Claypot chicken rice

Ta-dah!

Without flash

Okie, it's more like rice cooker chicken rice than claypot chicken rice since i used rice cooker instead of the traditional claypot. Grin.

I love love love claypot chicken rice! So does everyone else in the household, especially hb. I don't cook this often so if i do, it would be a pleasant treat for hb and the kids. The ones found outside at the hawker usually are not really up to our standard. However, we do have one fav place that we do go if we are really craving for an authentic one, which is located at Clementi. The bad news is, the waiting time could be more than an hour!

Hence, most of the time, i rather cook this dish myself at home. Save time, save money and definitely healthier and more hygenic.. ;)

With flash

Usually, i only cook this when i have all the ingredients needed -> chicken thighs, mushrooms, chinese sausage and last but not least, salted fish. If possible, i'll garnish it with spring onion.

Yummilicious!

p.s: gosh, i'm so gonna do this again this week. Looking at the pics now makes me crave for it already *thick skin me*!

Confession

Today i did something very sinful which i know i shouldn't be doing.

Bad bad me.

I ate the whole bottle of the remaining Nutella in front of the boys just like that, using a spoon, scoop and eat. No thanks to Tanny who gave me the idea when she told me the other day that she indulged in almost half bottle of Nutella just like that too *evil look* :P

What i worry most is what will i say if the boys want to do the same thing again in the future? I can't possibly say cannot, it's wrong because i, myself did just that :PppPPpp

But i did tell them that mommy is a naughty girl today. Sz asked why and i told him that if papa were to see us (yes, i even shared it with the boys!) doing this, for sure we will get scolded badly. Lol.

Flaky yam paste and salted egg yolk pastries

Ok ok.. so, it was supposed to be flaky pastry but it didn't turn out to be one :(

Looks edible but it's not :(

I sort of suspected it wouldn't be one before i bake them actually.. based on the recipe i got from Chef Chan's Dim Sum cook book bought by hb for me recently.

Yupyupyup.. that's right! Hb actually bought a cook book for me! Funny right? Never expected this from him but you know why?

It was because he wanted me to make him 'wu kok'!

That pppeeerrrggggg~~~

Anyway, to get flaky pastry, we usually have 2 types of dough right? But this recipe doesn't call for it. Oh well, to play safe, i'll try this again using hugbear's recipe from KC. Really prefer those recipes which have been tried and tested ;)

By the way, i threw most of the pastries above away because the crust was way too hard. Harder than biscuit! Imagine.. How to eat yeah? Wasted my effort in preparing the yam paste from scratch *sobs*

Was very disappointed because i was looking forward to eat it so much! :P

p.s: to my own astonishment, hb didn't only get 1 cook book for me recently, but another 2 more few days ago. Amazing!

But but..

please don't get me wrong.

Hb and i do have our ups and downs. Whenever we have bad quarrel, i do question myself the same thing at times. Did i marry the right person?

I dare say that almost every time (99.9%) after things have cooled down or when we patch things up again, my answer to my own question would be yes.

Recently, i read one of my gfs blog on her opinion on guys and i believe the person she was talking about was me and my hb. Well, i'm not gonna go into details of what she wrote but i felt strongly protective of hb for what she has said.

To me, no one's perfect. I have kinda accepted the flaws that hb has and he has accepted mine (actually, not really. He still cannot understand why i need to shower with very hot water even when the weather is hot or why do i need so much sleep a day :P).

Anyway, i have most certainly accepted the issue hb has with the opposite gender when it comes to me as long as i find it logical and not ridiculous. At first, i couldn't understand why. But later on, with so many issues on infidelity in marriage, be it the news in the paper, real life stories i've read on the forums or among friends, i do agree that the best way to avoid temptation is prevention.

As long as hb loves me to death, dotes on me, not abusive, loves the children, generous to the point that i have full access to all his bank accounts which means if it makes me happy, i can actually spend his 1 month's salary away! (yup, i don't get allowances from hb, i get everything lol) have sense of responsiblity to take care of us, not nasty and mean (very important) and able to stay faithful, i feel i cannot ask for more already. Afterall, have you met a perfect someone?

