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Ok ok.... it's way past Easter but we were recently the grateful beneficiary of a Kinder egg. A Kinder egg means imported chocolate and imported chocolate is either expensive or hard to find. In Kinder's case, it's not found in Chengdu and so you can understand what I mean by "grateful".
minibeanie was hesitant at first (typical toddler!) but after a tiny piece of chocolate was put into his mouth, he finished the entire egg in a matter of minutes :D The toy in the egg (casing) within the egg was also nice. I think he's not going to say no to a Kinder egg in future.
Recently, we also celebrated the-day-we-first-met anniversary of more than a decade. Yes, I'm being deliberately evasive. ...Suffice to say, it does make me feel a little geriatric ;) We went for an early dinner at a fantastic Szechuan restaurant so that we could make it home for dessert, a sinful chocolate cake layered with ganache and iced with fresh cream, strawberries and toasted almonds.
A small inner voice made me bring half a cake and a million calories to the playgroup the next day. After all, what are friends for? ;)
minibeanie is 1 year, 9 months & 4 days old
I created this milkshake a few years ago when I was in the throes of preparing for my wedding (read: squeezing into That Dress ;) Till now, I still make it as my lunch whenever I need something quick, fuss-free and HEALTHY.
Here's what I normally use:
- 2-3dl fat-free milk, depending on how thick you want the smoothie to be
- 1dl instant oats
- 1 large ripe banana
- a handful of frozen fruits (e.g. strawberries)
- 1tbsp ground flaxseed (opt)
- yoghurt (opt)
* Preferably, all ingredients should be cold
** for the metric-challenged, 1dl (deciliter) = 100ml (milliliter)
Put oats in a glass and add about half the milk. Microwave until oats are cooked. Put all ingredients into a blender and blend. taa-daa! A guilt-free creamy smoothie.
I made this smoothie today with some frozen durian :D ... which I think would have most of my western friends running for cover but it was a wonderful change from strawberries. I shall try to remember to freeze some nectarines or mangoes when they're in season!
Why this is the Bestest Healthiest smoothie ever (no sh**). You get calcium, protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals & omega-3 (from flaxseed) all in 1. Traditional milkshakes have generous amounts of ice cream for its creaminess but here, the creamy texture comes from the oats. Oat is very heart & gut friendly if you don't already know. Basically, oat reduces LDL (bad) cholesterol & has cancer fighting properties. And banana adds a natural sweetness to the smoothie without the need for sugar.
If I recall, I remember seeing a similar recipe from Dr. Oz, Oprah's health guru. I issue a challenge to all oat-fearing skeptics - you won't be able to taste or know there are oats in this smoothie. Kippis!
minibeanie is 1 year, 9 months & 2 days old
As expected, the battle for minibeanie to stay put in bed continued for a few days. It's now the 6th day after the side of his crib is removed, which allowed him to get out of his crib by himself, and I think victory is on hand! Last night, I marched him back to bed SIX times within a span of 15 minutes. He surrendered finally either because he was so tired or because he knew it'd be futile. Or both ;) This afternoon's nap took 3 tries. As for tonight's bedtime, he tried to make an escape only once. Yay!!
Recently when having some friends over with their 13 month old daughter, I realized that some parents over-indulge their kids, to put it nicely. I don't mean the occasional candy or even the very occasional extra episode of Sesame Street. In this particular instance, the toddler refused to sit in her car seat and what did the parents do? Put her in the middle seat albeit with a seat-belt. What's wrong with this scenario? Firstly, she's too small to be sitting without a child-seat - why are child-seats or boosters even invented in the first place? Secondly, the middle seat only has a seat-belt across the lap. A 2-point harness is hardly the best safety belt for a regular adult let alone a toddler. Thirdly, physics tells us that a 10kg toddler becomes a 400kg torpedo at 40km/h. Therefore, "she won't sit in her baby-seat" or "we only drive in the city (implicitly saying "we aren't close to the autobarn speed") are merely whinings of over-indulgent parents. Who are the adults in the family who should know better?
I made a post on Car Safety eons ago when we were still in Finland. If anything, I've even more vitriol for our 'friends' yesterday because Chinese drivers are nuts. You can absolutely gurantee stupidity from others. If I'm dogmatic about this issue, that's because this is a black & white issue. It isn't even close to the pacifier or the sippy-cup debate by a far measure. Because in this case, over-indulgence can kill.
minibeanie is 1 year, 8 months, 2 weeks & 5 days old
I heard a loud thump in the afternoon followed by a baby crying 2 seconds later. Thinking it was the neighbour's baby, I felt sorry for the baby and continued with measuring the flour for my puff pastry. Then I heard the cries a lot louder this time. In fact, it was coming from the top of my stairs. Alarmed, I ran up the stairs and realized that it was minibeanie crying. The thump had come from him. And he had fallen out of his crib because he'd climbed out of it!
