Babysitting A 6 Week Old

(photo taken using my mobile phone) She looks a lot like mummy here but she usually looks more like daddy

Last Friday, hubby and I offered to babysit our 6 wo (week old) niece tonight while her parents go out for dinner to celebrate their 4th wedding anniversary. It was quite an experience!

Bub just visited the doc that afternoon for her routine check up. Because of that, she lost her usual routine and one feed. Just before my SIL and hubby went out, she breastfed bub. And the story was that bub should fall asleep very quickly after her feed if she has had enough to keep her full. Of course we were also given instructions on how to watch out for her spews, changing nappies, warming up cold breast milk, how she will feel secure, etc.

When SIL left, bub was still awake... and after a while, she cried and wailed real bad. No matter what I did, did not help in settling or pacifying her. And I'd say that I am generally confident and quite good at handling and caring for bubs. It did not scare me but I just wonder how else I can stop a wailing bub. I figured that she could be hungry and true enough, she was eagerly sucking and licking my finger knuckle when I put it in her mouth. we warmed up 30ml of milk and fed her, which she drank up fairly quickly. It seems like she was still hungry and so we gave her another 30ml soon after. But her eyes were still quite wide awake and she was supposed to be sleeping!

Bub soon began her cries after she stared blankly for some time. I knew that she was really tired but surprised that she did not sleep no matter how I carried her, cuddle her, sing to her, etc. I decided to ring her parents up to ask if I should give her more milk. Just as I was on the phone, hubby carried her... and soon after, she somehow fell asleep as I warmed up a 60ml feed for her! Well we thought to let her sleep in hubby's arms until she is soundly asleep before we put her down in her cot. We reckoned she only slept for about 15 minutes at the most and she woke up and began to cry again. I quickly fed her with 60ml milk which she gobbled up in no time. And guess what? She is still awake!

By then, she'd have drank 120ml of milk... but it did not require help to make her drowsy to sleep. All these while, she'll cry and wail and stop for a bit and repeat the cycle again. I thought I will give her another 40ml milk... but it did not quite work. In the last 30 minutes before her parents got home, I was sitting on the nursing chair, singing to her and rocking her (even though I generally do not think children should be rocked too much) to try to settle her cries. I found out that if I pop my finger knuckle into her mouth, she will stop crying and she really sucked and licked it pretty vigorously. I suppose that is why pacifiers or dummies worked and helped to settle babies. That also tells me that she is still hungry but I thought I will wait for her mummy to come home to feed her...

My SIL finally returned home and went to feed her immediately. They must have thought that I was traumatised by the experience but really, I was not. If I knew that she was that hungry, I would have fed her a lot at the beginning. The staggered feeds did not satisfy her as she required a good feed at one go. Maybe that was why she was unsettled throughout the 3 hours. But well, my SIL just fed her to almost a full feed before she left and hence I only gave her some later as a supplement. The fact that she missed a feed earlier in the day probably explains why she was really hungry. Well, at least I know that her parents would have done similar to what and how I have handled her.

The night's experience rendered me tired and my back and arms were aching from all the carrying her. Hubby had a true experience of a crying-non-stop baby. Her wails sound soft but when you are carrying her, her wails can be pretty deafening! This gave us a glimpse of how life will be like when we have our own children. I think we recognised that we will have more arguments and quarrels and being impatient with each other at those stressful moments. Well, at least we know that it will probably happen and gives us a chance to be prepared and talk about it now while we are still sane!

But otherwise, it was a great experience to babysit and we would not mind doing it again :)

Hubby with bub and watching tv at the same time

Cuppa In The Park

Every 2nd and 4th Saturday afternoon, a few of us from church would gather at a nearby park for some sports. Last Saturday, only M, hubby and I turned up. As we were all pretty tired physically (hubby and I did throw a bit of frisbee for 30 mins), we decided to just sit down and have a cuppa.

M cycled to the park and brought his equipment and supplies. We had chips and M boiled some water using his portable fuel/container and we had some instant coffee and tea, which was very welcomed on a cool/cold winter arvo. M just cycled around parts of Hokkaido in Japan and he survived on this method of cooking for 1-2 weeks. The next time, we may have a coffee plunger to make coffee!

