Anyone can cook

Overnight oats for breakfast, Vietnamese porridge for lunch and prawn pasta for dinner. It was indeed a gastronomical experience in my house today. Something worthy to be proud of because cooking was never my forte and yet here I am proving to you Gusteau's motto "Anyone can cook". It's real, the motto, not character though. Gusteau is a fictional character form Ratatouille an animated movie by Disney/Pixar.

Vietnamese Spinach porridge (for recipe click here) 

This is a big deal for me because I was never successful in all my attempts at cooking in the past. I believe it was because there was no need for me to cook. There was always someone else in charge of cooking whenever my mom was away.

Even when I left home and attended boarding school,  I was not enticed to join other girls from my dormitory in their cook-off sessions because unlike me, who could stomach whatever awful and funny looking food that was served in the school cafeteria, they had a skill they could rely on and not get food poisoning at the same time.

Things changed once I was living in a foreign land with meagre allowances. In the beginning I was doing pretty well with my new meal plan which included cereal for breakfast, cereal for lunch and unsurprisingly cereal for dinner! For many months I was surviving on Cheerios and full fat milk because these were dirt cheap and the boxes of Cheerios were huge! And if you buy near-to-expire-date, that's another huge savings!

Although I was pretty happy and contended with my meals, I knew there was no sustainability in them. That's when I decided to join my housemates and chip in my time and effort for home cooked meals. There was a huge duty roster and each of us were tasked to cook dinner for the day.

Since it was quite clear that I had no basics in cooking, I was given one week to watch and learn tricks of the trade from my housemates, who by the way were seasoned cooks by then! "Hmm, this isn't so hard" I thought out loud and requested to start as soon as possible because frankly, it was dead boring watching them cook and I just wanted my evenings back to myself.

First attempt

After 4 long evening watching and learning, I felt very excited and rather equipped to prepare dinner for 6 people. I was even given a recipe and step-by-step instructions by one of my roommates, so nothing could go wrong. Everything was going according to plan, my rice was perfect and fluffy and the vegetable were cooking just right in the wok. But when I read that I had to add cooked rice to the vegetables, I panicked because it was quite impossible to mix 3 cups of cooked rice with the vegetables in my tiny wok. So it was white rice with mushy vegetables for dinner!

That was the first and last time I had to cook for my housemates. Instead of kicking me out, I was assigned with dirty dishes duty everyday and I happily took it because it was a much better option than having cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner again.

The new bride

Traditionally in my culture a new bride is suppose to cook a sweet dish and present it to her new family but luckily for me it was just my husband and I in our new home. Although the house had an equipped kitchen, we ate out a lot. So another learning opportunity forgone and it didn't matter to me at all. But all that changed the day some friends came over for a late night football match and these fellows insisted I made them tea as they are so used to having mamak tea while watching a match.

To my surprise there were tea leaves in my pantry so there was no excuse for not serving tea. After half hour I managed to come up with a decent looking jug of aromatic tea or so I thought. Until today I am not spared the agony of my tea blunder and am constantly reminded how awfully strong and bitter my tea was. They will humour me with their tongue scrapping actions saying that the tea I made has permanently coated their tongues.

Never say never

It's hard to believe I had such a bleak start in my cooking journey but I am glad it did not demoralise or made me fear cooking. I think it was simple because I did not see  need for me to cook back then.

I will not consider myself a seasoned cook until the day I am able to whip up a glorious and nutritional meal by simply rummaging my pantry like my mom does. But I have come a long way and have raised three wonderful mini-me's who are fit and strong, and my husband who still has his taste buds intact despite my tea blunder.

Baby steps

Daily cooked meal has become a possibility in my house thanks to advance planning. It is an activity I do with my whole family. At the start of each week, I go through some recipes and select those which I can cook with minimal effort and ingredients. Then I get my kids to help me decide which recipes they would like to have for lunch and dinner. They help me list out ingredients needed for our bi-weekly shopping list based on the recipes. This is a good tool to teach them planning and avoid unnecessary purchases or shopping meltdowns. It allows me to shop more efficiently and eliminates the instances when in the middle of cooking you realised you don't have the necessary ingredients.

Some may say that planning a meal takes out the spontaneity that makes life enjoyable but I rather have a reliable and predictable meal than try to "wing it" with hopes that the meal served is worthy to be the centrepiece on my dining table.

