Lava Queen

This is more like a dessert than a soup. It is nourishing and can enhance beauty. Bird's nest nourishes lungs, purifies the blood, enhances skin, beauty and qi. This dessert is also suitable for those suffering from chronic cough and weak lungs as rock sugar can help to nourish the throat and lungs, stop cough and expel phlegm.  Beautiful skin is skin that is well nourished, literally! :D Note: You can substitute bird's nest with white/snow fungus, which is known as 'bird's nest for the poor', especially if you have fibroids as it is said that the nutrients in bird's nest might enlarge the fibroids. This dessert is suitable for breastfeeding mothers too as it is effective in promoting the secretion of breast milk. Ingredients: 3 maces (Approx 11.3g) bird's nest Approx 150g papaya 1/2 cup fresh milk Adequate rock sugar (Depending on how sweet you like) 1 cup boiling water Soak bird's nest til soft, clean thoroughly and set aside. Pe...

American ginseng is cool in nature and tastes bittersweet.  I usually like double boiling it with chicken and sometimes with added cordyceps militaris/ chong cao hua.  It can help to enhance Qi, nourish the body,  boost the immune system  and clear heat from the body. I simply love the bittersweet taste from the American ginseng :) This soup is warm and nourishing. It is good for the skin (white fungus) and respiratory system (Dried tangerine peel), and it can also prevent constipation (Papaya). Ingredients: 5 maces (Approx 18.9g) American ginseng slices 5 maces (Approx 18.9g) white fungus 1 green papaya 10 dried figs 1 pc dried tangerine peel Approx 300g lean meat 2500ml water Soak dried tangerine peel til soft. Scrape off the internal white pith. Soak and rinse white fungus for a few times til fully expanded. Rinse and set aside. Scald lean meat in boiling water for 5 mins. Rinse and set aside. Peel papaya, remove seeds and cut into pieces....

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...

Ahh~ A jar of fresh jam... Use as filling for sponge cakes, enjoy it with scones, spooning it into yogurt or on top of ice cream, and, of course, spreading it onto morning toast! One might ask, "Why bother making my own jam when it can be easily bought in stores?"  Well, in general, jams  require pectin (It’s what causes jam and ­jelly to gel),  use a LOT of sugar, and have reasonably long cooking times to thicken and set. The truth is, m aking jam is much easier than what we can imagine.  What I like most is, it lets me control the level of sweetness in the final product (A fruit jam should taste like real fruit, not sugar). For this easy peasy recipe, you simply need 4 ingredients, and t he entire process, from combining the ingredients to spooning the cooked jam into a jar, takes less than 1/2 an hour!   This recipe uses chia seeds to give it that sticky, jammy texture. When chia seed is exposed to liquid, it creates a gel - much like pectin does in...

One may not be familiar with the name monk fruit, but I'm sure most have heard of Buddha fruit (It was first used by Buddhist monks in the 13th century, hence the fruit’s unusual name), or  luo han guo ( Luo Han means monk and Guo means fruit). This fruit has been used for thousands of years as both a medicinal remedy for a variety of diseases and a useful food additive, namely as an artificial sweetener - its extract is 150 to 200 times sweeter than sugar with no impact on blood sugar levels, and contains zero calories. Some of the most important health benefits of monk fruit include its ability to treat diabetes, help with weight loss, prevent allergies, prevent certain types of cancer (It's packed with antioxidants), stop coughs and clear phlegm. Fresh monk fruit doesn't store well, so it is usually dried and used to make medicinal teas.  However, not everyone is a fan of monk fruit’s fruity taste, and that includes my hubby and I :P....

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. ...

This soup is full of natural nourishing ingredients that works to expel heat and balance our intake. It also contains a few ingredients that can help boost metabolism and enhance beauty:  White fungus contains plant gelatin, proteins and vitamins. It clears heat, moisturizers the lungs and body.   It also increases the metabolism of cells, in the process whitening and moisturizing the skin. Job's tear is effective in whitening skin, expelling heat, promoting metabolism and has diuretic effect to help lose weight.  Chinese mushroom tastes sweet, benefits the liver and kidney, improves stomach, boost brain power, enhances beauty, reduces high cholesterol level and high blood pressure.   It is said that this soup is suitable for weak stomach and intestine, slimming, reducing blood fat and expelling of heat from the body.  It's naturally sweet and it is nourishing for the skin at the same time :D Ginkgo nuts are a traditional food item in the oriental cuisi...