Everybody Loves Bacon

School closed but projects for the kids are still ongoing. Was asked by little pumpkin to make a dish with bacon for her school project based on the story book ‘Everybody Loves Bacon’.

I decided to make scrambled eggs with bacon with her. She cracked the eggs for the 1^st time but it wasn’t easy for her and she was afraid of the fire on the stove, I prepared the scrambled eggs while she poured in the bacons. It turned out to be delicious with good teamwork. 😊

She had her 1^st Google Meet session with the teachers and her classmates. It was so fun to see everyone. The kids started to chat the one they are online. Teacher Illi then asked them to present their project one at a time and explained how they made the dish and how they felt during the process. 😊

Little pumpkin mentioned that she enjoyed cooking with me and the dish was not difficult except she was afraid that she might get burnt. Though it was just an hour session but I guess it really made all the kids excited and happy to see their friends once again.

HBL Art Project

As the kids are having their HBL and when it comes to homework or projects, it can be quite a nightmare especially when you have ten thousands things to do at home. Hahahahaha… 

Anyway, Lady Faith received a notice from her Art teacher to prepare a Art illustration of a similar action seen on a painting. She was excited to do the project and asked me to help her out. I was more than happy to help her as I used to be an Art student back in secondary schools and I somehow enjoyed doing those projects. 😊

She chose a picture provided by her teacher and we tried to bring it to LIVE as much as we can. 😊 I am pretty happy with how the picture turned out and her teacher also gave her thump up after submission. 😊What do you think?

Oil-Free Honey Chicken

This is one of my kiddos’ favourite dish and since it’s still CB, I got to satisfy their crave as we aren’t able to dine out. I found out some of our favourite hangouts are closed and guess I got to come up with some new dishes before they gets tired. 😊

Ferris Wheel

Lady Faith has HBL while little pumpkin gets to wake up at 10am daily. For the first time, I was happy that little pumpkin’s school has sent out some worksheets to keep the kids leaning at home and some projects for them to complete with timeline.

This time, she was given a project to make a Ferris wheel using recycled materials. Lady Faith was really excited about her little sister’s school project and volunteered to help. Little pumpkin and Lady Faith cooperated and gathered some recycled materials around the house for the project.

We sat down and try to build it together. It took me quite a while to measure and cut out the Ferris Wheel’s frame so that Lady Faith can start making the rest and little pumpkin to put them together. I was really happy that we can do it together as this is one good bonding session for the 3 of us.

Now, we have a pretty Ferris Wheel at home for the monkeys... hahahaaha

Burnt Basque Cheesecake

The Burnt Basque Cheesecake has been going viral on the social media during this CB and I am a big fan of cheesecake and having some cream cheese at home, I decided to give it a shot too.

I was pretty surprised that this recipe needed so many blocks of cream cheese and the sugar used were quite a lot too. I decided to follow part of the recipe but reduced the sugar and it worked out perfectly. It was soft in the side and tasted so GOOOOOOOOOODDDDD!!!!

I am sure I will be baking this delicious cheesecake again but perhaps after CB coz’ I noticed that almost the whole Singapore are making this cake as there isn’t any cream cheese left at the supermarket….

Family On Zoom

Zoom and Google Meet are the most popular channel for meetings during this CB. Thanks to my dear sister in law Maggie who kindly set up the zoom meet and even ordered cakes from the Cake Studio as a virtual tea session for the family.

Honestly, when the door bell rang shortly after lunch, hubby answered the door and brought in a huge box of cakes. We were so thrilled when we opened the box. It was some cupcakes with icing, decorations on the sides. The kids were so excited when they realized that they will be decorating the cupcakes during the Zoom meet later.

After we were connected with the family via Zoom, we started decorating the cakes virtually and it was so fun though we are not meeting the family physically. Parents in law on the other side were able to view the action of our kids and we can still chat with them. At the same time, the elderly managed to chat virtually which brought them to a new dimension.

The whole session last about an hour and the kids were getting bored as they preferred to play or chat with their cousins in person rather than virtually. Now, we are missing those times that we can hang out together and let’s hope this stupid COVID-19 will soon be over.

Thank you very much Maggie for arranging this session which is precious.

Kids Activities

It was a lazy afternoon and it was pouring outside. Just wanted to stay home and chill but kiddos were bored and finally I decided to get them to make their own Mantou.