The portable burner using gas. We boiled water just like that!

Bird's Nest Cupcakes

Got this recipe off a cupcake recipe book that I borrrowed from the library. All the cakes looked so pretty that I decided to copy some down for my recipe collection. All of them are pretty easy to bake with basic ingredients. The only, perhaps a bit more difficult part, is to decorate them.

The chance came for me to bake some cupcakes for a small celebration of my boss's wife's birthday. They turned quite good. I used light cream instead of mascarpone cheese (which is more expensive) and it worked out well.

This is supposed to make 12 cupcakes but I only managed to get 8 out of it:

115g unsalted butter at room temperature (I used the normal salted ones)

3/4 cup sugar (you could use less if you prefer)

2 eggs

3/4 cup self-raising flour

1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

3 tbsp milk

To decorate:

100ml thickened cream (I chose to use the light version. You may choose something that has sufficient amount of fat that you are able to whip it. The label on the bottle should say if you can whip it or not)

50g icing sugar, sifted

1 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted

Chocolate Flakes

Sugar-coated chocolate eggs

Beat butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Sift the cocoa powder and flour (sometimes I don't bother sifting :p) into the mixture and fold them in with the milk.

Spoon mixture into the cupcake moulds lined with paper cases. Bake for 18 mins at a preheated oven of 180C or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow them to cool before you decorate.

Put cream, sugar, cocoa powder in a bowl and beat it until it is smooth and well combined. Spread the prepared frosting onto the cakes. Break the chocolate flakes into shards resembling twigs and arrange them on top of the frosting to create a bird nest look. Finish off with a couple of chocolate eggs in each nest.

This was how it was supposed to look like :p I think I did not achieve the 'frosting' look because I used cream. But its alright.... the chocolate cream really tastes yummy!

Eat Chillies If You Feel Under The Weather

Source of Article: The truth about chilli

Curious about chilli? Here are four things you might not know about this native South American fruit:

1. Chilli sits alongside capsicum, potato, eggplant, tomato and tobacco in the solanaceae or “nightshade” family.
2. One gene differentiates the sweet capsicum from chilli. It is a chemical called capsaicin which is responsible for the sensation of heat.
3. Christopher Columbus introduced chilli to Europe in the 15th century. His physician wrote of chillis’ medicinal effects in 1494.
4. Chilli is eaten daily by one third of the world’s population.

Chilli – A ‘Miracle’ Spice
Although chilli is packed with vitamin C, fibre, potassium and some B group vitamins it is eaten in such small quantities that its overall nutritional contribution is usually minor.

But researchers believe the capsaicin in chillis could be of enormous medicinal benefit.

Capsaicin is thought to:
1. Stave off colds. The capsaicin opens the nasal passages, easing congestion.
2. Increase the metabolic rate, helping burn calories.
3. Reduce cholesterol and fight high blood pressure.
4. Assist sound sleep. Capsaicin is thought to influence brain receptors which control sleep cycles.
5. Relieve arthritis pain when applied via topical cream.
6. Possibly kill cancer cells. Scientists are currently investigating.

Capsaicin is responsible for stimulating the sensors on the tongue which detect heat and pain, tricking the brain into thinking the tongue is on fire!

How Hot?
The hottest part of a chilli is the flesh around the seeds as well as the seeds themselves. The flesh has the greatest concentration of the chemical capsaicin.

There are hundreds of different types of chillis – with varying colours, shapes, sizes, flavours and heat intensities.

The American chemist Wilbur Scoville devised a test for rating the hotness of chillis in 1912. His test – now referred to as the Scoville scale – measures the capsaicin content in different chilli varieties. See the Scoville scale on Wikipedia.

Some of the chillis grown in Australia include bells, birdseye, cayenne, habanero, horn and jalapeno.

What to do when chilli is too hot!
Drink milk, not water. Water will rinse the chilli itself away but will leave capsaicin hooked on nerve endings. However the casein in milk (and other dairy products) will strip the capsaicin from the tongue. That is why hot spicy dishes are often served with yoghurt or sour cream.

How to store chilli at home
Chillis placed in an airtight container should last a few weeks in the fridge or several months in the freezer. Alternatively chilli can be preserved in vinegar and stored in the pantry (away from sunlight) for a couple of years.

