Lava Queen

I think Omurice, or Japanese omelette rice, is pretty well-known and popular in Asian countries. In Japan, Omurice is considered yōshoku (Western food). The rice is usually pan-fried with ketchup and chicken, then wrapped in a thin sheet of egg omelette - blending Western omelette and Japanese fried rice. Traditionally, it’s made exactly like an omelette and the chicken rice is wrapped in the thin sheet of egg.  However, in the recent years, there are places that ditched the thin papery egg for a luscious blanket of soft scrambled eggs on top. Sweet, sour and savory fried rice packed with crispy vegetables makes it a good single plate meal to prepare whenever there's leftover rice :) The omelette and sweet tomato-flavored rice complements each other well :) Ingredients: The main ingredients. 1 cup cooked rice 1 drumstick, deboned and cut into cubes 1 shallot, finely chopped 1 tbsp cubed carrot 1 tbsp fresh corn kernels 1 tbsp cooked edamame beans 1 tbsp ...

Made these orange mini cupcakes for teatime. This has got to be the simplest and quickest recipe ever! All you have to do is dump everything into a blender (or a food processor - I didn't have one), blend, pour and send them into the oven - all within a few minutes! :P You can decorate them with some icing/frosting/cream <I was lazy. Oops, sshhh...>,  or simply add a bit of orange peels for some extra chewy texture like what I did :D  These orange mini cupcakes are so soft, moist and delicious!! Ingredients: (Makes 9 mini muffins) 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 60g unsalted butter, softened 50g brown sugar (Lesser if your orange is very sweet) 1 egg 4 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice, sifted 1 tbsp orange zest Orange peel, thinly sliced (Optional) Preheat oven to 180°C and line a mini muffin tray with paper cups. Put all ingredients ( except orange peel, if you are adding. Stir them in right before pouring the mixture into paper c...

I still have a bit of leftover cranberry sauce sitting in my fridge, staring right back at me (I'm guessing there are others who are just like me, right around this time :P), so I thought of using it to substitute jam and make some buttery thumbprints for snacks today. These Buttery Jam Thumbprints are so tender and delicious! They're also super easy to make and need only a handful of ingredients. These butter thumbprints are tender, melt-in-your-mouth buttery, and filled with yummy homemade cranberry sauce :D They are pretty addictive too! One bite and we were smitten... LO and I ended up eating more than a couple when they were still warm!! Ingredients: (Makes about 20-25 cookies) 100g unsalted butter, softened 3 tbsp icing sugar 3/4 cup + 3 tbsp all purpose flour About 1/4 cup jam of your choice (I used homemade cranberry sauce. You can find the recipe here .) Preheat oven to 160°C and line a baking tray with baking paper. In a bowl, beat butter and i...

TGIF!! Needed to make some snacks for LO's teatime <But mommy's lazy mode is on>, so I chose something really simple and fast: Cinnamon twists! Recently I like to keep some frozen puff pastry in my fridge from time to time. They really come in handy when I need to whip up some snacks like turnovers, puffs or even today's cinnamon twist, at the last minute. I know, to some people, this might not be exactly 'healthy' food for my LO, but hey, it's OK to let loose a lil and let her indulge once in a while, am I right? After all, it's Friday! :P Simple, crispy and yummy! They are quite addictive too :P LO snuck and ate a few when I was taking photos. She kept saying, "Mmmm, crispy" . :D Maybe next time I should make some plain ones, dip in melted chocolate and eat them like Pocky stick snack! Hehe. Ingredients: 2 sheets of 10cm x 9.5cm frozen square puff pastries, thawed 1/2 tbsp butter, melted 1/4 tsp castor sugar A pinch of g...

This morning when I served a whole meal bun with the blueberry jam that I made yesterday as breakfast for my LO, she totally rejected it >.< Though I kept explaining to her that it's made of blueberries (which she likes very much), she simply refused to even try. BUT, I was determined to make her eat it (Just being me, hah!), so... I thought of using it to make some tarts for afternoon teatime :P And, Guess what? She totally dig them!! You can pick other jam flavors, depending on what you like. You can also decorate the top with icing sugar, cut fruits or whatever you like :)  Jam tarts are one of those classic treats that never disappoint. They are cheap to make and are such pretty little treats. This recipe will have you making them in a quick and easy way - totally fuss-free. You can choose to make from scratch for an extra special homemade taste, or buy ready-made pastry. I usually prefer to make just enough to finish at one go or on the same day, but feel free to...

