Lefty Yang's Diary - Lefty Yang

Yang's Roses...

21/2/2015

I hadn't reached the state of anthomania, but a recent fondness for flowers, roses to be specific, got me my first blooming Maria of a gentle pink hue. (I thought I could use the Chinese term 花痴 to describe myself, but I just learnt it doesn't refer to 愛花之人。Oopsy!)

Here's sharing its growth as the supple petals unfold each day, as well as some art-in-Yang's-yoghurts inspired by the simple beauty of roses...

Dedicated to all women, especially those by the name of Rose, Rosie, Rosalind, Rosemary, Mary and of course, Maria..
♪( ´▽｀)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
多簡單盛就盛開敗就敗
不用計算只為自己而精彩
自然而然

花啊~ 學學花腔
花啦~ 借借花香
花啊~ 花有多漂亮
心要不要也這樣

♪花花世界，田馥甄♪
作詞：藍小邪
作曲：張簡君偉
編曲：樊哲忠
製作：王治平

DMCA.com Protection Status

Fulfilling Zassou's dream...

14/8/2014

I slouched in the sofa and began writing the first words of today's diary. Realised it's just 33 mins to Cinderella leaving the ballroom and dropping her glass shoe.

Hm... what had I done today? I chopped up some aromatics, velveted sliced fish, marinated minced pork, then googled "How to bread chicken". Not that I was cooking chicken but I didn't think I had ever come across the term "breaded pork". Lol.

So I followed this breading guide from HowStuffWorks, dipping the kneaded minced pork hearts into a thinned egg mixture with canola oil and water, dripping off the excess, then dredging in corn flour. And I finally understood why minced pork's rarely breaded. The egg-washed minced meat were simply too soft and wobbly. I handled them gently like I would handle soft tofu. A name for my "lovely" but fragile minced pork nuggets - 玻璃心。

Bread the marinated minced pork nuggets by dipping them into thinned egg mixture, then dredging in corn flour.

Bread the marinated minced pork nuggets by dipping them into thinned egg mixture, then dredging in corn flour.

The 玻璃心 went into the preheated oven for baking at 190 degree celsius while I began my stir-fry with batang sliced fish.

Black bean/taucheo sliced fish (batang)

Black bean/taucheo sliced fish (batang)

Yes, this is the same old dish I've cooked before (refer to recipe). Merely reduced the fermented black beans from 1 tbsp to 1 tsp and added 2 tsp taucheo instead. So it yielded the same good old boring taste. Kirin concurred. Hahaa well, the main purpose was to include some healthy omega 3 for dinner with my loved ones.

After 35 mins of baking with 3 rounds of flipping the nuggets and rotating the tray, my 玻璃心 were nicely browned and puffy. Not as "lovely" though.

Baked Minced Pork Hearts

Baked Minced Pork Hearts (玻璃心)

After baking in preheated oven at 190 degree Celsius for 35 mins

After baking in preheated oven at 190 degree Celsius for 35 mins...

I sunk my teeth into one. It was light and crispy but needed a little more 爱的滋润 (moisture)。Perhaps I'll add a little butter next round.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
小雨 held her two little palms together and leapt into mid-air. Oopsy I meant she tried to. She went "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall" each time she lost her balance and fell on her back, on the bed.

As always, she drifted into lalaland swiftly after the serotonin-boosting and energy-zapping attempts at leaping.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time for art-in-Yang's-yoghurt...

I waved my knife, a flash of light; Zassou's amongst the flowers tonight!

Fulfilling Zassou's dream, art-in-Yang's-yoghurt #45

Fulfilling Zassou's dream, art-in-Yang's-yoghurt 45

Saw Zassou smiling widely for the 1st time? Me too! (He's always seen with a most subtle smile in my Sumikko gurashi possessions.) I had a hard time doing that smile using a grape tissue.

And look! there's another weed higher up in the flower bouquet. Eh but this one has just 5 green hairs, while Zassou has 6. Lol. That was my 1st failed attempt at carving out Zassou from a green grape but still, it's put to good use as Zassou's companion amongst the flowers.