By planning, I am able to take advantage of a wide variety of healthy meals and select ingredients which are easily available, reasonably priced and full of goodness.  It also makes cooking a lot quicker because I don't waste time standing in front of my fridge gawking at it and tying to make up a recipe as I grab the vegetables stored in it. The biggest benefit to me personally is the ability to answer the annoyingly nagging question "Mom, what's for dinner?" and putting an end to my numerous "I don't know what to cook" calls to my husband.

Planning is time consuming and you might have to dedicate a couple of hours on your first attempt, I kid you not and it's worth it. Once you have your initial layout or table, it's just a matter of changing it's content and it will become second nature once you get hang of it.

Every night before dozing off to bed, I would do a mental check and run through my recipes. This has helped tremendously and I know exactly what to do, be it for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

This is me, the person who used to spend hours watching Jamie Oliver and Nigella on The Asian Food Network.

So next time if you see someone watching the Food Network religiously but is not able to even fry an egg, let them because you never know when they will turn over to new leaf and start cooking up a storm for you to feast on.

Spinach prawn pasta (for recipe, click here)

For recipes, please head over to my Recipes page

Featured in a local magazine

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Great food with fewer calories

"Malaysia is a paradise of gastronomical delights and its no surprise that one of he favourite pastimes of fellow Malaysian is to enjoy food. However, we all know that any of our favourite foods can be unhealthy due to the high oil content used during preparation, but it really can be difficult to say no when, for example, a delicious piece of fried chicken comes your way!" said Ms Soo Woon Yee, Marketing Director, Kimberly-Clark Malaysia at the introduction of their latest product.

 

I agree with her statement, we Malaysians love our food very much and why wouldn't we, it's our culture. All our meetings, whether social, informal or formal, no matter how big or small revolves around food. Food is always on the agenda and I remember having debates with my colleagues about it.

 

Even our Visit Malaysia commercials, show food as a major attraction. Unlike many countries, we have a diverse variety of food which is available 24/7, from 5 star fine dining to local street dining. You name it, we have it!

Food is everywhere! You will see it even in places you would least expect, in health fitness clubs!

It is part of our daily life because without it, we cannot function properly. It is our fuel to keep going.

 

Food is the first thing I would discuss with my friends whenever we plan for a meet-up and this has become one of the reason why many Malaysian consume more than the recommended daily calorie intake - the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization found that the average Malaysian consumes more than 2900 kcal per day**, well in excess of the recommended 2000 calories per day for adult men and 1500 for adult women.

 

But that does not mean you must become a victim to food. With a little knowledge and discipline you can take control of your food and consume food which will benefit you and not cause your harm.

 

Keeping that in mind, Scott a trusted household brand in many Malaysians' home has taken a step further to introduce a new kitchen towel, designed for superior absorbency to address one of the biggest challenge in Malaysia kitchens. Not only does it remove oil effectively on the greasiest of kitchen surfaces, it absorbs excess oil effectively from food, making it possible for consumers to enjoy great food, minus the calories, in the simplest way.

 

 

Introducing, Scott Calorie Light Premium Towel. It is made with revolutionary Fiber-Tech technology, and from 100% natural pulp in a thicker weave to support superior oil absorbency. The towel is also infused with green tree extract, an ingredient that is long known and used for fat reduction.

This towel was tested by an independent party, and found to reduce calories intake from fat by an average of 25%* just using 3 sheets of Scott Calorie Light kitchen towel to soak up the excess oil from foods like fried chicken before serving. 

Scott Calories Light towel is available at all supermarkets, hypermarkets, minimarkets and provision stores that comes in packs of 2-roll and 6-rolls. Recommended retail price for 2-rolls is RM6.20 (West Malaysia) and RM6.80 (East Malaysia) while the 6-roll is priced at RM14.90 (West Malaysia) and RM16.40 (East Malaysia).

For more information, you can call Kimberly Clark Consumer care line, 1-800-82-1188 (toll-free) weekdays 9am to 5pm.  

 

My own test

Armed with a simple kitchen and its basic amenities, I decided to conduct my own test to see how well Scott's premium towel faired against my ordinary kitchen towel.
 

Test 1: Sensory test
Its clear Scott is a winner because its thicker and softer. It tears only where it was intended and you would not end up with tiny bits and pieces even if you tear with damp hands.
 

Test 2: Absorption test
Scott was a winner once more and triumphed excellently in both my absorption test - water & oil.
 

Water
2 teaspoons of water was absorbed by Scott and the soaked towel did not crumble to pieces when I lifted it. My ordinary towel failed and let water seep through it and move onto my table.
 

