Brown rice

I have never tasted brown rice before until I went to the US. A new Chinese restaurant which we visited, offered a choice of brown rice or white rice to go with the dishes. For a change and the foodie adventurer inside me, decided to give the brown rice a try. After that, there was no turning back.

Brown rice is basically unpolished rice where the bran is still attached to the rice grain. There are basically two types of brown rice, the fully unpolished rice (whole bran still attached) and the partially unpolished rice (some bran removed). For first-timers, I would suggest that you go for the partially unpolished rice first. It will be easiler on your taste bud.

When the bran is fully removed, we get our white rice which most of us are used to eating. However, when the bran is removed, most of the nutrients, such as fiber and bran oil, are also removed. Bran oil is known to reduce the bad cholesterol in our body without reducing the good cholesterol. In my last medical check-up, my doctor told me that my cholesterol level was high but it was no cause for concern as I have unusually high level of the good cholesterol. That reminds me, I am due for my next medical check-up again.

Goggle and you will find many discussions on the benefits of eating brown rice.

Cooking brown rice is not the same as cooking white rice but it is not difficult to cook either.

Before cooking, soak brown rice in water for a few minutes, drain away the water...1 cup of brown rice to 2 1/2 cups of water. Cook until the water is all soaked up and lower the fire and cook until the rice is fully cooked (usually about 25 mins). I prefer 'hard' rice. I don't enjoy eating soft rice, for me, I usually just add 2 cups of water.


My claypot of brown rice...I can eat it by itself

Having found out all the benefits of eating brown rice, my next task is to convert my family to eat brown rice. It is impossible to make the drastic change all of a sudden, to help them ease into this new found food, I have to do it slowly. One of the ways, mix the brown rice with white rice and eventually...do a complete conversion!

Making food more interesting

Instead of the square or rectangular shaped sandwiches, using a toast cutter to create various shapes of bread can make eating the humble bread more interesting and colourful. If you have problem finding a toast cutter, cookie cutter can also do the job.


Ann loves these dinosaur-shaped bread.

Local fare

It's May Day - a public holiday in Singapore. We decided to head for some local food which we have missed out during our stay in the US. What better place other than the Makansutra Glutton's Bay.

This is an open air dinning with lots of favourite local dishes such as fried hokkien mee, or zian (oyster with fried eggs), satay (Malay style bar-b-q meat), chicken wings and much, much more....


Rows of hawkers selling different types of food. This is also a favourite place to eat among the tourists.


Satay...you can choose to have either bar-b-q pork, mutton or chicken and some rice cubes.

Is that all for the food pictures....erm....sorry...too busy with the eating but if you want to see more, check out this site

To all our US friends, we were not kidding when we told you that you could savour all kinds of food in Singapore!By the way, this isn't the full selection yet ;)

Another joyous day

Remember I blogged about this great cooking friend Gina? She has finally set up her own retail shop selling anything that has to do with cooking and baking.

I felt really happy for her and of course went to give her my support!


That's the shop - Kitchen Capers.
Blk 71 Kallang Bahru #01-531F Singapore 310071
(just below NTUC Kallang Bahru)

Monday to Sunday 10.00am to 9.00pm

If you are into cooking and baking like me, go and check out her shop, you will sure to find things which you need!

A joyous day

Yesterday was 'hao hao nan ren's' special day! Yes, it was dh's birthday. The kids were excited.

That's the very beautiful thing about children. Simple things make them happy. Although, there was no big birthday bash, they were still hopping around in the house. After school, Ann and Kai came home and did their individual birthday cards for their papa. Then we went out to get birthday cake and ice-cream to have after dinner. I think the greatest surprise for dh was when Noel delivered a birthday gift to him in the office!

No, there wasn't candle light dinner at any restaurant because these days, the kids have to be in bed early and they are so used to having us around before their bedtime, we decided that we will all celebrate papa's birthday at home. Anyway, the kids are excited to be involved in the celebration!