So Zassou had his dream fulfilled, along with a Zassou-lookalike! I couldn't quite believe it myself. Lol.

Sometimes, we have reservations about sharing our dream with others. But when you nourish your mind with positive thoughts, even criticism could reinforce your dream. And who knows you might find someone who listens, aligns, guides and inspires you towards fulfilling your dream.

♪ 聽你說, 郁可唯&林凡 ♪
作詞：王雅君
作曲：王雅君

林：我懂星座卻沒有人像我　真的喜歡一個人安靜的自由
我做的夢我堅持做到最後　就算我爬到雲端也繼續作夢
我唱的歌只希望能快樂　其他的我也不想要想的太多
因為我們都最想擁有自己最真的感動

郁：聽你說　聽你說　我們同時擁有一個真心的朋友
聊日出日落　因為有夢　所以更認真生活

林：聽你說　聽你說　我們真實擁有一片美好的天空
不能常聯絡　卻更緊握　我們交換的美夢　只想聽你說

Alright let's say you couldn't find someone like this, not on this planet, don't stop sharing your dream with your... Self. When you keep focusing, asking and discovering your Self, your dream gets clearer and nearer.

DMCA.com Protection Status

Stay kids like we began, just like Peter Pan...

13/8/2014

Sometimes it shows "Invalid Card" when I swiped my DBS card at the self checkout counter in the hypermart. It happened today and the friendly staff assisted me with the payment error, which she attributed to the angle from which I swiped the card.

"改次你用右手。" She advised, with a pleasant smile. She was observant to notice I had swiped the card using my left hand. And I didn't realise the NETS terminal was also designed for the comfort of right-handers, as with most other public devices.

The NETS terminal at a self checkout counter in FairPrice

The NETS terminal at a self checkout counter in FairPrice

I thanked her but deep inside me, I was dying to continue with: "You know what? Today is International Left-Handers Day!"

Hello and cheers to all lefties!! =D Check out this Lefty's Lament song by Ian Radburn. Lol.

A day to celebrate so I had my breakfast of tandoori chicken wrap and coffee leisurely at Coffee Bean. I returned my tray after breakfast - finally adopting this old gracious trait of Kirin, which dated back to before the National Tray Return Initiative made a comeback at hawker centres in 2012.

Read more about Robin Williams and his past film roles. Perhaps he's fearless of death like Peter Pan, the role he played in the 1991 adventure film Hook.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Of late, Yang's kitchenware began endorsing some unique perfumes. Lifting the wok cover releases a garlicky-umami scent into the air. Garlicky 'cause my diced or minced garlic sometimes got stuck to the bottom of the wok, due to insufficient oil I suppose. Umami 'cause I soaked my dried shiitake mushrooms overnight in a bowl of water, on a round rack inside the wok. This fifth flavor is also due to my recent fascination with grated parmesan cheese. My rice cooker springs open with notes of lemongrass, from soaking it with the rice grains before and during cooking.

So I spritzed on my Flower in the Air perfume today, which I hadn't used for a while. My invigorating scented kitchenware simply reminded me of it.

Hello how are you
Hello how are you
Hello how are you
How are you today?

That's the last line 小雨's been missing. I finally learnt from the teacher how this song goes. It's one of those mandatory songs they sing during morning assembly, when they sat down cross-legged in a big circle and greeted everyone who's in school that day.

The teacher told me 小雨 could sing the entire of ♪Gom Se Mari♪, the Three Bears song which I first heard from Song Hye-kyo and Rain in the Korean drama series - Full House (浪漫滿屋)! It was my first and top favourite Korean drama, until Autumn in my Heart or Autumn Tale (秋天的童話) took its place. Both dramas star Song Hye-kyo which explained why she's my favourite female Korean star till today. I hadn't bother to learn up that Three Bears song though. Now, I could probably learn it from my girl! She teaches us cutesy ditties we hadn't heard of.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So I did a red-feathered Peter Pan amongst flowers of cherry petals, as art-in-Yang's-yoghurt tonight. In reminiscence of the actor and comedian, who had contributed entertainment and brought about laughter to the world.

