Sesame Oil Chicken Rice with Organic Pumpkin & Red Dates Soup

This is another of my all-time faves - "one-pot" chicken rice imparted by my mummy! The usual ingredients include Chinese sausages & dried shiitake mushrooms but we're all aware that sausages are not exactly a very healthy option due to high sodium levels & the addition of preservatives. Thus, they've been omitted. As for dried shiitake mushrooms, i've asked my mummy where I could buy good ones but she told me she also can't really find them nowadays & advised me to use fresh ones instead. That was quite a dampening news as I've always like their richer flavours as compared to the fresh ones. To compensate for the missing aromas, I subsituted normal oil with sesame oil instead & the results were great!

Ingredients (serve 1 toddler & 1 adult):

1 chicken leg + 1 small drumstick

1/2 cup of organic 10 multi-grains

4 tbsps of sesame oil

1 tbsp of Bob's Red Mill All Natural Cornstarch

1/2 cup water

50g of white bunashimeiji mushrooms

8 stalks of organic French beans, diced

Directions:

1. Marinate the chicken pieces with the cornstarch & half the sesame oil, and marinate the rice with the remaining sesame oil for at least 1 hour.

2. Add water to rice, top off with the chicken pieces & mushrooms then steam for 30 minutes (I'm using my Techno 3-Tiers Electric Steamer but rice cooker would do too).

3. Add the French beans & steam for another 5 minutes. Remove chicken pieces & give it a good stir to mix the ingredients evenly. Serve warm.

We both love the fragrance of the sesame oil in the rice. Be warned though that the rice is kinda wet & sticky partly due to the fact that it was cooked in my steamer where more moisture is added during the steaming process. Think along the lines of mui fan (which I happened to like too). Cooking it in the cooker should give you the usual rice texture if you're not a big fan of rice with lotsa gravy.

Ingredients:

240g of organic pumpkin

6 red dates, seeds removed

750ml of water

Directions:

1. Add all the ingredients to a pot & bring to boil. Then, simmer in low fire for 2 hours.

Nothing fanciful but just a bowl of comforting sweet-tasting soup.

Beneficial Combination:

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

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

Organic Fusilli in Organic Pumpkin & Spinach Soup, Topped with Cod

Ingredients (serve 1 toddler):

1 piece of cod fish

50g of organic pumpkin, cut into small chunks

50g of organic baby spinach

3 tbsps of organic fusilli

Directions:

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

2. Steam both the cod & pumpkin together for 10 minutes (I'm using my Avent Combined Steamer & Blender).

3. Add in the spinach & steam for another 5 minutes. Remove cod & flake. Blend the pumpkin with spinach to desired consistency. Pour over cooked pasta, topped with cod & serve warm.

Beneficial Combination:

Cod + Pumpkin = Prevent dry skin & cold

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

Pre-Xmas Dinner of Roasted Chicky, Baked Kale Chips & Cheesy Pumpkin Mash for my BB

The recipe for the roasted chicken thigh has been shared previously at Basil Baked Chicken Thigh for BB.

Kale is one of the healthiest vegetables but it's not commonly eaten in Singapore. One reason could be that it's not readily available. Only selected Cold Storage outlets actually carry them. My mum tried to stir fry it once with pork in Chinese style for BB but it turned out too chewy so we didn't feed it to him. It actually has quite a sweet taste to it. I recalled seeing it being baked as chips on TV once & it seemed pretty easy so I tried it out previously. However, after putting it into the oven, I had to nurse my boy to sleep. When I asked my hubby to check & remove it as the time was up, they had already turned yellowish & tasted slightly bitter so they ended up in my tummy instead. 

My "Mummies group" friend was so kind to give me some this time round, so they were being 'monitored' constantly & they turned out perfecto! Crispy with a unique fragrant aftertaste. I'll definitely be making more of them as healthy chips for the family (~.^)v

Ingredients (1 toddler meal portion):

1 stalk of organic kale

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) or extra virgin coconut oil (EVCO)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Wash & try to dry them as much as possible (if not, the residual water will have a 'steaming' effect & they'll not become crispy).

3. Carefully tear the leaves from the thick stem into bite-sized pieces.

4. Drizzle & toss with oil & spread out as a single layer then bake for about 5 to 8 minutes till the edges are slightly brown but not burnt.

5. Let them cool for about 3 minutes to further crisp up & it's snackies time!

In addition, I also attempted on something different - cheesy roasted pumpkin mash. As expected, the toasted pumpkin has a stronger flavour then the usual steamed version. &, BB likes them both ;)

Ingredients:

Half of a wedge of organic pumpkin, cubed.

