Recipe trial: Trio Quick Soup - Cilantro/Coriander + Beancurd + Century Egg

I was looking for more inspirations to making quick soups (since I am getting lazier to wake up early to prepare stewed soups). I came across this recipe that promotes body fluid and expel heat during the hot seasons.

Ingredients:
1 bunch of cilantro/coriander (cut into 2 cm length)
1 packet of beancurd (or 2 pieces, if you are buying from the market)
1 century egg (quartered)
1 bunch of dried anchovies

Optional ingredients:
1 small bowl of minced pork (seasoned with sesame oil, soy sauce and corn starch)

Steps:

1. Boil the anchovies
2. Dump all the ingredients in and let it boil for 10-20 minutes
3. When the anchovies flavour is released, use a spoon to scoop the minced meat to bite size and drop into the soup
4. Let the soup simmer until the meat is thoroughly cooked.
5. Serve

Quick and tasty as the ingredients goes well with each other.

DIY: Grip Socks

I have trouble looking for reasonably priced grip socks for older children, that is if you can find them. A lot of times, grip socks are catered mostly for younger children. Those that I managed to find are not cheap and the designs are not worth the price.

Then my friend showed me the many pinterest sharing of DIY grip socks. I decided to try on my own. However, because most of these craft sites are from US, I found it difficult sourcing for the similar material brand they use. Even if I do find them, many a times, they are expensive to start with.

Many crafters use Tulip slick paint or puffy fabric paint. I found none. But alternatively, I discovered 3D fabric paint. An 11oz tube cost me RM7+ in Art Friend (The Gardens Mall). I bought 2.

It is my first time trying this craft. I'd say it was really easy and fun. Just draw whatever you like at the bottom of the socks and let it dry for 24 hours. I finished 2 pairs in less than half an hour. I am already having ideas of naming the socks and/or letting the girls do it for themselves.

Have fun trying!

For the peace of me and happiness of my gal

Since PM started school, I started to detect that she is a right-brained user despite she writes and eats with her right hand. Math concepts seemed a bit elusive to her. Although I do not expect her to become math genius, but I do not wish for her to feel defeated by math. She can master it with the right method. But having us both exhausted after a whole day of work to sit down and discuss math?
Conclusion: Left-brained mom to teach right-brained daughter math = Disaster.
I lose my head most of the time, although I know fairly well that her learning methods is different from mine. I needed more guidance, if we want to trod through this situation happily.

Then I found this in one of the websites that facilitate teaching to the right-brainers. The book seemed interesting with the colours and pictures.

And so my journey of book searching begins... Local bookstores are kind of hopeless, be it online or offline. Amazon is expensive after conversion and shipping. MPH quote me quite an exorbitant price. I was about to book myself a ticket abroad to hunt for the book (no-lah... just exaggerating to create more reader interest hihihi...), when I came across www.bookurve.com . The homepage looks simple, but they are able to source the books and quote me a more reasonable price than my previous searches.

I think the effort to bring in more channels to source for books and improve the reading habits in Malaysia is really commendable. We need this.. Our minds are too constricted. Not only do we read very little, even access to variety of books is limited. I hope more of such effort could open up our perspective, not only in books, but life too.

Now I am waiting for the arrival of those books and hope my sessions with PM will improve moving forward. Will update you with review of the bookurve services as well as the books' effectiveness. Stay tuned but not so soon (I am a working mom with no maid and juggling work, home and children. I am not seeking your understanding. I am telling you to deal with it!).

Recipe: Cabbage Soup to warm the body and cleanse the heat

I have just discovered that cabbage has huge recovery properties in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) context.

The benefits include:

1. Moisten the intestines and prevent constipation
2. Improve circulation and alleviate joint pain
3. Clear toxins and good for skin

I decided to cook this for family dinner:

Ingredients

• 1 head of chinese cabbage (some also call nappa cabbage) - torn to bite size pieces
• 1 chicken bones
• 1 head of dried cuttlefish
• 1-2 thumb of ginger, smashed
• Red dates, stoned
• 1 grasp of wolfberries (goji berries)

1. I prefer to tear the vege instead of cutting as tearing will maintain higher moisture content of the vegetables
2. Cover the chicken bones and cuttlefish with water and put to boil
3. Put in the red dates, ginger and cabbage
4. Once the soup came to boil, lower the temperature to let it simmer until the water reduce by 1/3
5. Switch to fire to high, put in salt to taste and wolfberries (If you put wolberries too early, it will turn sour)

The kids finished 2 big bowls full of vegetables. 

Satisfied

My share of sustainable living

I am not much of a health freak, but I do believe in sustainable living. What is sustainable living? It is a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual's carbon footprint on the earth. Carbon footprint?? That means limiting use of resources and thus reducing waste.
Commercial farming leave behind much chemical substances that not only destroy the environment, but our own health. I think the best prevention of illness is maintenance of good health.
Therefore, I believe that such efforts like organic farming should be supported in order to support the idea of sustainable living. That brings us to Terra Farm vegetables.

I came across this delivery system through this blog =>> Terra Farm

I ordered mine through one of the drop-off point representative. Being my first time, the rep was kind enough to teach me how to keep the vegetables fresh in the fridge.

Do you know:

1. The vegetables should be kept separated in sealed bag or wrapped in newspapers

2. As these are organic vegetables, you will find ample of snails and caterpillars. Remove them before storing them in the fridge as the snails will remain active, even in the fridge (amazing)

My box came with 5 snails like the one above.

I bought the smallest box of 2 kg weigh of vegetables.

The first layer on top looks like this

The 2nd layer at the bottom looks like this

These vegetables are ready for storage after I have repackaged them

FRIED BOK CHOY WITH SEAFOOD

Ingredients:

4 heads of bok choy / siew pak choy

200gm / 1 packet of mixed seafood (sold in frozen food section)

1 thumb of ginger (shredded)

1 tsp of japanese soy sauce (why because it has mirin in it - good to counter the fishy smell)

Steps:

1. Heat oil and fry ginger till fragrant

2. Throw in the seafood, followed by bok choy

3. Stir till the vege soften 

4. Add in the japanese soy sauce at the side of wok so the fragrance is evaporated into the mixture.

DONE!

STIR FRIED TLS (TUBERS, LEAF & SQUASH)

Ingredients:

A thumb of ginger or 3 cloves of garlic (minced)

Either oyster sauce or fish sauce

Vegetables as you see below

Steps:

1. Heat oil and fry ginger/garlic till fragrant

2. Dump in carrots, aubergine and bok choy stem. Fry for 30 sec

3. Throw in the rest. stir stir stir...

4. Circle the sauce around the wok and stir some more.

DONE!

btw: If you like your aubergine soft instead of juicy-chewy, boil before you fry.

In remembrance of Peter Kassig, the compassionate one

You went in when others run out
Giving a hand to the weak and injured
Without a care to the siege
Only the welfare of others in your heart

May you find peace
As we find solace
From the hint of hope in humanity
From the foundation you have built

Sukhi Hotu

Why do we live?

It was 2 days short of PM's 6th birthday. We were travelling up north to hold a birthday bash for her with the whole extended families of uncles and aunties. She sat at the back of the car, quiet with her thoughts. Then she called out to me and ask me, "Why do we want to live in this life? We live, we get old, then sick then we go to rainbow (our version of death).. What's the point of living?".
I was caught by surprise. Did not expect this question so early in her life..
My meaning of life is to be happy. How? By being useful. When we contribute to the society and made other people's life meaningful, we will attain happiness. And that happiness made living worth it.
I hope she could share and understand my meaning. Or she may have to search her own. I hope it will turn out fine.