Peter Pan, art-in-Yang's-yoghurt #44

Peter Pan, art-in-Yang's-yoghurt #44

We wanna be like Peter Pan
We don't wanna grow up
Wanna stay kids as long as we can
That's our plan! Pretty neat plan
Then when it's time to be a man
We're not gonna show up
Gonna stay kids like we began
Just like Peter Pan

♪We Don't Wanna Grow Up♪, Williams, John T./bricusse, Leslie.

DMCA.com Protection Status

Zassou dreams, how about you?

12/8/2014

A train ride home without my iPhone, after dropping 小雨 in school.

I ended up flipping through the Sumikko gurashi notepad, a most interesting thing I could find in my bag. O my, these San-X characters are simply too lovable. I'll make Zassou the weed part of art-in-Yang's-yoghurt tonight.

"Surprise!" From the corner of my eye, Leibniz crunchy wholemeal biscuits gave me a "baby wave!" as I walked down along the shelves of biscuits in the NTUC hypermart. From now, I didn't need to wait till weekends to restock it from a Cold Storage somewhere else! (＾ｰ^)ノ Thanks for showing up when Moshi Mushroom's gone into hibernation.

Leibniz crunchy wholemeal biscuits makes its debut in NTUC hypermart

Leibniz crunchy wholemeal biscuits makes its debut in NTUC hypermart

Hugged a 5kg rice sack home, like the way I would carry 小雨. The difference was 小雨 would cling to me, the rice sack wouldn't. It just felt heavier.

The 3 new-found friends in Hong Kong were organising an outing again! How fun.

Read about epi-LASIK, a surface-based procedure which doesn't cut a cornea flap. It's suitable for patients with thin cornea, dry eyes and high myopia. There's a video illustrating the procedure. I wonder if it would be effective for one with high astigmatism too, like Yang.

Dinner tonight:

Spinach-mushroom-minced pork scrambled eggs
Baked lemon-parmesan-crusted salmon

Yea if you had noticed, Yang's been mixing her recipes all around. Tonight, I added minced pork with the marinade from minced pork & tofu to scrambled eggs with spinach & shiitake mushroom (which gave another "rojak" dish). Lemon-parmesan-crust was tested on kanimi sticks before I laid it on a salmon fillet today. The 25 mins' of baking at 120 degrees yielded luscious and creamy salmon, just like my very first herb-crusted one.

And I'm satisfied with both dishes tonight! Here's sharing the recipes:

Spinach-mushroom-minced pork scrambled eggs

Spinach-mushroom-minced pork scrambled eggs

Spinach-Mushroom-Minced Pork Scrambled Eggs

Makes 2+1 toddler servings

2 large eggs
1/8 tsp kosher salt & 1/8 tsp ground black pepper (to season the eggs)
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/8 tsp kosher salt
2 dried shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced (after soaking in cold water overnight)
100g baby spinach, rinsed and blanched
50g of minced pork
2 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp grated parmesan

Marinade for minced pork:
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp corn starch
1/2 tsp sesame oil
a few dashes white pepper powder

Broth mixture:
1/8 cup homemade chicken stock
1/2 tsp Shao Hsing rice wine or mirin

1. Season the eggs with kosher salt and ground black pepper. Whisk the mixture well.
2. Heat canola oil in a skillet or wok over medium heat.
3. Add the garlic with salt and stir-fry for 30secs to a min.
4. Add the shiitake mushrooms and stir-fry for another min.
5. Add the marinated minced pork and stir-fry until no longer pink, breaking the meat up to smaller bits using the spatula.
6. Add the blanched spinach and stir-fry until wilted, about 1 min.
7. Whisk in the eggs, cook, stirring occasionally, until just set, about 1 min.
8. Pour in the broth mixture and stir around to mix well. (Scrape up the browned bits or "fond", if any, on the bottom of pan.)
9. Sprinkle in grated parmesan and stir around.
10. Dish up and serve!

