Thanksgiving and the afterthoughts

Thursday, Nov, 27 was Thanksgiving holiday by which most Americans reunite with their family members for a sumptuous dinner, usually with roast turkeys and other goodies. However, I seem to feel that thanksgiving this year is touched by a wee sense of melancholy and sadness, especially with the gloomy economic forecast and the tragic news of terrorist attacks in Mumbai. I was saddened by the fact that a fellow Singaporean was a casualty of the mindless and cruel terrorism on the same day.

Despite these, on the same day, I was busy in the kitchen preparing food for a potluck dinner with a fellow SG family. There were roast chicken with garlic and lemon, apple crumble, poached carrots in chicken stock, herbal chicken soup, grilled asparagus and baked corn while my fellow friend, A brought along fried bee hoon and potato croquettes. We did indeed have a good time together in the evening, savouring all the delicacies and letting our little ones play together. Initially, I was pretty worried that Ry will be a little tyrant at home and refuse to share his toys with E. But, I was surprised at how gracious little Ry was as a host. He was willing to share his toys and did not kick up a fuss at all. Probably, it was because daddy was at home the whole afternoon and they already had a great time together, which thus explained Ry's good mood.

Ry and E playing with the toys after the dinner.

The days following Thanksgiving are usually filled with the much anticipation for the year end Christmas and New Year celebration. Back in SG, I was usually not caught up in any of these festive spirits and was usually unaware of the days and events leading up to the finale. However, after being here in US when one is always bombarded with advertisements and news of Christmas shopping plus the warm up effect of Thanksgiving holiday and the crazy Black Friday sale, I definitely feel more immersed in the whole festive season. Also, the cold weather and the possibility of a White Christmas definitely adds to the feel.

Ry's winter suit-up whenever we are outdoor which usually keeps him warm and cosy in the sub zero temperature now, especially after Thanksgiving when we are expecting the snow soon.

In about 2 weeks time, we will be in New York to experience the whole Christmas season and this would be one of my last long haul travels before I have to retreat at home to await the birth of Br. Probably, we would be going to a farm stay in New Hampshire during the New Year period as an alternative to skiing.

As year 2008 coming to a close, it also signifies the new challenges for me in year 2009 with 2 little boisterous boys and the reality and challenges of our whole family moving back to SG. It also signifies the little time left for me to enjoy my life here as a SAHM in US and the time that I can wholeheartedly spend with Ry. As K has been constantly reminding me not to become too comfortable in my life here, the reality has finally sink in for me to make me think that I need to attune my mindset to the coming challenges as a working mum next year around the same time.

Toilet Training our Little One!

Ever since Ry hits the 18th mth old mark, K has been badgering me to start toilet training for Ry. But I've kept procrastinating ever since and had been giving reasons like, "it's hard for me to do so when I keep bringing him out" or "he won't poop if we start disturbing him during his business" etc. Basically, it is just me not feeling confident enough to start so and not seeing the need upon seeing so many other mums comfortable with their babies wearing diapers even when they are 2 yrs old, although I understand from books that it is okay to start toilet training from 18 mths old.

But a rare chance came last Friday when Ry was doing his big business. As usual, he likes to stand still while doing it and when he's done, he would run off to the changing room to get his diaper changed when I asked him, "do u want to change?". So when I removed his diaper and saw that he had not pooped but still have the urge of doing it, I quickly seized the opportunity and brought him to the toilet and put on the new child toilet seat that we have bought for months, while hastily removing the plastic cover and hoping Ry won't pooped on the floor. And guess what, Ry successfully pooped in the toilet! I was so happy and allowed him to flush the toilet himself. He was so proud and so happy to be able to flush the toilet as he has always been fascinated by the lever ever since he understands its function.

For the next 2 days, I was trying to hope to catch him in his big business action so that we can redo the toilet training thing again but he did not go, much to the disappointment of daddy who wants to catch him in action too! However, this morning, Ry successfully did his big business again in the toilet!

I would have never guess that being parents can make one so proud of such a small, little unattractive and embarrassing issue of the little one pooping! Regardless, I'm still elated that Ry managed to do it twice in a row and I guess I would be toilet training him for peeing soon in the next month or so, I hope! And daddy would be so happy that he won't have to spend that much of money buying diapers!

Marketing, Cooking and Ground Beef Casserole

Usually once a week, I will take a 20 minutes drive to Super 88 - a Chinese supermarket in Allston and the next door Shaws supermarket to top up some vegetables and meat. K and I still have very much the Chinese palette, so we can't survive only on the ang moh vegetables like squash, brocolli and cauliflower. I still need my leafy vegetables like Xiao Bai Cai and Cai Xin. But ever since I found that Market Basket in Somerville (about 10 mins away) is so much cheaper in meat and other staples, I have been going there to stock up my freezer with meat once a fortnight.

