My Mummy's Bestest Wantons, Ever!!!

These are without a doubt my favourite wantons in the whole wide world. As people always say "Mummy knows best!" Regardless fried or soup, hot or even cold, they will still taste so gooooooood! Anyone who has had the privilege of savouring them would certainly attest to it. Well, at least to me they will & would always be ;P" 

Ingredients (serve 1 toddler & 1 adult): 

240g of Australian corn fed minced pork

5 prawns, shelled & diced

8 water chestnuts, skinned & diced

Generous amount of chopped spring onions (missing in mine as I've forgotten to ask my hubby to buy when he did the groceries)

1 tbsp of Bob's Red Mill All Natural Cornstarch

1 tbsp of sesame oil

1 pack of wanton skins

360ml of thawed salmon stock

A dash of freshly ground black pepper (can replace with a few slices of ginger)

3 stalks of organic xiao bai cai 

Pot of water

Directions:

1. Marinate the pork with cornstarch & sesame oil for at least an hour.

2. Add in the prawns, water chestnuts & spring onions then mix evenly.

3. Put a tsp of the mixture onto the centre of a wanton skin (the side with more flour facing outside), fold it half & slightly press the edge of the filling to close it up properly. 

(Note: May have to wet the wanton skins slightly if they've dried up & hardened.)

4. Repeat till all the wanton skins have been used up.

5. Bring the pot of water to boil & add in the wrapped wantons to cook.

(Note: By not cooking them in the stock, it will ensure that your soup won't have a strong ghee taste.)

6. Meanwhile, add the pepper to the salmon stock & bring it to boil in another pot. Form meatballs with the remaining mixture (I actually kept about 100g of it for his dinner as the portion was a bit too much for both of us) & cook them in the stock. Add in the xiao bai cai when the meatballs are almost cooked & cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.

7. Remove the cooked wantons & put into a bowl. Top with the salmon stock & xiao bai cai then serve immediately.

The efforts in prepping this dish is definitely worth the while. Trust me on this. My boy finished everything in his bowl & even asked for more which I gladly refilled with more meatballs & soup. The salmon stock which I've frozen previously really came into good use too. With all the preparations required for the wantons, I'm glad that I didn't have to prepare seperate ingredients for a broth to go with them. Especially when you've a clingy BB for the day. One thing I will like to improve on is the skins as they're not homemade. My only consolidation is at least they don't contain preservatives. Maybe I'll be more advantageous & up to the 'challenge' one day. But, not today..hee ~.^ Let's wait a few more months till my boy can be Mummy's lil' helper in the kitchen.

Beneficial Combination:

Pepper + Pork = Favourable for digestion & absorption of nutrients

Salmon with Pasta in Creamy Broccoli & Organic Potato Sauce

An interesting article which was shared by another mummy revealed that the leaves & stalk of broccoli are actually more nutritious than the florets. Thus, I decided to include them in my dish this time round.

Ingredients (serve 1 toddler & 1 adult):

100g of Alce Nero Organic Spaghettini

100g of salmon

100g of broccoli including leaves & stalk

1 glove of garlic, halved

1 purple onion, quartered 

4 small organic potatoes, quartered

1 sprig of rosemary, stalk removed (can replace with 1/8 tsp of dried rosemary)

4 tbsps (sauce) + 2 tbsps (topping) of organic cheddar cheese

1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Some pasta water

Directions:

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

2. Steam the remaining ingredients, except broccoli & cheese, for 10 minutes (I'm using my Avent Combined Steamer & Blender).

3. Add in the broccoli & steam for another 5 minutes. Remove salmon & some broccoli florets, add in 4 tbsps of cheddar cheese then blend. Stir in 1 tbsp of pasta water at a time till you get the desired consistency. Pour over cooked pasta, top with remaining cheese & EVOO & serve warm.

Simple, nutritious & yummy too!

Beneficial Combinations:

Garlic + Onion = Detoxification & anti-cancer effects

Organic Pasta with Amaranth & Egg Drop in Salmon Broth

Till date, I've always prepared BB's meals fresh on a daily basis. Many mummies, especially those who are working & thus face time constraints, would prepare purees / stocks typically once a week and store them by freezing and use them only when they need to cook for their little ones. 

"One final word of caution: All vegetables tend to form nitrates after cooking & during storage. These nitrates can transform into strong carcinogens in the intestines, so it is best to avoid refrigerating & re-heating vegetables, particularly leafy, green vegetables which concentrate nitrates when grown commercially." quoted from Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist.com.