Notes:
i. Rinse and boil the baby spinach in salted boiling water for 30 secs to a min. "Shock" in ice-water bath for about 2 mins, then remove and drain dry.
***********************************************************************************************************

Baked Lemon-Parmesan-Crusted Salmon

Makes 2+1 toddler servings

~200g of NZ king salmon
1/2 + 1 tsp unsalted butter, softened (divided)
1 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated
Crumbs from 1.5 Leibniz wholemeal biscuits
3 stalks of spring onions, white part, finely chopped (about 1 tbsp)
1 tsp lemon zest (drain off any excess juice)

For instructions, refer to recipe from the kitchn,

Notes:
i. Brush the salmon with 1/2 tsp of unsalted butter, then stir in the remaining 1 tsp into the mixture of biscuit crumbs, cheese, spring onions and lemon zest.
ii. I placed a 8" round pan half-filled with water on a drip pan below the baking rack.
iii. I rested a lightly-oiled circular rack over a square bake pan, then laid the salmon fillet on top.
iv. I baked it at 120 degree celcius for 25 mins (checked for doneness after 20 mins and returned it to the oven for another 5 mins, as instructed by the recipe).
v. Remove the pan of water once baking is done and wipe clean the insides of your oven after it has cooled down (there would be some condensation of water inside the oven).
**********************************************************************************************************

By the way, my other pair of big-framed spectacles with thick lenses didn't shield off the chemical compounds emitted from slicing spring onions for the crust. The lachrymal glands in my eyes got stimulated again. (;_;)

小雨 was having Monday blues and just wanted to hold mama's hand through dinner time. So her right palm rested on my left. Which meant holding her spoon with her left hand, and holding mine with my right.

While it didn't seem too tedious for her, I struggled with my right hand through dinner. After all, I had been a lefty for close to 30 years.

And Kirin passed his CFA! Hurray! He had already dumped his books anyway, the day after the exams. Lol.

The nocturnal man went out again. For some alone celebration I guess. And he came back with diapers, laundry wash, cup noodles, some snacks and surprisingly a packet of soya milk. A drink that he had never fancied, as with green beans, red kidney beans, yellow beans. A drink which I used to get every other day as a university student, but rarely drinks it now.

Learnt that Robin Williams left yesterday. Cause of death was asphyxia from hanging, according to preliminary autopsy results.

當葉子隨著風離開了樹
變成花的禮物
那只是你啟程了旅途
不是結束

時光比預料中來得殘酷
愛得愈深愈匆促
教人不得不學會祝福
你先走的　那一步

Hmm　我們都別哭
傷心會浪費你的　呵護
愛　微笑著回顧
有你那段路　短暫卻幸福

♪我們都別哭, 梁文音♪
作詞：馬嵩惟
作曲：Paul Drew/Greig watts/Pete Barringer
****************************************
As decided this morning, I pieced a Shirokuma wrapped in Furoshiki and carved out Zassou, the weed from a green grape.

Shirokuma wrapped with Furoshiki & Zassou the weed, art-in-Yang's-yoghurt #43

Shirokuma wrapped with Furoshiki & Zassou the weed, art-in-Yang's-yoghurt #43

The frail-looking little weed dreams of itself in a bouquet of flowers from the florist.

Do you have a dream too? Or perhaps you used to have one, but has stopped dreaming about it?

~ Imagination is more important than knowledge ~ Albert Einstein

DMCA.com Protection Status

Send out your ray of sunshine!

7/8/2014

I used to love azuki red bean paste but not as much now. I find it a little too sweet and mushy. Realised this change after having a Anpan for breakfast this morning, a trait adapted from Kirin. He doesn't like azuki red beans, as with other beans, lentils and peas.

We might be able to share and understand each other's feelings with a bowl of mushy red bean soup now, like in 王菲's 紅豆。

還沒為你把紅豆　熬成纏綿的傷口
然後一起分享　會更明白　相思的哀愁
還沒好好的感受　醒著親吻的溫柔
可能在我左右　你才追求　孤獨的自由

王菲, 紅豆

作詞：林夕
作曲：柳重言
編曲：Alex San
***********************************************************************************************************
One of my old notes in my iPhone went missing or was replicated by my latest note. Hm... I didn't even know there's a function to replicate a note.

