Cuisine & Culture the Chinese Family Way
My husband and I enjoy eating Thai food but I have yet to learn how to cook it from scratch. Normally, I use ready-made packet sauces. Thai food is famous for its balance of sweet, sour, salty and hot flavours. One of my favourite dishes is Tom Yum soup. It is a clear soup base and very spicy! I love the hit of the spiciness.
Both of my children were in full time school today which gave me plenty of time to do my favourite hobby – cooking! One food I always like to cook is roast chicken as it is fairly straightforward. I am so excited that I am able to participate in the Great British Food Fortnight blogger challenge with OXO again. This week, instead of cooking traditional British food, I replaced potatoes with rice. I added the Hainanese sauce that I bought from the Chinese supermarket into the rice and cooked it in a rice cooker.
So while waiting for the chicken to cook, I had used the OXO Good Grips Julienne Peeler with some carrots and stir fried with Chinese leaf and runner beans.
Personally, I have not been to Brazil or tasted Brazilian cuisine before. I was glad that I was sent three jars of Rio Sauces- A Taste of Brazil sauces for review. I always love to try new and different sauces especially from a different continent. I would never say no to trying new foods!
One more week to go before my children go back to school! Have you started thinking about what to pack for their lunch box? Do you find that you always run out of ideas? Munchkin has recently launched a Click Lock Bento Mealtime Set to make lunchtimes fun, fresh and organised. It keeps food separate and fresh so sandwiches, fruit, salad and other items can all be stored neatly and compact in one place. The unique Click Lock lid ensures a secure seal so food is kept fresh with no spills and no mess. It comes in three colours; blue, pink and green and is priced at £7.99. It is BPA-free, microwavable and freezer safe.
I have to admit that cooking for an hour is really a long and painful process but I do love cooking healthy meals for my family. As Mr C works from home, I tend to cook for him too. It is also means I have less time to spend with children. They always know that when I cook, they are allowed to watch television or play computer games. The JUST ADD Squeezy Tubes range consists of squeezy Ginger, Coriander, Basil, Chilli, Garlic and Sun Dried Tomato and is available from ASDA and OCADO.
We have been super active this Summer school holiday. Not only have we been out and about to many fantastic places, we have also come up with activities to do at home including baking! Both my children love to help and bake so it is great spending time with them teaching them a life skill.
Today, our relatives came and Mr K offered to bake a cake for our guests. His lovely aunty helped him along. I won’t bore you with how we bake the cake. It is quite easy to get recipes or pre-mix if you don’t fancy buying your own ingredients. Do take a look at Pyrex Moist Apple Cake for an example of a recipe. The Brick Castle baked this and her cake looks so delicious!
In April, I reviewed Scratch Singaporean Crayfish Laksa and Thai Green Curry. I love these and would recommend them to anyone who are too busy but would still love to cook their own meals. They are much more authentic to Asian foods than any microwave meal. Now they have launched a new recipe: Vietnamese Chicken Ga Kho Gung. Living in Asia for most of my childhood, Asian food is always my first choice of food whenever I cook. I am so glad that I was given this new recipe to try.
Last week we were very busy and went to London for a mini break. While we were there, Anna Marikar (click here to read her event) kindly let me know about a Mr Muscle’s children’s cupcake decoration class. We were fortunate that there was a last minute drop out so we were able to attend!
The Kids Only Cookbook is written by Sue Quinn who is a food writer, journalist and author. She has written several cookery book. This book is aimed at 7 years old and above and published on 1 August 2013 by Quadrille Publishing. The book is hardback containing about 128 pages. It is packed with 50 simple, delicious and fun recipes containing easy-to-follow captions and 300 photos in a unique cartoon-style to inspire children of all ages to get busy in the kitchen.
ilumi is a County Durham food company who has been cooking up nut-, gluten- and milk-free foods for nearly a decade. Their team of chefs and nutritionists combine the allergy-friendly ingredients to create delicious meals. A fellow blogger, Laura CYMFT, kindly offered me a chance to test these beautiful microwave food pouches. ilumi kindly sent me two packets of Yellow Basmati Rice and two packets of Aromatic Thai Red Chicken Curry for us to review.
Recently, I came across HelloFresh through Twitter and they were kind enough to send me a sample box to try out. Inside there are three different recipe cards and with all the ingredients inside the box to cook each meal for two person. These recipes are not the usual meals that I would cook for my family as I usually cook Asian food. So I was extremely happy to learn and cook these new recipes.
Do you know what the benefits of a slow cooker are besides using them for a stew or casserole? They are useful for busy families/professionals who want to come home to a hot pot of food. They save time in cooking and less cleaning from using only one pot. Of course, there are also disadvantages. If you over-cook your food, your vegetables will taste bland and the nutrients will be destroyed.
Fresh Gourmet is the biggest provider of salad toppings, especially croutons, in the US and have brought their delicious products exclusively to UK Tesco stores to inspire us Brits to become more creative with our salads. The range includes three crunchy croutons flavours – Cheese and Garlic, Basil Pesto and Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper – along with Crispy Onions and is ideal for people who like a salad in the summer but need that added texture to jazz up the dish.
Arthur Price Kitchen was first introduced 3 years ago and now they have a wide range of kitchenware. They all are beautifully understated, their minimal design and neutral colouring will suit any contemporary table setting.
Recently, I met Simon Price, the CEO of Arthur Price and had a look at their factory shop. They are a family run company based in Lichfield which is local to me. I asked if I could review their Monsoon Arthur Price 24 Piece Cutlery Set. Monsoon is one of my favourite high street shops and I love their designs. With two big names combining to make a range of cutlery, I could not wait to try them out.
