Showing posts with label Kid's Menu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kid's Menu. Show all posts

Sunday, 31 March 2013

Happy Egg-Citing Easter!

Received some hot cross buns as take home gift after our church service this morning. So without hesitate, I decided to use it to make an Egg-Citing Easter Bento for my boy's lunch. To enhance the bento with Easter mood, I decorated it with some "chicky" design such as hen, chick and heart-shaped egg using his favourite quail eggs.

Rejoice And Celebrate!!!! Here we wish everyone a wonderful and blessed Happy Egg-citing Easter! Cheer, remember to hut for more bunny and eggs..........


Saturday, 17 November 2012

Pumpkin And Meat Porridge Using Cuisinart Hot And Cold Blender

Continue from my last experiment on using the new Cuisinart Hot And Cold Blender for my Broccoli And Spinach Soup I would be sharing another quick one-jug recipe on Pumpkin and Meat Porridge which I did a few days back while my boy was not feeling well. Indeed this new blender comes in handy for cooking porridge to feed from 1 - 4 person without having the hassle to stand beside the stove and keep checking the porridge to make sure it is not overflow or overcook.


PUMPKIN AND MEAT PORRIDGE


This innovative blender helps to cook porridge especially those type that is suitable for baby between 6 - 15 months. It is so easy to prepare as what you need to do is to add all the ingredients into the blender, press STIR, to COOK/SIMMER till the porridge is ready to be served.

 Although my boy is neither a baby nor toddler but this type of comfort porridge is always great to whet the appetite of those who are not well or just recovered from sickness. Moreover you could also control the texture of the porridge by adjusting the amount of water/broth used.


(Serves: 2 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 30 minutes)

Ingredients:
  • 120g Chicken/Pork Fillet, cut into 1.5" cubes
  • 80g Pumpkin, cut into 1.5" cubes
  • 30g Carrot, cut into 0.5" cubes
  • 1/2 Cup Uncooked Rice
  • 600ml Water or Chicken Broth
  • 1 Century Egg(optional), cubes
  • Garnish with Fried Shallot, Ginger and Chopped Spring Onion


Method:-
1. Rinse the rice in a few wash, pre-soaked it in water for 30 minutes (preferably) before cooking. Drained well and set aside.

2. Using the Cuisinart Hot And Cold Blender, add in chicken, pumpkin and carrot cubes into the glass jar together with 1 teaspoon of oil. Set timer to 30 minutes and press the STIR button (on the right side) to stir the mixture regularly to avoid burning.

3. Through the hole on the press-on lid, add drained rice and water/chicken broth into the glass jug and bring it to boil using HIGH heat. (it takes about 2 - 3 minutes)


4. When the mixture comes to boil, change to LOW and cook the mixture for 7 - 10 minutes before switching it to SIMMER and continue to cook until end of the cycle.

5. Once everything is cooked, PULSE it a once or twice if you prefer a smooth texture for the porridge.

6. Ladle the porridge between serving bowls, top with some century egg, fried shallot and spring onion. Serve hot.


So you see, after about 30 minutes of cooking time from scratch you are able to enjoy a bowl of delicious homecook porridge using whichever ingredients that you prefer. And moreover the best part is, when you get home from work, you just need to put everything in the blender and with a touch of button your meal will be ready by the time you finished your shower.



UPCOMING CUISINART RECIPE


Black sesame paste is one of the common dessert found in dessert chain outlets such as Ah Chew Desserts, Dessert Hut, Er Gu Dessert (二姑糖水) and etc. Consuming of black sesame paste is also believed to nourish the blood, lubricate the intestines and clear "wind" in the stomach. So stay tune for the upcoming recipe soon!

Tuesday, 16 October 2012

Cheesy Mayo Tuna Toast

Sometime when I am rushing for time or we are bored with the usual rice or porridge dishes for lunch, I would grab a loaf of thick toast or baguette together with a can of tuna to make this Cheesy Mayo Tuna Toast. For this recipe I used PurpleBerry bread which I have found at one of the bakery near our area. We love the taste fruity fragrant of the bread as well as it natural purplish colour.


