It was a busy weekend, we got a booth at a roadshow and decided to let the kids have some fun at a indoor playground nearby, in this case, Happy Willow. We went to the branch located at Fusionopolis, right outside the One North mrt station. Convenient, isn't it? The playground is of decent size, and is suitable for children of all ages, particularly from 9 months to 9 years old.

Surveying around the playground, I mentally went through a checklist I have. Soft edges - checked, padded pole and floor - checked, young toddler play area - checked, friendly staff - checked, lounge - checked, coffee - checked. What a cool place it is!

Now let's check it up!

Look at this giant red ball! Can you believe that a boy actually rode on top of this giant ball while the rest of the kids trying to 'shake' him down? I salute him, but too bad I didn't manage to capture that scene in my photo.

The perfect place to train up your next spiderboy / spidergirl.

Balls at the end of the slide!

Climbing up, up, and up, the best way to exhaust kiddos' energy.

Who wants a ride on the cow?

Tired? Have a seat!

They sell snacks and drinks for you to replenish your energy too.

Then you can continue jumping up and down, up and down...

A smaller slide for young kids.

  

This area is just right for the young toddler.

Changing room, the only drawback is that there is no basin provided.

Someone is celebrating birthday today, happy birthday!

Happy Willow One-north
1 Fusionopolis Way
Fusionopolis, Connexis Tower
#B1-06, Singapore 138632

It has been a while since my last post. I took up a course and have been pulling my hair trying to complete the assignments and quizzes. Never would I think that I will have to deal with those horrendous statistic equations again after 8 years graduated from school! Gradient descent, back propogation... my eyes are seeing stars.

So now, I really appreciate those recipe that is quick, easy, and no-fuss. Better still if there is some element of fun imbued in it, so that I can engage the kids in the process.

Happily, I made these cookies. I tried to make some funky shape but somehow this shape is the most popular, and easiest in fact. Simple is better!

Now lets get to work. It is really straight forward, just mix the butter and flour.

And add in the rest of ingredients except chocolate chips.

Roll round and make a indentation at the middle of the cookies.

Now it is time for the kids take over! 

Into oven those cookies go!

Coconut Butter Cookies

Ingredients
A

• 120g butter
• 165g cake flour

B

• 20g dessicated coconut
• 45g icing sugar
• 25g egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

C

• some chocolate chips

Cooking Directions

1. Mix together A until well combined.
2. Add B and mix until just combined.
3. Divide to around 37 portions.
4. Roll round and make a dented mark in the middle, place a chocolate chip on top.
5. Bake at preheated oven at 160C for 20 minutes.

椰子牛油曲奇

配料

A

• 120克牛油
• 165克蛋糕粉

B

• 20克干椰丝
• 45克糖粉
• 25克蛋
• 1茶匙香草精

C

• 巧克力豆

做法

1. A混合在一起，直到结合。
2. 加入B，混合直到刚刚结合。
3. 分成约37份。
4. 每份撮圆，中间用手指压一下，放置一个巧克力豆在上面。
5. 在已预热烘箱中以160℃烘烤20分钟。

I have four egg yolks leftover from making souffle, used up two to make salmon potato patties and was scratching my head how to deal with the remaining two.

 

I wanted something fast, easy, and no mess. Well, this recipe came to the rescue!

Was It easy to make? What can I say, it is almost foolproof! It is a matter of mixing all ingredients together and I seriously can't think of anything that could go wrong.

I made it while the children were asleep, and it was such a joy watching them wake up with that 'wow' look on their face. The cookies looks huge as they pop them in their mouth, but it doesn't seem to bother them at all!

I was making a small batch to try out and I ended up making a second batch on the same day! It vanished so fast from the table and I need to make more for their breakfast. So, remember to make more to avoid disappointment!

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Make 12 cookies

Ingredients

• 125g butter
• 50g brown sugar
• 25g caster sugar
• 150g plain flour
• 15g cocoa powder
• 1/3 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 egg yolks
• 125g semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cooking Directions

1. In a bowl, mix together butter, brown sugar, caster sugar, plain flour, cocoa powder and baking soda until well combined.
2. Add vanilla extract and yolks, mix until just combined.
3. Add in chocolate chips and mix.
4. Divide the dough to 12 pieces, Roll round and slightly flatten.
5. Bake at preheated oven at 180℃ for 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 120℃ and bake another 10 minutes if you prefer crunchy cookies.