Ann's birthday card to papa


I love you daddy. She is a daddy's girl


Kai's card to pops - that's how Kai likes to call dh sometimes


Kai is a very sensitive and sentimental boy. Expressing his gratitude to his papa and giving him a 'car' as a present ;)


Aglio black pepper seafood pasta. What exactly is 'aglio'. A check in the cooking dictionary, I found out that 'aglio' simply meant 'garlic' in Italian. So when you have aglio pasta, it was just garlic with pasta. Adding a twist to the usual aglio pasta, I have added bacon, capsicum, outopus, white clams and salmon belly. It was simple yet delicious and what a great way to feed the kids with healthy food - SALMON!


This is a cold dessert. It's called 'gula melaka sago' Using pearl sago, I steamed them till they are cooked. Pour melted gula melaka or black sugar and coconut milk over it...adding mint leaves gave it a very sweet and refreshing taste. Great dessert for hot, hot sunny island of Singapore! DH's favourite dessert.


(Remember, we still have our things in the boxes...so this year, no mummy dearest home-baked birthday cake.) The kids chose the cakes. Instead of buying a huge birthday cake, we bought two small cupcakes instead. (No wastage!) Well, from the ornaments on the cakes, you should be able to guess who chose what. Looks more like their birthday cakes than dh's. And yes, those two candles were magic candles, the fire never got blown off. DH was pretty amused and of course, the kids had a great laugh!

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What is a birthday celebration without pictures! More good years to 'hao hao nan ren'!

Recalling last year when we celebrated dh's birthday at Macungie...

Books exchange

Over 57,000 books change hands in NLB's first Book Exchange
By Seet Sok Hwee, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: The National Library Board held its first Book Exchange on Saturday to celebrate World Book Day, which fell on April 23.

The event enabled members of the public to exchange their used books with other book lovers.
From April 11-24, members of the public were encouraged to drop off used books at public libraries all over Singapore in return for one-for-one book exchange coupons. Over 57,000 books were collected, more than double the original target.
The coupons were then used to change for books at the event on Saturday. About 5,000 people showed up at the National Library building, some as early as 8am...

Of course, we couldn't miss this exciting event especially when we have two kids who simply love reading. Kai, especially was very excited. Last Friday, we brought 15 old books to the Queenstown National Library to exchange for 15 coupons. We could have exchanged for more but Kai was very reluctant to part with his beloved books. In the end, he only chose 15 and Ann also contributed some of her books.

On the day of the book exchange, Kai was up and going at an early hour. Quite unusual for him on a Saturday morning as he was usually the last to wake up. There was no stopping him the moment we entered the National Library Atrium. He was just buried among the books.

An unknown author once wrote "TV. If kids are entertained by two letters, imagine the fun they'll have with twenty-six. Open your child's imagination. Open a book."

How true.


Part of the 5,000 who have turned up

Dilemma

The confirmation has finally arrived. We will be heading to the east - Shanghai. Now, I am in a dilemma...

The kids are happily settled down in their schools. Kai is happy and is enjoying himself inspite of the intense heat. Ann is making lots of friends and inviting...(ahmen)...admirers. She is such a sweet, vocal, independent little girl and she loves to play with her classmates. When she was in the US school, all the kids adored her. I remember on her first day of school, she was treated like a favourite china doll in class. Every kid loved her...

Now that everything is settled, it hurts me to pluck them out and shift again. But on the other hand, I know this is a great opportunity for dh. From the west to the east, it's a great career move for him. Inspite of the not so ideal economic climate, he is still offered this posting...it can only be a miracle from God. This reminded me of what one pastor once said, in the midst of difficulties, God's people will remain safe. How true.

The welfare of the kids is always in my heart but as a wife, I also want to support dh... dilemma....

Why change

In case you are wondering why the change in my blog title...

