Chubbs' Ultimate Snack

Everybody I know loves popcorn; especially the kids. But too often than not, the popcorn is made with bad and excessive fat, sugar, salt and colouring. What's meant to be a whole-grain, healthy snack has gained a bad reputation as an artery-clogger. So when Chubbs asks me for popcorn in the late afternoons, several times a week, I make a pot of it, with extra virgin olive oil, and nothing else. And it is delicious! Chubbs and I easily polish off a big bowl of it, and feel very happy, and strangely virtuous afterwards. So guys, give this a try at home (if you haven't before). It takes the merest of minutes, and you'll feed yourself and your kids something yummy and nourishing.

Ingredients:-

Extra virgin olive oil- enough to lightly coat the base of a heavy bottom pot

A large handful of dried popcorn

Method:-

1) Lightly cover the base of the pot with the EVOO.

2) Scatter the dried popcorn all over the base of the pot; making sure that there is a little room between each kernal, so that they can absorb the oil and have space to pop.

3) Cover the pot with the lid, and turn the flame on to medium.

4) The kernals will start popping soon. Wait until you can't hear anymore popping, open the lid, pour the fluffy popcorn out, sprinkle with a tiny bit of salt if really necessary, and serve warm!

Nourish with Five- Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes, Basil, Garlic and Chili

Somedays, Chubbs takes a lot out of me by late morning, and for lunch, I crave something easy to make, but utterly satisfying, delicious and nutritious at the same time. And for Fuzzy and I, pasta is the ultimate comfort food. I actually get a mild anxiety attack when I'm not stocked with at least three packets of various dried pasta in the pantry :/

I often whip up this simple, light pasta for lunch, which is basically a simple aglio olio, but with ripe cherry tomatoes thrown in for a refreshing sweetness. Many years ago, while waiting tables, I eavesdropped on one of Singapore's top chefs, JQ, when he took time to give an aspiring young chef a tutorial on cooking the perfect aglio olio, after his attempt at the dish turned out disastrous. "1) The garlic must be sauteed till just golden. Not white, not dark brown, just golden. 2) Add just a few slivers of chili, not a handful. You are not cooking mee goreng. If customers ask for it to be super spicy, ask them to go elsewhere for mee goreng. 3) Tear fresh basil leaves with your fingers; if you use a knife, the leaves will bruise and the herb flavour will be flat."

So he went on and demonstrated how it's done. He put in a lot of good extra virgin olive oil and even added a touch of freshly grated parmesan at the end (which I thought was a little weird). After him and the young chef tasted the pasta, he looked at me and said, "You over there... listening so intently. Want to try?" I stood hunched over the kitchen counter, and twirled as much noodle on my fork as possible. It was glorious.

Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes, Basil, Garlic and Chili

Ingredients:-

1 clove of garlic, sliced very finely

Half a red chili, deseeded

A large handful of cherry tomatoes (about 10), halved

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt for seasoning

Spaghetti/ linguine/ vermicelli

A handful of fresh basil

Method:-

1) Cook pasta in very salty water, according to package timing instructions.

2) Saute garlic slivers and chili in a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil till garlic is tender and slightly brown around the edges.

3) Add tomatoes and saute until skin is slightly wrinkled.

4) Add cooked pasta and some of the pasta water. Swirl everything around swiftly so that the water and oil emulsifies into a light sauce. If the pasta looks dry, add a little more cooking water.

5) Season to taste. Scatter with basil leaves. Serve, eat and clean your plate as quickly as possible.

Nourish with Five- Tomato and Bean Stew

1 December! I can smell Christmas in the air! There'll be lots of cooking, baking, eating and entertaining in the weeks to come, and I'll get so fat after all the Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year festivities! Holidays are so exciting with the promise of fun/ family/ food-filled days to come, and I think this is also a good time for me to launch a little project called, "Nourish with Five". This series of recipes will showcase some of the five-ingredient recipes that I make at home. I'll try to sneak some bakes under this category too, and hopefully, you guys will try some of these simple dishes and sweets during the holidays.

I decided to start this project because, as mentioned before, I have a five ingredients per dish guideline (not including the necessary oil and seasonings) when cooking. This is not to say that I never make a dish that requires more, but I go by this mantra 90% of the time. Streamlining the processes in cooking, and quoting Mr. Jamie Oliver, "stripping down recipes to their bare essentials", makes cooking more pleasurable, and saves me a lot of time. Perhaps some of you might think that using just five ingredients to create a tasty, satisfying and nourishing meal sounds too little, but I assure you, it's not.