双料巧克力曲奇饼
做12个

配料

• 125克牛油
• 50克红糖
• 25克砂糖
• 150克普通面粉
• 15克可可粉
• 1/3茶匙小苏打
• 1/4茶匙香草精
• 2个蛋黄
• 125克半甜巧克力片

做法

1. 在一个碗里，混合在一起牛油，红糖，砂糖，面粉，可可粉和小苏打直到充分结合。
2. 加入香草精和蛋黄，搅拌，直到刚刚结合。
3. 添加巧克力片，混合。
4. 将面团分成12份，滚圆，稍微压扁。
5. 在已预热烘箱中以180℃烘烤20分钟。如果你喜欢饼干脆些，把温度降低热至120℃，再烤10分钟。

We made these cookies last Friday. It was a school holiday in-lieu of Children's Day, the two cookies monsters had nothing to do at home. What is a better way to spend their time than engaging them in cookies making and then let them savour the fruits of their work? Somehow, I noticed that they are more likely to enjoy the food if they are involved in the preparation process.

So I decided to make some simple butter cookies, and allow them to decorate them by piping plum jam on top. 

They were sooo excited! With just simple instruction given, Lynn is already pretty good at it! Initially, I doubted El who is 2 years old could manage it but I soon realised that I had underestimated him. With a little mess, he managed to pipe some of the jam on the cookies too.

These cookies are very easy to make, there is no need of mixer, you can do it with your bare hand. There are only 6 ingredients needed (eggs are not in the picture).

After mixed together the cookie dough, I piped them with my Wilton 1M tip. You can use any of your favorite tip, and pipe into any shape you like.

Use a chopstick (or just use your finger) to make a dented mark in the middle of the cookies.

Lyn is only 4 years old so she used syringe to pipe the jam. The syringe is small and manageable by small hands. You may use a piping bag if you wish.

Tadah! This one was piped by me. After this photo, I relinquished from my duty, sat back and let them finish the job!

That was Lyn at work!

Butter Cookies with Plum Jam

Ingredients

A

• 165g cake flour
• 120g butter

B

• 45g powdered sugar
• 30g egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

C

• 1 tbsp Alce Nero Organic Plum Jam

Cooking Directions

1. In a bowl mix together A until well combined.
2. Add in B and mix till just combined.
3. Fit a piping bag with your favorite tip (I used Wilton 1M) and pipe out shape as desired.
4. With a chopstick (or use your finger), make a dented mark in the middle and squeeze a drop of the jam on top.
5. Bake at preheated oven at 180℃ for 10 minutes and thereafter 120℃for 10 minutes.

梅果酱牛油曲奇

材料

A

• 165克蛋糕粉
• 120克牛油

B

• 45克糖粉
• 30克鸡蛋，打散
• 1茶匙香草精

C

• 1汤匙Alce Nero 有机梅果酱

做法

1. 在一个碗里把蛋糕粉和牛油充分混合在一起。
2. 加入B，混合直到刚刚结合。
3. 装入裱花袋, 放入裱花嘴（我用威尔顿1M），挤出喜爱的形状。
4. 用一根筷子（或用手指），使中间凹陷，然后挤一滴果酱在上面。
5. 在已预热烘箱中以180℃烘烤10分钟，然后120℃烘烤10分钟。

If you have not tried any Alce Nero products before, you now stand a chance to get it for free! I am hosting a Alce Nero & Singapore Home Cooks Giveaway (a collaboration between Alce Nero and Singapore Home Cooks). Stand a chance to WIN a $30 Healthy Gourmet e-voucher, where you can purchase Alce Nero products and a range of organic products online, by completing the 2 simple steps below:

1. Make sure you are a member of Singapore Home Cooks 新加坡家庭美食分享 (a Facebook closed group). If not, join now!
2. Like and Share this post (please share in public so that I can see it! You must be a member of Singapore Home Cooks 新加坡家庭美食分享 first before you can see this post)

This giveaway ends on 15 Oct 11:59pm. One winner will be selected using a random number generator and will be contacted via Facebook Messenger, his/her name will be announced on this blog post and also on my Facebook page on 16 Oct. Healthy Gourmet is a Singapore based online store hence the giveaway is opened to Singapore residents only.