My LO has taken a liking to the song, "Three little kittens" recently. Just this morning, she put a round-shaped toy on  one of the round Tupperware covers and served to me as 'pie'. Lol... As I was thinking what to cook for lunch  (Nothing much left coz been clearing the fridge since we are going outstation tomorrow) , suddenly I remembered the spaghetti 'pie' video that I saw somewhere the other day. Quite an interesting way to serve the spaghetti, I must say. After digging through, I realized I do have enough ingredients to make a simple one. Having decided on that, I asked her, "Do you want a pie for lunch?" and she happily said, "OK" . Throughout the meal, s he kept saying, "Some more pie" and finished the whole thing! :D So, here's my simple spaghetti 'pie': My Spaghetti 'pie' Pasta crust with meat sauce filling :) For this recipe, I used a 120 x 120mm tartlet mold with a removable base. ...

Cookies for teatime (Or breakfast)! These cookies are full of dried fruits, nuts and healthy oats. In texture, they are somewhat chewy with a little extra crunch! They  are also sugar free, dairy free and egg free. For this recipe, I used the pre-packed mixed nuts-fruits which I got for my homemade granola bar recipe. If your LO is allergic to nuts, you can choose to use only raisins or other dried fruit mix. Chewy with a little extra crunch! They're boosted with healthful ingredients. Ingredients: (Makes 9) 3/4 cups quick/steel cut oats 1/2 a large ripe banana, mashed 1/2 cup unsweetened apple puree 1/4 cup mixed nut  + dried fruits, chopped 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp honey Preheat oven to 180°C and line a tray with baking paper. In a large bowl, combine banana, apple puree, cinnamon, honey and the nut-fruit mix. Then add oats and mix til just combined. Scoop tablespoonfuls of mixture on to the prepared baking tray. Flatten a little with the...

There's a good chance granola bars can seriously simplify our lives (Hellooo, it's easy breakfast! :P). The thing is, store-bought bars that look healthy are often loaded with high-fructose corn syrup and lacking in nutrients. As I was browsing through some recipes online and making my grocery list recently, I saw this recipe and realized I had almost everything to make these crunchy granola bars already in my kitchen. Being homemade, I absolutely know what went into them and they’d be a whole lot less expensive than buying them. Double win! These are a great healthy snack packed with oats and nuts. Lightly sweetened with honey and brown sugar, they are crunchy, filling and quite delicious.  These oaty and nutty granola bars are a great alternative to the shop-bought versions. They are quite simple to rustle up too :) The only thing missing in my kitchen was the mixed nuts... Errr, I only had some raisins at home. So, instead of buying separate packs of nuts and d...

They are easy, healthy and worth trying when sweet potatoes are in season. It goes very well with Japanese tea, either matcha or sencha. These Japanese sweet potato cakes are called 'chakin shibori' .  Shibori means wringing and chakin means tea cloth in Japanese. Chakin shibori is a method for forming mashed ingredients in a thin cloth (  Note : I used cling wrap coz I didn't have the tea/muslin cloth). They can be eaten as snacks or as an ideal side dish for bentos. Preparation is simple; steam the sweet potato and mash with sugar, butter, milk and bake. As you can see, the traditional ones uses butter, but I used cheese instead, just for fun :P You can actually eat them straight after unwrapping, or you can choose to bake them if you prefer a slightly crispier texture with added flavor and crunch from toasted sesame seeds, like me :)  Ingredients: (Makes 4) 1 Japanese sweet potato, approx 150g 1/4 tbsp brown sugar 1 tsp shredded cheddar cheese ...

I love potato hash browns... I guess most people do, but sweet potato hash browns? WOW. And it's so easy!! Since this is for my LO's lunch, I made them more filling by adding oats :D  Let me just say  "You're welcome" because these are soooo good! :P If you've never tried sweet potato hash browns, give it a try. I think you'll like them too. The great thing about this recipe is that it's perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  PS: Some people say white potatoes contain anti-nutrients like saponins that can be harmful. Sweet potatoes don't contain those substances, so it's healthier. Oh well. To me, just take everything in moderation.  Pardon the ugly 'hearts'... Guess it was hard without a paring knife -_-" I'm not really good at making food art... I do try from time to time. Was super delighted to see LO's happy face as she pointed and said, "Heart", "Eyes", "Mouth", "Nice" ...

What happens when I'm in a rush, need a quick fix lunch for my LO and have absolutely no idea what to cook? I make frittatas! Not only do they taste good, you can make them at anytime, with just about anything. As long as you have a few vegetables and maybe a little meat, you can have a frittata on the table less than 20 minutes. Pan-fry and flip over the stove top, or stir and bake, it's up to you :)  This classic Italian dish is fast, easy and customizable! Ingredients: 1 large egg 1 tbsp corn kernels 1 tbsp chopped long beans 1 tbsp finely chopped yellow onion 1 tbsp shredded carrot 1 tbsp shredded zucchini, squeeze out the water/liquid  1 1/2 tbsp shredded cheddar cheese Ground black pepper and mixed Italian herbs, for seasoning Olive oil, for panfrying  Sauté the veggies over medium heat for a few minutes to precook them and to remove any excess water.  In a bowl, beat egg only enough to blend the whites and yolks. Add the pre cooke...