Another decision I recently made, is to go vegetarian for all my meals except maybe dinner. I'll still be eating a limited amount of seafood, but for the most part, it'll be cheese, eggs, vegetables, fruit, carbs and the lot. I'm not doing this because I'm on some weight-loss program, or that I dislike the taste of chicken/ beef/ lamb/ pork/, etc. It's just the same reason why I've never taken shark's fin... I'm sick of the torture that animals have to go through for our pleasure. Yes, animals were initially meant for our consumption, and mankind supposedly has free reign over all livestock. But in biblical times, chickens weren't caged up so tightly that they trample over and kill one another, geese and ducks were not force-fed with metal tubes down their throats to abnormally fatten their livers, poultry weren't injected with hormones to force them to grow faster... and sadly, the list goes on. I'm not naively thinking that I have the power to change the world with my decisions, but I just can't live with myself supporting this cruelty anymore.

On a lighter note, here's a great tomato and bean recipe that is healthy, comforting, quick and easy to make and very economical. Fuzzy and I chose to eat it with some pan-fried barramundi (you could substitute for any white-fleshed fish) for lunch, and I'll have the left-overs with a toasted cheese sandwich tomorrow.

Tomato and Bean Stew

Ingredients:-

1 can of canellini beans, drained

1 can of diced tomatoes

3 stalks of celery, diced

1 big onion, diced

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

water/ vegetable stock

salt and pepper, and optional dried herbs for seasoning

Method:-

1) In a small pot, sautee onions in olive oil till translucent.

2) Add celery and fry till slightly tender.

3) Mix in drained beans, and tinned tomatoes.

4) Add enough water/vegetable stock to cover all the ingredients, and bring the stew to a boil before turning the heat down to a slow simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and add dried herbs if you'd like.

5) Simmer for 1 hour.

6) Serve with fresh basil and a good glug of extra virgin olive oil. This makes a great dish on it's own with some crusty bread, or with some pan-fried fish/ chicken as a side.

Feeds two very hungry adults.

Banana and Spelt Pancakes

I've posted about these spelt pancakes before. But I've since simplified the recipe, and trust me, it is one of the easiest, quickest things to make for breakfast, brunch, or snack (Chubbs gets to eat them about twice a week). The thing to note is that you can use many different kinds of more nourishing flours in this, than plain flour. Spelt and kamut are my favourites because these grains have less gluten and a higher protein content than wheat, and the pancakes cook up to be deliciously nutty, and wonderfully light and fluffy. I'll be experimenting with teff and oat flour next. Also, when cooking for Chubbs, I try my best to omit/ reduce raising agents like bi-carb and baking powder, so I make the extra effort to beat the egg whites to stiff peaks instead.

Ingredients:-

1/3 cup flour

1 egg, separated

50ml milk (75ml if using kamut flour)

1 small, ripe banana (I use pisang mas)

Method:-

1) Mash the banana. Add the egg yolk and milk to the mashed banana. Stir to combine well.

2) Add the flour and stir until all the flour is incorporated. Do not overmix.

3) Whisk the egg white until stiff peaks form (I use a handheld beater).

4) Gently fold in the egg white to mixture.

5) Ladle over a hot non-stick pan. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until golden brown. Enjoy with pure maple syrup, honey, jam and/ or butter.

Makes 5-6 3-inch pancakes.

Chubbs had four of these pancakes for lunch, together with a handful raisins and pumpkin seeds on the side. He didn't need any honey or maple syrup because they were so fragrant and sweet on their own, thanks to the added banana.

Looking down on purpose when I asked him to smile for the camera...

Looking up on purpose... :/

Finally! Got you!

19-Months and Baked Potato Fries

My 19-month old darling is finally starting to eat potatoes; in the form of baked fries. Previously, I have tried feeding him white, yellow sweet, orange sweet, blue potatoes steamed, mashed with butter, with cheese, baked in their jackets... nothing worked. He would take an occasional bite, but was definitely not fond of them. Then I came up with this simple recipe. Bingo!

