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!

Crabtree & Evelyn 2012 X’mas Food Collections

Christmas is a time of joy as well as preparing gifts for family, friends and loved ones. For me I always love Crabtree And Evelyn fine food range such as their Biscuits and Tea which I often stock up at home for afternoon tea-time or when there are guests around.

Every year a month or so before Christmas, Crabtree and Evelyn will launched their limited edition X'mas collections from food to personal care gift ideas. Below are some of my personal preferences from Crabree And Evelyn 2012 X'mas Collections which I think it would come in handy while preparing your coming Christmas gifts.

Mini Biscuits (S$60.00) is a perfect gift for anyone with a sweet tooth! This beautiful gift box contains six different flavours of Crabtree And Evelyn indulgent biscuits which baked in Great Britain using a traditional recipe. When eaten you could find generous chunks of different fruits and chocolate within the biscuit which make it an irresistible melt-in-your-mouth experience.

This gift set contains Double Chocolate Chip Biscuits(100g); Traditional Shortbread (100g); White Chocolate And Raspberry Biscuits (100g); Strawberries And Cream Biscuits (100g); Chocolate Chip Shortbread (100g); Lemon And White Chocolate Biscuits (100g).

If you can’t pick between your favourite treats, then go for the Festive Indulgence (S$58.00) pack where you can have them all with this beautifully packaged seasonal selection. This gift set, comprised of limited edition Christmas Spice Ginger Biscuits (165g), and three festively decorated 65mm baubles each containing a different delectable fudge such as Christmas Spice, Clotted Cream and Chocolate.

With a wide assortment of gifts housed in beautiful and colorful keepsake containers, Noël it is recognised across the globe as Crabtree And Evelyn’s signature Christmas fragrance. It has a blend of fresh balsams, cranberry, apple, and citrus complemented by spicy star anise, clove, and nutmeg, instantly evoking the spirit and smells of holiday festivity throughout the home.

Noël Fragranced Candle (S$50.00) helps to create a luxurious glow and ambiance in your home for the holiday with our festively fragrant.

Noël Set Of Three Fragranced Candles (S$65.00) features the festive fragrance of Noël and vibrant red glass holders that will add a burst of colour to the season.

Noël Home Fragrance Reed Diffuser (S$75.00, 192ml) let you indulge in the continuous and celebratory fragrance of Noël in the elegantly designed reed diffuser.

Noël Home Fragrance Spray (S$28.00, 100ml) instantly infused your home with the festive scent of fresh evergreens, bayberry, zesty orange and warm spices.

I am sure all woman love to have a pair of smooth and delicate hand, so with this La Source Hand Care Tin (S$55.00) it would make a prefect gift to ensure those delicate fingers are well looked after. Inside this unique keepsake tin is a complete hand care kit that includes La Source Nail And Cuticle Therapy, La Source Hand Remedy, La Source Hand Recovery, La Source Hand Therapy and La Source Buffer to ensure even the most hardworking hands looking at their best during this festive season.

{New} Evelyn Rose Ultimate Luxuries (S$168.00) consist of Crabtree And Evelyn’s signature scent blends of English roses with the exclusive Evelyn Rose for a fragrance with unique charm. This would be a perfect gift for woman who is both feminine and graceful. This set contains, Evelyn Rose Shower Gel (250ml), Evelyn Rose Body Lotion (250ml), Evelyn Rose Hand Therapy (100g), Evelyn Rose Eau de Parfum (50ml) and a Compact Mirror in Gold.

There are a lot of afford and meaningful products which you could take a look from Crabtree and Evelyn 2012 X'mas Catalogue at this link HERE. I am sure you would find something useful for Christmas Gift(s). And for your information Crabtree & Evelyn recently opened their 11th store at the latest mall The Star Vista (located just beside Buona Vista MRT Station) at unit #01-03.


* All related photos and products related information such as pricing in this post are credited to Word Of Mouth Communications Pte Ltd and Crabtree And Evelyn.

The Boxing Crab Seafood Restaurant At Sentosa, Underwater World

A week ago, together with couple of friends we visited The Boxing Crab Seafood Restaurant which is launched by Food Junction.  Nestled in the beautifully quaint stretch of Sentosa, the 250 seater (with both indoor and alfresco) restaurant overlooks the panoramic sea where patrons would be exhilarated by the sights of traversing cruise liners and ferries while dinning. On top of it, there are two VIP rooms which can accommodate up to 20 persons per room for Birthday or office functions too.

If you are looking for dining experience which is away from the hustle and bustle city life, perhaps the eclectic menu  (comes with mud crabs, swimmer crabs, flower crabs, prawns, garoupa, scallop and etc) from Boxing Crab plus affordable prices and variety of culinary styles (Chinese, Balinese or Western) would be a great consideration.

