Tomatoes Beefy Rice with Eggs

Previously, this was a very popular 1 pot dish for LOs. The reason is simple. Fast to cook & good to eat. Furthermore, the variations for this dish is endless as long as you add in the main lead, which is of course TOMATOES. Since I happened to have 2 big tomatoes in the fridge so decided to cook it again today. Here's my version ;)

Ingredients (serve 1 toddler + 1 adult):

2 medium-sized tomatoes, top & bottom slitted

1/2 cup organic brown rice, washed

100ml of water

100g of minced organic beef (can replace with pork too)

8 organic French beans, diced

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 tbsp of sesame oil

1/2 tbsp of Bob's Red Mill All Natural Cornstarch

1/8 tsp of freshly grounded black pepper

Directions:

1. Marinate beef with sesame oil, cornstarch & pepper for at least 15 minutes.

2. Mix beef into rice & water, top with tomato & steam for 20 minutes (I used my Techno 3-Tiers Electric Steamer but can use rice cooker alternatively).

3. Add French beans & continue steaming for another 15 minutes..

4. Once rice is cooked, add in eggs & mix evenly, mashing up the tomatoes simultaneously. Optional: remove the tomatoes' skins then add more sesame oil & black pepper. Serve immediately.

Such a hassle-free meal yet so healthy & satisfying..I especially love the moist & juicy rice <3 BURP!!!

One Pan Whole Wheat Spaghetti in Homemade Creamy Carbonara Sauce

What would you do when you've got a craving for creamy sauce pasta but yet there's no cream at home? The answer is "Do-It-Yourself!" & that's exactly what I did >.~ 

Ingredients (serves 1 toddler & 1 adult):

150g of organic sliced beef

5 mini portobello mushrooms, sliced

4 small red onions, sliced

1 garlic, sliced

1 big Japanese cucumber, diced

150g of Alce Nero organic whole wheat spaghetti

300ml of fresh milk

300ml of water

2 tbsps of organic extra virgin coconut oil (EVCO)

1/8 teaspoon of dried basil

1/8 teaspoon of dried oregano

1/8 teaspoon of freshly grounded black pepper

2 kampong eggs

4 tbsps of frozen self grated organic cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Heat up a pan & add VCO followed by beef slices to stir fry till they brown then scoop them out.

2. Add in the garlic. Once it starts to brown, add in the onions & stir fry with medium fire till they soften slightly.

3. Next, pour in mushrooms, basil, oregano & pepper. Stir-fry till the mushrooms are shrivelled & 'sweat', then pour in the milk & water.

4. Put in the pasta once the mixture start to boil & top with cucumbers.

5. Simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally till pasta is almost cooked.

6. Break the eggs, top with cheese then switch off the fire immediately. The remaining heat will cook the eggs. 

7. Plate the pasta, top with beef slices & some more cheese. Serve warm.

The end product? Even though the recipe uses milk instead of cream, it tastes almost exactly like the usual cream sauce pasta which I usually cook, but yet healthier. Cucumber seems like an odd ingredient in pasta but it happens to be one of the few vegetables that BB likes. He actually asked me to cut some for him to munch on when he saw me take it out from the fridge..lolz! You'll be pleasantly surprised to find that it complements a cream based sauce as its light flavour helps to combat against the richness of the sauce. 

Mummies or Daddies who've been following my blog, did you also notice something different in this recipe? Yes, you're right! To save time, I'm actually cooking the pasta in the sauce itself instead of cooking it separately. Just have to add extra water to your usual sauce (tomato, mushroom etc) so that by the time your pasta is cooked, the sauce would have reduced to a nice, thick sauce.

Beneficial Combination:

Garlic + Onion = Detoxification & anti-cancer effects

Egg + Milk =  Enhance the brain's memory function

Burgers with Homemade Beefy Patties & Portobello Mushrooms with Buttered Peas

This meal turned out totally differently from what I had planned initially..lolz! I chanced upon organic miso the day before so I bought some & had wanted to cook a soba in miso soup. However, I saw the bread buns that we had purchased supposedly for breakfast which I'd almost completely forgotten about. As usual, my lil' bread lover got so excited upon overhearing me muttered the word 'bread'. Thus, with the new turn of events, I asked if he wanted a burger to which few kids would be able to resist that temptation, right?

