
Read together every day. When you talk about the story and pictures, your child hears and learns more words.
Reserach shows that children who have larger vocabularies are better readers. Knowing many words helps children recognise written words and inderstand what they read.

(2) Print Motivation

Make book-sharing time a special time for closeness between you and your child.
Let your child see you reading
Visit your public library often
Children who enjoy books will want to learn how to read.

(3) Narrative Skills

Tell your child stories.
Ask your child to tell you about something that happened today.
Read books together. Stories help children understand that things happen in order first, next, last.
Read a book that you have read before. Switch what you do - you be the listener and let your child tell you the story.
Being able to tell or retell a story helps children understand what they read.

(4) Phonological Awareness

Say nursery rhymes and make up your own silly, nonsense rhymes.
Sing songs. Songs have different notes for each syllable in a word, so children can hear the different sounds in words.
Play word games such as " What sounds like 'ran'? or " What starts with the same soun as " ball"?
Say rhymes and sing songs in the language that is most comfortable for you.
Being able to hear the sounds that make up words helps children soun out words as they begin to read.

(5) Letter Knowledge

Help your child see different shapes and the shapes of letters.
Talk about what is the same and what is the different between two things
Write you child's name, especially first letter.
Make letters from clay or use magnetic letters. Point out and name letters when reading alphabet books, signs, or labels.
Read alphabet books with clear letters and pictures
Knowing the names and sounds of letters help children figure out how to sound out words.

MSLS at 23 months

2011-09-30T08:25:00.000-07:00

Both MSLS are at 12.3kg. They loves to eat and LS will say " bau bau " when she is full.
Still wearing diapers during daytime nap and night time. MS will wake up during midnight to wee wee. But we still let her wear diapers during night time. LS tends to have a few " accidents" last month while diaperless during daytime, eg: at supermarket's play area, in the car. This happened when she is too excited when she play new things, and sometimes she only alert us when she really cannot hold it anymore.
Have their milk 3 times per day - after afternoon nap, before sleep and during midnight.
Daily diet consists of bread/ oat ( they love oat with sliced bananas )/ fruits ( especially grapes ) / fruit juice for breakfast, porridge before nap time, rice, fruits/ bread/ beans/ yoghurt during tea time, and porridge or noodles for dinner.
They will follow what we said, if we said out words by words.
They like to imitate what ES did during her gymnastics class.
They like to play " masak masak" and dolls.

They used lego to play masak masak too. Pretend the red color blocks are strawberry cakes, and yellow colour blocks are banana cakes.

They have their own opinions, eg: MS wanted to wear the same diapers ( the diapers with moon, just like what LS had ).
They love to take bath.
Sometimes they share, but sometimes they do fight.

Great hiking experience at Mt St Helens

2011-09-30T00:22:00.001-07:00

Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States Mount St. Helens is most notorious for its catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980.which was the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States.

Last Saturday, we drove two hours together with three families and reached our destination, Mount St Helens. We decided to go for a short trail, about 2.3 miles - Hummock Trail.

Hummonck trail is a loop of trails meandering over and around various hummacks, along streams, ponds and wet land that are the result of the landslides that happened during the eruption. Lots of ups and downs and some areas of flat walking. Daddy really did a great job as he brought MSLS together with him with their stroller. It is really not easy to hike with a stroller and need a lot of strength especially going through path with lots of stones, and when going up the hill. However, it is a totally different experience compared to hiking alone.

ES with her new friend, Yi Jie. They walked through the whole trail without complaining of tiredness. They love seeing frogs and dragonflies along the trail.

We stopped for awhile when we reached a flat area.

Mount St Helens, from far.

We passed by a lake.

We saw a lot of thess white wildflowers along the trail.

While walking half way, we saw North Fork Toutle River.

Another great view of Mount St Helens from Tortle River.

This piece of land was separated into two by muds and rocks, after the eruptions in 1980's.

Even it is a short trail, we took three hours to complete the trail. Is is indeed a fun hikng experience especially with the three girls. Everytime when the kids were asking whether when they will reached the parking area, I told them, " after one turning, you will reached!" just like what gong gong told me when we go for hiking when I was a kid.

We drove to Coldwater Creek and had picnic there. After lunch, we have a slow walk at Coldwater Creek.

The kids enjoyed playing with each other.

Our group photo

We drove to the top of the hill before we drove back. Behind Ah Ma is Mount St Helen, a more closer view.

Chocolate butter cake

2011-09-23T23:54:00.003-07:00

Thought of baking a simple butter cake for tomorrow's breakfast. Popo always made this for us and she had shared the recipe with me before. It is really simple and yummy.

Now it's time for me to try it out by myself.

What you need:
190g butter
140g sugar
3 eggs
190g all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder ( sifted )
3 tablespoons fresh milk
70g chocolates ( add one tablespoon of olive oil and heat up in microwave for 30 seconds )

What you do:
(1) Add sugar into butter and mix with low speed till smooth and light yellowish.
(2) Add in egg, one at a time, and mix well after each addtion.
(3) Add in flour in three addition.
(4) Mix fresh milk with the batter.
(5) Take out some batter and add in chocolate mixture. Mix well.
(6) Pour the original batter into a 9 inche baking tray. Followed by chocolate batter. Pour in another layer of original batter on top.
(7) Put the tray into the preheated oven ( 180 C or 356 F ) for about 40 minutes or till the surface turned
brownish.