Pastry And Cake Counter plus Open Concept Kitchen View

Other than serving seafood or ala carte dishes, The Boxing Crab also cater Quick Lunch Set features dishes such as Roasted Sirloin, Lamb Korma, Grilled Portobello Mushrooms, Scramble Egg Croissant and etc.

Pastry and Cake which display over at the dessert counter

During teatime, the restaurant also offers Afternoon Tea Menu such as: Waffles, Pancakes and Crepes with toppings of fresh fruits and single scoop of ice cream of your choice. Or you could make your choice from the Ala Carte afternoon snacks like pies, tarts, sandwiches, cakes and etc to go with a cup of premium coffee or tea.

Stimulator (back) and Detox(front)

The restaurant also has a FULL page of Beverage choices ranging from Smoothie, Fruit Juice, Soft Drinks, Coffee/Tea to Beer, Champagne, Wine and etc. For something different, we tried some of their smoothies which are:-

~ Energy Enhancer : Consists of juices from Orange, Pineapple, Lemon, Kiwifruit, Passionfruit together with Yogurt, Ginseng and Honey

~ Stimulator : Consists of juices from Orange, Pineapple, Lemon, Kiwifruit, together with Ginger and Honey

~ Detox : Consists of juices from Apple, Celery, Beetroot and Ginseng.

My choice was Stimulator which blends well with the choice of fruits used leaving you with a cross between sweet and sour after taste. And when sipping the you could also taste bits of ginger which spicy up the taste too. All smoothies are at S$7.00 per serving.

For appetizer, we had Otah Otah Cigar (S$12.00) which was crispy on the outside and piping hot with otah filling inside. The otah within is not too spicy or dry and overall the "spring-roll" like finger food was also not too oily to taste.

{Must Try}The Steamed Bamboo Clam with Minced Garlic (market price) was steamed to perfection with the flavor of the meat being locked in with a small serving of vermicelli in dark soy sauce. Furthermore the bamboo clam meat is well-cooked and tender with some amount of fragrant minced garlic on it leaving you asking for more.

For the main courses we started with the Charcoal Grilled Snapper (S$28.00) which accompany with 3 different types of dipping chilli sauce .  The fish used is very fresh and it is slightly charred on the outer skin with chunks of white meats underneath but the only setback was certain parts of it tends to be a bit dry and tough. Other than fish, you could also choose from their seafood range such as Prawn, Squid or Clam. 

{Must Try} I have tried Salted Egg Crab With Pumpkin from other seafood restaurants before but this Braised Claypot Crab with Superior Broth and Pumpkin (market price) from Boxing Crab was indeed a hit and something special that you should try.  The unique flavor of mixing superior broth with pumpkin gives it a rich flavour with thick golden sauce that compliments well with the fresh steamed crab. Almost all of us love the pumpkin sauce which we can't stop sipping on it.

{Must Try} We also tried Caramelized Spicy Crab (market price) which is a good choice for those who prefer something non-spicy as compared to the usual Black Pepper Crab but yet filled with similar wok-hei flavour and flavourable caramelized taste.  The first taste of the dish reminds me of another hawker food that is the "Black Fried Carrot Cake" because both of these two dishes have similar after taste.

For tables with "Crab" orders, there would be a set of "surgery tools" (shown above) which consists of Gloves and Utensils to make picking the crab meat easier. If you want to keep clean while eating those crabs, there are also Aprons available for your used.

Overall their crabs are indeed very fresh with firm, thick  and juicy flesh which is naturally sweet and flavoursome with the choices of cooking methods.

Seafood Mee Goreng (S$25.00, medium) was delicious with the right amount of spiciness and flavour together with the combination of fresh seafood which is heavenly enough to whet everyone's appetites.

DESSERT

After the meal, if you still have room for dessert you could pick a choice from their dessert column where they served both Asian and Western desserts such as cakes, waffles, ice-cream, yam paste with gingko nuts, warm almond cream and even pan-fried water chestnut cakes and etc.

Below are a few dessert items that we have tried and most of us prefer the Tropic Pineapple Sorbet which is an interesting dessert that combined both sight and taste satisfaction. Whereas if you have sweet tooth, go for either Meringue with Chantilly Cream or Catalana Cream with Caramelized Sugar.

Meringue with Chantilly Cream (S$8.90)

Traditional Sicillian Cannoli with Sweetened Ricotta (S$11.90)

Tropic Pineapple Sorbet (S$11.90)

Yam Paste with Gingo Nuts (S$5.00)

If you intend to try out their yummy "Crabs" with over 10 different cooking selection, here is a Good Deal for you to enjoy the 1-For-1 Crabs promotion which ends 30 November 2012.

(1) 'Like' Boxing Crab facebook page HERE.
(2) 'Share' the 1-for-1 crabs promotion with your friends
(3) Print out the coupon and show them your facebook that you've liked them
(4) Enjoy your crabs

For more information, you cal call The Boxing Crab at (65)6274 7760 or visit their Facebook page HERE for more details.