Ingredients (supposedly for 1 toddler but my boy couldn't finish so I ate 1 too):

50g of organic minced beef

1 tsp of sesame oil

1 tsp of Bob's Red Mill All Natural Cornstarch

1 egg, white separated

A dash of basil

A dash of oregano

2 big portobello mushrooms 

1 tsp of organic VCO

2 tbsps of freshly grated organic cheddar cheese

2 big handfuls of Watties frozen garden peas

2 tbsps of water

1 tsp of unsalted butter

2 burger buns (I used the sesame loaf from Green Pumpkin Japanese Bakery at Nex)

Directions:

1. Marinate beef with sesame oil, cornstarch, egg white, basil & oregano for at least 15 minutes.

2. Preheat oven under Grill setting, max temperature (260°C) for 5 minutes.

3. Drizzle the underside of the mushrooms with the VCO & grill for 5 minutes. 

4. Half the beef & use a spoon to form 2 circular patties. Grill for around 10 minutes till they turn slightly brown on the surface.

5. Cut the buns into half, without seperating them. Lightly beat the egg yolk & spread it over the insides of the buns & grill for 2-3 minutes till the egg is cooked & bread lightly toasted.

6. Top the mushrooms with 1 tbsp of cheddar cheese each & bake for another 10 minutes.

7. Add 2 tbsps of water to the peas then also grill for 2-3 minutes till softened & cooked. Drain the water then melt the butter over the hot peas & mix well.

8. Assemble the burger by putting the beef patty on the bun then cap on the mushroom with cheese. Lastly, top with the bun & serve warm with the buttered peas.

I couldn't help but mention the most hilarious thing that happened while I was prepping lunch. My boy was so elated & grateful for his upcoming meal that he repeatedly thanked me for it..hahaha!! His impromptu luncheon turned out yummilicious!!! I remembered my first attempt at homemade patties weren't quite as successful as I found them too dense with oats added. Yet, this time round, I didn't even have time to do any research & simply jumped right into the preparations with just my gut feel. I was still kinda worried initially as i had pre-marinated the beef with sesame oil which is more commonly used for Chinese cuisines. To my surprise, the patty was quite tender with a faint fragrance from the herbs plus the juice from the portobello mushrooms complemented it nicely. Furthermore, the crispy toasted bread had a slight sweetness to it so all the flavours just seemed to come together in a perfect symphony in my mouth. No wonder BB devoured his in no time at all..lolz! I'm so going to replicate this again for my other 'boy' soon ~.<

Double-Boiled One Pot Beef Quinoa

My initial plan was to cook quinoa to be served with dishes. However, my boy is going through a phase whereby he is becoming more 'demanding'. For eg, he'll pull me to my armchair & ask me to "Sit, sit!" & then bring me a book to read to him. Thus, I'm always torn between spending more time in the kitchen or spending more quality time with him. Well, I guess I just have to try to be even more efficient in the kitchen & cook more "single pot" kinda meals moving forward. This actually only took me about 30 minutes to transform the raw ingredients into a cooked meal.

Ingredients (serve 1 toddler + 1 adult):

5 tbsps of organic quinoa

100ml of water

100g of organic minced beef (may substitute with chicken or pork)

4 organic baby corns, diced

1 purple onion, diced

1/2 of an organic zucchini, diced

1/4 of an organic red capsicum, diced

1 tbsp of organic extra virgin coconut oil (EVCO)

Directions:

1. Soak the quinoa in water within a ceramic pot overnight to remove the phytic acid. Pour away the soaked water & rinse a couple of times before adding 100ml of water.

2. Place the ceramic pot into a metal pot with a pot stainer (or on top of a steamer stand) & fill it with water to match the height of half the ceramic pot.

3. Bring water to boil, then let it simmer for 30 minutes (please check occasionally to ensure that there is water left in the metal pot, especially for the first few times that you are attempting this method until you're certain on the required amount of water that would be needed without steaming away completely during the cooking process).

4. While waiting for water to boil, I started dicing the ingredients & adding them to the ceramic pot when each individual ingredient is prepared. Corns, followed by onion & zucchini, with the capsicum last.

5. After 15 minutes, add the beef & capsicum into the ceramic pot & give it a good stir together with the rest of the ingredients.

6. Once the time is up (my induction cooker has a timer), pour the EVCO into the ceramic pot & mix well. Serve warm.

Omg! This was a real satisfying bowl of piping hot quinoa! Yes, I like mine piping hot..shiok ttm! Lots of sweetness from the beef & various vegetables as well as a light fragrant from the EVCO..definitely worth a thumbs up (^.~)b My boy finished his portion & even topped up 3 tbsps more. 