He had a blue and black protruding bump on his forehead. Thankfully, his cries were quickly soothed, he was conscious, his irises weren't dilated, he wasn't throwing up and he wasn't drowsy. Those were signs to look out for after a bump. He seemed fine otherwise.
Doing up his own bedroom has been a work-in-progress. One wall is now painted a bright and cheery sunshine yellow. (Heh, the Chinese name for the shade is in fact, 阳光普照) We just need to make our way to our local Ikea to get his "big boy" toddler bed and some storage shelves. The incident today forced us to take a step towards the migration. Well, we couldn't just plop him down in his new bed in his new room one night and expect that he's going to accept it. As with everything, it has to be introduced 1 step at a time. (Toddlers are sticklers for routine ;)
We were first thinking of moving the crib to his room (his eventual "big boy" would be unassembled in the storeroom) and when he has gotten used to the room, we would then introduce the bed. Well..... apparently, this afternoon's fall meant that the migration would have to take somewhat different steps. We removed a side of the Stokke crib which meant that minibeanie could climb in and out of his crib easily on his own. Might as well because his 'real' bed wouldn't have bars to cage him in anyway. So there, first big step for a little guy.
No 'cage' also meant that the sleep routine was challenged. Either it was the total freedom or the feeling of insecurity, minibeanie had some difficulty settling down to sleep tonight. Thrice he crept out of bed within 5 minutes and opened the door (yes, he has learnt how to work the door handle being on tip-toe - the Bolshoi Ballet would have recruited him as a Sugar Plum Fairy).
First the door would open 10cm, followed by silence. Then, it would open a little more and an impish boy with a grin would peek out from behind. Dada was in the loft working so he didn't get away ;) It wasn't until I marched him to bed and stayed in the room writing this blog that he stayed put. I suspect this would be the dance for the next few nights until he got used to the idea that a) we meant business when we said it was bedtime and b) the novelty of an 'open' bed had worn off.
Another milestone today was when he said "bye bye" accompanied by a wave. Previously, it was just the Queen's wave. He also tried to say "truck" today..... or something close. I'm glad that he's speaking a little more now. "Tam" (jam), "cheese", "kaa" (car)...
minibeanie is 1 year, 8 months, 1 week & 6 days old
...if the title prompted you to read this post, you've a dirty mind tsk tsk... ;)
We just settled down after a quick trip back to Singapore. I think I've mastered the art of packing light - minibeanie & my check-in luggage weighs a total of 9.5kg ...leaving me a little more than 20.5kg for the return luggage heheh. And it did come in handy because I bought a Kenwood Chef that I've been eyeing for a very long time ;P It even came bundled with a meat mincer accessory - perfect for mincing lamb for Shepherd's Pie. Yes, I'm having fun with my newest toy.
Speaking of toy, DH's toy du jour is the espresso machine that has been sitting in our kitchen for a year. It's a hand-me-down from his former boss but it still works like a charm. Lately, after threats of the machine being banished to the storeroom because it's sitting on highly valuable kitchen top real estate, DH finally started decalcifying it and starting his research on how to be a home barrista. This weekend we've had 2 shots of espresssos each. Nice. The second attempt today was a lot better. More crema and less watered down. Apparently, tamping & increasing the pressure made the difference. Tamping the coffee a little more to get the water to flow through slower (and thereby extracting more flavour) and increasing the pressure achieved a fuller bodied taste. But there's a limit to how much pressure... too much and it results in a brew that's too strong or bitter (hmm, I don't confess to be a connoisseur)
There's a lot of science behind making that perfect cuppa.
- Grind. Not as fine as Turkish or Greek coffee but finer than that for the moka pot and definitely that for drip coffee. Best if it's grinded on the spot or less than a week old because the oils from the bean turn ground coffee rancid. The evenness of the grind also makes a difference. For that matter, electric grinders with blades seldom do the job well because they don't produce an even grind...or by the time it does, it has become coffee dust. Those with burrs do a lot better.
- Roast. Dark roasted or espresso roast is the best.
- Water. Fresh 'softened' water. Not distilled or mineral water.
- Technical factors. These include things like water temperature which should be 92-96c, pressure should be 9-10atm and extraction time is ideally about 25sec.
Since it's hard to get all these factors right at the same time and because every espresso home machine is different, I think it's still going to take a lot of experimenting before we get a consistent head of golden crema each time. Meanwhile, we're all going to be running around & talking a little faster.
minibeanie is 1 year, 8 months, 1 week & 5 days old
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