It was about 3 weeks since I went to Market Basket. So, on Monday, my freezer was almost empty except left 2 packs of chicken thigh meat and ground beef. Since we had chicken for lunch and I do not like to cook the same thing for dinner too. I decided to do something with my ground beef, which I usually reserve for cooking pasta. Thank goodness, there is thing called Internet!

Being a SAHM in US really makes me appreciate the Internet, which I have been scounging around people's food blogs and recipe sites. It is really my lifesaver here and helps me out when I'm running out of ideas to cook. K has now been constantly praising my cooking and my baking efforts :> At least, it makes me feel worthwhile to make sumptuous meals for the family and honing my culinary skills here.

I googled around and found the beef casserole recipe, which seemed easy enough to make and allowed me to use up the remaining potatoes too. To complement this one pot dish already with meat and veg, I decided to fry eggs too. This is also to make sure that Ry has something to eat if he doesn't like the casserole and eggs never fail. Fortunately, Ry loves it and he finished his whole portion. K and I also had Hainanese Chicken Rice made with the ready Prima Deli sauce to go with the dish and it went surprisingly well! Yummy!

The following recipe has been slightly modified as I want to incoporate some spinach and I do not have shredded cheddar cheese, so used 2 slices of American cheese and grated parmesan cheese instead.

Ground Beef Casserole

Ingredients:

1/2 pounds of lean ground beef

1/4 cup of chopped onions

1-2 potatoes peeled, sliced (depending on size of potatoes)

6 mini carrots, shredded

1/4 cup of baby spinach

1/2 can cream of mushroom soup

2 slices of American cheese (cut into strips)

grated parmesan cheese

salt and ground black pepper

1/2 tsp canola oil

Steps:

1. Heat the oil in the skillet and the brown ground beef in a skillet with chopped onions until the onions are tender
2. Transfer ground beef and onion to casserole dish.
3. Add a layer of sliced raw potatoes and sprinkle them with a dash of salt and pepper. (Not too much salt as the canned mushroom soup is quite salty itself. I also added some dried parsley flakes too)
4. Cover the potatoes with the shredded carrots.
5. Top the carrot layer with baby spinach.
6. Pour the canned soup over the spinach.
7. Bake at 350 F for 40 - 50 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
8. Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
   

Children Museum, 9 Nov

Ry is almost fully recovered from his dreadful cold by Sun although he still has remnants of the cough, which is part and parcel of winter life here. The good news is that he got back part of his appetite on Sat. It was such a relief for me, meaning that there is no more awful food struggles, although now he has learned now how to reject food. But at least he's eating! Hurray!

So we decided to proceed with our plan to the Children Museum despite the fact that K and I were coming down with a cold. We met up with another SG family who just arrived in Boston three weeks ago at Hei La Moon restaurant in Chinatown to have dim sum brunch before making our way to the museum. V and A have 2 beautiful girls aged 5 years old and 21 months old respectively. It was so neglectful of me to forget to take a picture of them. Will remember to do it the next time we meet.

The children museum consists of 3 storeys with different theme rooms but for our young one, it is only the toddler playroom that can hold his interest most. Also, it is probably the safest place by which he would not be knocked down by other older and excited kids. On the whole, it is a nice little museum that allows us to spend a day indoors in the cold day. Probably, I'll go back with Ry on Friday nights, which has a flat rate of $1 admission during the coming winter months so that he can spend some time playing in the indoor playroom and I can do some marketing at the Chinatown supermarket after that as well. In addition, on that Sunday itself, there was a literacy campaign and exhibition going on so I was going around the stalls and happily collecting freebies like book, playdohs and mask for Ry. Yah, I know this so typical of the "yao-gui" Singaporean mentality as K will say.

Ry can now climb the stairs, crawl through tunnels and coming down the slide all by himself and he enjoys all these physical challenges. I'm definitely bringing him to indoor playhouse so that he can engage himself when playing outdoor is not an option anymore in the coming winter months.



One of Ry's favourite activity in the playroom is to climb into the car and pretend to drive, which he also makes a cute "bo bo" sound when he press the horn.


The water room has plastic aprons for kids to put on so that they do not get wet and all the water in it is warm!

This is just me posing to pull Ry up using the pulley system. It was daddy who did all the job of hoisting our little one high up!

Halloween!

Last thursday, we went to the library for a Halloween party. I was dressed as a frog. The costume was borrowed from Uncle M.

This is the backview of my costume! We were there really early! As usual, daddy and mommy are always so kiasu!

See, I was right in front of the performance put up by the librarians. I think I see a witch, a rabbit and a giant squid or is it an octopus?

Mommy and me having a good time during the sing and dance session while daddy is busy with taking beautiful photos of me!

This bumble bee is my good friend and we always have play dates together. Although most of the time, I always get "bullied" by him but because I'm younger and smaller and got a "bully me" face as daddy and mommy always say.

Mommy is Sorry!