Looking through my blog, I realised that many times I have written about raising my kids. Even though we are 'nomads', moving from place to place. The environment may change, the people around may change but I will always be a mum to my two kids. It was a done deal nine years ago. Even if I do become a working lady one day, I will be a working mum. So you see, I will always be a mum, nothing will change that...and yes, of course, a wife too ;)

I hope writing about my experiences as a mum will in some small ways, bring delight to your reading.


This is Ann's drawing of herself and mum

Not ordinary

The early morning is a busy time for me. Getting breakfast ready, seeing Kai to school, dh to work and sending Ann to school.

Once the mad rush is over,after the housework is done, it will be a few hours of 'me' time before the kids come home. I treasure that few hours every morning. Some of the things I will do are, walk to the market, blog, read, listen to audio messages or simply just enjoy the quietness.

As the kids grow older each day, especially for Kai, he will soon be a pre-teen. I know there will be challenges, even now, there have been a couple of challenging times. My prayer is now asking God to give me wisdom to raise up my kids. You know something, if you can raise kids, you can do anything!

God didn't answer my prayer by giving me '10 things you need to know in raising up a pre-teen'. Instead, through a message by Pas Joseph Prince...in the message, it talked about the barren women in the Bible. These women gave birth at a very old age but all their children were champions of God. Giving examples such as Issac, John the Baptist and Samson. These boys of barren mothers were all extra-ordinary.

I was reminded of myself...I was a barren mother too and God blessed us with two wonderful kids and these two kids are not going to be ordinary too.

Two days ago, Kai's class teacher called and said that Kai has settled in very well in class. Considering just one month back in Singapore from the US and back to school, he has in fact done very well both in his work and getting along with the class. His teacher was most impressed by his academic performance.

Yes, I am proud of Kai. I know he went through a very tough one year when we were in US. Going to the US school and coming home to the Singapore school. In school, he has to slow himself down, at home, he has to bring himself back...it was a tough one year for a then, 8 year old boy.

While kids were playing outside, he had to do his Singapore school work with mummy. There were times, I wanted to give up (a mother's heart is always soft). There were times, Kai found it unbearable and cried. But we both pressed on, we did as much as we could manage...

Today, he is proud to be often chosen as one of the few, to solve Math problem for the class. It is indeed a joy to hear him says 'it's worth it!'

Mr 'hao hao lao ba' (good papa)

The kids are very fond of their papa. They are at their 'downest' when dh is out station. When Kai was much younger, each time dh went for business trip, he would surely cry. Likewise for Ann, she wasted no time expressing her love to her dad. In fact, it is pretty common to have her saying 'I love you daddy' various times in one day!

Need I say more...

They ain't heavy, they are my kids.

Mr Specky or Mr Intellectual

Myopia is a rapidly worsening public health problem in Singapore. Surveys have indicated that myopia afflicts 25% of 7 year olds, 33% of 9 year olds, 50% of 12 year olds and more than 80% of 18 year old males in Singapore.

Cause of myopiaWe still do not have a complete explanation for the development of myopia. There is certainly a genetic factor which makes certain people (and ethnic groups) more susceptible to the development of myopia. However, this does not explain the rapid increase in the prevalence of myopia in Singapore over the last 3 generations. The gene pool has not changed, but the prevalence of myopia has accelerated rapidly. This strongly suggests that environmental influences interacting with the genes have played a major role.
A recent study in America suggested that leaving the lights on at night when babies were asleep might have predisposed them to developing myopia. We have also been able to induce myopia in chicks, tree shrews and monkeys simply by manipulating their visual environment. This is further evidence of the major role played by the environment. Whilst we cannot yet pinpoint the exact environmental factor, it is quite likely that this is related to the heavy amount of reading and near work our children are exposed to, which is certainly much higher than that in the past. (http://www.snec.com.sg/eye/myopia.asp#1)

And yes, Kai belongs to the 33% of 9 year old males in Singapore and yes, he reads heavily.

After we came home from US, Kai's school had a health check-up for the the kids in school and immediately, he was diagnosed to have myopia. An eye check-up followed and he is now Mr Specky!

Hmmm...looks more like Mr Intellectual