Both kiddos enjoy eating mantou especially little pumpkin. She will always be the one who eats more than 3 mantous when we ordered them for chili crab dipping and always ended up ordering extra. They were so excited when I suggested to make mantou and all were ready to roll. 😊

Thanks to my Thermomix, there is no need for me to knead them and I left everything to my machine. After proofing for about 30 minutes, we are ready to create them. When it comes to designing the mantou, kiddos had so many creative ideas but just can’t seem to put them into hands …. Hahaahahahaha… they wanted to create animals like dinosaurs, rabbit, flowers but always turned out to be something else…

Anyway, whatever the results or patterns, they are just fantastic kids’ activities during this CB and diverted their attention away from the TV. 😊 I guess I will be having more baking sessions with the girls in time to come. 😊

Circuit Breaker Day 16

It can be quite a headache when you are locked up at home and had to prepare meals for the family. Well, I am feeling that stress already after 16 days…

Today, I decided to make a simple dish for luncheon since we are kind of bored with outside food or eating the almost the same thing everyday. The kids requested salmon rice and I added teriyaki chicken thigh for extra flavour and ta-da… here you go. It is relatively an easy dish to make and tasted super yummy! Just salmon and rice… you just settled one meal. 😊

There Goes My Bubble Tea

After an IDIOT went on public to questioned why bubble tea shop remained open during the CB period, there came an announcement from the government that all bubble tea shops to be from today for at least two weeks!

After I heard the announcement in the afternoon, I was really so happy that I had a cup of Large bubble tea in my fridge and I know I will be enjoying this last cup before I can drink again when they reopens. While I was enjoying my bubble tea, I noticed that there were photos circulated on social media showed a deliveryman outside bubble tea shop, with people standing around other bubble tea outlets in malls across the island.

It is a total craze and it created a large crowd unnecessarily. Some BBT fans were interviewed and they told the media that BBT has been their emotional support during the CB and now the government is taking it away from them. For me, I too enjoy BBT but I guess I can live without for the time being… errrr… I hope… hahaahahah

What’s Cooking During CB

It’s already 15^th Day of CB and the cases are increasing daily. We are told not to leave our home unless for essential matters like marketing and buying food.

We went to the supermarket this morning and we had to join the long queue at the entrance and when we are in the supermarket, it was really good to shop with less people. However, there wasn’t much stuff to get as many countries are also under lockdown situation therefore, imports became lesser.

We just managed to get whatever it is available and try to whip up some dishes for dinner. Lady Faith decided to learn some dishes from grandma, and she became the side-kick. Hahahaahah… she helped grandma to prepare the ingredients and even helped to cook the dish. As she managed well with the preparation of the dish, grandma allowed her to cook it too. We are proud of Lady Faith’s first ever dish that was fully managed by herself by following grandma’s instructions. Well done girl and it tasted fantastic! 😊

Well, I guess CB is not too bad after all where you can bond with the family and at the same time getting your kiddos to try cooking. 😊

Camping Night

Circuit Breaker can be a time for more family time in a way and since it’s Full HBL and Pre-School closure, the kiddos found something interesting to keep themselves busy and creative.

After dinner, they started to build their own campsite for a sleepover. Yes… a SLEEPOVER… they were only given materials that can be found around the house and make their own campsite or their own fortress…. Wherever they called it.

It was really fun to see them building it together and Lady Faith did most of the building while little pumpkin went around the house to get the materials. Hahahaahahahah… the final result came after an hour and they were all set to hang out in their own fortress. :0)

It was a very simple but spacious area for their sleep over indeed. We asked if they really want to sleep in their fortress for the night and they were really excited about it and hurried to find comfort in their fortress.

It was lights off time and everyone heads back to the bedroom. About half an hour after I laid in bed, I checked on my CCTV and heard them chatting and overheard little pumpkin saying that she couldn’t sleep as I am not with her. Hahaahaahah…. Lady Faith tried to talk her to sleep but little pumpkin still not convinced.

An hour passed and little pumpkin was still awake while Lady Faith fast asleep. I went down and checked on her and she was so happy to see me and requested me to sleep in her tent… hahaahahah… I rejected her and told her that my bed is more comfortable… she gave me the ‘Puss In Boots’ look and asked if she can follow me to bed instead but not to tell Lady Faith… hahahaahahahah…

I brought her up to bed and she was already sleeping when I returned from my toilet break…

Getting Through Circuit Breaker

It is already a week since the beginning of Circuit Breaker, and we are getting pretty comfortable at home. It is the usual HBL in the morning where Lady Faith must attend her online lesson while little pumpkin gets more sleep as she is off from school too.

Hubby has also stopped work at the site and work from home. We went to the supermarket in the mid-morning after doing some household chores but could not get much stuff from the supermarket as most stuff was snapped up quickly. However, we were happy that we managed to get some fresh food like salmon, mushrooms, and certain greens. Guess these are stuff that you cannot keep too long in your fridge.

We bought luncheon back since we are out and about, but the mall was empty, and most shops were closed. We had only limited choice of food to take out and honestly, it was very sad.

Since we are home and it will be great to prepare dinner for the family. I managed to whip up quite a good meal for everyone tonight. We had mushroom soup, baked salmon, aglio olio and beef steak. I would say that this meal was good as I took my time to prepare them. I guess a good meal needs time to cook them with LOVE… hahahaahah… Yumz…

What are you cooking today?