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Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post but the opinions are my own.

It is fridge cleaning time again! I have the tendency to stock up too many ingredients. Now my fridge is so full that I am running the risk of something falling off every time I open the door of the fridge. Mayonnaise, pesto, hot sauce...They are all left with a little at the bottom of the jar, and some are almost at their best-before date!

Glancing through my recipes, something caught my eyes. I had been wanted to try pesto mayonnaise chicken for a while but we are always short of some ingredients. There... here comes the light bulb moment! I just realised that I have all the ingredients now.

Just bake the chicken and coat with the sauce. How simple it is! After had a taste of the chicken, I regretted that I have not make this dish any earlier.

The sauce is creamy and tangy, something easily whet your appetite. Although the baking time took 30 mins but active cooking time is well below 15 mins. This is a real quick and easy dish, no fuss at all! Serve it as tea breaks or as a side dish, that's your choice.

Pesto Mayonnaise Baked Chicken Wings

Ingredients

A

• 250g chicken mid joint wings
• some salt and pepper

B

• 1 heaping tbsp Alce Nero Organic Pesto with Zucchini
• 1 tbsp hot sauce
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• a handful coriander, chopped

Cooking Directions

1. Marinate chicken wings with salt and pepper for 3 hours.
2. Bake chicken wings in preheated oven at 200C for 30 minutes.
3. In a pan mix together ingredients B.
4. Heat up the sauce and toss in chicken wings, stir to coat well.
5. Garnish with chopped coriander.

If you have not tried any Alce Nero products before, you now stand a chance to get it for free! I am hosting a Alce Nero & Singapore Home Cooks Giveaway (a collaboration between Alce Nero and Singapore Home Cooks). Stand a chance to WIN a $30 Healthy Gourmet e-voucher, where you can purchase Alce Nero products and a range of organic products online, by completing the 2 simple steps below:

1. Make sure you are a member of Singapore Home Cooks 新加坡家庭美食分享 (a Facebook closed group). If not, join now!
2. Like and Share this post (please share in public so that I can see it! You must be a member of Singapore Home Cooks 新加坡家庭美食分享 first before you can see this post)

This giveaway ends on 15 Oct 11:59pm. One winner will be selected using a random number generator and will be contacted via Facebook Messenger, his/her name will be announced on this blog post and also on my Facebook page on 16 Oct. Healthy Gourmet is a Singapore based online store hence the giveaway is opened to Singapore residents only.

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Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post but the opinions are my own.

It is almost end of the week again, and it is time to celebrate and pamper ourselves with something special, in preparation for the coming weekend!

All right you got me, I am just finding excuses to make this dish.

We don't always have mussels at home, but it is a dish that I am very much tempted to order every time I see it on the menu. Cooking mussel can require quite some effort, including cleaning, debearding mussels and making the sauce. That being said, lazy mom always finds a way. I used frozen cooked mussel to save time from cleaning and I made use of Alce Nero Organic Tomato Sauce with Chilli for the sauce. Now this dish become as simple as ABC!

Mussels in Spicy Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

A

• 2 tbsp oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped

B

• 1 jar (350g) Alce Nero Tomato Sauce with Chilli
• 5 tbsp white wine
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano

C

• 500g mussel, scrubbed and de-bearded (I frozen one to save time)
• a handful parsley, chopped

Cooking Directions

1. In a pan, heat up oil and stir fry garlic till fragrant.
2. Add in B, bring to boil.
3. Add in C, cook covered for 5 minutes or until the mussels opened
4. Garnish with chopped parsley

辣味番茄酱贻贝

材料

A

• 2大匙油
• 3瓣大蒜，切碎

B

• 1罐（350克）Alce Nero辣椒番茄酱
• 5汤匙白酒
• 1/4茶匙干百里香
• 1/4茶匙干牛至

C

• 500克贻贝，刷洗干净
• 一把香菜，切碎

做法

1. 在一个锅，热油，炒香蒜蓉爆香。
2. 添加B，煮沸。
3. 添加C，盖上盖子煮5分钟或直到贻贝打开
4. 用切碎的香菜装饰

If you have not tried any Alce Nero products before, you now stand a chance to get it for free! I am hosting a Alce Nero & Singapore Home Cooks Giveaway (a collaboration between Alce Nero and Singapore Home Cooks). Stand a chance to WIN a $30 Healthy Gourmet e-voucher, where you can purchase Alce Nero products and a range of organic products online, by completing the 2 simple steps below:

