Muffin vs bread

E and N just love to contradict each other.

E would say " Mummy, can you bake some choc chip muffins for me for tea tomorrow?" and N would not hesitate to jump in " No, mummy, bake my garlic bread first. I told you so last week and you still havent baked them" In return, E would get agitated " No, I dont like garlic...no garlic bread...just yummy choc chip muffins"....and it went on and on.....

At the end of the episode, I ended up baking both. Muffin was easy peasy but it took 3 to 4 hours to get the garlic bread out as the bread dough needed time to proof. It was ok, meanwhile, I just entertained the kids. :)

Pandan snowkin mooncake

First attempt at snowskin mooncake. Pretty easy. This was made from fresh pandan juice and hence its green appearance. Nic and I decided to fill it with red bean paste and almond flakes. Not a bad idea at all :)

As we rolled, we ate (the skin). It was chewy and sweet, just like gummy bears. heehee :) Upon completion of our tasks, we actually grew tired of eating the end product haha :)

Bedtime reading

E is another cutie pie with a "selective" elephant memory.

I am so glad that our recent library trips have rekindled his love for reading....or least his love to be "read to". We have been reading a few of his choice books for the past several nights before bedtime, so much so that he knows that I have skipped pages and lines. I must confessed, I got really tired reading the same book of over 30 pages every night. This is not all, he would have 7 to 8 books all lined up for bedtime reading. :)

I read ".....Hopper tried to push to wheelbarrow up the hill and when he finally made it there, he had a big feast of easter eggs, marshmallows, jelly beans and chocolate bunnies."

E " No, you havent finished reading the first page....It should be " Hopper tried to push the wheelbarrow up the hill and a strawberry cream filled easter egg rolled down the hill to the stream. When he finally made it there, he had a big feast of easter eggs, marshmallows, jelly beans and chocholate bunnies"

He would regurgitate it without casting an eye on the words at all. Pure memory work!

Okara Bread

Some beautiful okara buns! Soft and fluffy, no doubt!

Multi-flavoured -
a) pure mung bean fillings
b)cheese fillings
c)chocolate chip fillings
d)raisin and cranberry fillings

First simple fondant cake

Nothing to shout about. Just a simple fondant cake over the weekend. No different from playing with playdough. I definitely need to gather more gadgets to do a better job. I have no measurement board, no cutting knife, no special cutters...just a pair of hands, a heartshape cookie cutter and the tip of the cream pipe.

Nic was delighted at receiving a pink fondant cake though, just for a change and a little fun :) The piece of artwork was almost discarded instantly as the cake was sliced up. I wouldnt allow the kids to consume it as it was nothing but a piece of sugary sugar!!

Moist and soft carrot cake

Moist and soft carrot cake with little fats. I baked these for a friend who is a big fan of carrot cakes.

Back at home, we have different types of eaters. One will attack the cream cheese toppings, while the other will only eat the cake. As for me, I like to eat it in its complete form ;)

Girls' toilet?

E needed a toilet break and as usual, I took him to the ladies' but this time, he paused.

E " Mummy, why are you taking me to the girls' toilet? I am a boy. The boy's toilet is over there"

Me " Err...because I cant go to the boys' toilet...." (hoping that he would not probe further)

E" then I can go to the girls' toilet?"

Me" for now yes, not when you are older and can manage on your own"

Good friend

Nic was kind of confused. She couldnt decide who to invite to her birthday party. There was one girl she would like to invite but somehow, this girl has not been friendly to her lately. E was quick to jump in.

E" Che che, you can invite me, I am your good friend too"

E " I will be your good friend, if you dont scold me so often"

E" and if you dont scream at me, all the time"

E " and if you dont step on my toes. I can go to your party"

I wonder how N felt......ashamed? or annoyed? Just one little cutie pie... :)

Simply mathematics

E seems to have some fair idea of mathematics though I must confess, I have not been a key contributor towards this achievement.

Me " how many pieces of brownie did you bring to school today?"
E " 3"
Me " if i give you 3 more pieces tomorrow, how many will you have?"

Immediately, he displayed all his ten fingers...and showed me 3 fingers on each hand and started counting and he got the answer!

E "6"
Me " Very good! Since you have 6 pieces, if you give 2 pieces to your friend, how many will you be left with?"

Again, he worked his fingers. This time, he opened up all 5 on 1 side and another finger on the other. Thereafter, he closed 2 and he got his answer!

