The one about the breakfast training

 

As life resumes some sort of "normalcy" here with most Covid-19 restrictions lifted except for indoor masking, it is inevitable that I will have to start travelling again. And so I have started breakfast training for nephew #1. *dramatic music plays in the background*

The first week was just him watching me demonstrate the dishes, telling him about where he can find the ingredients, the time he needs to cook the dishes and how to further elevate his breakfast options with leftovers in the fridge. And then over the weekend he got to practise by making breakfast for grandma and Aunt E. 

So far he's been pretty enthusiastic about making his own brekkie. And making an extra set to bring to school as a snack too. I would say breakfast training has been a success. *LOL*

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy. 

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New dishes I tried...on a layout

 

As you know, since I have to cook for my family, I challenge myself to try new dishes so that it takes the monotony out of process and allows to me to be creative in the kitchen.

Last week I tried 2 new dishes - pumpkin soup and buckwheat crepe with ham, cheese and egg. :)

Not complex dishes but I did make everything from scratch. I made the chicken stock the day before and slow-roasted the pumpkin for 90 minutes. 

Dad doesn't usually care for Western-style cuisine but he ate everything. :)

Just using bits and pieces on my desk and recent happy mail...:)

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy.

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Pattern-mixing on a layout

 

Wow...this is like my first layout in 2 months! The photos are piling up...on my phone! *winks*

Of course, the first order of things is to have fun with pattern-mixing. :)

I had fun pictures to work with...mum had her sister and cousin come visit her and they were wearing patterns! :)

Since I have been working on smaller projects of late, this bigger format really allowed me to layer on the embellishments (and use up my stash!).

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy.

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My brother's birthday celebration 2021

 

So we had a mini party to celebrate my brother's birthday (actual birthday 1st March)...and I, as usual, challenged myself to make a few yummy treats for the family. 

I made a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting (yes, my piping skills have improved!) and crushed kit kat bits at the base to cover up imperfections *LOL* I also mango tarts (Pâte Sablée tart base filled with pastry cream and freshly cut mangoes). There was a bacon and cheese and vegetable galette. I also made something my brother loves - a sweet potato and yam Chinese New Year cake (made with glutinous rice flour and coconut) sandwich pan-fried with a crispy batter.

And yes, I made him take a photo with the food because I spent all day making them. 

See some familiar bits? They came from the happy mail I shared in yesterday's post. *winks*

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy.

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My first box of decorated Christmas cookies

 

Last December, I wanted to make some homemade edibles as a Christmas gift for my cousin. It was my first time making sugar cookies and decorating them.

Of course, I had to challenge myself by making different flavours too. Because you know how much I love to up the ante for myself, right? *winks*

And I bought the colourful sprinkles and decided that the snowflake cookies should be all white. *LOL*

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy.

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The one about the bad haircuts

 

So, nephews #2 & 3 came over yesterday with terrible haircuts. Grandma was like, "Those barbers just cut the hair too quickly...it's over in like 2 minutes. But this is so bad. How come so uneven? (referring to nephew#3's hair) How come got holes at the back? (referring to nephew #2's hair)"

And I was like, "Didn't you go to a professional?"

Then my sister-in-law asked, "Which one is better?"

And then we learn that nephew #2's haircut was the handiwork of mummy and nephew #3's haircut was the handiwork of daddy (aka my brother). *LOL*

At this point, nephew #1 comes trotting down the stairs and I had to stop him mid-way...

"Brace yourself, "I said.

I know, I tend to be quite dramatic. But that is part of my charm. *winks*

Then he saw his siblings and started laughing. Hahaha!

Now, nephew #3's haircut was very uneven but he still had some length at the back and sides to "save" the haircut. But nephew #2's haircut can only be saved by a razor to the head - a buzz cut so that it can grow out evenly. The poor kid was visibly upset because he can feel the holes at the back of his head and he was meeting his mates on Tuesday. 

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy.

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The last Yam birthday celebration for 2020

 

On Monday, we had the last Yam birthday celebration for 2020 with nephew #1's birthday. 

He got a vanilla white cake with Swiss meringue buttercream (which I am trying to master...*winks*). It looks like a really simple cake but it took me 4 hours to bake and frost it. Lesson learnt: pipe the frosting on the cake! I was trying not to waste a piping bag by just frosting the cake with a palette knife but I just couldn't get an even layer. 

The frosting on the cake would not hold up to close scrutiny but looks good enough in my scrapbook album. *LOL*

It was fun working in the little bits and bobs.

Your gal found a huge doiley stash in her collection so expect more doilies on projects!

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy.

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Simplifying #stayathomecooking

 

After months of #stayathomecooking, I'm now streamlining and simplifying the meals to save time and make cooking less of a chore (some days are better than others...*winks*).

For instance, instead of a chicken pot pie, I just go with a chicken galette so I just need ONE pie crust instead of 2. More rustic-looking, takes way less time to prep and cook and still delish. :)

I've even simplified the mixed rice bowl to exclude the runny sunny-side up *gasp!* because that would mean an extra pan to wash. *LOL*

I do try my best to slightly modify the meals so that there is variety and meals are a little more interesting...like changing up the veggies, the sauce and adding different textural elements to stimulate the tastebuds (Yep...pretty much the approach I use in my crafting...hehe).

Mostly fussy-cutting on this layout ...

I also delved into my sticker stash which I also fussy-cut. :)

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy.

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Mum and her home-grown okra

So mum has been busy in the garden cultivating her herbs and veggies.:)

The tomato plant hasn't bore fruit yet but we've been having fresh okra every few days. 

We don't really have enough to actually make a vegetable dish out of them but we have to harvest them once they are of a certain size because old okra is fibrous and pretty unpleasant to eat.

Mum is always excited about her home-grown okra so I thought it was totally necessary to have it documented in the family scrapbook. *winks*

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy.

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