CHEESY MAYO TUNA TOAST


Often I love to use Tuna Chunk to mix together with some Japanese Mayonnaise and chopped shallot/onion. And in order to make it look more appealing I would do an open face sandwich which look more classy like cafe style. So even though this is homemade but with some quick adjustments and effort we could also serve cafe style brunch at home for our loved ones too!


(Serves: 2Preparation: 10 minutes |  Baking: 3 minutes)

Ingredients:
2 - 4 Pieces of Thick Toast
1 Can Ayam Brand Tuna Chunk In Olive Oil, drained
2 Shallot, finely chopped
1.5 Tablespoon Japanese Mayonnaise
1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Some Cherry Tomato, halves
Shredded Cheese

Method:-
1. Drain tuna chunk, pour it in a s small mixing bowl together with chopped shallot, mayonnaise and black pepper till well combined.

2. Spread the tuna mixture evenly among the bread slices, top with cherry tomato and shredded cheese.

3. Baked in a toaster oven for about 3 - 5 minutes till cheese melt and slight golden in colour.

4. Remove garnish with some parsley flakes and extra mayonnaise and serve immediately.

Tip:
~ You could use any tuna of your choice for this recipe.

~ Mayonnaise could be omitted for healthier choice.


Friday, 22 June 2012

{Food Art} Froggy Breakfast Set


Recently I got a box of LunchPunch sandwich cutters which comes in a set of 4 different patterns. There are 5 different themed of LunchPunch cutter whereas mine is the "Sand*wishes*" themed which consists of cute "fairy princess" with a cut out star and "frog prince" with the removable crown and etc.


SAND*WISHES* CUTTERS
(product from LunchPunch)



Since it is during mid-year school holidays, where I do not need to rush madly to prepare our daily breakfast,  I can spare some extra "5 - 10 minutes" doing out some "cute" breakfast like the above. And at the same time I can do it together with my kid to create parent bonding time where he can helps me to cut out some of the shapes and arranged the food on the plate.


(Serves: 1 |        Preparation: 5 - 7 minutes |         Cooking: 5 minutes)

Ingredients:
2 Slices of Plain Or Wholemeal Sandwich Bread
1 Slice of Breakfast Ham
1 Slice of Sandwich Cheese
1 Cherry Tomato, halved
1 Hash Brown or Some Potato Gems
Some Whole Walnuts, toasted
Some Salad Green, optional

Method:-
1. Either blanch the ham in hot water or lightly fry it on a pan for 10 seconds on each side. Remove and set aside.

2. Using your desire LunchPunch cutter (i choose the frog prince), punch out the "frog" shaped on each slice of bread as shown above.

3. Next adjust the crown of the "frog prince" cutter to fix the sandwich cheese and cut out a "crown" and "legs" to fix it on 1 slice of the frog shaped bread.

4. Repeat the same process using the cutter to cut out "mouth" and "legs" from the ham using the help of a toothpick or food stick to outline the cut out. (refer to the step-by-step photo above)

5. Lastly assemble the sandwich and place all the leftover pieces of ham and cheese between the two slices of frog shaped bread.

6. Arrange the tomato halves and features of the frog and serve it on some salad green together with toasted walnuts, hash brown and a glass of milk/coffee/tea.



Sometime with just a little more effort everyone can turns simple ingredient into something appealing like cafe style breakfast set! Look the above Froggy Sandwich Set, isn't it adorable and close to cafe standard of their Kid's Breakfast Menu. I am sure you won't resists to order one of this, right?

For more kid's menu ideas, you can refer to my other posts HERE.

Friday, 27 April 2012

{Photo Friday} Our Bento Dinner


Making Bento is one of our weekly or at least twice a month mother and kid bonding activities whereby my boy and I will agreed on a theme to work together to assemble his bento.  Up till date I have featured about 30 quick and easy kid's bento in Cuisine Paradise and here I would like to share with you two sets of our Bento Dinner which we have made recently.