Making Coffee

Thanks to wikipedia, I now understand the difference between a coffeemaker, a coffee percolator and an electric drip brew... and the one that I have at home is known as an "electric drop brew", which is commonly known as a coffeemaker.

Yummy Chicken Wings

There are many ways to marinate chicken wings. My cousin G made some grilled chicken wings some years ago and I asked her for the recipe.

I have made this a number of times... and recently made this again last weekend at my BIL's surprise birthday party and people really liked it. This was also popular with children even though there is chilli powder. It is not spicy at all! Here is the recipe:

About 1 kg chicken wings

1 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp light soya sauce

1 cup ketchup/tomato sauce

2 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp honey

2 tbsp garlic powder or 2 finely chopped garlic cloves

1 tbsp dried parsley

1 tbsp chilli powder

Marinate the chicken wings with all other ingredients for a few hours (for best results, leave it to marinate overnight). Grill them at 180-200C until they are cooked! (I think it takes about 20 mins? I have never timed them :p)

Interesting Solutions to Insomnia

TV show Food Investigators revealed some very interesting ways to fall asleep if you cannot sleep at night. I have never heard of it before and hence surprised!

You would have commonly heard of taking sleeping pills, counting sheep, drinking a glass of milk, etc. But really, one of the best solution is to have a (1) turkey sandwich with lettuce. You see, turkey contains tryptophan, an amino acid which releases seratonin into the brain. Seratonin is a neurotransmitter which relaxes you and induces sleep. Carbohydrates in the bread help this process along. Lettuce contains lactucarium which has a sedative effect.

In addition, you may have (2) milk and honey to accompany your turket sandwich. Milk contains tryptophan, glucose in honey reduces orexin, a neurotransmitter connected to alertness. If you are a tea lover, then (3) herbal tea would be another great sedative. Valerian root has been used as a medicinal herb as a remedy for insomnia and found in many herbal teas.

If all of that is too much trouble for you, the easiest would be to eat a (4) banana. Banana contains melatonin which regulates sleep cycles.

With these healthy, non-medicinal remedies, may you sleep as soundly as me!

Sewing An Apron

I was thinking and searching the web on ideas of gifts that I can sew, not too difficult ones and able to give them away to my friends who are getting married in SG. My intention is to get a friend who is visiting me in Oz to bring back for my friends...

The idea of making a pair of aprons came about! CS likes to cook and I think S also can cook. To top it off, an Aussie cooking magazine Gourmet will suit them just nice :) If I succeed, probably will make another pair for a good friend P who was married a year ago :p But since they will be moving into their own place soon, a pair of aprons (to encourage them to cook) and an Aussie magazine of homestyle 'ang mo' (westernized) cooking would be great!

See my inspiration and sewing plans here and here. Now, I have to make sure my ideas are able to be accomplished tasks ;)

My ABC Nieces

I now have 3 nieces - A, B and C. No kidding, their names begin with those letters. A is d/o (daugther of) my SIL G and B and C (in the photos above) are d/o my SIL W.

The 2yo (year old) B can be rather talkative now and interaction with her is really fun and makes my day. 6mo (month old) C is getting very heavy and catching up with her sister B. She is smiling a lot now and would listen to you as you talk to her.

A is turning 1mo tomorrow! More photos of her next time.

I wonder if the next child's name in the family will be a "D", then an "E", etc... then again, maybe not "D" nor "E" since there are already 2 Ds and an E in the family. The next in order should be a someone's name starting with "F" :p

Food That I Really Missed - Bak Kwa

Bak kwa - a barbequed flat piece of minced pork is one thing that I miss most... This is one food that cannot be brought across the Australian customs. I will not miss it when I go back to Singapore, even though I normally do not eat bak kwa other than the Chinese New Year season.

This tasty sweet piece of meat is very popular in Singapore and Hong Kong. Some would stand in long queues to buy the best ones before CNY. My SIL tried making some a few weeks ago with this Lily Ng's recipe. The taste was somewhat there but the texture is not perfect. Anyhow I was happy to taste something close to it :)

Bak kwa is great to be eaten on its own. Other popular ways of eating - putting a slice in between 2 slices of bread or cut it up into shreds and put them into fried rice. Yum! I prefer to eat them on its own :p

Whilst hubby had some hours at Singapore airport in transit to come back to Brissy, I asked him to buy a couple of pieces and eat them on my behalf.... I hope he remembered to do that!