Ry had a cold from last Saturday to the early part of this week so it has been a pretty tiring week for me. I have been dealing with his throw-ups, runny nose and phlegmy coughs - all part of a mum's job. On Sunday, his cold seemed to be at its worst when we brought him over to our Chinese neighbour's apt for dinner, an invitation that has been extended many times so that we did not want to postpone it further. He was fussy and kept crying and refused to have any food. It was a pretty embarrassing situation as we just simply wolfed down the sumptuous meal that our neighbours cooked and sort of glossed over their questions and their attempts of any conversations and left the place asap so as to pacify Ry. I don't think I remembered what I ate during the dinner.

When we were back home and Ry is finally put to sleep after a dose of Tylenol, K then commented how fortunate are we as Ry's parents. This was a comment made partly because Ry has always been an easy child. We usually do not run into the usual toddler problems like not eating his food or throwing tantrums when we are having dinner or out doing our shopping. Ry usually eats most of the things I feed him and even when he doesn't like the food that we are eating in restaurants, he will be contented with his Cheerios and be able to sit through the dinner with us, making very little fuss. We have seen how some other parents are unable to eat their dinner or shop with their little one. And therefore, this is the first time that we had to rush through a dinner.

K's comments were made a bit too early though. Ry has become a little tyrant these past few days. He refused to touch any of the food I gave him and insisted on his beloved Cheerios. Hmmm. ... sound like one of my friend's daughter. I tried to starve him and refused to give him Cheerios so that he would eat the proper lunch and dinner but in the end, it always ended with cries and finally give-ups from me. Not only that, I guess I was really tired of feeding him, seeing him pushing away all his food and throwing away all the efforts that I put into preparing him a special meal that I finally gave in and scolded him and punished him yesterday. It was really painful and pitiful to see him crying. Although I hugged him afterwards and promised myself that I would not flare up at him again, I guessed the stress and frustration took over me again today during lunch that I did it again. So here I am, saying "I'm sorry!" to Ry for my inability to control my temper and not having greater patience.

K and I strive really hard to be good and loving parents but when I reflected on our actions these few days, I think we also tend to be really strict and authoritarian. So after a short discussion this afternoon, we decided not to be too harsh on Ry and we both agree that he has been a really good boy afterall, despite his recent tantrums. Maybe, as a 20 mth old boy, he has progressed into the terrible two phase.

Recent food success!

It's been almost a week since my last update. We have not been going anywhere except to a dinner hosted by K's new colleague, M last Sunday. Before dinner, we took a walk around the Mt Auburn Cemetry near their place which has a tower that enabled us to have a paranomic view of Boston. The weather was awesome that day despite the rainy forecast and it was the last of the warmer Fall weekend. This week has been definitely colder with temperatures below 10 deg C and Ry and I have both developed a slight cold.

Still looking fresh before we took the 90 steps climb up the tower!

View of the Boston and Cambridge skyline from the tower. Look at the beautiful colours of fall!

The scenery at the pond is so picturesque!

M has a 3 mth old baby boy who weighs as heavy as Ry now. Imagine how big he is! It was told to us that he had his daddy's genes and M was a giant baby himself. We had a nice cosy dinner at his place with baked trout (caught by M himself), baked pork chops and some side vegetables. I brought along fried bee hoon as M wanted to try some SG cuisine and apple crumble for dessert. The apple crumble was made according to Dan's recipe from Video Jug, http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-apple-crumble. Fortunately, I baked it successfully upon my first try, so did not lose face as worried by K on our way there!

Look at how chubby are his arms and ankles!

Other food accomplishments recently included my new recipe of garlicky ginger stir fried chicken with chilli, cupcakes, banana muffins with walnut toppings, oyako don and japanese curry rice with chicken cutlet. Yep, I have diversified my cooking to include Japanese cuisines as it is so easy for us to get the ingredients and condiments from the Jap supermarket here. And thanks to my friend, A, who has lent me this wonderful recipe book of japanese cuisines which has easy to follow recipes.

Banana muffins that I baked yesterday! Recipe is from http://www.catcancook.com/awesome-banana-muffin-recipe/

Here is the recipe of my Garlicky ginger stir fried chicken with chilli. This is made so that I can used up the chilli padi that I bought.

Ingredients:

2 - 3 pcs of boneless, skinless chicken thigh meat

5 pcs of chilli padi, chopped

1 tsp of minced garlic

1 tsp of minced ginger

Marinade:

1/2 tbs Chinese cooking wine

1 tbs light soya sauce

1 - 1.5 tbs cornflour

Seasonings

1/2 tbs chinese cooking wine

1/2 tbs oyster sauce

1 tbs light soya sauce

1/2 tbs dark soya sauce

4 tbs water

Steps:

1. Marinade the chicken for at least 30 minutes

2. Stir fry the minced ginger and minced garlic in oil until aromatic

3. Add the chicken and stir fry till almost cooked.

4. Add in the seasonings and cook until the sauce thickened.