Lentils Lentils Lentils (6 to 9 mths)

It's a cheap source of protein and iron. (good for brain development) Note: Can be difficult to digest and should be combined with plenty of fresh vegetables.

Try this recipe. Makes 8 portions. (Freeze the rest!)

What you need:

• 1/2 small onion finely chopped
• 1 cup carrot, chopped
• 1/2 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup split red lentils
• 13/4 cup sweet potato, peeled and chopped
• 13/4 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth

Saute the onion, and celery in the vegetable oil till soft. Add the lentils and sweet potato and pour over broth. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer for about 20mins. Puree and serve.

It's the first time I'm making lentils and I have never tasted it before... but the end result is good leh..
Sizzling HOT!

Fillet of Fish in Orange Sauce (6 to 9mths)

Tried this recipe.. not too bad! (If your little one can't finish, you will be happy to finish them!)
Tip: I used Malibut in this recipe but I thought it's better to use cod coz it has this melt in the mouth effect. Otherwise have to really puree the fish otherwise it's rather dry to swallow.

Makes abt 5 portions. Preparation time: 8 mins.

What you need:

• 1/2 lb white fish fillets, skinned.
• juice of 1 orange (about 1/2 cup) I prefer freshly squeezed. : )
  
• 1/2 cheddar cheese (grated)
• 2 teaspoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 cup cornflakes, crushed. (i omitted this coz don't have it)
• pay of butter or margarine (unsalted)

Put the fish in a microwave dish, cover with orange juice, cheese, parsley and cornflakes and dot with butter or margarine. Cover with lid and cook on high for abt 4 mins.

Flake the fish carefully, removing any bones and mash everything together with the liquid in which the fish was cooked. That SIMPLE!!
Before going into the microwave oven.Fresh from oven!Final product! But should mash it further...

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Good Old Fashioned Pancake

Ok first of all I have no idea why Im posting yet another recipe on pancakes. Was thinking of having this for breakfast or maybe Flo inspired me.

Definitely not for babies coz it has egg white added in it. Ready in 20mins! Fast and easy!

What you need:

• 11/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 11/4 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons butter (melted)

Directions:

• In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
• Heat a lightly oiled frying pan over medium high heat. Pour the batter onto the pan, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Once brown on both sides, it's ready to be served!

variation tip: I added 1/4 vanilla into the mixture.

measuring tip: I bought measuring cups and measuring spoons from cold storage! That solves all measuring problems!

Baby Cereal Pancake

Finally I found this life saver recipe. Occasionally I have leftover baby cereal that I want to discard(almost 1 month old) but always find it very wasteful. Ever been in this similar situation?! Here's the solution! Pancakes make great finger food. kekekeke..

What you will need:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup baby cereal
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup mashed fruit of your choice
• 1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine (unsalted)
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup baby oatmeal
• 1/2 cup apple juice or water

Add cinnamon, nutmeg or vanilla extract or other flavorings if you wish : )
Mix all ingredients together and add enough juice to make pancake consistency. "Fry" in a pan!

tips: may wish to add 1 tablespoon of baking powder to make the pancake fluffy as whole wheat flour will make pancake more dense and heavy. (rubbery)

pictures promised soon!

Salmon With Carrots and Tomato (9 to 12 mths)

Went to Kinokuniya and picked up 2 "cookbooktionaries" hopping to get more inspiration to cook yummy and healthy meals for Ern. Will be making this! and will post some pictures later!

This makes a good, creamy-textured fish puree! SALMON!

Took this recipe from annabel Karmel!
MAKES 4 PORTIONS

what you need:
21/4 cups carrot, peeled and sliced
5 oz salmon fillet
1/2 tablespoon milk (or enough to cove the salmon)
2 tablespoons butter
2 medium, ripe tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
scant 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated

• Put the carrots in a steamer set over a pan of boiling water and cook 15-20 mins or until tender.

• Meanwhile place the fish in a pan, pour over enough mil just to cover and simmer till cooked.

• Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan and add tomatoes and saute till softened and slightly mushy.

• Remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted.

• Blend the cooked carrots with the tomato mixture. Drain the cooking liquor from the fish, remove skin.

• Flake the fish and mix together with tomatoes and carrots. For younger babies, blend for desired texture.

The picture in the book looks damn yummy la. Try it if you have the time and have fUn!! : )
Sauteed tomatoes with cheese.Salmon immersed in milk and butter. I cooked it in microwave instead. And this is the end result! The picture in the book still looks better. : ) Hubby tried it and said ern will love it... we shall see....

East Coast Park

Woke up at 6.30am and off we went to East Coast Park. Daddy F went for his run while ern and mummy went for a long stroll. Think we walked for more than an hour. It's the same old familiar surroundings which brought me back to our good old bayshore days...

We used to wake up in the morning and bring our dogs to the beach for a run and breakfast. We decided to move out 6mths earlier than expected; rented a place at bayshore for 6months before moving into out unit in UE sq. But atlas I got pregnant and have to shift back with my in-laws as UE sq was a little small. (so we thought) Frankly, I think it's a decent space for a family of 3. (but can't accomodate the dogs : (...)

Yesterday hubby and I took ern to Lawrys (paragon) for high tea. It was surprisingly quiet, (we literally had the whole hall to ourselves) and the price was atonishingly cheap manz! It's like $12 ++ per pax!!(it's not buffet style) so we decided to order lotsa other stuff and the total bill is less than 50 bucks! Highly recommended! Will definitely go again!

Ok, it's recipe time again.
Noticed that she loves to eat Toufu. Just throw anything undesirable to her palette into toufu; she will finish up everything.
If your baby loves tofu, can also try these combi:

• tofu + applesauce + squash
• tofu + avocado + pears
• tofe + blueberries + bananas
• tofu + sweet potato + carrots
• tofu + broccoli + parsnips

Cheesy Potato and carrot (6-9 months)

This is a really fast and simple yet yummy recipe that ern loves!
Here's how to prepare.

You will need:
1 potato (peeled and chopped)
1/2 large carrot (peeled and chopped)
your baby's usual milk (amount would depend on the consistency you want)
knob of butter
mild cheddar cheese (shredded)
(you may wish to add broccoli and / or chicken to give it more texture)

To prepare:

1. Steam or boil the vegetables till soft then mash them up.
   
2. Stir in milk.
   
3. Add butter, cheese and microwave.

Hope you love it as much as I do too! I hope the next recipe would involve baking coz I went to get a mini baking dish! hiak hiak hiak~

Chawanmushi

Loved Chawanmushi since day 1 and I finally got down to doing some research on it's preparation. For those who also love it just like me here's the recipe:
What you need:

• 3 eggs
• 1.5 cup dashi soup stock
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1tsp sake
• 1 chicken thigh (cut into bite size)
• 4 shiitake mushrooms
• 1 oz mitsube (trefoil)
• 8 slices kamaboko or narutomaki fish cake

Preparation:
Lightly beat the eggs in a bowl. Try not to bubble the eggs.
Add cool dashi soup stock, soy sauce, salt, sake and sugar in the egg.
Strain the egg mixture.
Put shiitake, chicken tigh and kamboko in 4 chawanmushi cups. Cover the cups.
Preheat in a steamer on high heat.
Turn down to low and carefully place the cups in steamer.
Steam for about 15 minutes. There you have it!!