Convenient Chicken in a Bag

(This was originally posted in April but I only have a photo of it now (finally!)) A few friends have raved about it since I have shared this recipe with them - easy, great tasting and tender chicken!


Chicken in a bag? I really mean, oven bag. Saw this on BHAG and thought that it looked really easy. I have done this 2-3 times but never got around to taking a single photo of it! Will try to do so the next time....

(video is available)

1.5kg whole chicken
1 tsp chilli flakes (I used chilli powder instead)
1 tbsp Chinese 5-spice powder
salt and pepper
1x6cm piece ginger, finely sliced
4 shallots, white part finely sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
Large Glad oven bag

1) Preheat oven to 200C. Dust chicken with chilli, 5-spice powder, salt and pepper. Put ginger and shallot in the cavity of the chicken.

2) Put chicken in oven bag. Add soy sauce and chicken stock. Tie bag and put in roasting tray. Pierce a single hole with a knife and bake for about 1 hour (or 15 mins more).

This chicken goes through a roasting and steaming process in the oven (I used a turbo broiler). The liquid in the bag allows some steaming and the hole through the bag will allow for steam to get out. You may want to remove the visible chicken fat before you begin. Otherwise the fat will be cooked and will go into making a really oily gravy in the bag. Hubby and I highly recommend this recipe for its ease to cook, minimal preparation and great tasting and tender juicy roasted chicken! Yum!!

C In Her Booties

This is 7-month-old C in the booties that I knitted for her :) Doesn't she looks good in it? She is so adorable!

The Radical Christian

2 years ago, I blogged about Christians dating non-Christians. Most of my friends (mostly girls) who are dating non-Christians continue to date them. Some became Christians, some did not, some end up marrying the non-Christian. In all of these, my friends really struggled, some have struggled and some are still struggling...

Recently one of my friends, MSIC decided to move out of the place that she was living with her non-Christian boyfriend. MSIC has been dating him for 5 years. She decided to move out because she realise that it is not the right thing to do - to live with her boyfriend before they were married. MSIC has only been a Christian in the recent 1-2 years. MSIC eventually really did move out and their relationship took a turn for the worst. After a short period of time, they really ended the relationship.

MSIC was really heartbroken and is still coping with the loss of the relationship and singleness. But she knew that in God's eyes, moving out was the right thing to do and she wanted to obey and please God. For a fairly new Christian, I am surprised and very encouraged to see her seeking to please God and in her life, demonstrated that God is most important, more important than her 5-year boyfriend whom she was prepared to marry. I did not expect her to break up with her non-Christian boyfriend when she became a Christian. I don't think it is the right thing to do as well. It is different to the cases I know where the Christian decided to date a non-Christian, even though they have the full knowledge that they should not be. I am not unsympathetic to struggles of being single and being tempted to consider dating a non-Christian. I have gone through those struggles personally in the recent years until I met hubby. Nevertheless it cannot be an excuse to give in to temptation and date a non-Christian and hoping that he/she will one day become a Christian.

I pray that MSIC's ex-boyfriend will one day, be able to see and understand MSIC's decision and her testimony of loving Jesus over him (She and his family have been praying and trying to share the gospel with him for the past year or so). May he be curious enough one day, to find out the captivating reasons for MSIC to love this Jesus more than him. I can, only but praise God and the Holy Spirit for working in and through MSIC. She has really shown great Christian maturity and growth and I am privileged to be part of her continuing growth at this period of time. I thank God for allowing me to personally witness Him transforming one of His child. It is a great privilege.

I pray that MSIC will grow in her understanding of God's Word and learning more of how to live a life that is worthy of the gospel and that one day (God-willing), she will marry a godly and mature man who pledge to love her just as Christ loves her.

Read article on unequally yoked relationships.

Postscript: Related article to read - "Myths about living together".

Used Car For Sale!

It has been a month since we put up our Holden Astra for sale. Last Friday, our first genuine enquirer came to see and test drive the car. We were so happy as we have been praying about it. The unsold car is a financial burden for us and we really hope to sell it at the soonest.

