{Homecook} Just another Simple Luncheon

Today is just another day of simple homecook food for a lay-back lunch, mostly veggies as you can see, with some chicken fillets and seeds for a balanced nutrition intake. A healthy meal such as this only cost us no more than RM20 and less than an hour to prepare.

I like to things in order, so I got all ingredients nicely prepared before I started cooking. 

Beans & Fingers

Just simple stir fried with olive oil. Lady fingers are good for bowel movement. I don't have a recipe for this, but the cooking is similar for this crunchy veggie dish.

Cherry Tomato Omelette

Added some lotus seeds for a twist of taste and natural source of protein and magnesium. This is a dish that is also high in antioxidant thanks to the cherry tomatoes. Recipe available here.

Cabbage with Glass noodles

One of my little ones' favorite, the glass noodles. Just soak it in water for about a minute and add it into the wok after the carrots and bell peppers starting to get soften. 

Simple hearthy meal for the family, the way we like it. Little ones emptied their plate joyfully and we don't have to sweat driving out to the mall to join the weekend crowds.

Just a Tip..

After each dish is done I will wash up dishes immediately while waiting for the oil to heat up for next dish, so I don't have a whole sink of dirty dishes to wash after cooking, which I really really dislike. If you are lucky enough to have a dish washer at home, good for you.... ;)

Mini No Bake Orange Oreo Cheesecake

For this Father's Day, I thought of just having a simple celebration with Big Guy and the little ones at home, for the benefit of our expanding waist lines due to lack of exercise. Guess finding time to work out is common problem for FT working moms or stay at home moms.  So while the elder was out for his swimming lesson with the daddy, I made these little cuppies and when they were home an hour plus later, it's ready to serve! 

I didn't have any heavy cream or sour cream at home, so I used the recipe that calls for yogurt instead. This is pretty much a trial attempt, I didn't even use proper measurement as I'm only making 4, so a lot of estimation and test tasting involved.

Glad they came out alright and everyone enjoyed it. 

Ready to make some? Here it goes...

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Waiting Time: 1 hour

Serve for: 4-6 medium cupcake size

Ingredients:

(A) For the base
6 tablespoon Oreo cookies crumbs
1 table spoon melted butter

(B) For the Cheesecake 

227g cream cheese (1 tube)

1/2 teaspoon orange zest 

4 teaspoon sugar

1 medium orange, juiced
2 teaspoon gelatin powder
113gm or 1/2 cup plain or vanilla flavored yogurt

2 tablespoon of Oreo crumbs (optional)

The Making:

1. Line 4 medium cupcake holders with paper cupcakes. Use the most basic one as you will remove them before servig, or use a silicon cupcake holders instead.

2. Mix the melted butter with Oreo crumbs (short cut: heat up the mixture in microwave for 20-30 seconds!).  Using a spoon, press the mixture onto the base of a cupcake holder for up to about 2cm height.

3. Mix gelatin and the orange juice, stir to mix well and leave aside. We'll come to it later.

4. In a clean mixer bowl, mix sugar, cream cheese and orange zest, whisk till it reaches a creamy and smooth texture (there shall not be any more lumps)

5. Heat up the gelatin orange juice in microwave for 20 seconds (too little to use a stove for this task). stir to reduce the heat and mix it into the cream cheese mix. Add some Oreo crumbs if you are a Cookie Monster like me.

6. Scoop the cream cheese mixtures into the cupcakes laid with Oreo crumbs. Tap lightly on table top to avoid holes in the cream cheese mixtures. Sprinkles some chocolate chip on top.

7. Chill the cheesecakes for at least an hour before serving. Dig in and enjoy!

Simple, isn't it? I told you so. *wink*

Happy Father's Day! 

Original recipe adopted and modified from My Kitchen Snippets. She has tons of interesting recipes there..

Tips!

• If you can't find ready packed Oreo crumbs (normally available under bakery section), you can use normal Oreo cookies, just remove the cream filling and crush the cookies using a rolling pin.

• Have a sweet tooth? Increase the sugar used. I have reduced the amount of sugar used by at least half as I do not encourage too much sugar in my kiddos' diet to avoid them from getting hyper active.

Luohan Guo Mixed Herb Drink for Cough 罗汉果蜜枣止咳汤

Bilingual | 双语版

My little ones had been coughing for few  weeks and recently passed the bugs to me, not long after recovered and finished their full round of medicine course, the cough just slowly creeps back again and it is real heartache to see them suffer.

So I decided to introduce traditional herbs this time. Right after they had completed the cough mixtures and flu medication prescribed by paediatrician, I started making traditional Chinese herbal soup after visiting our local Chinese medical hall. I boiled this soup and the Double-Boiled Pearl with Rock Sugar on alternate day for a week, and we are now all well and free from cough... No more noisy "orchestra" in the house!

So I thought its worth sharing with readers whom may have experienced long term recurrence cough. However, do note that since every body may react differently to the herbs, I would suggest you get advise from your local Chinese medicine hall if in doubt.

最近两个小瓜相续咳嗽了好几个星期，小儿科医生给的药吃完了但依然不能治根，还把咳嗽传了给我，所以我到中药房找了止咳汤配方。和着冰糖雪梨汤，相隔喝了一星期后我们三人都相续痊愈了，不再每晚上演咳嗽演奏曲。

分享这个止咳汤，希望对你也有帮助。不过每个人体质和病症不同，个人建议你到相熟的中药师询问意见为佳。

材料 Ingredients:

罗汉果 一粒，敲裂 LuoHan Guo fruit, 1 (lightly crack the shell)

柿饼 一个 Dried Persimmon, 1

南杏北杏 30颗 Sweet & Bitter Apricot kernels, about 30

蜜枣 5-6粒 Candied dates, 5-6

桑叶 一把 Mulberry leaves, 1 palmful

清水 八饭碗 water, 8 rice bowls

做法 The Methods:

1. Briefly wash all ingredient, put them in a pot and boil on high heat for 5 minutes. Then switch to low heat and let it continue boiling for another 45 minutes. It would reduce to about 6 bowls of water. 把所有材料洗净，放入锅里大火滚五分钟然后转小火，滚大约40分钟后熄火。

2. Let the drink cool to room temperature before consuming. 倘凉后即可饮用。

All of us had 2 small bowls of the drink each, it tasted pleasantly sweet and you may eat the apricot kernel, which is crunchy like nuts.

Useful Tips (speaking from experience...)

• avoid air-conditioner when sleeping, turn on the fan or keep the window opened instead (if safety is not an issue in your area) 

• avoid consuming cold water and cold fruits, however room temperature is alright.

• if you have a humidifier at home, add few drops of eucalyptus oil before  sleeping and elevate the pillow, this shall ease breathing difficulty cause by block nose. 

温馨叮咛：

• 晚上入睡时避免开冷气，自然风或风扇为佳。

• 冷水、冰箱的水果尽量避免（室内温度的水果不妨）

• 家里有humidifier的话，睡觉时可以加几滴由加利油，枕高枕头，帮助呼吸好入眠。