And and, hb does help me with housework + baby care eg: change soiled diapers, clean up vomit which i can't, bath babies etc. Ppsstt: he's much neater and cleaner than me actually *hide* :P

So yeah, i know hb is not a *toot* definitely. To her, yes but not to me. To each his own, aye? ;)

p.s: Having said all the above, i know i may sound like a xiao nu ren which i am in certain ways and i do enjoy being one actually at most times (family comes first now *wink*) but i am certainly not the kind who will sit quietly and look down when i am being ill-treated or bullied hor.. I do bite :P

Something to share

I came across this article today. Thought of sharing this here as i do get asked quite frequently How do i know hb is the one? or Is he the right person for you? :P


DID I MARRY THE RIGHT PERSON?

During one of our seminars, a woman asked a common question. She said,"How
do I know if I married the right person?"

I noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so I said, "It
depends. Is that your husband?" In all seriousness, she answered "How do you
know?"

Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it's weighing
on your mind. Here's the answer.

EVERY relationship has a cycle. In the beginning, you fell in love with your
spouse. You anticipated their call, wanted their touch, and liked their
idiosyncrasies.

Falling in love with your spouse wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely
natural and spontaneous experience.

You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called "falling" in love...
Because it's happening TO YOU.

People in love sometimes say, "I was swept of my feet." Think about the
imagery of that expression. It implies that you were just standing there;
doing nothing, and then something came along and happened TO YOU.

Falling is love is easy. It's a passive and spontaneous experience. But
after a few years of marriage, the euphoria of love fades. It's the natural
cycle of EVERY relationship. Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother
(if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens), and
your spouse's idiosyncrasies, instead of being cute, drive you nuts.

The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship, but if you think
about your marriage, you will notice a dramatic difference between the
initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry
subsequent stage.

At this point, you and/or your spouse might start asking, "Did I marry the
right person?" And as you and your spouse reflect on the euphoria of the
love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someone
else. This is when marriages breakdown. People blame their spouse for their
unhappiness and look outside their marriage for fulfillment.

Extramarital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes. Infidelity is the
most obvious. But sometimes people turn to work, church, a hobby, a
friendship, excessive TV, or abusive substances. But the answer to this
dilemma does NOT lie outside your marriage. It lies within it. I'm not
saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could.

And TEMPORARILY you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a few
years later. Because (listen carefully to this):

THE KEY TO SUCCEEDING IN MARRIAGE IS NOT FINDING THE RIGHT PERSON; IT'S
LEARNING TO LOVE THE PERSON YOU FOUND.

SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience. It'll NEVER just
happen to you. You can't "find" LASTING love. You have to "make" it day in
and day out. That's why we have the expression "the labor of love." Because
it takes time, effort, and energy. And most importantly, it takes WISDOM.
You have to know WHAT TO DO to make your marriage work.

Make no mistake about it. Love is NOT a mystery. There are specific things
you can do (with or without your spouse) to succeed with your marriage.

Just as there are physical laws of the universe (such as gravity), there are
also laws for relationships. Just as the right diet and exercise program
makes you physically stronger, certain habits in your relationship WILL make
your marriage stronger. It's a direct cause and effect. If you know and
apply the laws, the results are predictable... you can "make" love.

Love in marriage is indeed a "decision"... Not just a feeling.

Mean maid!

My Filippino maid has gone back yesterday.

I felt so played out bcoz just 2-3 weeks ago when she cried, i asked her exactly the same question if she wanna go home and she insisted NO, she wanna continue to work for 2 years. If only she has gone home then, i wouldn't have wasted the rest of the 2 weeks training her and letting her be close to my children. Also before she came over to Sg, i did tell her my situation that i cannot afford to have my helper leave after a couple of weeks or months due to homesick and she said she wouldn't .

Now, just when we're (esp the boys are starting to accept her) getting used to her, she wanna go back coz she is missing her children very badly.

I cannot imagine one can be so vicious just because when she asked for a second chance, i refused. I mean, c'mon, who would right? Later kena play by her again plus the fact that she didn't have any respect for me yesterday. Before the agent or i have said anything on whether she can leave or not, she stopped doing all the housework and stare at the window the whole morning till afternoon before she talked to the agent for final closure who managed to change her mind to stay on. By then, i've already made up my mind to let her go.

Not only that, she actually started packing too, EVERYTHING.. things that my mil gave her, more than 100 pcs of clothings which she wanted to send home initially (c'mon, when u only work for 1 month, u didn't only not feel guilty, summore dare take the stuff packed in the new bags too!) and clothings i bought for her as well! But i told her to leave everything behind. Feel she doesn't deserve them at all when i found out she was already packing before i say anything.

