Food & Such

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Thank God, it's now Thursday already! It's been a very hectic week in the office and I'm glad I have the weekend to recuperate. But then again, maybe not cos my children exams are just round the corner. It's a very stressful time for the parents whenever the children are facing exams. Believe me. Ask any parents and they will tell you the same story.

Well, we can only nurture and give the best education as we possibly can. Every child is gifted in their own way. Some may be book smart, some may be musically incline, some are good at public speaking, some are creative and good in arts, some are athletically strong and the list goes on and on. My point is, every single child is unique and has their own specialty and strength. With this in mind, we can try very hard to guide our children with the right values and assist them by providing the right tools to maximize their strength and be successful in the areas that they choose to be.

Having said that, I can definitely tell you that (if you are a parent, you will know that this is true) parents are BAD TEACHERS. We have no patience, no teaching skills and we YELL too! Sounds terrible, isn't it? Most of the time, we'll try to keep our cool but unfortunately we expect our poor children to understand math or science or a language subject in such a short time. Why are we so impatient? Is it because we are afraid that they will be a failure? And what is failure?

Parents always, always want their children to do better than they in whatever they strive to do in life. Hence, the yelling because we want them to strive. And that is not the right way. Well, sometimes it is and sometimes it's not. We tend to forget that we were children once and we took some time in grasping what was taught! Sigh! Yes, I admit that I'm guilty and should have been more patient. Children tend to lose interest and 'close-out' when the yelling starts. That's why Tuition Teachers are in demand and they demand good money from parents too. If you ask me what is the toughest job in the world? It is being a PARENT!

Stress level is increasing as the exam is just 10 days away! Ok..must keep cool and help them along with revisions..must not scold! Must not scold! Must not scold! But again, sometimes we do need to scold them (for a good reason!). Sigh! There's no right parenting or wrong parenting..it's just parenting! For all parents out there, we know we are doing our best to be good parents and for those who are going to be a parent, well, good luck!

Ok. Away from the heavy stuff and now, let's talk about food.....where people connect no matter what age, gender or race. Food brings people together..and togetherness we did.... Last Saturday, Mid-Autumn Festival.

We were not expecting any guests as we did not intend to celebrate but it was a good thing that my sis with her family and my bro-in-law came over for dinner. The best part was, I don't have to cook. My dear husband took over the kitchen. He's a good cook especially with western food. He baked turkey legs and here's how it looked like. Yes, it tasted as good as it looked. Not only that. He even cooked spaghetti.

This is his very own recipe for the baked turkey. No copying from any cook book mind you. Very, very original.

Daddy's Baked Turkey Legs
6 turkey legs
Potatoes - half or quartered
Big Onion - quartered
1 lemon
Garlic - crushed
Olive Oil

1. Marinate turkey legs with honey, salt, worchestershire sauce and black pepper.
2. Line the baking tray with aluminum foil and pour over generous amount of olive oi.
3. Arrange the turkey, potatoes, garlic and onion on the tray.
4. Squeeze the lime over the ingredients and bake at moderately high oven until the meat is cooked approx. 1 - 1 1/2 hrs.

While my husband busied himself at preparing dinner, I got the change to try on a new recipe for my cupcakes...Ginger Cupcake...looks good eh! Wanna have some!

This Ginger Cupcake has a very light and gooey texture with a tinge of spice. Adults will like this but as for children, probably the spicy taste of it is a little bit overwhelming for them. So, I do not recommend this to children.


As promised in my earlier posts, here's the recipe for the strawberry ice cream. This is very my family's favorite.

Strawberry Ice-Cream

Place the bowl of ice-cream maker in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer overnight. The colder the better but be careful that you do not touch the metal wall of the ice-cream bowl as your finger may get stuck and will cause an injury to your skin. That's the purpose of plastic bag. Read the safety instructions manual of the ice-cream maker before use.

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh strawberries
3/4 cup icing sugar (sweetness is really up to your liking)
1 1/2 cup Whipping Cream

1. Puree the strawberries and icing sugar together. Keep this puree in the fridge overnight.
2. Turn the ice-cream maker on and let it churn then only pour in the pureed strawberry. Then add 1 1/2 cup of Whipping Cream.
3. Let it churn until it turns creamy approx. 25 - 35 mins. The more you churn, the creamier it gets. Once done, transfer to a freezer container and freeze.

Bon Appetite! Till next time..StraitsBakes signing off!