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.

My BB 1st Try on Huai San: Organic Rolled Oats Porridge with Garoupa & Chinese Spinach in 'Huai San' & Wolfberries Chicken Soup Base

婆婆 cooked a nice pot of fresh san yao or huai san (aka Chinese wild yam) with wolfberries & chicken soup and thus I decided to use it as a soup base for BB's oats porridge. According to my mum, there're two types of fresh huai san sold locally. They're either imported from China or Japan. The huai san from China are softer after being cooked. On the contrary, the Japanese huai san has a crunchier texture. In conclusion, the China ones are actually more suitable for toddlers' consumption. The following recipe is my mum's.

Ingredients (serve 3 adults & 1 toddler):

1 fresh huai san, sliced into 1/2 inch thickness

1 chicken, excluding the drumsticks & wings

1 big handful of wolfberries

3 litres of water

Directions:

1. Blanch the chicken first by placing it in a pot with enough water to cover it. Bring the water to boil then remove from heat, drain & rinse.

2. Place all the ingredients except wolfberries into a big pot, bring to boil & simmer for 45 minutes.

3. Add in wolfberries & simmer for another 15 minutes.

The fresh huai san has a texture more similar to tapioca rather than yam unlike its dried counterparts. Even though huai san is quite bland, the soup is very light yet sweet tasting. 

Ingredients:

250ml of soup with huai san & wolfberries

3 tbsps of organic rolled oats

1 piece of garoupa

60g of Chinese spinach, roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Transfer the soup to a smaller pot then add the fish in & cook for 10 minutes.

2. Remove fish to cool slightly & to check for bones. Add oats in then cook for another 5 minutes before adding the Chinese spinach & cook for another 5 minutes. 

3. Top with fish & serve warm.

Surprisingly, BB liked the huai san despite its blandness. He actually pointed to it & asked for more. Another addition to my collection of soup recipes >.~

Beneficial Combination:

San yao + Wolfberries = Good for spleen & stomach, benefit lung & tonify kidney as well as concentrate one's attention

Organic Rolled Oats Porridge with Garoupa + Organic Pumpkin & Zucchini

We decided quite last minute that we would go out straight after our usual Sunday lunch at my Mum's, instead of coming home to prepare dinner before heading out again. Thus, I had to cook a double portion of oats porridge instead of preparing 2 different menus for lunch & dinner which I do when time permits.

Ingredients (2 toddlers serving):

500ml of water

6 tbsps of organic rolled oats

1 piece of garoupa

100g of organic pumpkin, diced

1 medium sized organic zucchini, diced

1 egg (omitted this time round as we had an 'overdose' off eggs the previous day), beaten

Directions:

1. Bring the water to boil then add the fish in & cook for 10 minutes.

2. Remove fish to cool slightly & to check for bones. Add pumpkin, zucchini & oats in then cook for another 5 minutes (will usually cook the pumpkin & zucchini for 10 minutes before adding the oats but as I would be transferring the porridge to a thermal flask to bring out, they would continue to 'cook' inside it.)

3. Add in egg, stir evenly & simmer till it's fully cooked.

4. Remove from fire, add in the flaked fish & mix well. Serve warm.

Beneficial Combination:

Egg + Zuchhini = Effectively relieve pain

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.

Oats: Nutritious, Fast to Cook & Good to Eat

During my confinement, I was blessed with a superb nanny. Other than taking good care of BB & me, she even imparted some of her recipes to me. One of them was savoury cooked oats. Such a simple but yet nutritious food. It even turned out to be a saviour for me during the month after she left as BB was going through his growth spurts & I could barely find time to cook myself a decent meal.

Upon doing more research, I realised that oats are in fact packed with more nutrients than the usual brown rice cereals. This chart was shared by one of the mummies in one of the FB groups which I'm following & oats is actually ranked as the third highest in nutrient points.

The only preparation you'll need is to blend 2 weeks' worth of organic rolled oats which is to be kept in the fridge, ready to be used anytime. Sweet or savoury, the sky is the limit for any creative variation that you can conjure up. 

Ingredients:

Ratio of blended rolled oats : amount of liquid 

= 1 tbsp of oats : 1/4 cup of bm / water / milk 

Directions:

1. Bring liquid to boil then add oats in.

2. Whisk away to get a smooth texture & simmer in a low fire till the oats look expanded & have achieved your desired consistency.

3. You may then add on fresh fruits as toppings or vegetable purees before serving.

As your baby grows, you can add on other ingredients like fish or meats (Beefy pumpkin oats with broccoli) to serve it as porridge.