That enquirer brought his girlfriend to come have a second look yesterday. The car was for his girlfriend as she will be getting her driver's license soon. After looking at about 10 cars, the couple has shortlisted our Astra and a same-aged Mazda 323. So our Astra was the best amongst the 2-3 Astras that they have seen. But at the end of the day, the girlfriend decided on the Mazda, just simply because she like the look of the 323 than the Astra. Although they agree the features and the make of our Astra is better, she still prefered the 323 because of its look. We were quite disappointed as we really came close to the deal.

The couple was really quite nice about it. They said that they were really happy with our Astra and they suggested that we keep the $11,000 that we list it for and not lower the price (which got me quite surprised). They also reckoned that I was "lovely and honest so it was a shame to not get it from me". I don't think they were trying to be nice about it. They were sincere, genuine and nice-to-chat-with couple. Really a pity that we did not make the deal...

We accept this to be God's will. We are thankful for at least 1 genuine enquirer/buyer. Hopefully I was a good testimony of Jesus to them (I believe they are not Christians). We will continue to pray... and trust that God will provide the right buyer at the right time... and hopefully it will be real soon!

If you know someone who might be interested, please refer them to our car ad. Here is how a Mazda 323 look like - is it really nicer than the Astra?

味道 (Translated as "Smell/Scent")

今天晚上的星星很少 不知道它们跑那去了

赤裸裸的天空星星多寂寮
我以为伤心刻子很少 我以为我能过得很好
谁知道一想你 思念苦无药 无处可逃

想念你的笑 想念你的外套
想念你白色袜子 和你身上的味道
我想念你的吻 和手指淡淡煙草味道
记憶中曾被愛的味道

今天晚上的心事很少 不知道这样算好不好
赤裸裸的寂寞朝著心头绕

As I miss hubby who has been out of town for the past 4 days (and 6 more to go), this old chinese song came to my mind... (Disclaimer: not every word in the song is totally representative of my thoughts).

Sewing Project #9 - Hot Water Bottle Cover

It is generally not that cold in Brisbane. But there are the occasional days that is very cold and days that you wish you have something warm/hot to hug/placed by your side to keep you warm... or sometimes a warm pack is needed to keep your aching tummy warm and comfy. That's where a hot water bottle will come in handy.

Big W was selling hot water bottles for $3.98. Got it a month ago and have not used it. Now that hubby is overseas, it is extra cold when I try to sleep at night. I figure that I could use a hot water bottle to keep me warm. But wait! I need a cover too, which will protect me from direct heat and it feels nicer to have a warm flannelette material next to you than some rubber (material of the bottle). Instead of buying a cover to go with it, why not sew my own? Best of all, I could use one of those scrap cloths that remained from previous sewing projects.

There it is - my simple hot wat bottle cover, with an elastic band, all done in about 30 minutes!

My Double Chocolate Orange Cointreau Cake

This taste nicer than it looks!

Tried one of masterchef's chocolate orange souffle and it tasted really rich and good! (I forgot to take photos of it). This time, I thought I will use my chocolate cake recipe and adapt it to add orange zest, more chocolate and Cointreau liquour. The combination of chocolate and orange works really well and the extra Cointreau gave it more depth to the cake.

Here is the recipe for those who wants to try it!

185g butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup self raising flour, sieved
1/4 cup plain flour, sieved
1/4 cup cocoa powder, sieved

1 tsp baking powder
zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup (or more if you like) of dark chocolate chips
About 1 tbsp of Cointreau (more if you like. If you want to add more, then add less milk)
About 80ml of milk (or enough to acheive the cake batter consistency. You do not want it to be too watery)

1) Place butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat/Whisk to combine, until you get a creamy smooth consistency. (Tip: if your butter just came out of the fridge or it does not soften in room temperature during winter, pop it into a microwaveable bowl and heat it up in the microwave. Be careful not to heat it for too long because you do not want it to melt but just soft enough so that it will be easy to beat)

2) Add the eggs one at a time and whisk to combine. Add orange zest and Cointreau and fold to combine.

3) Fold in the flours, baking soda and cocoa powder, alternating it with milk. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips.