A bowl of simple steamed rice topped with some Winnie the Pooh shaped roasted pumpkin adds some extra flavour to the plain rice.

A little bit of here and there make up a nicely presented kid's portion of our dinner. Instead of piling all the side dishes on the plate itself, I have divided them into small portion using colourful container to make the food look more appetising.

Here is another simple Bento Dinner which consists of Chicken Nuggets and Popcorn Chickens plus Hard-boiled Egg and some fish floss and baked whitebait on steamed rice. Till then have a great weekend everyone! Cheers!

Friday, 2 March 2012

{Photo Friday} Garden Theme Bento

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It's not everyday that I would prepared nicely decorated Bento for my boy. But since this week is his school exam week, I decided to make something special for his lunch in order to cheer and reward him for the stressful week.

Since it is for lunch, I have prepared something more filling and yet quick to serve up when my boy gets home. Here with his favourite fishball and sausage I managed to re-create them into "mouse", "caterpillar" and "friends".

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Sweetcorn, potato and carrot porridge that is decorated with sausage to form a little "mouse" in the garden with "carrot" flowers. I am sure this presentation would win the heart of kids who dislike having vegetables in their meal.


SOME OF MY BOY'S FAVOURITE BENTO


Penguins Bento

Angry Birds Bento

Pooh Pancake Bento

Mother's Day Bento

Bear Bread and Hamroll

My Buddy

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!


Saturday, 3 April 2010

Huai Shan & Lily Bulbs Congee

Recently I have shared with you "Steam Chicken Fillet With Huai Shan" using fresh Huai Shan and "Double-boiled Fresh Lily Bulbs Soup" with Fresh Lily Bulbs respectively. Accordingly to Chinese Physicians, these two ingredients are very nutritious and benefits the Lungs and and strengthens the Spleen.

Huai Shan is used to strengths the Spleen and Stomach and it is a very good Chinese herbal medicine to strengthen the body. So this congee is a good choice to remove Dampness in the body and flu in summer which is great for kids. Adding lean pork and lily bulb brings out the extra sweetness and flavour of this congee which is a very healthy meal for the kids or elderly.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
100g Fresh Huai Shan(鲜淮山)
1/2 Cup Of Rice
100g Lean Pork, cut into thin slices
2 Fresh Lily Bulbs(鲜百合)
1 Litre Of Water

Method:
1. Rinse and use a vegetable peeler to peel off the outer skin of the Fresh Huai Shan, rinse and cut into big chunks.
2. Rinse, clean and remove the petals from the bulbs, soak in water for a few seconds to remove dirt.
3. Rinse the rice for about 3 to 4 times, then soak with some water while preparing the soup base.
4. Bring 1 litre of water to boil in a medium pot, add in fresh huai shan and lily bulbs simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes, add in the drained rice.
5. When the mixture comes to boil again, add in the lean pork and cook the congee over medium low heat for about 15 minutes or till done to your liking, remember to stir on and off.
6. When done, cover and let it stand for 5 minutes before serving.


This congee helps to strengthens the Spleen and Stomach and as well helps regulating the body system. If your prefer, you can also add some fresh lily petals on the congee before serving to bring out that extra lovely fragrance and extra crunchiness. Posted by Picasa


Sunday, 12 July 2009

Frog & Pumpkin Porridge

This is one of Rey's favourite weekend lunch that I always prepared for him either on Saturday or Sunday. The method is more or less the same but then I will rotate on the ingredients depend on what he prefer during that week. Our "little master" will tell me what he wants for the day before we headed for marketing. Today's menu might sounds a bit "yucky" to some of you because of the use of "Fresh Frog". But in Asian country like Singapore, Frog porridge is very commonly found in most household where the elderly will choose it to cook porridge for kids.