This morning, the maid actually complained to the agent that she worked in 2 houses and if they wanna complain MOM, i'll kena. But the thing is, i never make her work in 2 houses. We never specifically bring her to in laws' place to do housework. We only we bring her to in laws' house during the weekends for dinner or when hb and i are going out without the kids. Don't tell me she expects not to do anything after eating the dinner which my in laws prepare for us?? Cannot wash dishes? Or after cooking, cannot help to clean the kitchen?

Do you call that working for 2 households?

Sigh. So much for being so nice to her during the past 1 month! She gets to eat anything and everything and when we go out for dinner, she gets the exact share of what we eat or more!

She also pleaded to keep the clothings mil gave her and i agreed and she cleverly wore the shoes i bought her instead of her own slippers, claiming that her slippers were at the agent when it was just on the shelf! *roll eyes* I was like, fine. I wonder if she ever thought of mil's generousity when mil bought her new tops and bottoms before she complained about working in 2 households..

And she actually took the clothings which i told her not to. Only realised it after i have sent her off when i checked the cupboard. Gave her the benefit of doubt so i didn't really check her luggage before she left. Afterall, she's 31 years old. Didn't want to make her look like a thief but i guess kindness doesnt pay. Do you call that stealing btw, just in case she wanna complain me to MOM.

I'm glad that i managed to learn of her new colour this early..

Go away!

The haze is driving me nuts!

According to today's ST, the air quality is likely to hover around the unhealthy range till at least the end of the month! And the rain will only be expected around end of the month to early next month *gasp*

Oh man.. that would mean the kids and i will be stucked at home for another 2 weekends at least and every single weekday in the evening. This is.. really bad. We are already bored to death, or at least, i am. Aiihhh..

If only some people are more considerate when it comes to issues like these. The world is already 'dying' and yet, they can still go on and burn and burn. Not only it will worsen the air quality of their own country but also their neighbours, not to mention, doing so so so much harm to the ozone layer. Don't they know the hole up there is already HUGE?

Yes i know.. we cant just blame these poor farmers alone since it is much more cost effective to just clear the plantation/ farm using a box a match sticks. Their government SHOULD do something about it before all these mess. So much for saying things will be in controlled early this year *roll eyes*

Irresponsible people at the cost of others.

Chocolate kisses

When i first saw the picture of these lovely cookies on SeaDragon's and then, followed by Angie's, i knew i had to make them :P

As usual, whenever i bake, i will try to find little task here and there for the boys to do as well since they love helping me so much [psstt: for now that is. Wonder if they'll still be the same when they grow up hor? Lol]. Hence, explained the odd 101's on the cookies but honestly, i quite like the colour contrast of it to the cookies though :P

The cookies itself aren't sweet at all. You'll need the cream to lift the taste up. Personally, i don't quite fancy the cookies but i love the look of it. Very pleasing to the eyes :D

Chocolate kisses

Fat fat day

Sometime last week, i was all geared up to make bubur cha cha as the dessert of the day, inspired by evan's yummilicious looking bubur cha cha plus the fact that i was told by her that the colourful tapioca cubes can be obtained from NTUC made me even more excited -- sua ku me never knew!-- :P

So here it is, my bubur cha cha using my brand new rameskin cups bought from Robinsons last week which was meant for Angie's orange pudding cakes. Heh.

All the hardwork did pay off at the end of the day. The dessert was simply delicious. I dare say, better than most of what we can get outside at hawker centre *wink* But, but.. i don't think i will be making this in the near future though. Gotta watch my forever expanding waist now :P

My not-so-nice looking bubur cha cha :P

Next up on the same day was chicken curry using the left over coconut milk.

Didn't wanna waste the extra coconut milk, decided to cook up this dish, extra spicy :P

Curry is simply something which i cannot resist not eating it with 2 big bowls of rice.. Lol.

Now you know why i call this entry 'fat fat day' aye?

Mooncake giveaway

I know mooncake festival has passed and i'm definitely late in posting this or wishing everyone. But would like to make this entry happens for my own record :P

This year is the first year i have ever attempted in making mooncakes on my own: baked mooncake, snowskin mooncake and also baked spiral pastry mooncake.