I've also heard from close relatives of cancer patients that their oncologists have advised against eating refrigerated & overnight vegetables, even rice as these are potentially cancer-causing. In conclusion, I'll recommend only doing pure meat stocks without the addition of any vegetables. 

I've came to know about "Song Fish" from another mummy on Facebook & even made a trip down to their Chinatown Point outlet previously. However, i was hesitant to purchase as we'd take quite a while to finish their whole fresh salmon when one is only allowed 2 portions per week. After sharing with my Mummy about it, she expressed her interest too. Thus, I bought a pack to share with her. Priced at $20 per kg, it is much cheaper than those fillets sold in NTUC outlets (either $28 or $40 per kg). Furthermore, it consists of individually packed bags of salmon head, bones & 6 fillets for convenience. The best part is it is actually sashimi grade! Given this, it may even be more value-for-money than "Fassler Gourmet", another popular seafood shop which also sells fresh salmon. Point to note is that you'll have to slice it yourself if you purchase from "Song Fish". There's absolutely no turning back for salmon fillets sold between $9 to $12 per piece..lolz!

Ingredients:

1.5 litres of water

220g of salmon fish bones

Directions:

1. Put bones into the water & bring to boil then simmer for 2 hours. Remove bones & cool totally then pour into milk bags or containers to be put into freezer for freezing.

2. Transfer to chiller the night before you want to use it & it'll have thawed nicely by the next day.

With the ready stock, I use it to cook a simple luncheon.

Ingredients:

750ml of salmon stock

Salmon flesh from bones

3 slices of ginger

3 tbsps of organic pasta

50g of organic red amaranth

1 kampong egg

A dash of freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Transfer 750ml of stock to another smaller pot. Add ginger slices as well as pasta & cook for about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, remove salmon flesh from the bones.

2. Add in amaranth & cook for another 3 minutes.

3. Pour egg in a slow & steady stream. Let it cook a while before stirring slowly to create the ribbon-like egg flower.

4. Mix in the flaked salmon, top with pepper & serve warm.

Note: Please be careful when you add pasta to the stock as it actually boiled over the rim instantaneously when I did that. This actually left me with only half the amount of stock I started with :/

Beneficial Combination:

Amaranth + Egg = Enhance immunity

Apple Porky Bone Soup

BB had been asking for apples recently as we hadn't been able to buy nice ones. When we finally laid our hands on a pack of fresh ones, I made up my mind to indulge him on 2 of his faves, apple & soup!

Ingredients (serve 2 adults & 1 toddler):

3 small organic apples, core removed & diced

12 dried red dates, seeds removed

3 litres of water

1 piece of small pork bone with meat

A small handful of Chinese almonds ('nan bei xing')

Directions:

1. Blanch the pork 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 into a big pot, bring to boil & simmer for 2 hours.

For lunch, I used the soup to cook a simple salmon with peas vermicelli.

Ingredients (serve 1 adult & 1 toddler):

1 litre of apple pork soup

1/4 pack (about 100g) of Origins brown rice vermicelli, soaked in water for 15 minutes

2 pieces of salmon

1 big handful of frozen peas

Directions:

1. Transfer pork soup to a small pot. Add in salmon & cook for 10 to 15 minutes (depending on the thickness). Remove to cool & flake the salmon.

2. Add in vermicelli to warm up then peas to cook for 2 minutes. Top with salmon & serve warm.

Beneficial Combination:

Peas + Pork = Diuretic (promotes the production of urine), stop diarrhoea & aid digestion

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.

Baked Frittatas

As a continuation to the post on Cheeses, I'd like to share one of my favourite snacks to bring out for BB on days when we're gonna be out for many hours - Frittatas! There're so many different flavours you can create from one basic recipe. Here u go!

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks or 1 egg (if your LO has passed the 3 or 4 days rule for egg white)

Any combinations of vegetables or meat you desired, finely diced or shredded

Shredded cheddar cheese

Virgin coconut oil (VCO)

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together, leaving some cheese for later.

2. Apply a thin layer of VCO on the muffin tray & pour the mixture into each individual hole, ensuring that there's sufficient egg to cover the ingredients. Top with more cheese.

3. Bake at 180°C for about 15 minutes till golden brown.

Tips: 

- the smaller they're, the nicer they'll taste.

- do not use muffin liners as they'll cause the frittatas to become soggy (refer to the last picture).

These are some of the varieties that I've created so far ;)

Organic potato, asparagus, carrot & onion

Carrot with organic spinach

Organic pea sprouts & parsnip

Salmon & peas

Organic cherry tomatoes & onion