1. Make sure you are a member of Singapore Home Cooks 新加坡家庭美食分享 (a Facebook closed group). If not, join now!
2. Like and Share this post (please share in public so that I can see it! You must be a member of Singapore Home Cooks 新加坡家庭美食分享 first before you can see this post)

This giveaway ends on 15 Oct 11:59pm. One winner will be selected using a random number generator and will be contacted via Facebook Messenger, his/her name will be announced on this blog post and also on my Facebook page on 16 Oct. Healthy Gourmet is a Singapore based online store hence the giveaway is opened to Singapore residents only.

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Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post but the opinions are my own.

Who needs plum sauce if I have Alce Nero organic plum jam? I had been wanted to buy a jar of plum sauce. The problem is, how to finish it?

Plum jam, on the other hand, is rather multipurpose. You can spread it on toast, as well as use it in your cooking. Alce Nero Plum Jam is 25% lower in sugar compared to regular jams, and it has no pectin added. It contain 100g of plum in 100g of jam, how awesome is that? Moreover, it is a product of Italy!

It was already dinner time but I was still busy taking photo of these delicious wings. DG came over scouting, picked up one of the wing and took a bite on it.

Then, he looked around and our conversation went:

DG: Is there any more wings in the kitchen?

Me: Nope, that's all.

DG: What... so little?

Me: ...

DG: That's like one person's portion, I can finish 'em all!

Nom nom nom...

Me: :O (jaw dropped)

Enough story, let's start cooking!

First, marinate the chicken wing with oil, 5-spice powder, garlic powder, salt and black pepper.

Bake 'em at 200℃ for 30 minutes (timing may vary depending on the size of the chicken wings)

'Ding!' Freshly out of the oven.

Mix together oyster sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Alce Nero Organic Wildflower Honey, and Alce Nero Organic Plum Jam.

Bath 'em in the sauce, cook till the sauce thicken, and most importantly, eat 'em before anyone else see it!

Plum Sauce Baked Chicken

Ingredients

A

• 250g / around 13 small chicken mid joint
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/3 tsp 5-spice powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
•  a pinch of salt
•  some black pepper

B

• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1.5 tsp Alce Nero Organic Plum Jam
• 1 tbsp ketchup
• 2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tsp Alce Nero Organic Wildflower honey

Cooking Directions

1. Mix together ingredients A and set aside for at least 3 hours.
2. Bake the mid joint in preheated oven at 200℃ for 30 minutes.
3. In a pot, mix together ingredients B.
4. Add chicken mid joint into ingredients B and cook until the sauce thicken.

李子酱焗鸡

配料

A

• 250克/约13鸡中翅（小）
• 1茶匙油
• 1/3茶匙5五香粉
• 1/4茶匙蒜粉
•  少许盐
•  一些黑胡椒

B

• 1汤匙蚝油
• 1.5茶匙Alce Nero有机梅果酱
• 1汤匙番茄酱
• 2茶匙喼汁
• 1茶匙Alce Nero有机蜂蜜

做法

1. 材料A混合在一起放置最少3个小时。
2. 在已预热的烤箱中以200℃烘烤30分钟。
3. 在一个锅里，把材料B混合在一起。
4. 加入鸡中翅，煮至收汁。

If you have not tried any Alce Nero products before, you now stand a chance to get it for free! I am hosting a Alce Nero & Singapore Home Cooks Giveaway (a collaboration between Alce Nero and Singapore Home Cooks). Stand a chance to WIN a $30 Healthy Gourmet e-voucher, where you can purchase Alce Nero products and a range of organic products online, by completing the 2 simple steps below:

1. Make sure you are a member of Singapore Home Cooks 新加坡家庭美食分享 (a Facebook closed group). If not, join now!
2. Like and Share this post (please share in public so that I can see it! You must be a member of Singapore Home Cooks 新加坡家庭美食分享 first before you can see this post)

This giveaway ends on 15 Oct 11:59pm. One winner will be selected using a random number generator and will be contacted via Facebook Messenger, his/her name will be announced on this blog post and also on my Facebook page on 16 Oct. Healthy Gourmet is a Singapore based online store hence the giveaway is opened to Singapore residents only.