THE BOXING CRAB
80 Siloso Road
(Sentosa Island, behind Underwater World)
Singapore 098969
Reservation: (65)6274 7760

Opening Hours
11:00am to 11:00pm (Daily)

Lion City’s ‘Get Out of the Box’ Blogger Challenge Plus Dinner At MEDZS

Last Friday, I attended a bloggers get together event which was organized by Brand Cellar on behalf of Lion City (parent company of Gold Kili and Frezfruta) to kick off a "two weeks blogger challenge". For this fun contest, bloggers are to come out with creative ways to incorporate Gold Kili and Frezfruta products in their daily life as well as complete a list of easy tasks such as include sharing creative photos or recipes of the coffees and bread share it over social medias such as blog, facebook and twitter.

The bloggers meetup was held at MEDZS which is located at Millenia Walk and while waiting for the everyone to arrive, there were also some Gold Kili and Frezfruta products for us to sample and take photos with.

Believe me, eating cream crackers with Frezfruta Kaya/Jam can be really addicting and you won't just stop with one or two pieces.

Briefing by Ms Joanne from Brand Cellar on the event topic for "Lion City Blogger 14-Day Challenge" before the dinner starts.

DINNER AT MEDZS, MILLENIA WALK

Above shown were our main courses at Medzs during the event and some of these Mediterranean cuisines really taste good base on the flavour and aromatic spices used. Since there are 3 of us at the same table, we decided to order 3 different types appetizer and main course to share among ourselves. 

Before the dishes, we have some Mocktail Of The Day such as:-  Morning Glory (Essence of Lemon Grass with Lime, Grenadine and Cherry), Lemon and Lime Bitters (Freshly Squeezed Lemon and Lime with Refreshing Taste of Sweet, Sour and Bitter) and Orange Blast (mixture of Fresh Orange and Cranberry Juice with a Twist of Soda).

Personally I don't really fancy any of those mocktails above as I find it way too "strong taste" for my preference.

{Appetizer} Home-made Cured Salmon Bruschetta with Pesto is one of my favourite appetizer for that night. The smoked salmon is served with crusty bread together with some flavorsome pesto to enhance the taste and texture leaving bursting flavour in your mouth.

{Appetizer} Spanish Omelette "Tortilla" with Aioli Dip is soft and nicely done without being overcooked and I love the Aioli Dip (garlic sauce) which has a light and refreshing taste from the lemon and garlic which is quiet similar to Hollandaise sauce.

{Appetizer} Classic Caesar Salad on the other hand seems to lack of some flavour which was quiet "tasteless" despite of some chunks of unknown hidden in between the greens which might be either anchovy, capers or black olive (did not really check as we were busy with the photoshoots, eating and chatting). But I think I still prefer my Caesar Salad with added Chicken.

{Main Course} Charcoal Grilled Baby Sea Bream with Aubergine Gratin, Mashed Potato and Watercress Salad. Certain part of the fish was rather a bit dry but overall it still taste quiet decent and  I love the accompany Aubergine Gratin and Mashed Potato.

{Main Course} Moroccan Beef and Caramelized Apple Stew Tajine with Couscous comes with two different flavour in a dish. The Couscous is perfumed with sweet rose scented caramelized onion which gives it a lift on the plain couscous. On the other hand, the Moroccan Beef Stew was tender but the taste of the spices was a bit too "over powder" towards our liking which ends out this dish being our least favourite for that night.

{Main Course} Braised Cook Chicken Paella with Chorizo and Saffron earns the most votes from our table as we love the texture of the rice which is not too mushy and overall the flavour of the dish is well balance with the spices and ingredients used.

At the Bloggers' event each of us also received a Mystery hamper with some Gold Kili (Kopi Kosong, Double Shot White Coffee and Double Shot White Milk Tea) and Frezfruta (Strawberry Jam, Apple and Blueberry Jam plus Kaya) products to assist us to accomplished the assigned task for the "Lion City Blogger 14 days Challenge".

MY DAILY NEEDS TO PERK MY DAY

I must confess, I am a coffee lover who loves "Black Coffee" especially those without sugar or less sugar content. And over the years I have tried many different brands of instant coffee products and I have narrow my choices to only 3 favourite brands including Gold Kili as one of it.

Can you spot the "Smiley Face" from the beverages?

Honestly speaking I used to drink my daily "Kopi O" from another brand till I tried Gold Kili, Kopi-O with 35% Less Sugar which taste just as good as those coffee served in coffee shop which use grind coffee powder. On top of it, their Double-Shot White Milk Tea is also superb, smooth and fragrant which is not too sweet for my liking. For my personal preference I love to add in a slice or two of Ginger to enhance the taste which is pretty similar to Teh Halia (ginger milk tea).