A day of fun

The weather these days is really not suitable for swimming. It's been raining every night and will usually last through the mornings. Like this morning for example. It had rained late last night all through the night and even till lunch time today. We had planned for an afternoon of swimming fun with the godparents and their brood. Had even made princess promise that she won't swim if it rained, but lucky for the kids, the rain cleared by 1-2pm so by the time we met up, had a little coffee and cake, it was lovely, and the sun was not out. Hurray! I know some people on the other side of the world to ours would say, what? Hurray to no sun?? But believe me, when you live here all your life, you won't like the sun so much. And this time of the year is really the greatest as the weather is not crazily hot but rather a lovely cool. I love it as it reminds me that Christmas is fast approaching and it's my favourite time of year so there's much to look forward to.

After the big swim, we went over to Novena to have the famous Chongqing Steamboat. I don't have any pictures of it, but it was lovely. We requested for 2 kinds of stock. One was the clear chicken one which was stewed with red dates and gou qi (red wolfberries - I'm not sure if that is the correct name for it, but they are good for the eyesight), and the second stock was the very spicy mala one. Hubby was brave enough to try it but declared it ultra spicy. I tried a little of it too, but as I am still recovering from my sore throat, didn't want to irritate the throat too much. It is nice, not on its own but if you alternate between the two stocks, it is ok.

After dinner, we proceeded to the HK cafe next door and had some desserts and drinks. I guess the blogging bug hasn't come back to me yet, so not in the mood to take any photos. But soon, I shall be 100% well and back to proper blogging again. ;)

Watch out for my post tomorrow ;) It'll be more fun than today's, I promise. Hehe!

And oops, Al n K, thanks for the meal and desserts!

Dragon Fruit

I received this in my email and thought I'd share it. Dragon fruit is one of my girl's favourite fruit, but then, all fruits are her favourite as well. Haha. She can have fruit salads for her meals.

Unknown findings.. just for sharing

Also known as the Dragon Fruit, the Pitaya is a stunningly beautiful fruit with an intense colour and shape, magnificent flowers and a delicious taste. The fruit, apart from being refreshing and tasty, contains a lot of water and minerals with many different nutritious ingredients.

It tastes light sweet and it's good for liver, laxative, supplementing fiber
and very suitable for diet.

Besides, dragon fruit is also good for person who has a high blood pressure. According to popular experience, an obese person who eats dragon fruit regularly can reduce his/her weight naturally and have a beautiful balanced body but it does not influence his/her health. Moreover, eating this fruit can stop and reduce diabetes. Hence, dragon fruit is a favourite fruit of many people especially Asian customers.

Benefits of eating the Dragon Fruit

1. Enhance the body metabolism (Protein)
2. Improve digestion (Fiber)
3. Reduce Fat (Fiber)
4. Improve memory (Carotene)
5. Maintain the health of the eyes (Carotene)
6. Strengthen bones and teeth development (Calcium)
7. Tissue development (Phosphorus)
8. Help to metabolize carbohydrates and produce energy (Vitamin B1)
9. Improve appetite (Vitamin B2)
10. Moisturize and smoothen skin and decrease bad cholesterol level (Vitamin B3)
11. Improves the immune system and promotes healing of cuts and bruises (Vitamin C)

USEFUL TIPS:

How to Select and Store
They should be full-coloured and free of mouldy spots.
Dragon Fruit should be refrigerated, unwashed, for up to 5 days. Serve chilled.


Recipe Of The Month:


Dragon Fruit Pizza

Ingredients needed :

1 package of ready to use pre-prepared sugar cookie dough
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 dragon fruit, peeled and sliced
3 kiwi, peeled and sliced
1 cup strawberries, hulled and cut in half
1/4 cup apricot glaze

Directions
Roll out cookie dough into a 12 inch round.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
Allow to cool completely.
Meanwhile, prepare fruit by washing and slicing it into 1/4 inch slices.
Cream together the cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon juice.
When the crust is cool, top with the cream cheese mixture.
Lay fruit in a circle on top of the cream cheese mixture.
Spread apricot glaze over fruit.
Chill until ready to serve.

The SEO tag

I don't know if anyone received a message from a Michael Martinez who said we shouldn't continue the SEO tag? The message says that 'these blog spams are not good for anyone and that the person who started this has already been penalized by Google and so have other blogs that picked it up These spam posts are Not good SEO theory'. So in order not to jeopardize the fate of my blog, I have removed it.

Lunch and snacks

Am so lazy today. Just heated up some remainder sauce from last night's dinner and made lunch for little one. Used the little Hello Kitty-shaped pasta from Japan. Have finished the packet. It wasn't a big packet anyway. Hehe. One packet is enough to make only 2 servings for my pasta-crazed girl. Also, didn't bother with icing mini cuppies properly, just a little blob enough to make flowers and mushroom stay. Haha.

Had a little browse around after church yesterday when I got off the bus to go collect princess from grandma's office. Ended up with the above goodies. The pocky caught my eye as I was first captivated by the packaging. Then noticed that it is mango-flavoured. Hmm... double the attraction. I love mangoes. And I just had to get a box to try. Got the little strawberry-flavoured yan yan in kids' size. And also a packet of Japanese cake with red bean filling.

Tried the pocky today. It's very good, and a little different from the normal pocky. It's got a thicker layer of coating and does taste a little mousse-y.

This is the red bean paste cake. Actually I only liked the cake as I find the filling a little too sweet for my taste. ;)

All Souls' Day

"All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven"

Today being All Souls' Day, I would like to remember my Ah Kong, Ah Ma, and Philip (a wonderful man I've not had the honour of knowing, but was a wonderful husband, father, son, and a good friend to many).

"Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the lamp because dawn has come." Death is not the end of a journey but the beginning of a new one. Even long after our loved ones have departed for their heavenly abode, we continue to feel their presence and their reassuring hands on our shoulders."

Some updates

Picked little one up halfway through school yesterday to attend a puppet show at the Asian Civilisations Museum. It was organized by her previous play school and grandpa being friends with the owner's husband, got free invites to the show. They were delighted to see her as the last time they saw her was when she left the school at age 3 and she's grown a whole lot since then.

It was quite a nice little performance with 5-6 actors and the kids enjoyed it. Little Princess thought it was too short. She asked for more, but when told it was over, she wasn't too pleased, and said she didn't like it. Hahaha. Well, if you didn't like it, why ask for more?

It was also such a coincidence that the nursery class kids from her school were at the earlier show, but she was very shy and did not want to go say 'hi' to the teachers.

Baked these cupcakes this morning to use as test cuppies. Want to practise icing on them.


I had to attend the lunchtime mass at the Cathedral today so dropped princess over to grandma's office which is very near there. Was a good idea as I had arrived at 1.15pm sharp when the mass started and there was only standing space at the entrance to the church. Can't imagine if she had been with me, with no seats. So having picked up some stuff yesterday, to make sushi for her today, I initially planned to get mum to take her to lunch, but since I had a little time left to prepare them, I didn't want to disappoint her.

Erm.. . ok, initially meant to make little futomakis for her but no time so just made something simple. Actually, I had already cut everything into strips but just not enough time to assemble them. :P


So off to grandma's office with her little bento lunch. Didn't make those tamago maki. They were bought yesterday at Japanese mart.

All Saints' Day

THE EIGHT BEATITUDES OF JESUS

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Gospel of Matthew 5:3-10