Since Rey is a picky eater who don't really eat meat or vegetable on it's own. We have to work on ways to get things into his mouth, so the most easier way that both me and my mum will do is to put everything into the porridge and serve it to him as one dish meal. This is a very nutritious porridge which consists of his favourite pumpkin and potato. Posted by Picasa

Ingredients: (Serves 2)
3 Pieces of Pork Ribs
1 Fresh Frog(田鸡), skin removed
60g of Pumpkin, without skin
1 Medium Potato, cut into quarters
Some Red Dates & Wolfberries
1/2 Cup Uncooked Rice
600ml - 800ml Water

Method:
1. Pre-wash the rice and soak with some water for about 30 minutes, this is enable the rice to soften and cook faster.
2. Wash and clean the pork ribs and fresh frog then blanch them in boiling water for a about 3 minutes, rinse and set aside.
3. Next bring about 600ml of water to boil then add in the pork rib, frog meat, potato cubes, red dates and wolfberries and let it bring to boil again then simmer for about 15 minutes over low heat.
4. Add in the rice(drained well 1st) and pumpkin(don't cut into small pieces, leave it as it is) let it simmer accordingly until the rice is done to your liking.
5. Season it with some salt and sesame oil if you prefer then serve.


My boy love the pumpkin to be mashed together in the porridge and serve with the soft cooked potato. Usually I cooked this dish with Cod fish but for a change today, I replace the Cod fish with fresh frog meat.

Note:
a) I bought the fresh frog from the wet market which is already without the skin.
b) I use a small claypot to cook the porridge because we love that smooth texture compare to the normal pot.


Sunday, 1 March 2009

Lotus Seeds & Cod Porridge

Cooking and making sure that our kids have the best nutrition of all is always the tougher job for a mum. Although I love to cook and bake but then my son was rather a picky eater when it comes to food. He won't eat rice that is too soft or too dry. He wants his porridge to be cooked in certain standard.... As far as I know I didn't impose all these eating habits to him but I don't know why he is so particular when it comes to food so with his problem it's always hard for us to feed him with stall food. So whenever I can, I will cook porridge for him because it is the best and easier way to incorporate more items in it so as to get all the nutrition in one pot.

Today's dinner will be Lotus Seeds & Cod Porridge, in order to make the porridge come with a nature, fragrant and sweet taste I added some sweet corn, carrot slices, wolfberries and lastly some Chinese barley. As you know Lotus Seeds strengthen the Heart, Liver, Spleen and Kidneys and also energize the Qi and promote blood cell formation. So sometime is good to add it into porridge or soup to promote good health. And I always cook something like this in two person portion so that both my dear son and I will get to enjoy the same food.........and this is one of Reyon's favourite Porridge dish. Posted by Picasa

Ingredients: (serves 2)
1/2 Cup Uncooked Rice
120g Cod Fish Fillet, cut into thick slices
1/4 Section of Sweet Corn, cut into halves
6 - 8 Slices of Carrot, cut into 0.5cm thick
1/2 Tablespoon of Wolfberries
8 Dried Lotus Seed, pre-soaked in hot water
2 Tablespoons of Chinese Barley

Method:
1. Wash the rice and add enough water for making porridge then bring it to boil.
2. Add in the sweet corn, carrot, lotus seeds and barley; simmer over low heat till the rice grain is soft.
3. When the porridge is almost done, remove the barley bag and add in the cod fish slices and wolfberries.
4. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes, switch off the heat, covered and let the porridge rest for about 10 - 15 minutes before serving. (this will allow the grain to slowly absorb the fish flavour and as well expand into much softer texture, but if you prefer whole grain porridge you can serve it immediately)

Note:
1. As you can see I place the Chinese Barley inside a disposal tea-bag before putting it into the pot to cook with the rest of the ingredients so that the cooked barley will not be mixed into the porridge.(for this case, i just want the barley to make the porridge more fragrant)
2. Rinse and soak the dried lotus seeds with HOT water till soft. (DO NOT use tap water to rinse first or else it won't be soft easily)

Related Post:
1. Cod & Wolfberries Porridge


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