I still have minced pork and half a pack of tofu in my fridge. So I decided to give the minced pork & tofu a 2nd try, adding Kirin's favourite kanimi this time. I could slice up and toss all the kanimi in but that's just boring.

Read about the 3-step procedure of breading meat, fish or veggies by Culinary Arts Expert, Danilo Alfaro - first in flour, then in egg wash, and finally in breadcrumbs - before frying. How about trying that for some kanimi sticks tonight? I had tried something along that line for my carrot sticks the other day but the coating kind of disintegrated during pan-frying. It was just beaten egg and flour though, without the breadcrumbs.

I checked my carton of eggs. Expiry date - 6 Aug. There goes breading.

It's ok, I already bought a lemon. So stick to my original plan to bake lemon-parmesan-crusted kanimi sticks!

The recipe I found was to bake the lemon-parmesan-crust on a salmon fillet. Well I intend to make the same crust on salmon next week, if it turns out fine on my kanimi sticks tonight.

And so I prepared the crust (with a secret ingredient... Stay tuned!) and pat a thick layer on each stick.

Patting the lemon-parmesan crust on kanimi sticks

Patting the lemon-parmesan crust on kanimi sticks...

Then spread them out on a baking tray lined with parchment paper...

Spreading out the kanimi sticks on a baking tray

Spreading out the kanimi sticks on a baking tray...

OopsY... a little over-baked after 25 minutes at 190 degree celsius but I got a rich, savoury crust. Guess a 20 minutes' baking time would suffice.

Lemon-parmesan crusted kanimi sticks

Lemon-parmesan crusted kanimi sticks

Lemon-Parmesan-Crusted Kanimi Sticks

(Adapted from recipe by Betty Crocker)

Makes 2+1 toddler servings

1/2+1 tsp butter, softened (divided)
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
Crumbs from 1 Leibniz wholemeal biscuit
3 stalks of spring onions, white part, finely chopped (about 1 tbsp)
1 tsp lemon zest (drain off any excess juice)

For instructions, please refer to recipe by Betty Crocker.

Notes:
i. I brushed the kanimi sticks with 1/2 tsp of butter and mixed the other 1 tsp into the mixture for the crust.
ii. I preheated oven to 190 degree celcius and the kanimi sticks were a little over-baked after 25 mins. Probably 20 mins would suffice.
iii. I rotated the baking tray after the first 15 mins as my oven isn't fan-assisted.
**********************************************************************************************************

Yes the secret ingredient was Leibniz! It was used for art-in-Yang's-yoghurt last night and in the crust for my kanimi sticks today. A hidden treasure indeed!

My blenheim-colored dish of minced pork & tofu had some pinkie-red blush from 3 kanimi sticks, cut into slices. The latter were added at the last step to simmer over low heat with the tofu slices (refer to recipe shared earlier).

Minced pork, tofu & kanimi

Minced pork, tofu & kanimi

Tofu and kanimi slices simmering in the wok over low heat

Tofu and kanimi slices simmering in the wok over low heat.

Hadn't re-stocked a pack of rice so it's paired with spaghetti as well, like Tuesday's dinner.

Minced pork, tofu & kanimi with spaghetti

Minced pork, tofu & kanimi with spaghetti

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey..." 小雨 sang, before bedtime.

While the world seems a little grey and gloomy lately, I still have warmth and light with the rays of sunshine from 小雨 and of course him, Kirin. A nocturnal man who's out to the gym again.

I know it sounds contradictory to say 小雨 is my sunshine when her name means a drizzle in Chinese, literary. Hm... I'll say she's that special kind of drizzle that comes with a sunshine - a sunshower, which every rain drop sparkles like a crystal.

So I did a sunshine tonight, spreading warmth and light to the rosy, fluffy cloud below it.

Send out your ray of sunshine! art-in-Yang's-yoghurt #39

Send out your ray of sunshine! art-in-Yang's-yoghurt #39

If you have read Yang's Favourite Thing #10 - Blanching vegetables, you might have seen some lyrics of The sunshine song. Here's sharing more lyrics of it...