Dalgona Coffee

Okay, this is one coffee that is going viral on the internet and it is so easy to make with my Thermomix. Well, Dalgona coffee is a beverage made by whipping eaual proportions of instant coffee powder, sugar, and water until it becomes creamy then adding it to cold or hot milk.

It is made famous by the Koreans and man… it hits the internet like waves! Well, nothing better to do at home during this CB, I gave it a shot and wala… the coffee is ready in just 2 minutes. 😊 very creamy and tasted GREAT indeed! It can be quite addictive if you like creamy coffee foam with milk…. Tasted nicer than Latte. 😊

If you are interested to make one, here’s what you need;

2 tbsp. granulated sugar (fine sugar)

2 tbsp. instant coffee

2 tbsp. cold water (hot or cold)

Ice, for serving

Milk, for serving

Method;

1)In a medium bowl, combine sugar, coffee and water. Using a hand mixer or a whisk, vigorously whisk until mixture turns silky smooth and shiny, then continue whisking until it thickens and holds its lofty, foamy shape. 

     

     2) Fill a glass most of the way full with ice and milk, then dollop and swirl the whipped coffee mixture on top, mixing before drinking, if desired.

Try it out if you wanna try something new. 😊

Crème Brulee

Crème Brulee is one of my favourite desserts and giving the free time during this CB, I decided to try making it at home. Found some pretty good recipes online and honestly, it is very easy to make.

Lady Faith and little pumpkin were excited to try it as they have never tasted one. As egg lovers like me, they are really keen to give it a shot and try out why their mummy loves it. Hahahaahahahah

After removing it from the oven, you can see their faces lit up with smiles but I had to put it into the fridge before we can consume it. Four hours of cooling is considered a long time for the kiddos and finally, it was ready for tasting, they were crowd around my island and as I torched the crème brulee, they got even more excited!! Hahahaah….

Verdict from the girls : Smooth and super delicious! I was really happy with the turn out too and I can eat this often since I can make it on my own. Woohoo!!!

Maundy Thursday

This would be the first time we are celebrating Maundy Thursday Mass from home via “Live’ Streaming. With that, we encourage our kids to re-enact the ‘Washing Of The Feet’ where the Priest will wash the feet of the volunteers. This is to remind us of how Jesus washed his disciples during the last supper.

Lady Faith volunteered to do this beautiful scene and she was very eager to wash her grandma’s feet. I was really glad that she is doing it as a gesture of thankfulness and being humble. When she started to put grandma’s feet into the pail of water, grandma was shy, but Lady Faith told her to relax and allow her to wash them.

She did it so gently and grandma was relaxed. She then wipes them dry and told grandma that her feet are cleaned now. 😊 I told her to jot down her feelings towards this gesture and she told me that she felt good as she could somehow thank grandma for all that she has done for her and it’s love that drew her to do it. 😊

I really thank God for our kiddos and all the blessings He has showered us. This would be one very meaningful Maundy Thursday that it will always remain in my heart. 😊

Nightmare Begins

The government has finally announced Full Home Based Learning kids and it’s a nightmare for most parents I believe. Well, today marks the first day of HBL and Lady Faith is excited to be online as it is something different from her normal school days.

She woke up early and hurried to sign her attendance. I was by her side checking out the ‘How’s & What’ to do. She began her 1^st lesson online and she was all excited to see her Chinese teacher and friends. I guess she is more excited to use the PC to see her friends online than just pure learning… hahahaha

With her full weekly scheduled on the side, she was well-prepared. She gets a 30 minutes of Éye Break’ after every lessons and it’s considered her play time… I thought it is a good idea to have them resting their eyes after each lesson.

I noticed most of their lessons are on goggle meet all the time but mostly done on SLS instead. I do hope that they will have more meeting sessions instead of just giving work via SLS. Mmmh….

Anyway, today’s HBL was smooth and homework given are done right away since it was on SLS. 😊 So far so good…

Circuit Breaker

After the ‘Live’ telecast of our PM on 3 April announcing a nationwide partial lockdown, known as a circuit breaker, to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Singapore, we finally going to stay HOME for a long time…. Sighz… This means that all non-essential workplaces closed from 7 April which is today, with essential workplaces remaining open.

One part of me agreed with this ‘lockdown’ as it will be more effective to stop the virus from spreading but the other part of me wants to go out instead of staying home for an unknown period. Well, the streets are very quiet compared to the normal days and you hardly see people walking around.

I am not sure how long will this CB last and I hope it will not be too long or I might go crazy. I can’t imagine I had to be home with kids all day and worst is to go through the HBL with them. That’s not all, you got to be prepare to cook 3 or more meals at home since everyone’s home!

The thought of going to the supermarket became unnecessary as you may not get things you want too due to the mad rush. I am sure everyone will snap up everything or anything they can find to stock up at their home. Sighz… how??… like that!

Let us all pray for this situation to get better so that we can get back to our normal lives soon. Meanwhile, stay safe and keep yourself healthy!