Fast and easy recipes are my favorite. These steamed chocolate honey buns take only about 20 mins to whip up; 10 mins to prepare the ingredients (Lesser if you have fast hands!) and 10 mins to steam. Saw this recipe online by another mom but I tweaked it a little and made them chocolate flavored :D I used a mini muffin tray lined with paper cups to hold them for steaming.  If you need something fast for breakfast or teatime, try these. Not too sweet and with a mild hint of coconut aroma :D Ingredients: (Makes 6 mini muffin sized buns) 1/2 cup all purpose flour, minus 1/2 tbsp 1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder  1 tsp baking powder  1 egg 2 tbsp fresh milk 2 tbsp honey 1 tbsp virgin coconut oil  Bring water to boil in a steamer and line the mini muffin tray holes with paper cups.  Mix the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder and baking powder) in a bowl.  In another bowl, whisk egg, milk, honey and coconut oil using a for...

Oops... I did it again, using bread as pie crust! The last time was as tart crust/shells for my simple 4-ingredient 'fake' egg tart (You can find the recipe here ). This recipe is for mommies who need a quick fix for breakfast, brunch or teatime, but are too lazy (like me :P) to make the crust. These mini quiches are easy, satisfying and packed with goodness! You can just change the ingredients based on what you enjoy and what you have on hand.  They are a good finger food too! Light and savory. Ingredients:  (Makes 4) The hidden veggies..hehe 4 slices wholemeal bread 1 egg 1/2 tbsp baby spinach, chopped  1/2 tbsp broccolini, chopped 1 Swiss button mushroom, chopped 1 tsp carrot, shredded 1 tbsp cheddar cheese, grated 1/2 tsp fresh milk Ground black pepper, for seasoning Mixed herbs, for seasoning Preheat oven to 200°C and grease muffin tray cups with olive oil. Flatten the bread slices with a rolling pin. C ut a round shape on each sli...

Good pizza begins with a good crust. Some like it thin, some like it crispy, some like it fluffy and thick. I like mine thin and crispy – my favorite way to eat it.  Homemade pizza crust may sound difficult to most people. Why waste the time when you can buy frozen? But trust me – homemade crust is nothing like store-bought, delivery, or what you order at a restaurant. And homemade pizza means you can top with whatever you like! Making pizza crust is a lot like making regular bread, only quicker and well, flatter. Most recipes call for either instant yeast or active dry yeast. I don't usually bake bread or buns, so I don't buy or keep any yeast at home. I find it kinda annoying to wait for them to rise/rest/proof, even though it isn't a big deal (Yeah, I know I'm impatient >.<). Therefore  I chose to make a crust that doesn't require any yeast at all.  This recipe is great for a quick, easy homemade pizza when the pizza craving hits and there isn't any y...

This recipe is meant for chicken breasts but I've used pork instead. Due to the recent incidents of infectious bronchitis (IB) disease among commercial and domestic chicken reported on news, we try to cut down on this poultry temporarily. Moreover LO is having a bit of cough with phlegm. I know in Western societies, chicken soup is actually a home remedy for colds and flus. However, there is this particular Chinese old wives' tale claiming that  chicken promotes the formation of phlegm/exacerbates coughs, and my mom-in-law (MIL) kept reminding us not to feed her chicken over the phone. My take: If your mom/MIL/grandma tells you to avoid chicken, just do it. While it may not cure your cold, it makes for a peaceful home! Haha.  Orange-marinated pork 'chop', served with blanched baby asparagus, sautéed brown mushrooms with yellow onions and Champ :) Two simple flavors, orange and dark soya sauce, combine to make this dish. Serving the pork 'chop' on a bed...

Our family don't cook or eat pumpkin often. We're not a fan and LO doesn't like it too. It's kinda weird coz she's OK with butternut squash but not pumpkin. To me, they pretty much look the same after cooking and taste pretty similar too. No? I wonder how can she tell the difference... Hmm. Recently my dad brought us one when he came over to visit. His friend planted it and it's 100% organic. Looking at this whole pumpkin sitting on my kitchen counter, I was scratching my head trying to figure out what else can I do with it besides the usual roasting and stir frying. I didn't wanna waste it, so I searched and see if I could use it to bake into something that I've never tried before.  This was originally a cake recipe but I changed it a bit and made into mini muffins instead. The reason was that if it's small, LO would hold and eat it nicely. If it's something bigger like a slice of cake or even normal muffin, she would just eat a few mouths,...