Composting

What do I do with my kitchen scraps?  Why do I freeze them?  Here's where my frozen kitchen scraps go: into a flower pot with some soil!

Kitchen scraps in pot

Why??  This is my tiny little effort at composting, a tiny little effort to reduce the amount of rubbish that I throw into the rubbish bin.  I first attempted composting in a closed container under the kitchen sink.  As it was a closed system, I had to open it up and stir it every day to avoid anaerobic decomposition.  Then I got lazy and didn't stir it for 1 week..... URGHHHH..... stink stink stink!!  So the closed compost bin was banished from the house!

Eventually I started the more current system of adding kitchen scraps to a pot of soil.  Initial problems of having flies was solved by burying the scraps instead of leaving them on top, like this:

Kitchen scraps buried

How about trying out composting?  You reduce the amount of rubbish and get some fertiliser at the same time!

Dinosaur Cupcakes

My big one requested for a dinosaur cake.  As the YouTube video only showed how to decorate the cake, I went in search for recipes for both the cake as well as the frosting.  I even went to raid my Mum's well stocked baking equipment cabinet(s) and brought home a few cake tins.  However, the icing bag with different tips that I remember using as a kid was no where to be found.

After lots of thought, I decided to abandon the dinosaur cake... What if the cake doesn't turn out right? What if the icing is horrible?  Assuming I'm successful, how will I bring the cake to big one's school?  Yes, yes, as you can see, I'm a worrier type...

So, I planned something different.  It still involved dinosaurs, and if it failed, I wouldn't feel so bad about wasting (throwing away) everything I was going to make.  Here's my plan: cupcakes with dinosaur decoration!

Step 1: Make chocolate dinosaurs

Chocolate Dinosaurs

Step 2: Make cupcakes

Vanilla cupcakes

Step 3: Make icing and ice

Iced cupcake

Step 4: Top with dinosaurs!

Dinosaur cupcakes!!

Note: Cupcake and icing recipe can be found here

Big one was very happy to see these when he came home from school!!  A few days later, there was only one dinosaur cup cake left but big one kept saying he didn't want to eat it.  Why?  "I want to keep it for my birthday!", he said.

"Don't worry, you can eat it.  I'll make more of this again for your birthday".  (Birthday is a few months away) *tired but happy Mummy*

Dinosaur Cake Request

My big one loves dinosaurs, so when I saw this YouTube video on how to make one, I showed it to him:

"Mummy, can you make this dinosaur cake for my birthday so that I can bring it to school?", he asked... All I could say was that I'll think about it and check if I have all that is needed to make it.

I've been baking since young, BUT I've never done anything like this dinosaur cake before!  The most decorative thing I have ever made were butterfly cupcakes and those were no where as fancy as this.  Hmmmm..... what should I do?

New Delhi Rape

A five-year-old Indian girl who was abducted, repeatedly raped and tortured in New Delhi

Another rape? 5 years old?? You have got to be kidding me!!! The gang rape case in 2012 shocked me... How could such a thing happen? This was not just rape. People don't die from rape. How could a human inflict such serious harm on another human, until death results?

I vividly remember a chinese debate competition. One team was arguing for 人性本恶 (People are bad by nature), while the other was arguing for 人性本善 (People are good by nature). The 人性本恶 team won.  For there to be hope for mankind, I want to believe that 人性本善, but judging from all the horrible news nowadays, maybe it's true that 人性本恶?

Lovely Morning Walk

A lovely morning walk with the little one.  Cool breeze, what a contrast to the scorching heat yesterday.  Apparently we were not the only ones taking a walk...

Snail taking a morning walk

Snail climbing...

Have never noticed there were so many snails in the rooftop garden... One of the little things that we overlook in our daily rush...

What do you do with your kitchen scraps?

When I cook, I like to prepare all the ingredients way before cooking time... just in case the little one decides to be cranky just then.  Whenever I have the time (i.e. the little one is taking a nap), I wash and chop everything up, then place them in the fridge for later.  Here's something all nicely prepared:

All ready to be cooked!

And the by-product of all this is here -- vegetable scraps:

Vegetable scraps

Notice that the vegetable scraps are in a box?  Why?  Because I collect them and freeze them.  What do you think I'll do with them next?

Quick and Good for Busy Mums

For all mums out there looking after babies, you'd know how much work there is to be done, especially if you are home alone during the day.  There are baby's needs to tend to, housework to be done... do you still have time to cook?  But as a breastfeeding mum, can you afford not to eat?

For times when baby is not cooperative, I have a back-up plan -- Instant oats!

Instant oats - a life saver for busy mums!

For desperate times, you could just add hot water to instant oats and drizzle on some honey.  But, I like adding in an egg for a little more nutrition.  It'll only take about 5 minutes of "cooking" time:

1. Start boiling a little water in a saucepan on high heat
2. Grab an egg and crack it into a bowl and beat lightly
3. Get ready to pour instant oats into saucepan once the water boils (this shouldn't take long as only a little water is needed)
4. While stirring the oats, pour in egg (I like streaks of egg)
5. Pour your meal into a bowl and drizzle honey to taste and you are done!

For those who don't like washing up (just like me!), there are only a few things to wash:  Bowl (for egg), saucepan, bowl (for eating), spoon (for stirring while cooking and eating), fork (to beat egg).

So there you have it:
Cooking time - 5 minutes
Washing time - 5 minutes

Boston Blasts

Woke up to this news this morning...

Three dead, over 100 injured in Boston blasts

More killings, more blood, more sorrow...  What's happening to this world?  Does there have to bloodshed every now and then?  Regardless of race or religion, everyone, let's pray for all those who were affected (physically/emotionally) in this horrific blast and that they'll recover soon...

The Start is the End, Like a Perfect Circle

Today marks the day that the Circle of Life begins.  I believe that things go in circles -- the start is the end, just like a perfect circle.  However, life is complex.  At different stages of our lives, we see things differently.  Sometimes, we see a part of something and think that it is the whole thing.  Other times, we see the whole thing, yet think that there must be more to it.

Life is simple, but many of us humans make it complex.  Here, I will start sharing simple, boring daily activities or thoughts, to the more profound topics where I do not have any answers to.  Let the journey begin!