Oil
This test was conducted using 2 sheets of kitchen towel and equal amounts of fried chicken strips.

The excess oil from the fried chicken spread wide on Scott's premium kitchen towel and wasn't concentrated only to places the fried chicken was placed. It was well absorbed by both sheets and didn't seep through. When compared to my ordinary kitchen towel, Scott's ability to absorb oil was far superior because the oil travelled outwards from where the fried chicken was placed.
The ordinary towel too managed to absorb oil but it was limited to where the fried chicken was placed. The oil from it did not travel like Scott's premium towel and some oil seeped through both towels, leaving a lot of oil stain on my plate. 

 

My homemade chicken fingers, used for this test.

This is a very simple and easy to prepare recipe (using ingredients which are available in your pantry). After experimenting with many types of recipe (from complicated ones to the ones that requires a lot of ingredients), I tend to make this most often. Kids love the simplicity this dish has to offer and when cut into smaller pieces you can turn this into the infamous popcorn chicken served by a famous fast food restaurant (which has a whooping 380-500 calories, per serving!), but much healthier and lighter.

Popcorn chicken

 

 

The recipe:

1 egg

1/2 lemon/lime juice

8-10 chicken strips

8-10 fortified cream crackers (or any ordinary crackers will do too)

3-4 heaping tbs flour

1 tsp cayenne pepper (add more if you like your chicken spicier)

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Salt to taste

Lime/lemon wedge and spring onions for garnish

 

Method

First, you crush the crackers by bashing it with a rolling pin. Put the crackers into a bag, cover it with a tea towel and beat to your heart's content. A good stress reliever, this exercise.

Next, massage the lime/lemon juice into chicken strips and coat each strip with the flour. Then dunk it into the egg before covering it well crushed cream crackers. Make sure you really coat it well.

Fry these chicken strip in a shallow frying pan, 3 minutes on each side or until they turn golden brown. Shake off as much excess oil as possible before putting them onto your kitchen towel lined plate.



Pictures speak a thousand words.

These pictures show my test conducted at home

Scott Calories Light vs Ordinary kitchen towel

 

Test 2: Absorption test - Water

 

Ordinary towel on the left. Scott's Calories Light towel on right

Water seeped through the ordinary towel

 

Test 2: Absorption test - Oil

using ordinary kitchen towel

 

 

Test 2: Absorption test - Oil

using Scott's Calories Light kitchen towel

 

 

Once you done draining excess oil off your fried chicken, use it to suck up the remainder oil left in your pan and discard*** properly. 

 

 

 

*Based on the reading of calories from fat (Kcal/100g), tests were conducted by third party international laboratories using 3 Scott Calories Light towels on fried chicken.

 **data from 200-2007

***flushing used oil down your sink hole is not recommended.


Disclosure: I received a sample pack of Scott Calories Light kitchen towel to share my experience using it. All opinions and ideas shared here are mine and mine alone.

For more recipes, please head over to my Recipes page

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Celebrating childhood to the fullest

As I age (we all do, I know), I am becoming more aware of the limitations of my body. I am still fast, agile and have the strength to carry on many tasks but it takes longer to recuperate and energise. Trying to keep up with the demands of my young energetic children is becoming a challenge and I don't have the sustainability to carry on doing the same physical activities, day in and day out.

"Where do they get all that energy!?", I scream in my head as I beg them to let me take a break and quite possibly let me lie on the playground floor for the rest of the evening!

Energiser bunnies

Children are amazing and the energy they have in them is even more fascinating. It doesn't take a lot of fuelling (food intake) but whatever they eat, keeps them fuelled for the whole day. Yet, there are some children who are not celebrating childhood to the fullest. There are many contributors to this cause and I would like to zoom into one factor which is not a common topic you hear parents or educators talk about; 'hidden hunger'

Hidden hunger is a global and nutritional issue related to micronutrients deficiencies that is lack of minerals and vitamins in our food such as zinc, iron, iodine, Vitamin A and Vitamin D. These are some of the crucial micronutrients that ensure the health and proper development of a child. A lack of these micronutrients can weaken children's immune system, cause a stunted growth and if left untreated can endanger a child's life or cause major setbacks in their developments. Especially vulnerable to children under the age of three.

On a local scale, Professor Dr Khor Geok Lin, Professor of Nutrition from the International Medical University Malaysia (IMU), stated the consequences of hidden hunger is disastrous as it can lead to poor mental development, poor physical health and productivity.

