Weekends & holidays | Hip to be Mom

Chicken feet in the nick of time

Posted by Clairity Comments Off

Mar 122012

So here we are. In hibernation mode and really happy about it. We didn’t budge this entire weekend except for a quick trip to grab some Thai food. Cravings are cravings. You can either do something about it quick, or you can spend all night tossing and turning with wild images of trying to outrun ‘em chicken feet . No Thai meal is complete without these 3 orders.

Chicken Feet Salad – note that harmless-looking red chilly right there that’s going to send you straight through the roof but the crunch of the chicken feet is worth the pain!

Seafood Tomyam Soup in a flaming pot with tons of that same birds-eye chilli and guaranteed to set your mouth and tongue on fire!

Even the unspicy Chicken in screwpine leaves comes with a little saucer of chilly sauce.

And that was our very laid-back weekend. Nowhere to go. No inclination to go anywhere. Just hanging out at home sweet home!

Just a regular Friday afternoon

Posted by Clairity Comments Off

Mar 032012

Our weekends start on Fridays. Or at least that’s how we all plan it. Skye finishes school early on Fridays, I ~~refuse to~~ don’t work on Fridays and Raine takes great pains to ensure she has few, or no classes at all on Fridays. Can you almost tell we are a family that lives for the weekends?

As you might’ve guessed from the numerous sushi pictures I’ve posted on this blog, we’re really big on Japanese food. Many a Friday afternoon see us hanging out over sushi rolls…

… and bentos.

Midway through lunch, we heard deafening claps of thunder and knew there must be a major storm happening outside. Thankfully my bookworms stumbled upon a small book sale at the center court and I found an air-conditioning vent that was blasting out the most wonderfully cold air.

Obviously our kind of mall. How could I resist parking myself right in front of an air-con vent to flip through some books at leisure?!

Storms can be a good thing. We spent a good half hour hanging out. Most of the books were somewhat old but still, Raine ended up with 2 books and high hopes of finding another book sale to spend her pocket money on.

So that’s a regular Friday for us. It’s a much-needed break from staring at the computer screen and “just one more vlc free download before we go, Mom”.

Let’s face it, we can’t all have that supermodel body shape but we sure could get some help with swimsuits that camouflage those flaws.

Marrakesh Side Tie Surplice Swimsuit by Longitude (Plus Size)

The V-neckline of the Marrakesh Side Tie Surplice Swimsuit not only accentuates the bust but features a Powernet tummy lining that smooths and flattens that tummy area. The side tie surplice visually slims your torso and the print visually slims your waist.

Darling Mesh Triple Tier Swimsuit by Longitude (Plus Size)

The Darling Mesh Triple Tier Swimsuit features a soft scoop neckline with triple tier that will minimize your bust while the triple tier mesh ruffles slims your tummy.

Black N White Spliced Swimsuit by Delta Burke

The soft scoop neckline of the Black N White Spliced Swimsuit offers bust support. The engineered print visually slims your waist and the Powernet tummy lining smooths and holds your tummy in.

Yup, it’s all good as you step out on the beach or the pool. Now go check out how you can save 15% off plus free shipping on all orders over $75 simply by using the code 15FREE. Offer ends March 4, 2012.

Bread story

Posted by Clairity 5 Responses »

Feb 212012

Like I always say, my kids are my biggest inspiration when it comes to cooking and baking. Okay, let me back it up a little here. I was never a kitchen person. Growing up, I rarely ever ventured beyond the kitchen door. But when I had kids, it all changed. I found myself trying to cook or bake whatever they liked to eat.

I’ve never had any cooking or baking lessons, never felt inclined to spend the money. Just trial and error, and winging it most of the time. When my kids in their pre-teen years went berserk over sausage rolls, we spent a small fortune going to that bakery near our house to feed our bread frenzy.

My cinnamon rolls

Bread making was uncharted territory for me. I didn’t even think I wanted to try it after seeing how the bread my aunt used to make could knock a person’s brains clear out of their heads if they ever got hit by one of her rolls. Bread making sounded deadly!!

My apple cinnamon braid

If my aunt, the so-called “celebrity chef of the family”, couldn’t do it, what were the chances that my bread would even be edible? Then again, it’s not as if parenting is without its risks, right? So I ventured to make my first batch of sausage rolls. Worst case scenario, I would build myself a nice little rock garden with my rolls .

Our daily bread

Making bread takes patience and calm. No electronic breadmakers for me. My unlovely SIL gave us a loaf to show off what her new breadmaker could do. Oh sure, leave the loaf overnight and tomorrow you could stone someone to death with it. My kids hated the rock-hard bread. So that was it, forget the breadmaker!

Let’s get down and dirty. Work up some elbow grease. I dare say bread tastes better with that secret ingredient – Mom’s perspiration.

My bread rolls, so soft and yummy

What is one food that you love to eat and learnt to cook, or wish you could cook?

We’ve been trying to eat healthier. Little by little. Whenever we can manage it. I won’t pretend it’s easy because a busy lifestyle like ours isn’t exactly cut out for that. With the convenience of eating out comes high sodium, high sugar, high fat and not so ideal methods of food preparation. But we’re trying and we’ve been pretty good with it so far.

We had Japanese (again!) last weekend and I ordered this scrumptious salmon doused in lemon juice and smothered with wasabi. Just ignore me, I’m raving about wasabi again .

Our home bakery comes alive every weekend. Me and the girls are in there with sleeves rolled up, hair tied back and elbow-deep in bread dough, kneading and rolling. No bread maker. It’s back to basics, the old-fashioned way. If our high metabolic rates won’t allow us to go without carbs, we’ll just have to pile on the wheat, nuts and fruit.

We are recent converts to oatmeal. We (yes, me included) have always balked at the word. But since we chomped down like 100 granola bars in the space of our 1-month winter vacation in Cali last year, I figured that was a darned good start right there. Now I make my own granola bars, so I can control the sugar.

My two salad haters are now salad lovers. So more greens it is. If time permits, I even make my own dressing.

There’s a ton of new (to us) foods that we’ve recently added to our list, like pumpkins and pomegranates. Are you trying to eat healthier? What changes are you making to your diet? What new foods are you trying?

Past, present, future aren’t the only tenses in the English language. What can you do with 3 tenses seriously?
A loaf of bread for 35 bucks. Wouldn’t've believed it if I hadn’t see it with my own eyes. Is it made of gold powder?
Pixie haircuts are for those with flawless bone structures and facial features. Like Emma Watson .
Badminton and soccer are for girls. Bring on the Super Bowl!
Fascinated by Sweet Serendipity. Whenever I hear it in the car, I recognize it instantly. Don’t know the guy but love the video and the song. So upbeat, so good for the soul.