Apple Pie

I never thought I'll bake my own apple pie. Afterall, they're so readily available in supermarkets, so affordable and so yummy too! Just pop them into the oven as you start dinner and 1 hour later, dessert is ready!



However, my mum bought a bag of 8 apples (that were on the verge of rotting) for $1. I was under pressure to puree them for XX but as he still had a jar in the freezer, I decided to steam 4 apples for him only. I decided I could perhaps try to make an apple pie, if it's not too difficult, since the oven will be heated up for baked potatoes. I hurriedly searched the internet (my favourite source of recipes these days) for an apple pie recipe. There were plenty.



Many recipes also teach you how to make the crust as well but I did not have one important ingredient - shortening. To be honest, I have no idea what that was, plus I was also lazy lah. What I do have are frozen shortcrust pastry and puff pastry. So I took 1 of each out to defrost.



For the apples, I soaked them in some water and lemon juice. Then I mix together:

• 1 cup of sugar,


• 1 tsp of cinnamon powder and


• 2 tbsp of flour.

The recipe also asked for cider vinegar but I don't have that, so I skipped it.

Method:

• Drain the apples and mix the sugar mixture over the apples.



• Line the base of a pyrex baking dish with the short crust pastry and trimmed the edges.



• Put the apples into the dish.



• Before putting on the cover, dollop a few spoons of butter over the apples.



• Seal the pie by pressing the puff pastry onto the short crust pastry with a fork.



• Cover the edge of the pie with aluminium foil. This will prevent the edge from burning as it bakes. Remove the foil about 10 mins before it's done.



• Bake at 200C for 50 - 60 mins.
  

(Place a lined baking tray below the apple pie rack in case the apple bubbles over. However mine didn't.)





The result was a nice and warm, sweet and soft apple dessert. However the crust didn't hold up very well. Not sure if the apples were too little or the crust too soaked by the apples. It collapsed as soon as it was cut and the apple sauce started oozing out.






I had just finished dinner but could not resist having a slice immediately. Neither could my dad. Surprisingly, KK liked it. He liked the apple pies from MacDonalds, but didn't really fancy those baked pie types when I baked those from Sara Lee. However, this time, he actually competed with XX to eat it. That's great!





The omission of the cider vinegar did not seem to affect the taste. I just find it too sweet, so next time, I'll reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup or even 1/2 cup. My mum also commented that the base of the pastry don't seemed too cooked. Perhaps it'll help if I baked it a little first before putting the apples inside. Anyway, not too bad for a first attempt and ridiculously simple too.

Sour Cream Banana Cake

Bananas are not very cheap here in Australia. They are usually priced at $3.99 per kg or more. So when I see bananas at $1.99, I know I have to buy some.



The main reason I'm going bananas over bananas recently is because of XX. This boy is a real 'Cookie Monster'. He loves cookies and biscuits. Over the Chinese New Year period, I have been baking and he has been eating, a lot of cookies. He especially loves Pineapple Cookies, just like me, and can gobble down 4 - 5 every time. As a result, he was experiencing some 'technical difficulties' with his bowel movements. He used to 'go' easily but suddenly one day, he became very reluctant to go to the toilet. He would stain his diapers or pants but yet when we suggested going to the toilet, he would vehemently resist. I remembered one day, he was struggling to get off the toilet bowl and as I struggled to hold him there, I heard a 'thud' sound. We knew, and he knew very well, that he needed to 'go' but for some reason he was so scared to sit on the toilet. I suspected his stools were hard and he probably felt pain every time he passed motion, so that's why he's scared. The problem is, XX is a fussy fruit eater. The only fruits he eats now are apple puree, raisins and bananas. Nothing else.

I gave XX one banana a day but with quite a bunch of bananas, I decided to make a banana cake, at the same time using the left over sour cream in the fridge. This recipe that I randomly choose claimed that this cake doesn't last 5 mins in her family so I decided to give it a go. It turned out to be a winner. The texture is moist and soft and the smell of banana is so fragrant. The kids don't really fancy it but Hubby and my friend gave it the thumbs up. Even after putting in the fridge for a few days, the cake still tasted soft n good. My parents had some when they came and they liked it so I've baked it again this week.

Anyway, I'm happy to report that XX's bowels are back to normal already. The bananas really worked.

Catching Up

My parents arrived 2 Mondays ago and since then, we have been playing catch up. They are busy catching up on the developments of their grandsons, marvelling at how tall KK has become and how many words XX can say. They also now physically experienced for themselves how cold and windy Melbourne can be and how there are all kinds of Chinese groceries readily available here.



In the meantime, I have been catching up on some of my mother's cooking. Already, I have had my fix of cantonese desserts like beancurd barley soup with ginko nuts and sweet potato soup. (Red bean soup is coming up this Friday.) Not to mention my mum's 'famous' fried rice and homemade Lotus root soup.