 

Hidden hunger often has no visible warning signs and many suffering from it may not even be aware of it. Hidden hunger is not the same as being hungry. When you are hungry you would immediately settle your hunger by consuming food but that would not tackle hidden hunger if your selection of food is lacking in minerals and vitamins needed to sustain life in the long run.

"Women and children from lower income groups in developing countries are often the most affected, but local studies have shown that even school children in urban areas like KL and PJ have micronutrients deficiencies including that of Vitamin D; which is important for the  absorption of calcium. Zinc, iron and iodine deficiencies also have been observed in Malaysian children. Thus, it is important to inform mothers and educate children from young to eat right and have a balanced diet of carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals," added Professor Khor.

 

Research has indicated a significant nutritional gap amongst Malaysian children with 13.2% being underweight ad 15.8% showing stunted growth. The culprit behind this is largely due to poor dietary habits such as skipping breakfast, frequent consumption of snack and fast food, and low consumptions of fruits and vegetables. 

 

Kids want to be Tall, Sharp, Strong

Before you get all fired up and make a promise only to feed your child nutritious food, you need to understand food anxiety or stress issues.

 

I remember how hard and stressful it was to feed my eldest when she was ready for solids. I had 5 years of mealtime battles with her. It was painful, time consuming and nerve wreaking because she would refuse everything I prepared for her. She hated everything green, yellow and orange, so fruits and vegetables were basically off the menu. She even hated legumes and meat too! In summary, she hated mealtime and would start screaming the moment I put her on her high chair.

It took me five years (that's how determined and foolish I was to force feed her 'good food') to discover she and I had developed an anxiety towards food and meal time.

Nowadays I more relaxed and don't have a regimented feeding time. I feed on demand and serve a variety of food. The result, my toddler is not fearful of mealtime and she would try almost everything served. If she refused a particular food, I would remove and offer it at another time (the only thing you gain by coaxing her to try it - over and over again - is a heartache!)

On days she does not have a complete meal I will make sure she gets her daily nutrition and vitamins in liquid form, either from milk substitute or fresh smoothie and juice.

 

Luckily for us, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) introduced a new and improved formulation for its classic malt beverage, Horlicks Chocolate which comes with a rich chocolate taste. It promised to provide 23 vital nutrients including calcium, protein and multivitamins to support children's overall growth and development. It aspires to help kids who want to be Tall, Sharp & Strong!

So next, when your child has to leave home without having breakfast, be sure to hand to him a big mug of yummy chocolaty Horlicks.

 

Chocolate Horlicks made with fresh milk

 

Chocolate Horlicks experience at home

You can prepare this drink whichever way you like but my second child liked it served warm with some froth on it. My eldest daughter wasn't very pleased with the taste because she doesn't enjoy having her fresh milk flavoured. So 1 out of my 2 children gave it a thumbs up, which is not a bad outcome.

 

To make this luscious tall creamy chocolate Horlicks, you'll need

Fresh warm milk

Horlicks Chocolate

A flask or milk frothier

Sugar to taste

 

Heat milk and pour some into a flask (do not fill it more than half) and shake it well. In a large mug, mix 3-4 heaping tablespoons of Horlicks Chocolate with a whisk. Unlike other chocolate drinks, it takes a little effort to dissolve Horlicks into milk but if you own a frothier, mixing is a breeze. Then top it up with the milk from the flask and serve immediately.

 

If you are not a fan of milk, you can make it using hot water and you would still get the chocolaty taste.
You can even serve it chilled.

Milk frother purchased from IKEA, a handy tool to have

 

Horlicks made with water

 

It's good to know I can rely on Horlicks whenever my kids get hungry (which is all the time!) and it will not only keep them satiated but is good for their health and development, thanks to its improved formula and its aspiration to help kids to be Tall, Sharp and Strong.

Snack time

 

 

Horlicks Chocolate is available at all supermarkets, hypermarkets and provision stores in 200g (RM6.50), 400g (RM10.50), 1kg (RM21.50) and 2kg packs (RM42.00) or 3-in-1 sachets (RM10.50) for convenience.

 

Check out the Horlicks Chocolate commercial here: Kids want to be Tall, Sharp, Strong

 

 

Disclosure: I received a 1kg pack of Horlicks Chocolate for review purposes but all opinions are mine and mine alone.

