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Fish Tempura

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Fish Tempura

We like crispy crunchy food. My picky eaters tend to eat vegetables it’s cooked tempura style.

Kuya V has been requesting to have tempura packed in his bento, but I always have the issue of keeping them crispy by the time he gets to school. I read somewhere that the secret to make tempura crispy for a long time is to drain the oil as much as you can and pack it the container only when it’s in room temperature.

Fried and drained them in a colander then to a paper towel. Kuya V came home happy to report that the tempura was still a little bit crispy on some side.

Fish Tempura

Bento1505: Fish Tempura

Ingredients:

  • Fish Fillet (I use Cream Dory), cut in strips. Pat with paper towel to dry.
  • salt
  • pepper
  • five spice
  • tempura batter
  • oil

Batter

  • 1 egg
  • cold water, about 3/4 or just enough to make 1 cup when mixed with the egg.
  • 1 cup all purpose flour

Japanese Tempura Flour

Alternatively, you can use a store bought Tempura flour at your nearby Asian store. I bought this pack at Fujiya Supermarket, Oud Metha.
Sauce

  • 1 cup dashi broth (mixture of 1 tsp dashi powder + water)
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp mirin
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • drop of sesame oil (optional)

Procedure:

  1. In your deep fryer or a pan heat about 2 inches of oil.
  2. Mix all ingredients for sauce and cook over low heat till sugar is completely dissolve.
  3. Crack egg in a measuring cup, whisk. Add enough water to make 1 cup, mix. Strain this mixture to remove egg lumps.
  4. Sift all purpose flour on a separate bowl.
  5. Slowly pour egg water mixture to your flour, lumps are ok.
  6. Coat fish in batter.
  7. Deep fry until golden brown. Once cooked, drain oil from fish on a colander make sure you have enough space between them. When your next batch of fish are cooked transfer 1st batch to a plate lined with paper towels.
  8. Pack in your lunchbox only when tempura is completely cold.

Kiehl’s Baby Collection

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LittleMiss developed a rash in her elbow before we left for summer vacation. We initially taught it was because she was consuming too much chicken and dairy – we are still waiting for the result of her allergy test to confirm this. After a few days the small rash became bigger in her left elbow, we went to a Dermatologist and had it checked.

The doctor said she developed an Eczema and ordered a allergy blood test to rule out food related concerns. He also prescribed a milder soap and lotion, it did help and she complained less of it being itchy.

We came back from our vacation and still using the same product when she once again complained frequent of her eczema. Kiehl’s Middle East surprised us with a package of their newest Baby Collection – Gentle Baby Hair and Foaming Wash. They use shea butter, botanical oil blend (rice bran oil, olive fruit oil, apricot kernel oil), and Vitamin E to formulate both their wash and lotion.

I started using the Kiehl’s Baby Hair and Foaming Wash just on her body, 2 days into it and we noticed that she was no longer scratching her elbow. We have been using it for almost a month and her eczema disappeared. Yes, the white mark is still visible in her elbow but it is not dry anymore. She’s also back to drinking more than 1 glass of dairy daily and eating cooked chicken and no complains of it being itchy again.

Follow Kiehl’s Middle East on instagram andfacebook for more details.

 

2015 Bento Week: August 31 – September 3

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First week of school.

Yay!

Goodbye summer.

Boo!

It was a tough first week of school for this Mama, my mind and body was not ready for the super early wake-up alarm. Boohoo!  Kuya V is definitely excited to see his school friends and to learn a new language – French.

FirstDayofSchool

 

We survived the first school week and back to sharing our weekly baon / bento. I post our daily bento on our instagram account, make sure you follow us.

Monday

Bento1501

Kuya V requested to bring pack rice in his thermos container because he wanted to have warm food for school. Today’s baon consists of steamed jasmine rice, vegetable meatballs, teriyaki sauce, apples and chocolate chip cookies. Lunchbox used goodbyn and thermos. Read More

Wilton Method of Cake Decorating Course 1, Day 4

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Last session for our Wilton Course 1 is all about buttercream roses.

Since it’s our last day we were also asked to bring our final cake which we get to do final design in the class.

Buttercream Rose base
Buttercream Rose base
After several tries
After several tries
Final Roses
Final Roses

I had a hard time getting the roses done the Wilton way, it took me more or less 10 tries to get an acceptable rose. For the class I bought 2 kinds of buttercream – store bought and homemade, the obvious difference between them is the store bought ones have smooth petal edges while the other is not.