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Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post but the opinions are my own.

What's for breakfast?

It was a hazy morning again, we needed something fast as our guest was heading to the airport in the morning. Ermm... chicken pot pie, fast? Just wait until I go through the preparation steps with you. I bet the longest time taken was chopping  the onion... while wiping off tears of course.

I love this pot pie for 3 reasons - its taste, ease of preparation, and a combination of crunchy and creamy texture. Cutting through the puffy, flaky pastry, dipping it into the creamy filling, savouring the succulent chicken... Oh I am salivating already! So soothing but beware, it's very hot! 

I still have some Alce Nero Organic Pesto with Zucchini leftover from making meatball. A jar of it comes in handy to kick any dishes up a notch. I have no doubt it will make my pot pie shine, and indeed it did! The pesto is made with 65% zucchini, sunflower oil, extra virgin olive oil, parmigiano reggiano cheese, parsley... All ingredients are organic, no junk at all. As most of us already know, organic food is grown naturally and is free from the harmful substances of pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilisers. We all want the best for our family, especially when it comes to eating. We want our food to nourish our body instead of ruining it, therefore I try to choose organic whenever we can afford.

All right, I know you must be hungry now, lets start with the cooking (the puff pastry is not in the picture, I used Borgcraft Puff Pastry)!



Melt butter and saute onion until onion turn translucent.



Add flour and stir to dissolve.

Add chicken, mushroom and mixed vegetables.



Add cream, Alce Nero Organic Pesto with Zucchini, salt and thyme (if using).



Simmer simmer.....

Cut the puff pastry sheet, ladle in pesto chicken mixture into remekins and lay the puff pastry on top as shown in the picture. Now you can send them in to the oven!



This post is made possible by great teams from Alce Nero and Singapore Home Cook.

Pesto Chicken Puff Pot Pie

Ingredients
A

• 80g butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp flour

B

• 1 cup mixed frozen vegetables
• 4 button mushroom, sliced
• 200g boneless chicken thigh, cut into small cubes

C

• 4 tbsp cream
• 3 heaping tbsp Alce Nero Organic Pesto with Zucchini
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme (optional)

D

• 1 puff pastry (9" x 9")

E Egg wash

• 1 egg, beaten

Cooking Directions

1. In a pot, melt butter.
2. Add in onion and saute until translucent, around 5 minutes.
3. Add in flour and stir until dissolved.
4. Add in B and mix.
5. Add in C, bring to boil and let it simmer for around 3 minutes.
6. Fill in to 4 remekins.
7. Cut puff pastry sheet into 4 pieces.
8. Brush egg wash on the rim of remekins and place a piece of puff pastry on top.
9. Poke some holes with fork.
10. Egg wash the puff pastry.
11. Bake in preheated oven at 200C for 15 minutes or until the pastry turn nicely brown.

If you have not tried any Alce Nero products before, you now stand a chance to get it for free! I am hosting a Alce Nero & Singapore Home Cooks Giveaway (a collaboration between Alce Nero and Singapore Home Cooks). Stand a chance to WIN a $30 Healthy Gourmet e-voucher, where you can purchase Alce Nero products and a range of organic products online, by completing the 2 simple steps below:

1. Make sure you are a member of Singapore Home Cooks 新加坡家庭美食分享 (a Facebook closed group). If not, join now!
2. Like and Share this post (please share in public so that I can see it! You must be a member of Singapore Home Cooks 新加坡家庭美食分享 first before you can see this post)

This giveaway ends on 15 Oct 11:59pm. One winner will be selected using a random number generator and will be contacted via Facebook Messenger, his/her name will be announced on this blog post and also on my Facebook page on 16 Oct. Healthy Gourmet is a Singapore based online store hence the giveaway is opened to Singapore residents only.

<>

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post but the opinions are my own.