4) Place your batter into appropriate cake tins as you wish. I used muffin and mini-muffin sizes. at 180C, the baking time depends on your size of cake tin. The muffin-sized took 15-20 mins and the mini-muffins took about 10 mins. Other cake tins would take 30-45 mins, depending on your oven. The cake will be cooked when the skewer comes out clean when you poke it in the centre.

Chocolate Cointreau icing (optional)

1 cup icing sugar, sieved (but sometimes I am lazy to sieve)

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1-2 tsp Cointreau

1 tsp water (optional)

Into a bowl of icing sugar and cocoa powder, add 1-2 tsp of Cointreau. Stir until it combines well, making sure that there is no lumps. If it is too dry or too viscious, add 1 tsp of water and stir again. Spread the icing on top of the cooled cake.

Enjoy!

Gary's Date & Lemon Scones

I have tried making scones about 2-3 times but they seem to fail on me each time. Masterchef's judge and chef Gary demonstrated his date and lemon scones during one of the masterclass. Seeing how easy it was for him to make, I figure that I will give myself another chance at making scones.

This time, I succeeded! The recipe is available here or watch the masterclass demo here:

H1N1 Tally Update

The H1N1 flu is a widespread pandemic now.

According to Wikipedia, there are 5,298 cases of H1n1 in Australia, of which 857 cases are in Queensland. Queensland is a big state and Brisbane is the city of the state. Supposing most of the cases are concentrated in or near Brisbane, there are still lesser cases of H1N1 infection in Brisbane as compared with the 1,055 cases in Singapore (to date).

Just in case anyone in Singapore is hesitating to visit Brisbane/Gold Coast for holidays, consider that there are more infection in SG than in Brissy. It is less crowded in many places in Brissy than SG, hence decreasing the chances of infection. So don't let this stop you from visiting! :)

Cash Coverters

We have quite a bit of junk at home - things that we were given but we never found a use for, things that we have used and now no longer needed, things that we possibly bought and don't use... all these things are gathering dust at home. We sort things out every now and then and would put them up for sale or giveaway on Scoodi or hubby's office's classified ads.

Since some of the items have been lying around for some time, we thought we are better off if we just get rid of some of them via Cash Converters. CC buys things that you no longer need and sell them off at their 2nd hand retail store. You could also pawn (I think the aussies don't use the word 'pawn' here) your belongings for temporary cash and redeem them at a later time within a certain time frame, otherwise the items would be sold.

Yesterday I sold 6 items to them but only got $16 for them all. But I guess it was better than them gathering dust at home!

Goodness of Brazilian Nuts

Have been watching "Food Investigators" on the SBS channel. This program investigates the truth about food and educates its viewers on the truths of some popular myths behind food that we know. It also enlightens viewers of the nutrition in foods that we commonly know. A doctor, a food sciencist and 2 nutritionists investigate and presents to us, the truth about food.

I now know that I need not fret that I am not getting sufficient nutrition from caged eggs as compared with organic eggs or others. In terms of nutrition, they are not very different as many of the chickens now are fed with feed that are high in omega-3 fatty acids, etc in which the eggs that they produced are packed and labelled as "packed with omega-3". The only reason that we as consumers probably would consider eating free-range eggs or organic eggs is because the chickens that laid them were raised in a more humane condition than caged chickens. Caged eggs are cheaper and I cannot justify eating free-range eggs that are priced 2 times more, simply because we cannot afford it. You can read more about it. More articles are also available on their website.

Back to Brazilian nuts... I don't think I have tried them before, nor thought much about it. During one of the FI episodes, I learnt that they are high in selenium, a strong antioxidants and is high in dietary fibre and packed with Vitamin E. Just eating 2 a day, we will be obtaining sufficient vitamins to have beautiful hair and nails. On reading further, I also learnt that they contain high amounts of unsaturated fats which is 'healthy' when ingested in moderate amounts. It contains magnesium and zinc which aids the release of energy from foods to assist nerve and muscle function and strengthens the immune system. Vitamin E also helps in preventing heart disease.

A nut, jam packed with so much goodness. What more are you waiting for? Go grab some for yourselves! I just bought a pack of 500g for $9 at Woolies today!