EVCO

Some organic cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Drizzle & toss with EVCO then bake (can be steamed too) for 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Mash the pumpkin then add in cheese & mix well till cheese has melted.

BB's BLTD on 8th October 2014

It was a day out with my in-laws so I prepared & brought out BB's lunch, tea break snacks, and dinner as well.

B-reakfast: 

Apple cinnamon smoothie topped with toasted wheat germ

Steam, blend & cool down an organic apple. Add 3 tbsps of Greek yogurt (I'm using Farmers Union), top it off with some toasted wheat germ & mix well.

(Note: Don't add the yogurt to the hot steamed apple purée so as not to destroy the nutrients in the yogurt.)

L-uncheon: 

Spaghetti Bolognese mixed herbs couscous with salmon, peas with organic yellow capsicum & cherry tomatoes

Let 3/4 cup of water come to a boil before adding the salmon & diced capsicums. Remove salmon and flake once it's cooked after around 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the size & thickness of the meat. Add in diced tomates, peas & lastly, mixed herbs. Cook for another 2 minutes till water boils again then add in 1/4 cup of couscous. Cover the pot & wait for about 2 to 3 minutes till all the water has been absorbed by the couscous. Remove cover, fluff it up with a pair of chopsticks & mix in the flaked salmon. Serve warm.

The actual portion was double that shown in the picture below. I love the vibrant colours which reminds me that this is a nutritious meal with all the different vegetables in it. My MIL had never eaten couscous before so she tried some. I was thrilled that she finds it nice & fragrant & she likes it! BB enjoyed it too but could only finished half of it. The remaining ended up in my tummy as usual ;)

T-eabreak:

Organic blueberries

It has been quite a while since BB had the chance to enjoy this favourite of his as the season for the organic ones seem to be over. I couldn't find them in NTUC outlets & only selected Cold Storage outlets carry them. Plus, a couple of times we chanced upon them in CS, they weren't very fresh.

D-inner: 

Double-boiled 10 multi-grains with organic minced beef, pumpkin & French beans

Soak the Simple Natural Organic Ten Multi Grains in 3/4 cup of water within a ceramic pot overnight to remove phytic acid. 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. 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). Place the diced French beans into a bowl / plate before putting it on top of the ceramic pot to steam for 10 minutes (I prefer to do this so that I can cool the vegetables down before packing them in another container so that they don't become overcooked in the thermal flask). After 20 minutes from the starting time, add the diced pumpkin into the ceramic pot & give it a good stir together with the grains. At 10 minutes left to the countdown, add in the minced beef marinated with sesame oil & stir it in too. Transfer immediately to your thermal flask once it's done. Add in the French beans before serving.

Beneficial Combinations:

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

French Beans + Millet = Clear heatiness & cure for insomnia

B-L-D on 30th October 2014

B-reakfast: 

Cottage cheese topped with Cheerios & organic raisins

L-uncheon: 

The following were cooked simultaneously in my Tecno 3-Tiers Electric Steamer & shared between the 2 of us.

Organic ten multi-grains (Simple Natural brand found at most Cold Storage outlets) with red dates

5 tbsps soaked overnight in 100ml of water. Add some chopped red dates on top of the rice & steam for 35 minutes.

Steamed organic tofu with minced free-range pork, broccoli, organic zucchini & wolfberries

Marinate pork with some sesame oil, mix in the chopped zucchini & spread evenly on top of the tofu. Top with some wolfberries & steam for 10 minutes. Add the broccoli & steam for another 5 minutes.

A simple dish with lots of nutritional value! A pity the pork's texture is a bit on the tough side. I'm probably too used to my mum's smoother pork marinated with corn starch. With so many genetically-modified corn products in the market, I guess I'll have to start my search for the organic version. Hopefully, I can lay my hands on one soon.

Steamed 'mo pei yu' (pronounced in Cantonese) with shiitake mushrooms

Drrizle some extra virgin olive oil over the fish & top with sliced mushrooms. Steam for 15 minutes (10 minutes is usually enough but due to the recent incident of the enmasse deaths of fishes at the local kelongs, I was advised to cook the fish more thoroughly and so I increased the duration of the steaming).

D-inner: 

Organic pasta in yellow onion, organic pumpkin & baby spinach sauce with salmon

Cook pasta till al dente. Steam salmon, cubed pumpkins & halved onion for 10 minutes then add spinach & steam for another 5 minutes. Remove salmon before blending (I'm using my Avent Combined Steamer & Blender) the remaining ingredients. Pour sauce over the cooked pasta, top with salmon & serve immediately.