In total, i've made roughly 65 mooncakes of the above and have given away 28 boxes which consists 2 each to friends and relatives. Flavour wise, they are as below :

• baked lotus with egg yolk
• baked red bean with egg yolk
• baked spiral yam pastry mooncake with egg yolk
• pandan flavour lotus with egg yolk - snowskin
• yam flavour lotus with egg yolk - snowskin
• lotus with egg yolk - pink snowskin
• green tea with egg yolk - snowskin
• white lotus with egg yolk - snowskin
• red bean with egg yolk - snowskin
• chocolate snowskin mooncake
  

No doubt, money, effort and time --not forgetting backaches too-- have been invested heavily in what i did but the joy [be it compliments or the smiles and thank yous i get] i derived from it?

Priceless.

And the picture captured below was part of my giveaway :D

Yesterday..

Remember the little surprise i got for hb?

Like i said, it's nothing much really.. especially for someone who bakes so often. But nevertheless, i don't make this often so it was indeed a pleasant surprise for hb who happens to love my all my oreo cheesecake, be it baked or no bake :D

So here it is, my surprise for the conman..

No bake oreo cheesecake :)

For last night's dinner, hb brought me here, or rather, i wanted to be brought there, Lawry's. Lol.

Hb wanted to go Shashlik, again, in fact, we always go to Shashlik on normal Saturdays when either of us is craving for beef. I must admit that they do indeed serve very good beef fillet but anni dinner there? No ambience lah uncle.. :P

It was my 3rd time at Lawry's and i think the first impression was the best of all. Somehow the food tasted pretty normal yesterday and it was nothing to shout about anymore unlike our first time there.

Hb said that it has to do with me savouring too much good food already during the years between my 2nd and 3rd visit. And i think he is right! Lol.

For a change, i had Pan Sear Salmon Fillet, accompanied with 3 different canapes, crispy tortilla with avocado cream, grilled US scallop with Wasabi mayonnaise and carviar with a slice of ciabatta bread. Served with sake butter cream sauce and Idaho mashed potato and hb had the below as usual, Lawry's Cut.



When i posted my entry yesterday, i've been meaning to include a photo of my wedding but i forgot. Hehe.. So here it is, my wedding photo.

Aihhh.. when ah when will i ever be 50kg again? *daydreaming again* :P

Things are looking up again =)

Can tell by my yesterday's entry ya?

Dad is getting better each day.. thanks to my dearest mommy's and siblings' unconditional support and love. He has been taking medicine, doing sugar level and blood pressure check on time, watching his 3 meals diet and even exercising regularly [only brisk walking ah] everyday without fail with the help of my mom. Not to mention, going for treatments on every other day.

As for my helper, i did have a talk to her before i went away. She is still keen to work on despite knowing what i request out of her. After that, i've been seeing changes but of course, there are still a lot of room for improvement. Anyway, a change is better than nothing and all i can do now is to wait patiently and see how things turn out. Told myself that i'll wait for another 3-4 months to see if she really has no chemistry at all with the boys..

Last but not least, my pregnancy. Oh well, i can't do anything about it. All i can do is to pray for the baby to come out 2-3 weeks earlier and not stay in me till due date like the other boys. Heh. Gynae has already prepared me mentally that in the coming weeks, things will get worst than this [omg] but this, doesn't apply to every woman ok? Wouldn't wanna scare all the single women out there :P It really depends on individual and i happened to be one of the unlucky ones.

For the record, my mom gave birth to all 6 of us and did not once experience what i am going through now. Why didn't i inherit the good genes huh? Ugh.

Anyway, i'm up and about again and it feels ggrrreeaattt :D

Would like to thank all of you for your kind words, support and encouragements and not forgetting, sms-es as well during this down time of mine even though i don't know some of you personally but definitely would love to *wink*

xxxooo
Sherie

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to me and hb! =)

It's been 7 yrs since i got conned by the conman a.k.a the old cow and it really felt just like yesterday.

The memory of our first meeting where hb elbowed my car window till the moment i hit the bed at night after the wedding dinner is still so fresh on my mind..

Time flies, really.

I believe the biggest gift i have ever given to hb so far is this ..





The boys.. our pride and joy but sometimes, headaches + 1 more in me :D

And as for today, i've got a little surprise for my old boy. Think he'll be thrilled. Heh. But it's nothing much, really..

For myself, hb wanna buy me this. Check it out..