 

Wilton Course 1 Final Cake Crumb Coat
Wilton Course 1 Final Cake Leaf border
Wilton Course 1 Final Cake

On to a my final cake, I bought a 4 layer 8″ cake in it’s final iced stage to school. I initially planned to make buttercream flowers a week before class but was not able to even make one. I piped leaves as top cake border and placed the roses I made during class, ran out of time to make more flowers to make it look like a bouquet cake. Anyway, I’m still happy how my cake turned out. Read More

Getting ready for school with Centrepoint

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This school year we have two students in our household which only means twice the chaos every morning. I am still having a hard time accepting the fact that our LittleMiss will no longer be my constant shadow. She still has 6 more days with me before nursery school starts and I have been giving in to most of her requests.

LittleMiss is beyond excited for nursery school to start, she has been playing teacher and mommy to her toys.

“Baby, you will go to play school and mommy will wait for you outside.”

“Mama when I go to play school you be a big girl and not cry, ok?”

To not cry. That I cannot promise.

I was still holding back tears when Kuya V left for his first day of 3rd grade.

The day came when it was time to go back to school shopping.

School Bag Shopping at Centrepoint

Read More

Wilton Method of Cake Decorating Course 1, Day 3

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Day 3 of our Building Buttercream Skills course was all about flowers. We were asked to bring 8 treats that has a flat surface and shaped either round or rectangle.

Wilton Buttercream Skills Lesson 3

Wilton Buttercream Skills Lesson 3

Ms. A taught us to pipe

  • Bead, for borders
  • Leaves
  • Grass
  • Star Drop Flower
  • Swirl Drop Flower
  • Daisy
  • Sunflower
  • Zinnia

As always, while Ms. A did a demonstration on how to make each flower it looked so easy. I had a hard time specially with making daisy and

Buttercream Flower Demo

I made use of the leftover buttercream from day 2 which still works fine in piping but we noticed that it was already oily and a lot of air has been incorporated into it.

Lesson’s learned:

  • Use a medium soft icing consistency
  • Turn flower nail anti-clockwise. Place nail on the 1st line of your finger and move with the help of thumb towards the end.
  • Consistent pressure control
  • Let the piping tip do it’s work
ButtercreamZinnia
ButtercreamDaisy
Buttercream Daisy

The yellow ones were made by Ms. A and the middle was well my creation.  Final reminder is to Practice…Practice…Practice…

 

Homework for Session 4:

  • Bake a 2 layer round or square cake.
  • Bring cake to class already in its crumb coat stage, depending on your final design
  • Make flowers ahead of time.
  • Stiff consistency icing, colored
  • Thin consistency icing mix with piping gel for writing

 

Slime Dough

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SlimeDough

Lately, my LittleOnes are into making slime – first one with borax and this time with chia seeds. The look on their face when everything comes together is priceless, it’s like magic happening right before their eyes.

Johnson’s surprised us a gift basket of their newest Pure Protect Kids range. To the kids delight it included an exploration recipe booklet and one of the recipe is this slime dough we are sharing with you today.

I was not able to take photos during playtime, our hands were sticky and play area so messy. Read More

Promoting Kids’ Creativity & Imagination

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I am always finding way’s to keep my LittleOnes entertained, less gadget and more play. Today we have a guest post from Charlotte where she shares a list of toys and activities that will help our children get busy.

Charlotte Sorley is a mum of three and is always looking for new ways to keep her little ones entertained to allow her to finally get round to those pesky chores. When she’s not running around after her brood she loves walking the dog and the odd spot of gardening

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It’s amazing how much imagination children have and how much fun they can enjoy in their self-created worlds. Beyond entertaining a child, their imagination and creativity are vital for growth and development. Along with literacy, mathematical, social and physical skills, creativity should be nurtured for a well-rounded skill set. Here are some ways that you can encourage their imaginations.

KidsCreativity

  1. Jigsaws and puzzles

The magic of watching a puzzle come together to create a beautiful image has been a popular pastime for many generations. Choose a themed one that you know they are interested in, whether it be animals or a favourite cartoon character. Through puzzling the pieces together, little ones learn motor skills and problem-solving skills, while gaining self-esteem and working in a team with a parent or friend. Read More