A Skippy Breakfast

So, how many of you skip breakfast even though we know it's important? *me!* The usual "no time", "nothing to eat", "not hungry" excuses. I am glad to say that I have not passed this habit of skipping breakfast to my children. They do eat, at least drink a glass of milk.

Do you know that eating breakfast will lead to better behaviour in kids? Not hungry = happy kids :) They get higher test scores as they can concentrate better in class with a filled tummy. And this next info will interest us mummies, eating breakfast can help in weight control by regulating caloric intake! We won't get hungry till lunch time - means less snacking. Makes sense!

But there's no time in the morning! Those of you with kids in the morning session, I hear you! Try preparing a handy and easy to eat breakfast to let your child eat along the way. Plan ahead and prepare ingredients the night before and assemble in the morning.

It's always sandwiches! The child groans, even I groan. It's BORING! So avoid repetition. Be creative by preparing different cuisines. It can be asian porridge, a continental breakfast of scrambled eggs and baked beans, roti prata, a slice of banana cake, cereal or oats etc. Some kids find it hard to swallow in the morning, in this case, you can prepare a nutritious beverage such as a fruit smoothie or milk shake.

Ok ok so you have a fussy child. Here are some helpful tips:
1. Set a good example, you eat too!
2. Make sure the food is tasty.
3. Children thrive on routine, serve them their favourite meal a few times a week with some variations.
4. Do not bribe your child, you will run out of ideas and money LOL :D
5. Instead, find a substitute for food your child doesn't like eg. muffin instead of bread.
6. Kids are attracted to colours, offer a variety of food with different colours.
7. Keep offering new foods even if they reject them at first.
8. Keep eating fun by involving the children in food preparation.

Now the last tip really worked on my sons. My younger boy Dylan, who doesn't eat peanut butter at all on it's own, chomped down a couple of these delicious peanut butter cookies which we baked together over the weekend!

Some interesting facts on peanut butter...it is not butter and neither does it contain any! It is actually a spread made from roasted peanuts. Peanut butters are at least 90% peanuts and does not contain any additives such as artificial preservatives. It takes 850 peanuts to make 500g of peanut butter! Peanut butter is an excellent source of protein and dietary fibre, containing healthful unsaturated fats and other vitamins and minerals. One tablespoon of peanut butter = 30g meat protein! Kids need protein for normal growth and development, building and repairing of tissues. So wow! I didn't know all that about peanut butter! I thought it was just a few peanuts mixed with loads of butter! How enlightening :) So peanut butter is good for you and an easy breakfast choice, spread over a slice of wholemeal bread or you can try the two recipes I am sharing with you below.

No more excuses, do try to start your child's day (and yours) with a nutritious breakfast, don't skip it! Have a Skippy breakfast instead :p Here are two peanut butter recipes to start you off. One is the peanut butter cookie *yum yum* and the other is a peanut butter milk shake *double yum*! Enjoy!

This is an extra step I did, to roll the cookie dough in some cinnamon sugar :) 

 

 

 

 

Skippy Classic Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients:  Makes about 3 dozens cookies.
1 cup unsalted butter, softened (i used half cup instead)
1 cup Skippy crunchy peanut butter
1 cup granulated castor sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (i used 1 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:                                                      

1          Cream together butter, peanut butter and sugars. Beat in eggs.
2          In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir into batter.  
            Put batter in refrigerator for 1 hour. 
3          Roll into 1" balls and put on baking sheets. Flatten each ball with a fork, making a criss-cross pattern. 
4          Bake in a preheated 180°C oven for about 15 minutes or until cookies begin to brown. Do not over-bake.  

Skippy Banana Milk Shake

Ingredients:

1 medium frozen Delmont banana, peeled
4 tbsp Skippy creamy peanut butter
1 cup vanilla ice cream
1 cup chilled fresh milk

Garnishing:  Chopped Nutty Bars  and  chocolate chips or shaves

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in blender.  Cover process until smooth.  

Pour into chilled glasses.  Top with crumbled Nutty Bars and chocolate chips.  Serve and Enjoy!