Grocery shopping here can be a fruitful outing, as we sometimes discover genuine bargains. The savvy 'marketer' in my mother immediately picked out fresh beef, pork and chicken here that cost much less than those in S'pore. The other day, they went to a vegetable and fruit seller and brought back bags of red chilli/peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, apples, potatoes and sweet corn, all at $1/bag. These items were all for 'clearance' as they were either very ripe or does not appear beautiful. We turned the tomatoes into pureed pasta sauce, apples into apple pie and the potatoes, we've still not finished them after 2 meals of baked potatoes and stewed potatoes. Hubby was so delighted to buy back 2 kgs of grapes at $1.99/kg. Another night, we also could not resist buying a big watermelon from Coles at $0.95 per kilo.








I've learnt a new way of cooking eggplant from my mum. I don't normally buy eggplants because I don't know how to cook it. But now I know one way and it's very yummy too! It's a simple, yet complete dish, in that there's meat and veg all-in-one and goes well over plain rice. I love all-in-one dishes! Would like to share this recipe with people who love all-in-one dishes too!






Here are the ingredients:




Eggplant with Pork in Oyster Sauce

• Minced pork (about 200g or less will do)
• Garlic (chopped)
• Onions (chopped)
• Eggplant (sliced)
• Red Pepper/Capsicum (cut into strips or squares)
• Oyster Sauce
• Dark Soya Sauce

Method: (as described by my mum)

• Lightly fry the sliced eggplants and set aside.
• Heat some oil and fry the onions and garlic until fragrant.
• Add in the red pepper and fry for a minute.
• Add in the minced pork and fry till cooked. Add in the eggplant.
• Stir in some water and allow to simmer for a while.
• Add oyster sauce and dark soya sauce to taste.

Voila!

Lessons

School's started for about a month and school work's finally on track. I mean, there's finally story books to read every night, homework and spelling! I know, I need more time to adjust. While Singapore parents will be doing the opposite, complaining of too much homework, tests and stuff, I find the pace here ridiculously slow and relaxed. In the first week, we were kind of surprised that KK never brought home a timetable. Grade 1 is the equivalent of Primary 1 so it's time for serious learning, right? So what are they doing everyday? I pushed Hubby to ask his teacher for a timetable and her reply was she'll "do up one". Huh?



My Singaporean kiasu-ism is not appeased even when KK brought back homework. He's given 1 week to complete it (so long!) and it's so easy. Just a word search puzzle of about 10 new words and copying each new word 3 times in the workbook. Luckily, there's also spelling every week of those new words. For his spelling last week, Hubby has been patiently practising with him and he scored a perfect score during the test.



This year, we decided to start KK on some ECA. One of them is tennis lessons, held in his school during lunch play time. We figured out he'll be running himself silly at the playground anyway, so might as well let him use this time to pick up a sport. The first lesson, we all forgotten about it. The second lesson, Hubby had specifically reminded KK in the morning and also informed his teacher. He's supposed to make his own way to the indoor gym for the lesson but Hubby was still worried he'll forget, so he made his way to the school at 1.30pm. Sure enough, our dear son was running around the playground when he found him. When he came home that day, KK told us that he enjoyed the lesson and looked forward to next week's lesson.



The other thing we started for him and XX is recreational gymnastics. This is another area we want to expose the kids to - one for exercise and the other, as an outlet to exhaust their boundless energy. We can see from the first few lessons that while KK is active, he is not strong. His arm muscles especially needs more training to do those handstands and parallel bar exercises.



XX is even worse. I realised he's not very agile nor brave compared to the other kids. He's slightly pudgy so that makes him more clumsy. He only likes to jump and bounce and refuses to try those crawling, hanging and somersault activities. For XX, gymnastics lessons is also his first exposure to participating in group play. Initially he was shy but I can see that now he's enjoying the song and dance at the beginning and the end of the lesson. It makes my heart smile when I see him trying to follow the actions and sing along. He's also getting used to listening and following instructions from people other than his parents.



Here's a photo of XX in the gym class. Will try to upload a video when I've edited it.







We also started KK on Chinese lessons every Saturday. This enrichment class was unplanned for and only came about when a friend informed us of this Victorian School of Languages offering lessons for only $55 per year! Since the fees were so reasonable and the location not too far away from our place, we signed KK up for additional exposure to the Chinese Language. He's only been to 2 lessons but he now knows the 4 sounds (声调) of Hanyu Pinyin and another Chinese song (三只老虎) besides Happy Birthday. That's a big enough improvement for me....:-)

Visitors

Time rolls by like a roller coaster, some days fast, some days slow. School has started for KK, so it's back to the school-day routine for us: waking him up and trying to get him to school on time; fixing up lunch; picking him up from school; fixing up dinner; dinner; bath; getting them to bed early, with neccesary short trips to the grocer.







What is not too usual over the last two weeks is that, on some days, we have my cousin and her family, here on a two and a half week holiday, staying over at our place. With an additional 2 adults and another toddler, our house became suddenly brimming with activities and sounds, not to mention the constant splatter of toys around the living area. Luckily, XX has been very generous with his toys as he allowed his cousin free access to all his cars, robots and tanks.