Beneficial Combinations:

Chicken + Onion = Moisturise body, warm stomach & strengthen waist

Corn + Onion = Promote the production of body fluid & saliva to relieve thirst as well as lower lipids (fats in blood)

Pork + Zuchhini = Improve the immune system

Creamy Organic Beefy Pumpkin Baked Pasta with Asparagus

I remember one of the fave dishes which I liked to cook when we first moved in to our place was baked rice & pasta. However, it has never reappeared from my kitchen since then. Oh ya! The reason being that I had a bad encounter which kind of discouraged me from preparing it again. Due to wear & tear, my oven glove 'gave way'. As I was removing a casserole from my oven, I felt a sudden sharp stinging pain. The 'thinned' glove wasn't protecting me from the scalding hot casserole. Instanteously, my fingers succuumbed to the heat & I dropped it, only missing the oven door by inches. There it was, our dinner & my fave casserole shattered, on the floor. Somehow, from then on, I stopped making them. Today's the day to conquer my phobia & I am glad I did.

Ingredients (serve 1 toddler + 1 adult):

100g of organic beef

100g of organic pumpkin, diced into big chunks

3 small purple onions

1 clove of garlic

3 stalks of thick asparagus, sliced

100g of organic pasta

1 tbsp of shredded organic cheddar cheese (exclude toppings for the pasta)

1 tbsp of shredded Parmesan cheese (exclude toppings for the pasta)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta in a pot of simmering water till just tender. Drain & leave aside.

2. Steam all the remaining ingredients, excluding the asparagus & cheeses, for 15 minutes (I'm using my Avent Combined Steamer & Blender).

3. Preheat oven to 200°C.

4. Once the 15 minutes is up, add the cheeses & blend to desired consistency. 

5. Pour over cooked pasta, add in the asparagus & mix well.

6. Transfer to ramekins then top generously with more of both cheeses (ratio of cheddar to parmesan is 1:4 as cheddar tends to be saltier).

7. Bake for 15 minutes or until top is golden. Scoop out & serve warm.

There's always a fail-proof way of knowing if my boy likes a particular dish - he'll ask for it the moment he has swallowed the previous mouthful. &, this beyond any doubt was one that he certainly enjoys..lolz! The sweet pumpkin sauce & the roasty fragrance from both the dual salty cheeses complemented each other well. Given a choice, I would have used mozzarella instead of cheddar but since it was an impromptu decision & I only had these 2 cheeses in my freezer, I just had to make do with them. Mmmm, imagine the cheese oozing in every mouthful...oooooh, NICE! Well, the mission during my next trip to the supermarket will definitely be to search for a healthy mozzarella ~.^

Beneficial Combinations:

Beef + Pumpkin = Tonifying spleen & replenishing qi as well as detoxify & alleviate pain

Garlic + Onion = Detoxification & anti-cancer effects

Organic Vege Macaroni in Organic Pumpkin & Red Dates Soup with Organic Beef Balls

Yet another addition of a simplicious soup recipe. I realised that one of the key factors to achieving a pot of good soup is, time. My mum has been following a Hong Kong cooking program recently & thus shared with me that time is of the essence, literally: it is recommended that double-boiled soups be brewed for 4 hours & 2 hours for brewing normal soups. I've put that to test & am pleased with the results so far. For working mummies who do not have the luxury of time, I'll strongly recommend that you invest in a slow cooker where you can throw in the ingredients before you go to work in the morning & come home to a pot of comforting soup. Alternatively, you can opt for a pressure cooker which will significantly reduce your cooking time (you may want to check out another mummy blogger's post on Buffalo Pressure Cooker Review).

Ingredients (serve 1 toddler & 1 adult):

200g organic pumpkin, cut into 1-inch chunks

10 red dates, seeds removed

1 litre of water

100g of organic minced beef

1 tsp of sesame oil

1 tsp of Bob's Red Mill All Natural Cornstarch

Freshly ground pepper

1 cup of Bellamy's Organic Vege Macaroni

Directions:

1. Marinate beef with sesame oil, cornstarch & pepper for at least 30 minutes.

2. Place pumpkin & dates into a big pot filled with water, bring to boil & simmer for 2 hours.

3. After 1 hour & 40 minutes, roll the beef into small balls & put into the soup.

4. Cook pasta in a pot of simmering water till al dente. Drain & leave aside.

5. Once the time is up, pour the soup over the pasta & serve warm.

This soup has a more subtle sweetness to it & a slight peppery taste from the marinated beef. But overall I still enjoy it. As for BB, he finished almost 2/3 of the macaroni, requested for more beef balls & red dates as well as his usual top up of another bowl of soup upon finishing his meal.

