Monday Dinner – 29 Jan 2018

Malaysia’s ‘summer’ is slowly rearing its ugly head. This also means that Chinese New Year is coming soon. Though it’s been raining almost daily, the weather has been really hot and stuffy.  Even when it’s pouring hard, it’s still not cooling but humid.  Today I showered 5 times (washed my hair 3 times!). When I’m hot and sweaty, I can’t seem to sit and concentrate at my work station. My mind will be foggy and distracted and gravitated towards the bathroom. The OCD in me will be dying to have a nice cool shower, even if it’s just a 1-minute quick splash with cold water. After cooking today’s dinner, I had my 4th quick shower before I zoomed off to fetch Drama Queen back from school.

Today’s dinner is baked cheese fried rice again. This time, I fried the rice with organic pork (marinated with Teriyaki sauce, pepper and sesame seed oil), organic spinach, sweet corn, garden baby peas, garlic, onion and eggs.

Cass helped to layer the rice with slices of Swiss cheese before this baby was popped into the oven. We used about 10 slices of cheese and baked the rice for 20 minutes.

This dish is fast to make and completely low maintenance. Loaded with tons of vegetables, this is a simple yet incredibly tasty dinner you can get on the table in less than 30 minutes. Along with the ABC soup, it took me under an hour to prep two items.  While the soup was still boiling on the stove, I got some work done on the computer.  I must give credit to my part-time helper for helping me pre-chop the garlic. I always have a tub of chopped garlic in the fridge to last me for 2 days.

Also cooked ABC soup with roast pork bones, sweet potatoes and red dates.  I recently discovered that adding sweet potatoes into the pot of soup would yield very sweet and thick soup.  The pot of soup can be a filling one-pot dish with meat, carrots, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, cabbage, etc.  Lately I seem to have a liking for soups, especially vegetables soup.

When using roast pork bones (or any meat for that matter) to prep soup, just be sure to blanch the pork bones in boiling water for a few minutes to remove the fat and scum, as well as for aesthetics reason. Meat not pre-blanched will result in soup that looks murky and err… looks yucky too.

The fussy king of the house who does not like baked cheese rice had steamed pau and scrambled eggs when he came home at 9pm.   Drama Queen helped to steam the frozen pau and cooked the eggs.  After cooking, she wiped the stove and washed the dishes.

Me: quick go and shower.

Sherilyn: I can’t shower yet. I have to wait for dad to finish his dinner, then wash the dishes. And I have to wait for the pau to be steamed.

Me: you sound like you’re Cinderella! Thanks anyway.

Thank God for Drama Queen who is always around to help me with the chores that I hate most.

Rainbow after a downpour this evening. Can you spot a double rainbow? Blink your eyes hard and see if you can see two rainbows.

 

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Decorating The Home Without Breaking The Bank

Decorating your home is one of the greatest joys you have as a homeowner. You are able to turn your space into anything you want, and really get that stunning atmosphere into your home that you always wanted.

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It can be a fun project when you come to decorating the house, but it can also be an expensive one depending on what you want to do. Of course, if your bathroom or kitchen is in serious need of being rebuilt then you cannot expect it to cost pennies, and you might need to look at online signature loans to fund it. However for small changes in the home you can make a big difference with a tiny sum of cash.

Use Tape Instead Of Nails
This is a great option even if you don’t own your home. If you don’t want to end up with a ton of different holes in your walls, one way to hang up art is to use some tape. You can buy adhesive wall strips online really cheaply, and a piece of art can make a massive impact on your home.

Paint one wall
If you want to add a splash of colour to the room but you don’t want to fork out for a 30 litre tub of paint, but a smaller tin and only paint one wall. This can create a lovely feature to your home and it will make the room look much more modern.

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Plants
If you seem to have a lot of random areas in the home which have no character, you can rectify this instantly by buying a plant. No longer will you have boring corners of the room, you will have a stunning plant blooming and adding life to the space. It can make a massive difference to the dynamic of your home, you’ll be surprised what an impact it can have.

Bursting With Plants, a 1910 Portland Four Square for a Florist and Barista

A Picture Ledge
As with the hanging strips, this makes it much easier for you to have lots of images on display without drilling a load of holes in your wall. You will only need to drill one hole into the wall in order to put your picture ledge up. Once that’s up you can have lots of images on display to brighten up the space!

Keep displays simple
Rather than throwing up every single ornament you own onto your shelves, narrow it down to your favourite items to make a bolder statement. It will make your display look much more tidy and will allow you to show off the items you love the most in your home.

Bunting
Bunting might seem like something you only hang in the streets of a patriotic village, however it can also be a cheap tool to add some vibrancy and life to your home. Pick a bunting for every season and hang it on your fireplace or a prominent place in the home for that instant seasonal touch. It will add colour, character and a stunning feature to your home.

Stylish kids #playroom ideas from blogger Caroline Knapp - House of Harper

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HEALTH FREAK MOMMY