Canada Cuppies

A few months ago we tried our hand at photographing cupcakes by the very talented Audrey from Sugar Pie Gourmet Cakes and Classes and yesterday I planned a session for the girls Wen Lin & Joanne to have a cupcake decorating class with her and yes, we took more photos :p

Here are some shots of the cupcakes which Audrey made for the Canadian Association of Singapore. We were after an autumn feel with warm hues. All those leaves you see are handmade with fondant and totally edible!

The Blue Cake with a Hearty Surprise

So this was my first attempt at working with fondant for a cake and yes I had to do it on such an important occasion as my son's birthday and even more ridiculously ambitious, I decided it needed something more interesting on the INSIDE of the cake! I was doomed for failure right from set go but miraculously it still looked presentable despite the amateurish fondant decorating work :p

All in all, this cake took me one full evening and another half day the next day to complete. Yes, sweat! I cheated and bought an interesting couple of cake pans from B-I-Y. They were designed in such a way that you can get a filled cake in the shape of a heart on the inside. Ok, I've lost you...please refer to iPhone pictures above. Firstly, I bake 2 chocolate cakes in the specially shaped cake pans. While waiting for them to cool, bake another cake, this time a red velvet cake. Crumble up the red velvet and mix in some buttercream (again, I was being a smart arse and did this from scratch). Fill the cavities of the cooled chocolate cakes with the red velvet. Flip one cake over the other. MESSED UP! I didn't put enough buttercream to the red velvet so it was still crumbly and when I flip one cake over, some of the red velvet came loose and spilled out. Yup, I was mortified when that happened but there was no turning back. Next, ice a thin layer of buttercream over the entire cake, sort of like a crumb coat. Next, time to exercise. At least, that's what preparing the fondant felt like. I put in some food colour and started kneading and rolling out the fondant so that it's big enough to cover the entire cake. First two attempts the fondant tore as I tried to put it over the cake, third attempt was successful but trying to smooth the bottom edges was a disaster, some buttercream started oozing out and by then I had about enough and was ready to drive down to Awfully Chocolate and just get a damn cake. But my little boy wanting a blue cake was more important so I persevered and got something half decent after I cut off the excess fondant. Then I thought it looked kinda plain, so i cut out some triangles and rolled two strips of fondant together to form a bunting along the sides of the cake, pretty cute huh? ;) Idea not original of course, Google and YouTube were my assistant designers. For the finishing touch, I poked 3 meringues I baked for the party into 3 chocolate Pocky sticks and they sat on top of the cake. TA-DAH!!!


OH, did you see the inside? When you cut open the cake, there's a red heart shape (the red velvet)! Of course the heart didn't look so good due to the lack of buttercream mixed into the red velvet, so the heart came crumbling out (like mine) :( Not nice? Well, my little boy loved it! That smile was all I needed to take the fatigue away and make it all worthwhile.

I DID IT! *pat pat* :D

The Naked Cake

I made this simple cake for Dylan's early birthday celebrations..................NAH! I wouldn't do that to my little boy! See next post for what the cake really looked like :)

(shot and edited with my iPhone)

something sweet, something light, something happy

***Pls note that I am no longer baking these for sale. If you want to eat them, bake them ;) recipe below***

The years before the kids/studio came, I was an avid baker. My quiche and desserts were most sought after by my friends (not shy right?) and I often make them when I had the time. One Valentine's Day, I baked these delightful shortbread for friends as well as for sale. If I recall correctly, I sold about 20+ jars and it was real hard work! Cutting the shortbread was tough as this recipe required you to cut them after baking. I think I make easier money as a photographer hahaha! Anyway enough talk, I thought since it's Valentine's Day, here's the recipe :)

Cranberry Shortbread Hearts

Ingredients
Makes about 1 1/2 dozen 1 3/4-inch hearts
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely chopped dried cranberries or cherries

Directions
Heat oven to 325 degrees.with a rack in center. Combine butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, flour, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Beat with a wooden spoon until combined but not too creamy. Stir in dried cranberries.
Pat dough evenly into an 8- or 9-inch-square baking pan. Bake until just beginning to turn golden, about 20 minutes. Place pan on cooling rack until cool enough to touch, about 20 minutes. Run knife around edges, remove shortbread, and transfer, right side up, to work surface. Use 1 1/2- to 2-inch heart cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Use a paring knife to trim stray bits of cranberry from edges. Cookies will keep for 5 days at room temperature in an airtight container.