Ingredients:-

1 medium sized sweet potato

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper for seasoning (optional)

Note: Different potatoes yield different results. My personal favourites to make baked fries with, are Aussie Gold potatoes and organic sweet potatoes (purple skin and peachy-coloured flesh). Both are so sweet and fragrant, and bake up to be crisp on the outside while soft and fluffy inside. Perfect! But they are a tad pricey; double the price of the more common Vietnamese/ Japanese yellow sweet potatoes. Although tasty, they are a little too dense in texture for baking; so they end up being too dry. I like to bake with blue potatoes from the USA too. They are a deep indigo colour (packed with antioxidants) and bake well. However, these (as with any white/ yellow potatoes) weep after you cut them, so be sure to dry them with a paper towel before dousing them with oil so that they crisp up nicely.

Method:-

1) Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

2) Peel and cut potatoes into batons about 1cm in width- I'm not talking about French cooking school precision here, just the general concept similarity in shape and size so that they cook in the same amount of time.

3) Coat the potato batons evenly with olive oil (and seasonings if desired).

4) Place onto a baking tray in one single layer, and some space between each fry.

5) Bake for 20-25min, or until golden and crisp on the outside.

Last night, Chubbs' doting Pseudo-Godpa, A, bought him a pair of training chopsticks for lefties (Chubbs is primarily left-handed). It has the penguin Pororo (Korean cartoon character) on it, and that thrills Chubbs to bits. He has recently started watching the cartoon, and it quite taken the dance moves of the characters (when the theme song comes on). Anyhow, he has been practising picking up biscuits and such with the chopsticks, and I must say he is coming along rather well. I'll see if he can pick up sweet potato nuggets next.

Caramelized Apples and the B-O-Y

This recipe for a sweet, fruity treat is dead simple, and utterly delicious. Fuzzy, baby and I ate the whole lot as a pre-dinner snack with dollops of luscious Greek yoghurt. Sublime.

Ingredients:-

4 small apples (Use any tart variety you fancy- I used organic Fuji.)

1 tbsp butter

1/3 cup water

1 tbsp demerara sugar

Method:-

1) Peel, core and cube apples.

2) Heat the butter in a pan till sizzling.

3) Toss in apples, and cook over medium heat until slightly yielding.

4) Deglaze the pan with water (or any other liquid- I figure white wine or rum would be delicious, but I kept it virgin for Chubbs.)

5) Add the sugar and let apples steam in the syrup for a short while. At this point, you can add ground cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, or whatever spice you like. I left my version plain because the apples were very good, and the sugar I used is already vanilla-infused.

6) Once the caramel thickens and the apples are softened to your liking, they are done! Serve with vanilla ice-cream, pancakes, crepes, waffles, plain yoghurt, a croissant, and even something savoury like pork chops. They basically go well with everything; I recommend you double the recipe, because they would keep well in a fridge for a day or two.

On a side note, my boy can spell urm... B-O-Y! He has been particularly familiar with the letters "B" and "O" for a while, and proudly spelt out the name "Bob" (part of some random slogan on Fuzzy's shirt) on his own, some time back. And when we play our daily session of Pictionary (I draw on the doodle board and he guesses the animal, shape or object), he has been requesting that I spell the word out as well. So I just go along with it, writing the words out after he correctly guesses, never thinking much of it, not even believing that it might actually help him spell. But this morning, he learnt a new letter, "Y", together with the picture of a boy; he has been spelling B-O-Y since. I thought it was a fluke, but he has done it too many times that I'm convinced it isn't. And when I ask if he can do it backwards (I hadn't taught him this), he doesn't even blink and goes, "Y-O-B". Super cool!

Chubbs and a part of his animal council.

Our Special Day

Weekends are usually crazy for us, so Fuzzy and I set aside at least one special day a month, for the three of us to just hang out. But this month's was extra special. Besides taking a day off, Fuzzy got me a few yummy treats, and threw in a surprise by coming home super early yesterday... thank you, Love. Early enough for us to enjoy a lavish afternoon tea with copious amounts of coffee. What exactly did we have?




Even Chubbs couldn't contain his excitement!

Fuzzy detoured on his way home, and splurged $40 on these yummies from our (current) favourite patissier, Centre P.S. We finished all FOUR cakes (sooo sinful) and the giant lemon eclair. We saved the coffee eclair and the last, and maybe best part, of the surprises for today. Fuzzy chose the Mont Blanc, a lemon mousse, a seven-layer chocolate cake, and a raspberry trifle. Our favourite, hands-down, was the Mont Blanc; sweet cream covered with chestnut puree on a spongy base. Delish!