Motorola KRZR

Saw my sister's few days ago and i fell in love with it. This morning when hb made his daily routine call home, he told me that he'll buy it for me as our anni gift. Awwww... but guess what?

I said no.

Can you believe that? Lol. But really, these few months we have already overspend. Plus, whether or not i have a nice looking handphone doesn't really matter. It's the thought that counts in this case *grin*

Moreover, hb will be bringing me to somewhere nice to celebrate. Personally, i feel spending on dinner + the thought of buying me something are more than enough liao :D

Temporary closure

This blog will be closed temporarily for the time being due to some personal reasons.

For the past 10 months, i have found much joy in blogging. Blogging allows me to speak freely although not entirely, be myself [i express better with words and on cyberworld, i tend to be back my bubbly, childish with lotsa tongue sticking and grins self which i have lost these days] and most importantly, sharing my passion and the joyful events of my life [my boys].

However, because of blogging, it also brings harm to my personal life. Not once but twice or thrice. Some people have the tendency to zoom into the tiniest little details of what i've written and made my life difficult even though most of the time, what i've written or post is something to be proud of, well, at least that's what i think.

I have been suffering quietly for the past 2 weeks and i have enough. I will no longer put up a brave front on my blog and pretend nothing has ever happened.

My dad's condition is not improving. In fact, i'll be heading home tomorrow night for 2 days. So will my 2nd sister from Taiwan. Mom called me 2 days ago sobbing very badly on the phone over my dad's condition and what kind of daughter will i be if i continue to stay here and do nothing?

My pregnancy state doesn't help either. I've been aching silently for the last month or so now that the baby is getting bigger. Simple routine such as walking, turning while sleeping, wearing pants, getting up from sitting position etc prove to be a very painful task these days and you know what's worst? No one knows because i never really complain out loud. Would love to have someone to care and love and cuddle me at the end of the day and thankfully, i'm getting it all from my firstborn on daily basis who never fail to let me know i am the love of his life at the moment. Grin.

My boys, what is living without them?

Then comes the maid issue. Because my family isn't here with me, having a good maid as a support is truly very important to me. For the past 2.5 years, i dare say life was a breeze.. because of my good maid. She was my friend, my right and left hand, my children's playmate, my confidante, in another word, almost everything.

When i'm sad, she will be there to bring the children aside and entertain them while giving me some space. When i bake or cook, she will be the first to go ooh and aah and thumbs up to show her appreciation for my effort. When i need some time alone outside, she will be there to care for the children. When i'm lonely, she and the kids will be there to accompany me.

But ever since she is gone and got replaced with my new maid, life has totally changed. I don't think anyone can understand what i am going through. Everything needs teaching and guidance and what's worst is she isn't really good with my kids and she is homesick as well.

I'm really very stressed up, unhappy, depressed and down. No words can ever describe what i'm feeling now :(

Sigh.

So yeah, this blog will be closed temporarily but i will still continue to bake and cook for it is my passion and i find it therapeutic.

Melting moments

.
Like what the name suggested, these cookies totally melt in your mouth. Really wicked!

Got the recipe from SeaDragon and it's really a keeper. This is the second time i've made these and on top of the original recipe, i've added a handful of chocolate chips to attract the boys. Yes, my boys.. really hard to get them to eat, even if it's cookies and cakes. Terrible right? Sigh. Just like the husband. Lol.

Sometimes i do wonder why do i still wanna cook and bake? :P [answer : passion]

Thankfully, these cookies were hot among them. The whole container was finished within 2 days but i think the biggest eater of all would still be me! *paiseh* Had sore throat the very next day. Haha.. One of the rare times when i start popping the cookies into the mouth, i couldn't stop.

It is really that good.

Jelly on the plate

.

Almond jelly with longan

Been feeling the heat lately..

In the end, decided to whip up a cooling dessert for after meal but mainly it was because my almond jelly powder would be expired in a week's time :P

I never used to like the taste of almond before. Be it almond milk drink, almond tea with pearl and in this case, almond jelly. I find it yucky.. silly right, i know. Lol.

However, ever since i got to know hb [ hb loves everything almond], my love for almond slowly grow and grow.. and for the record, for the dessert i made above, i ate the whole thing by myself! Not that i refused to share but more of like hb didn't have time for it.

Changed

Goodbye 2207..

Heeeellloooooooo 905!

May there be more better days to come :D