You should look as good as your outlook,
Would you mind if I took some time,
to soak up your light, your beautiful light?
You've got a paradise inside.
I get hungry for love and thirsty for life,
And much too full on the pain,
When I look to the sky to help me
And sometimes it looks like rain.

As the sun shines on other people's houses
And not mine,
And the sky paints those clouds in a way
That it takes away the summertime,
Somehow the sun keeps shining upon you,
while I kindly stand by.
If there's a light in everybody,
Send out your ray of sunshine

The sunshine song
Songwriters - Eric Hinojosa, Jason Thomas Mraz
***********************************************************************************************************
And I believe so, that there's a ray of light in everyone. Just like the way dull veggies could brighten up too, from blanching.

Suddenly I felt like getting a sunshine top. I never had one.

The nocturnal man came back with a McWings meal to share with me for supper. Our 1st Mc meal here...

DMCA.com Protection Status

Minced pork & tofu

5/8/2014

When she's undisturbed from her sleep while you change her into her school uniform, with her mouth slightly opened for a little toothbrush to go in, you know she's dead tired. Hmm... she slept quite early last night, I thought.

But when 小雨滴滴在小雨 as we walked to our car, 阿福 with her zzzing in my arms, she uttered "Raining!", awakened all at once by the tiny rain drops. That's my 小雨。

The hypermart started playing National Day songs today.

The smell of the supple shiitake mushrooms from overnight soaking diffused out as I lifted the wok cover. Therapeutic. Especially when they came from your Mom's kitchen to your kitchen. Yes she's my supplier of dried shiitake mushrooms.

Soaking dried shiitake mushrooms

Soaking dried shiitake mushrooms...

The benefits of music for a toddler or preschooler seemed bountiful, as shared by BabyCenter. 小雨 has shown a heightened interest in her musical toy lately (though we wonder if it's because we hadn't unpacked the rest of the toys from the carton). Found this Rhythmic Tots, offered at Our Music Studio and music classes at Mini Maestros. Perhaps she could have a try at a music class soon.
***********************************************************************************************************
The couple who viewed our flat a 2nd time has offered to buy it.

I've chopped spring onions several times but had never teared once. Today, my tears came down uncontrollably to the extent that I need to stop midway to wipe them away and rest my eyes a little. As if crying for our green home.

Dinner tonight:
Minced pork & tofu
Radish sprout & shiitake mushroom stir-fry

I had intended to cook a one-pot dish i.e. add the shiitake mushrooms to the minced pork & tofu. But on second thoughts, I decided to add some greens like I always do.

Kirin likes 豆苗. Saw boxes of radish sprouts (萝卜苗), so I chucked one into my grocery basket.

Radish sprout, freshly grown in Singapore

Radish sprout, freshly grown in Singapore...

Today, I was quite obedient. Aside from using chicken stock and mushroom soaking liquid in place of water, lesser cooking oil and sesame oil, I followed pretty much of the recipe for the minced pork & tofu, from wiffy the Noob Cook. O for a 小雨-friendly meal, I skipped the chilli padi of course.

A first experience simmering the soft tofu slices in my wok...

A first experience simmering tofu slices in the wok

A first experience simmering tofu slices in the wok...

About 3 minutes later, the tofu slices had pretty much submerged in the broth mixture.

3-minutes' simmering minced pork and tofu in the wok

3-minutes' simmering minced pork and tofu in the wok

Loved this dish. One of the rare times I cooked protein without velveting but they were just as soft and tender.

Minced pork & tofu

Minced pork & tofu

Minced Pork & Tofu
(Adapted from recipe by wiffy the Noob Cook)

Makes 2+1 toddler servings

50g minced pork
150g Chinese tofu, drained, patted dry & sliced
2 tsp canola oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp taucheo/salted soy beans (豆酱)
1 tsp fermented black beans rinsed & mashed

Cornstarch solution:
1+1/2 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tbsp mushroom soaking liquid or water
3 to 4 stalks spring onions, white part, chopped

(A) Marinade for minced pork:
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp sesame oil
a few dashes white pepper powder

(B) Seasoning:
1/2 cup homemade chicken stock
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp black sesame oil

For instructions, please refer to recipe provided by wiffy, the Noob Cook.