Our special day started with the coffee eclair from yesterday as part of breakfast, and a trip to the PD. We were told by the nurses the last time we were there, that Chubbs was due for a vaccination this month. But upon arrival, we found that we have been mis-informed and he wasn't due for another jab till he turned one. Humph. Wasted trip. Nevertheless, we weighed Chubbs... he's 9.8kg! Now I know why my back is constantly aching :/

As Chubbs napped, Fuzzy and I made a simple pasta lunch; angel hair with Pecorino (an Italian sheep's milk cheese), truffle oil, topped with a half-boiled egg, paired with a 2006 Cab Sav.



I recently inherited my mum's breadmaker (that she hasn't used in almost 10 years), so that I can bake fresh, organic bread for Chubbs. Bread is also a staple for Fuzzy and I, and we couldn't wait to try it out. We bought some organic unbleached white flour, and I set a loaf to bake before we left for the day; it was finally ready after lunch. We were itching to get our chompers around a slice.

Fuzzy thought that the loaf would cool faster if he stared hard at it.


But I had a better idea. I volunteered to peel off (and eat) the crust to help the steam escape.


Fuzzy smacked my hand away too many times. This was what's left of the loaf after I was done picking at it. Not a pretty sight :/


I thought the bread turned out good because I like my bread crusty. Tasted more like sourdough to me, though. Fuzzy wasn't too fond of it; he prefers his bread soft and fluffy. Will have to tweak the recipe slightly to make my hubby happy. We didn't give this to Chubbs since we felt the salt content was too high. I'll bake a salt-free version for him soon.

While Chubbs was lunching, Fuzzy and I tucked into the last of his surprises for me. Macaroons! He bought five delectable flavours; lemon, black sesame, sea salt and caramel (we swooned when we bit into this one), dark chocolate and raspberry.



They were divine; consistently crispy shell, chewy interior, and to-die-for fillings. In our opinion (until proven otherwise), Centre P.S. makes the best macaroons in town. Beats Canele, Bakers' Inn, Choupinette, Da Paolo etc.

We did some shopping after that to look for a new car seat for Chubbs, visited an organic supermaket and loaded up on a few boxes of breakfast cereal for the week, and came home to a simple dinner of bread, salad, soup and crispy roasted chicken. Another perfect day with my family.

Comfort Food

I cooked dinner for my hubby tonight. Of course, we've got to have pasta. This time, it was tossed with chili, garlic, fresh basil (that we grow) and organic Parmesan, accompanied with Sauvignon Blanc. It's our epitome of comfort food.

Chubbs entertained himself in his high chair by playing with our wine glasses and thrashing his toy around. He is endlessly intrigued by everyday objects like mugs, forks, spoons and glasses. I let him explore by putting warm and cold cups in his hands, letting him feel the temperature and smoothness of the glass.

Spot the spots?

For dessert, I surprised Fuzzy with a decadent treat. It's an adaptation of David Lebovitz's Scotcheroo recipe. The bottom of the "cake" is made of puffed rice mixed with honey, vanilla sugar, Adam's natural peanut butter and Nutella. The "frosting" is melted butterscotch and chocolate chips. Best paired with a strong cuppa to shoo those Monday blues.

Life's simple pleasures.

A Simple Dinner

Here's one for the foodies out there. Fuzzy and I made ourselves dinner tonight- first time in a long, long while. The rest of the house went for Marutama ramen. Chubbs napped while we cooked but decided to grace us with his company half-way through the meal.

"Hello Mommy!"

We made our favourite Pasta Aglio Olio (we could eat variations of this everyday and not tire of it). Something special tonight though, we cracked open the bottle of white truffle oil that Fuzzy gave me for Christmas. Here's the menu:

Tasmanian double cream brie with Lavosh crackers

Vermicelli with garlic and rosemary, drizzled with white truffle oil.

Chocolates from Switzerland and home-baked choc-chip cupcakes.

We washed it all down with a bottle of 2004 Carmenere.

Simple yet scrumptious.

p.s. Fuzzy doesn't know this. But I also had quarter of a jar of Nutella together with my nightly mug of Milo after putting Chubbs down to sleep. Heh.