Skip to main content

HOMEMADE PASTA SAUCES


I introduced baby pastas to my LO when she was 8 months old. It's versatile, easy to cook and loaded with carbohydrate, which is essential for energy and growth. But instead of serving it with ready made sauces from supermarkets, I prefer homemade ones - healthier with no added sugar/salt, and definitely without preservatives/coloring. Here are 3 that my LO enjoys eating:

1. Butternut squash + Tomato Pasta Sauce

  • 100g butternut squash, peeled and chopped
  • Unsalted butter, for frying
  • 2 medium sized tomatoes, skinned & quartered
  • Some cheddar cheese, grated
  • Some onion, chopped
  1. Steam butternut squash until tender.
  2. Melt the butter in saucepan, saute onion and tomatoes until mushy. Add butternut squash. May add a little bit of water.
  3. Cover with lid and simmer until all ingredients become soft and mixed well.
  4. Stir in cheese until melted, then blend it.


Baby pasta with pork, cauliflower and butternut squash + tomato pasta sauce

2. Creamy oat 


  • 1/3 cup of oat (rolled or quick oat)
  • 1/2 cup of milk
  • 3/4 cup of stock, or any soup base
  • 3 pcs of fresh button mushrooms, diced
  • Olive oil, for frying

  1. Soak oat in milk for 5 minutes.
  2. Pan-fry mushrooms with a little bit of oil for about 5 minutes, add in the soaked oat with milk, turn fire to low and cook for around 3-5 minutes. 
  3. Pour the stock in and let it simmer for 3-5 minutes, til as thick as you want. 

Baby pasta with minced pork and creamy oat pasta sauce

3. Sweetcorn + Sweet potato Pasta Sauce


  • 20g sweetcorn niblets
  • 125g sweet potato, chopped
  • Some cheddar cheese, grated 
  • 50g cauliflower
  • 180ml whole milk

  1. Heat milk and sweet potato in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
  2. Add small florets of cauliflower and cook for another 10 mins.
  3. Add sweet corn and cook for 5 more minutes.
  4. Stir in cheese until melted, then blend it.

Baby pasta with pan-fried salmon and sweetcorn + sweet potato pasta sauce
*All extra sauces are freezable for up to a week.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

YACON SOUP WITH CORN AND CARROT

Was shopping at the usual supermarket recently when I saw a lady promoting something which, from far, looked like sweet potatoes to me. I didn't pay attention to her til she called out to me and handed me a piece to sample. She was promoting organic yacons, not sweet potato. The moment I put it into my mouth, I remembered eating this looong time ago, but because I seldom see it in the supermarkets, I had totally forgotten about such a thing.  The yacon is a traditionally grown for its crisp, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots. Though the root looks like a   sweet potato, the taste and texture are completely different. Its crispy texture, juiciness and mildly sweet taste makes it somewhat similar to water chestnut or snow pear. It can be eaten raw or cook. It is said that yacon  is very high in fiber and low in calories which makes it a healthy and nutritious snack.   Some of the health benefits of yacon include its ability to regulate blood sugar levels, lower 'bad'  choles
Post a Comment
Read more

CHINESE ARROWROOT SOUP WITH PORK BONES

This is the simple version of the Chinese arrowroot soup (Also known as 粉葛湯 'Fun Kot Tong' in Cantonese). Our family love drinking this soup. It is tasty and cooking it with pork bones and dried squid makes it sweet and refreshing. Some people who like boiling arrowroot together with lotus roots or peanuts, and my mother-in-law usually boils it on its own and drink as 'cooling' tea. Naturally sweet and tasty. If you don't like seafood, you can choose to omit the dried squid. This is how the Chinese arrowroot looks like.  The arrowroot is a type of root plant similar to taro, potato or tapioca. However, it is harder in texture and incredibly starchy. When it is cut up, it has patterns that looks like the ages of a tree trunk. It is usually made into powder and used as thicken agent in cooking. The arrowroot is high in protein and fiber which is very beneficial to our body. Ingredients: 1 medium-sized Chinese arrowroot (Approx 700g) 10 red dates,
Post a Comment
Read more

LEAN'S @ ATRIA SHOPPING GALLERY

Tong sui are a Cantonese specialty. If you've grown up in a Cantonese family, you must have had tong sui before. The term 'tong sui' literally means 'sugar water'. It is a collective term for any sweet, warm soup or custard served as a dessert at the end of a meal in Cantonese cuisine. My dad is a huge fan of tong sui : red bean soup, peanut soup, barley ginkgo and black sesame soup being his favorite. I'm not really a tong sui person but I remember seeing this Lean's place in Atria that sells a variety of desserts, including tong sui , nyonya kuihs and light meals, so I brought my dad there to try when my parents came over. It was afternoon teatime when we arrived. We were feeling a little hungry, so we ordered 2 nasi lemak bungkus, a cucur udang, steam cakes for my LO, black sesame cream, barley ginkgo and bubur cha cha. Nasi Lemak bungkus (RM3.70). Cucur udang (RM3). Pandan and vanilla steam cake (RM1.50 each). Nasi lemak is a famous lo
Post a Comment
Read more