***********************************************************************************************************
The second dish of radish sprout & shiitake mushroom stir-fry turned out... bitter (hm I wasn't listening to Tanya Chua's songs ya). Yes the sprouts "infected" the mushrooms, so everything turned bitter. Sorry to my 豆苗-lover and my little shiitake mushroom-lover. Guess the bitterness was due to blanching the fine sprout a little too long, which also led to a loss of crisp.

Radish sprout & shiitake mushroom stir-fry

Radish sprout & shiitake mushroom stir-fry

A little oyster sauce did help to mitigate the bitter taste though. The recipe is the same as that for broccoli & shiitake mushroom stir-fry but I'll probably skip blanching for this at my next attempt.

Had run out of rice so we had spaghetti to eat with the dishes tonight. Glad that 小雨 still finished her bowl of spaghetti with a little of everything. The bitterness of the sprout and mushroom was overshadowed by the tasty minced pork and tofu, thanks to wiffy.

Read more news about the Australian couple and their Down's Syndrome baby born to a Thai surrogate mother. Aside from his condition, it was also heart-wrenching to learn that the twins, who had been through the months of gestation together, were separated at birth.

Somehow, I was reminded of Nick Vujicic, who was born with tetra-amelia syndrome, without four limbs. Whether the couple hadn't brought the twin boy back with them because he had Down's syndrome or a congenital heart condition, Nick's story seemed to convey this message to me:

~ Never give up on your child, have faith in them. ~

Tonight, I decided to do Nick's comic look from his book "Dream Big" in my bowl of yoghurt. The facial details were too fine to be pieced using the waffle flakes but I decided to put in effort and not give up...

Nick Vujicic, art-in-Yang's-yoghurt #37

Nick Vujicic, art-in-Yang's-yoghurt #37

So I finished this in the end - Nick with a pinkie-strawberry hat. It didn't totally resemble his comic look and the colors from the waffle have smudged into the yoghurt but that kind of added some shade and a little rugged look to the art.

From the last line of Jay Chou's song 世界末日:
也許颓废也是另一种美。Haha... 自我安尉。

DMCA.com Protection Status

Love & faith

4/8/2014

I felt a slight tremor, when I stooped down to pick up a bottle of taucheo (豆酱) from a low shelf at the hypermart. Tremor from a worker pushing a trolley with stacks of heavy goods.

Heard the siren of an ambulance, the 2nd time in this new home.

I weighed myself this morning. Lighter, despite an increased appetite lately (I eat large quantities even when I'm sick, or perhaps it's a sign of recovery).

The Ebola outbreak raging in west Africa continues with a rising death toll. A magnitude-6.1 earthquake struck Yunnan province, south-west China. A 16-year old school girl admitted to murdering and dismembering her classmate in south-west Japan.

The world seems rather gloomy and forlorn these days.

世界收起了笑容似乎想　提醒我些什么
电视喃喃自语着为什么　我却变得沉默
永远都追不上那些人那事物消逝的速度
说到爱　如果你感觉到寂寞
Let's sing it out of love

有多久时间忘了去拥抱　身边爱的朋友
怀疑幸福的存在那瞬间　其实早就拥有
多盼望有一段旅程拜访每张熟悉的笑容
说到爱　就算是还似懂非懂
Let's sing it out of love

♪说到爱, 蔡健雅♪
作词：葛大为
作曲：蔡健雅

I didn't blast 93.3 FM at the gym today but repeated this song over and over again, as I learn to sing it out of love. Well I said before, Yang takes probably ten times of what normal people need to get sick of something. Today, I decided "Songs sung by Tanya Chua" is going to be one of Yang's favourite things.

小雨 was having her Monday blues. Brought her to see the water features inside the mall. She marvels at little water fountains. These days, "Wah" has been replaced by "Yee".

I wonder if it works for other preschoolers too? 小雨 always feels better after a Hi-5 with him.

