Double-boiled Apple Zucchini Porridge with Garoupa

Any food with APPLE in it will always appeal to my boy so it came as no surprise that he totally enjoyed his dinner tonight ;)

Ingredients (serves 1 toddler & 1 adult):

5 tbsps of organic 10 multi-grains

1 organic apple, diced

1 organic zucchini, diced

100g of garoupa fillet

200ml of water

Directions:

1. Soak the grains in water within a ceramic pot overnight to remove the phytic acid. Pour away the soaked water & rinse a couple of times before adding 200ml 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 1 hour (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. Meanwhile, start dicing the zucchini & apple then put them with the fish into the ceramic pot after 20 minutes.

5. Once the time is up (my induction cooker has a timer), serve warm.

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

Natural Remedies for Runny Nose & Cough: Cut Raw Onions & Double-Boiled Asian Pear

Recently, I keep hearing of my friends' little ones falling sick and so I thought I'd share a natural remedy which I'd learnt from one of the mummies from the "Healthy Food for my Baby" Facebook group. During CNY, my boy was down with a very strong virus attack. His stuffy & runny nose couldn't stop dripping & he was coughing quite badly too. After 2 visits to his paediatrician & almost completing his course of medication, he didn't show any signs of recovering. 

I then decided to try out some natural remedies & to my relief, they worked! After he had fallen asleep, I cut some raw purple onions & placed them near to him. Believe it or not, he could breathe much better that very night! I continued the treatment the next day during his nap again. Word of caution though: the strong pungent onion fumes will difuse throughout the entire room : / My hubby hated it but tolerated for the sake of our boy. Thank you, my dearie ;*

With the positive results from the onions, I was also encouraged to try a new food therapy for him - double-boiled Asian pear, which actually helps to nourish the lungs.

Ingredients:

1 Asian pear, sliced (was advised by my mum subsequently to peel off the skin).

Directions:

1. Place the sliced pear into a ceramic pot. Put the ceramic pot into a bigger pot of water to double-boil for 2 hours.

2. Feed some pear as well as some of the pear essence that is secreted during the double-boiling.

BB really started getting better & recovered in no time. It even helped to ease the process of feeding medicine to him. He can accept the taste of paracetamol but not for the others & will struggle & keep his mouth shut whenever we try to feed them to him. As a last resort, I added some of the pear essence into his medicine & he drank them up without any resistance. The sweetness probably made it more palatable ~.^

I've since shared this with many of my mummy friends & some of them have remarked to me that it's truly indeed effective. In fact, it has become one of our favourite homemade dessert. Given Singapore's hot weather all year round, I think it helps to cool our bodies down too. Now, I'll prepare it for supper almost fortnightly, with an added Chinese almonds for our "adult" version.

Double-Boiling Porridges

One of the most useful tips that I've learnt from a Facebook group 'Healthy Food for My Baby' is on double boiling oats (a big Thank You to the mummy who shared it whoever you're) which I've improvised & used it to cook BB's porridge. Why double boil u may wonder? It ensures that the temperature stays almost constant at around 100 degrees Celsius which is essential as some nutrients may be destroyed at too high a temperature. Furthermore, through this method of cooking, most nutrients from the food will be retained. For me, another added bonus would be that I won't have to 'watch' the fire to prevent my porridge from getting burnt. If you've a slow cooker at home, you probably don't need to do this but even the slow cooker at my mum's place needs the occasional stirring or else the porridge would end up sticking to the bottom. 

I have chosen to make use of my existing kitchen appliances to create my "personal double boiler" instead of buying one to add-on to the clutter on my countertop. The appliances include:

Ikea metal pot & pot strainer (any large metal pot with a steamer stand will do just as fine)

Ceramic pot (can be purchased from NTUC)

Induction cooker (stovetop of course can too)

I shall share how the above method is implemented, with the porridge recipe that I have just cooked today.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp of Simple Natural Organic Ten Multi Grains (found at most Cold Storage outlets)

3/4 cup of water

1 piece of cod fillet, thawed & deboned (I bought a big packet of cod fish chunks & defrost the required chunks whenever I need them)

1/2 of a small purple sweet potato, peeled & diced

A handful of chopped spring onions

Directions:

1. Soak the grains in water within the ceramic pot overnight to remove phytic acid.

2. Place the ceramic pot into the metal pot with the 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 between 1 hour to 1.5 hour depending on the strength of  your fire (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. After 20 minutes, add the diced sweet potatoes into the ceramic pot & give it a good stir together with the grains. 

(Note: My rule of thumb is to double the respective cooking time for the ingredients as the fundamental of double boiling is cooking with indirect hear, thus implying an increased cooking time).

5. At 15 minutes to the countdown (10 minutes if the fish is not very thick), place the fish into a bowl / plate before putting it on top of the ceramic pot to steam. I prefer to steam the fish separately so that I can double check for any fine or small bones as I flake it after it's cooked.

6. Once the time is up (my induction cooker has a timer), remove the steamed fish to cool slightly. Add spring onions to the porridge & stir them in to allow it to be 'cooked' by the piping hot porridge. Flake the fish & serve it warm with the porridge.