There were some fun things we did together: like having outdoor alfresco dining at our backyard, followed by cheesecake, wine and tea under the stars (when the kids were all in bed). Thanks to their quest for gastronomical delights around Melbourne, we visited 'Little Italy' in Lygon Street where we had authentic Italian gelato (durian flavour!!) and pasta. We also discovered a nice Greek cafe at Altona Beach where they served Greek coffee and dessert. Vietnamese food was also on their agenda, so we brought them to Footscray and St. Albans for pho and Vietnamese coffee.




There are other things that we tried at home, like drinking coffee made from a mocha pot, eating Harvati cheese, sliced with a cheese slicer and making guacomole - an avocado based relish. My cousin is a good cook, so when we make dinner at home, I've been learning from her how to turn okara into soy patties and also making fajitas. Personally, I like the concept and taste of fajitas. It's easy to make and a convenient all-in-one meal as there's meat and vegetables wrapped inside the tortilla. Unfortunately, my 2 sons did not like them very much. XX, especially, won't even eat the tortilla skin, so I guess I can't make them again for the time being.

The minced meat, stir-fried capsicum, onions, zucchini, guacomole, sour cream, parmesan cheese and tortillas.

On top of the tortilla.

All wrapped up!

I still made time to do some quilting, my latest hobby, but bread baking and blogging took a back seat. In any case, I found some really nice fresh bread at the supermarkets. And when you go there at about 8pm, the prices are reduced, so there's really no incentive for me to bake recently when I can get a big crusty loaf for as little as 79 cents.

They're leaving today, so I guess life will go back to normal finally. But not for long, cos come next week, I welcome my parents to our humble home in Australia. And I can't wait! I'm harbouring some dreams of catching a movie or two at the cinema and perhaps a romantic dinner with the kids taken care of by their grandparents. But first things first. Time to wash the bedsheets and vacuum the house.

Roller Coaster Weather

The crazy weather in Melbourne continues....

After last week, I thought the worse of the summer heat is over. I was happily enjoying life back to normal again, until Hubby told me it's gonna be 43 degrees again this Saturday! BUT...the good news is, the weather man says the peak temperature will be between 3 to 6pm, afterwhich, the temperature is supposed to fall quickly so the night will be ok.

With the experience of last week, I know it is not worth going outside at all, even to an air-conditioned place. The journey there, getting out and back again into the car, is enough to kill any temporary joy derived from the air-conditioned time spent in the shopping center.

The morning started rather nicely, but once we finished breakfast around 10.30am, the heat started coming in. Beep! On comes the air-conditioner to the rescue and I never left the living room area for more than 5 mins after that. Well, it was a slow and lazy day, with nothing much accomplished.

Today's peak temperature of 46 degrees at 3.04pm broke records of the hottest day ever in Melbourne. The weather report stated that the cool front will reach Melbourne around 6pm and sure enough, 5 mins to 6 o'clock, suddenly there was rain! We couldn't believe it. It was a short shower but it must be God's reward to all the poor plants outside for bearing with the extreme conditions. One minute it was scorching hot and the next, instant relieve. I went out to the garden about 6.05pm and it's not hot anymore! Crazy but amazing!

Simmering Summer

I haven't been blogging the past week, partly because I've been VERY HOT, literally. In fact, I don't want to do anything else, except think about how to keep cool.

The heatwave struck Melbourne last Wednesday and we've been sweltering under maximum temperatures of 38- 43 degrees celcius in the day. We tried to escape to the shopping center but so did everyone else. The air-con inside wasn't particularly strong that day, I think partly due to the crowd and the heat outside. Anyway how long can you window shop? And with no sheltered parking at most places, your car literally turned into an oven sitting under the hot sun.

To make things worse, we discovered the air-con in our car doesn't work well just when we needed it most. We sat like buns in a steamer on the way there (with the windows up) and on the way back (with the windows down), we were roast chicken in a convection fan oven. Thankfully, the air-con is fixed now.

At home, we had our air-conditioner on the whole day and night. Our bedroom was upstairs but unfortunately had no air-conditioner. In addition, upstairs has always been warmer than the ground floor. So in winter, it's a great place to go up to at night but during times like these, a few minutes there would get you perspiring and feeling agitated.

The first stuffy, warm and restless night, we couldn't sleep well at all. XX woke up a few times crying, probably feeling warm. He was already stripped down to his diapers, so we just gave him a wet wipe and some water in a bottle. He finished 2 bottles that night. After that night, we decided to move some mattresses downstairs and spend the night in the living room. The kids slept much better after that.

Going topless, outdoor dining on a warm summer evening

Everyone else who has fans or air-con must have switched them on those nights. All the fans in Big W were sold out. The power consumption was so huge that some power stations couldn't handle the demand and were shut down in many parts of Melbourne. We experienced power outage on Friday evening. Luckily the power came back after about an hour.

The weather has improved alot since and Saturday and Sunday feels like heaven when temperatures came down to about 31 deg.