For more recipes, please head over to my Recipes page

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Recipe : Fresh juice in a jiffy (Philips)

Before you roll your eyes at my title and skip ahead to another page, please STOP! I know that you know, juice has received bad press as potential contributor to childhood obesity but that is only half the truth. There is a flipside to this story and I am not talking about commercially prepared or store bought juices prettily packaged in cans, bottles or carts. I am talking about preservatives free and sugar free kind-a juice.

When I first received my juicer, I hopped on the wrong juicing wagon. I put all my effort into juicing fruits alone. It was a very tasty journey no doubt but little did I know, that there were extra calories hidden in my juice. On average, I was juicing up to 10 apples and oranges for my small family! It was easy to consume these many fruits at a go because with the fibre removed from my juice, we didn't feel full as opposed to eating a whole apple.

 

The effect wasn't immediate but over time consuming these fresh juices had lead to some weight gain. However that was the only drawback because drinking them helped in many other ways; great bowel movement, glowing skin and complexion, just to name a few.

 

It took some learning and after tweaking my juicing journey, I am happy to say we are now on the right band wagon.

Living in the fast lane

Nothing beats the benefits you get from eating a whole fruit, although some juicing enthusiast may not agree. But I turned to juicing because it fit my current lifestyle. Unlike my mother, who is able to sit with a platter of fruits and feed her grandchildren fruits on demand, I don't have the patient nor the time to do it.

Owning a juicer gave me the opportunity to ensure my kids had their dose of fruits and vegetable portion for the day. Because when fruits and vegetables are combined in one glass, even a picky eater may like because the taste of vegetables is camouflaged by the sweet tasting fruits.

Timing is Everything

With the older children who have the power of autonomy, I present to them these juices when they are in dire need of fuel - after school. I would stand proud and tall with a cooler bag which carried this precious cargo and to date, I have not failed miserably at ensuring they consume it.

After school happens to provide the best opportunity for you to introduce as many kinds of food and drinks because they are at your mercy and (almost) everything taste wonderful to them when they are hungry and thirsty.

As for my toddler who is still discovering, I introduce as much fresh produce as I can. Since her taste buds are still 'virgin' and she isn't able to demand for chocolates, ice creams, sweetened juices and other processed food, she is quite contented with her juice, the way it is presented to her.

Today's recipe: Sun

Ingredients

4 organic carrots

4 organic red apples

1 organic lemon

some mint from my own backyard (for garnishing)
 

 

I named it Sun because it is bright orange and I felt a flush of energy, invigorating my body after consuming it and my immediate thoughts went to Superman -just like how Superman recharged himself with the sun's rays and also because sometimes adding a story helped in ensuring my kids would drink it.

 

The method

I used Philips Viva Juicer to prepare this juice and it took only 5 minutes to juice all my ingredients straight into my glass, thanks to its spout accessory.

 

Prepping rocks

Prepping is the key here because it saves time and makes juicing easier when needed. Since I like to juice just before picking them up from school, I get all my fruits and vegetables washed, cleaned and skinned (necessary if you are not using organic) first thing in the morning and store it in Ziploc bags in my fridge. No cutting is necessary because this juicer is able to take in a whole carrot and medium sized apples thanks to its large feeding tube (80mm). It was rather surprising that this high speed juicer wasn't as noisy as some other high speed juicers that I have used in the past. So I can juice anytime of the day without fear of waking my toddler up with the awful loud noise. 

 

Another good thing about this juicer is that is very straightforward to use and assemble. Even my almost a tween daughter managed to assemble it without the help of a guide/manual.

 

Washing is easy too because there aren't any small parts which needs thorough cleaning and zero chances for any of its part going missing unlike my experience with my breast pump that had too many small parts. Thanks to its round shaped genius pulp container without any nooks and crannies makes removing pulp from the pulp collector, a breeze. All you do is just turn it over in your bean bag but some pulp did get splattered onto the lid and the feeding tube which came off easily at a rinse. And if you own a dishwasher, which I wished I had one, this is dishwasher safe.

Even the little one enjoyed this concoction, recipe taken from the recipe booklet that came together with the juicer.

Little Picasso in the making

Some details on Philips Avance Collection Juicer

• 2 speed setting
• 1500ml juice jug (provided) capacity
• 800W power
• comes with a recipe booklet
• RM799

Disclosure: I was not paid to review this product nor received any products for it. All opinions are mine and mine alone.

For more recipes, please head over to my Recipes page

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Thank you for stopping by at A cuppa for my thoughts