On a seperate note, while feeding him the dates from the papaya soup previously, I also taught him how to articulate the name of the fruit (as per our usually practice during mealtimes) which he mastered almost immediately. &, he actually still remembered it & kept saying dates to ask for more. 

His list of vocabulary now includes the following:

Papa, Mama (which means me & all his grandparents), GorGor, JieJie, DiDi, MeiMei, Uncle, Aunty, apple, nana = banana, tar tar = star, bird, ball, bus (corrected from butt & collectively means all vehicles to him), eyes, onion, girara = giraffe, an-mal = elephant, toup toup = soup, sit, bear, buckle, date, up & ABs = ABC.

Not only is he picking up more & more words recently, he seems to be able to pronounce after us in a much shorter time. Thus, don't despair if your lil' ones can't seem to do what you're teaching them now. Just keep repeating to them & you'll never know when they'll give you a pleasant surprise ~.^

Beneficial Combinations:

Beef + Pumpkin = Tonifying spleen & replenishing qi as well as detoxify & alleviate pain

Pumpkin + Red date = Invigorating spleen & replenishing qi as well as restraining & inhibiting qi of lungs

Xmas Dinner: Beef Bolognese Linguine Made from Scratch

First blog for the year 2015!

Sorry my blog has been so quiet recently. My dearest BB was down with a very bad viral infection with high fevers that always spiked at night just before Xmas :'( While he was still recovering, his Daddy-O contracted conjunctivitis. & as I'm blogging this, I'm feeling under the weather myself..haiz! Not a very good start to the year but I'm sure it'll only get better from here on. Keep fighting!!!

We missed the Xmas party at our cousin's as we didn't want BB to spread the virus to the other young kids. In the end, we decided to do a mini celebration at home ourselves. My hubby picked his choice of bolognese spaghetti so he set out to buy the necessary ingredients. He actually searched high & low at a few NTUC & Cold Storage outlets before he managed to find all of them. 

I've made this dish countless of times & it has evolved over time. From the bottled sauces that I used to use before I was pregnant to canned tomatoes purée & whole tomatoes & to fresh tomatoes for BB's simplified version. To be honest, there's no turning back once you're gotten used to using fresh ingredients. Since it's for Xmas, it has to be even more special. Recipe was modified from Jamie Oliver's. Here it goes ;)

Ingredients (serve 2 adults):

300g of linguine

300g of fresh minced beef

7 medium tomatoes, puréed (refer to point 1 under Directions)

180g of sundried tomatoes

1 carrot, diced

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 clove of garlic, chopped finely

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

200mg of red wine (can be replaced with water if this is to be shared with your LO)

1 tsp of MasterFoods Spaghetti Bolognese Blend

Parmesan, grated

Directions:

1. Bring to boil a pot of water. Use a knife to carve a shallow "X" on the bottom of each tomato (mine was done at the sides but think it would be better if it's carved at the bottom instead). Add them to the boiling water for about 30 seconds. Remove the blanched tomatoes & allow them to cool a few minutes till it's cool enough for you to gently pull away the skin at the X which will come off easily. Cut into quarters & purée them in a processor (I'm using my Avent Combined Steamer & Blender).

2. Add some EVOO to pan then add garlic, followed by carrot & onion. Stir occasionally till they start to soften.

3. Add the minced beef & break down any lumps with your spatula. Let it cook for a few minutes till it starts to brown then pour in the wine.

4. Let it bubble away while you drain & blitz away the sundried tomatoes in a processor. Add them to the pan with the puréed tomatoes & mix well. Cover with lid & cook for 1 hour.

5. About 10 minutes to the countdown, cook pasta in a pot of simmering water as per instructed till al dente. Drain & reserve some of the pasta water (which I forgot to do so..hee).

6. Add the cooked linguine to the sauce, add in grated Parmesan & mix well, adding a splash of the pasta water if it's too dry. Shave a little Parmesan on top & serve immediately.

This recipe is definitely a keeper! Hope you'all will enjoy it as much as we did ;)

Beneficial Combination:

Garlic + Onion = Detoxication & anti-cancer effects

Harmful Combination:

Carrot + Onion = Easily lead to goiter (enlargement of thyroid)