E "4 but I won't share with them. I will eat it all by myself "

One greedy little piggie, but a smart one!

Ms Cutie

Vanity seems to be in the blood.

As I was trimming N's fringe, she yelled and screamed " Stop! Mummy. Stop! I AM CUTE ENOUGH AS IT IS.....See? Cute isnt it? Dont need to be any shorter...and it is flying all over me" (Self praise?? OMG!)

Right after the shower, she chased me out of the bathroom and God knows what she did inside for 15min before she finally reappeared.

She came out with 2 pony tails and 1 big fat pink hair clip on the fringe!

My kitchen

Some friends have asked that I take some shots of my renovated kitchen and I delegated the job to Rose and here you go : ), totally unedited , as original as it can be.

See my mini portable oven? This was the angel which brought me into the world of baking 10 months ago. I had no intention of getting it but was simply attracted to the fabulous offer price and ever since, it has been my good kitchen companion.

Chocolate Raisin Wholemeal Cookies

Light and crunchy and of course, healthy. No butter was used. Only grapeseed oil but there was no compromise on the taste.

This was the motivation for me when I started baking end of last year. I wanted something healthier for the family. Well, if you care about the types of food your kids are taking everyday, you may wish to consider doing the same. Truly, it is not so difficult. If I can do it, so can you :)

Nowadays, we make our own jam and peanut butter too. Totally free from perservatives, artificial colourings, additives and flavouring! For those who know me personally, you would know that I had never been much of a kitchen person, let alone baking/cooking. The kids change me :) for the better, I hope :)

Long term debtor

I tried to inculcate the value of money in the kids. N wanted just another bag. I declined her request initially but seeing that she was so persistent, I made a deal with her. I would lend her the money and she had to repay me for the bag. Well, the deal was sealed.

2 months had passed by, still, she had no savings for repayment. She spent all her allowances.

Somehow, one fine day, a mathematical question popped up while we were heading home after our grocery shopping trip.

Me" Nicole, if 2 bottles of milk cost $11, how much does 1 bottle cost? You have to give me the answer before we reach home and I will waive a portion of what you owe me" (we were about 2 minutes away from home)

She was challenged and determined. Within 1 minute or so, she popped the answer - $5.50! and so she had her debt reduced by $5.50:)

Differences

I see differences between N and E.

N is serious and attentive and is ever ready to learn new things while E is playful and cheeky and the only thing he shows interest in is play. As each child is unique in his or her own way, hence, I don't see this as a weakness of E but simly his uniqueness :)

Last Sunday, while he was playing with his toys (Lego, empty Hello Panda tin, cooking set etc) , I casually pointed out a few words printed on the toys and got him to repeat the spellings after me. (Panda, table, bottle) and I left it as such, and went on to prepare the ingredients for making snowskin mooncake as N wanted to have a hand in it.

We successfully made our first batch of snowskin mooncakes - pink (beetroot) and green (spinach) filled with red bean paste and almond flakes. Nic was licking off the snowkin before it was turned into a mooncake. It was simply so delicious! I will upload the pictures shortly. Stay tuned.

Soon, it was time for bed. I asked E.

Me" Do you remember the 3 words we learnt just now while you were playing?"
E " Which words?"
Me" Panda, table, bottle"
E " ya"
Me" can you spell them? Spell Panda"
E" P-A-N-D-A"
Me "Good job. How about table and bottle?"
E" T-A-B-L-E, B-O-T-T-L-E"
Me " Absolutely fabulous!"

I was very pleased with the results. This little boy has a magic brain just like the sister. The only difference is, this special magic brain works at his own leisure speed and time :), totally beyond my control. :(

Lady Gaga

As usual, Rose went off on a Sunday. When she got home, Nicole announced her arrival.

Nic " Oh, Lady Gaga is back!"

I was surprised at that remark and followed up with some questions.

Me " Do you know who she is? and where have you seen her?"

Nic " I dont know her but I know her songs!"

Me " Excuse me??"

Nic " I listen to Auntie Rose's radio while waiting for my school bus"

Wow! That is a form of exposure! I didnt know about this gaga-e thingy till recently but this little one already knows her songs!

Coffee Cake

One of my colleagues was leaving and she mentioned that she liked coffee cakes. So, I decided to bake her one on her last day. She was very touched indeed:) Well, I was glad that my small gesture brought a big smile on her face :)

Good luck, H!