Shop theft is a crime... Hi-5!

Shop theft is a crime... Hi-5!

A honest, righteous-looking man who's always there, everywhere, ever ready for a Hi-5 with you.

We shared a cup of Yami yogurt...

Sharing a cup of Yami yogurt to drown our Monday blues

Sharing a cup of Yami yogurt to drown our Monday blues...

... then off to the playground, we jumped and galloped. 小雨 couldn't really jump yet but she's been trying hard to. We know and encourage her, as much as we could.

One of 8 life lessons from Nick's adventure every child cannot miss...

8 life lessons from Nick's adventure

8 life lessons from Nick's adventure...

... is to put in effort and build your faith. Echoing his words:

~ Faith makes everything possible ~

DMCA.com Protection Status

What did you enjoy most doing with your baby?

3/8/2014

We brought froggie along for water play this morning.

Froggie joins us for water play...

Froggie joins us for water play...

"Yucks! Dirty!" 小雨 winced in disgust, pointing to stuff submerged in the pool as she waded on. Indeed. You don't need to be as observant and meticulous as 小雨 and Yang to notice it. Not too conducive for clean and green froggie but still, we hanged out there for more than half an hour, splashing water around and singing "Bubble bubble bubble! Guppy guppy guppies..."

"I dont care, what they are going to say..." 小雨 sang a new line to the chorus of the ♪Disney movie Frozen theme song - Let It Go♪.

She clapped her forearms together, and exclaimed "Cro-co-dile, snap snap snap!"

We had the company of two first-time visitors in the late afternoon - my deAr twin siblings, who doubled up as part-time caretakers. O to be precise, only my brother did the part-time volunteer job. As always, sisters just have endless things to chat about.
*******************************************************************************************************************************
Visited the newborn and her parents at the hospital. Another brave mom who went through labour without an epidural. She had requested for it but her baby couldn't wait any longer to see the world.

I had suffered heavy blood loss when I delivered 小雨, which required a surgery by my gynaecologist to remove the blood clots, followed by a blood transfusion. It was almost painless during the procedure, however, as the epidural continued to provide anesthesia. On the other hand, I read from BabyCenter that the drugs in the epidural might lower blood pressure, resulting in a lower blood flow to the baby and in turn a slower heart rate. That was what happened to 小雨, which warrant an emergency labour, before full cervical dilation.

Given my history of anaemia with 2 rounds of blood transfusion, I'm not too certain if I should consider not taking the epidural for my next childbirth.
*****************************************************************************************************************
Like her papa who goes for late night dips in the pool and adventure night walks around the new housing estate, 小雨 displays nocturnal traits too. Tonight, she practised "shuttle run" to and fro the living room and bedroom, rattling endlessly.

"Stop! Listen..." We heard the first long siren of an ambulance from our new home.

I asked myself, as I thought of the precious newborn lying helplessly in the baby cot at the hospital: What did I enjoy most doing with 小雨 as a baby?

Tummy time with Xiao Yu, art-in-Yang's-yoghurt #36

Tummy time with 小雨, art-in-Yang's-yoghurt #36

Tummy time! Art-in-Yang's-yoghurt #36. I did lots of that with her when she was a baby. Usually on her changing mat, sometimes in her cot, sometimes "under" me (see collage below), sometimes on me lying flat on the sofa, so as to form a horizontal plane for her. And I always managed to snap photos of a quietly pleased or smiley 小雨 during tummy times...

Tummy times as a baby...

Tummy times as a baby...

That's the reason why I enjoyed it most. Simply holding up her neck to see the world from a different perspective is enough to derive happiness for a baby.

Simple bliss.

DMCA.com Protection Status

Lefty Yang

A Singaporean mom, Lefty Yang shares about learning to love herself...

Of culinary she cooks to stimulate her five senses, with her stash of homemade chicken stock; Of lyrics she sings to echo her moods and feelings, from the world of beautiful singers and songwriters; Of yoghurt art she creates to capture her memories and emotions, in a bowl of low fat natural yoghurt.

Yang's Diary

March 2016
June 2015
March 2015
February 2015
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014

Categories