My CORNING VISIONS Cookingware

"Glass pots from VISIONS, I love it!"

Corningware from VISIONS has always been my favourite cookware.
I love its elegant look, beautiful colour, and durability of the glass itself.

The glass pots from VISIONS come in various sizes, but the design/ look and colour are always the same. This makes VISIONS glass pots outstanding and recognisable from its branding.

I have been using VISIONS glass cookware from to cook my daily meals for more than 5 years. These 3 pots are my second set are newly bought last month since the 2 pots from first set were old already...

No worries though, it is not due to crack or any unusable reason. It is ME that like to use new things especially kitchenwares, once in a while (winking smile).

The very first set I had came with 2 different sizes pots - 1 medium and 1 big ones. This second set of pots comes in 3 different sizes. Big, medium and small. The pots from first set was more deep (taller in height) while second set comes in broader in term of width.

I use the largest stew pot for boiling herbal tea and cooking mee hoon kueh or dishes which needed plenty of soup/ gravy. Medium pot for most soup and dessert recipes while smallest pot will be used for cooking instant noodles for 2, sometimes.

Why do I prefer VISIONS? Hmm.... Actually SIMPLYLITE is quite a good choice, too. I like the all white and French white designed glasswares. The Floral printed or patterned CORELLE glasswares are not my choice, as I personally find it looks a little bit "aunty" (old fashioned). However, all these glasswares are in white colour without see-through.

I prefer cookingware which can see through! PYREX is good, but again, don't fancy the total clear white appeal.

I prefer VISIONS lemon yellow see-through version. Its elegant appeal attracts me alot indeed.

Visions cookware comes with 10-year warranty.

Durable, versatile, and beautiful cookware from VISIONS makes me felt in love with cooking. If you are thinking of buying it, try to look for one on sale. They will be on discount on some festives sales and/ or yearly sale period such as Christmas, Singapore Year-end sale and etc. I bought mine from Tangs Singapore with 20% discount during their in-house sales period.

Sometimes, NTUC Fairprice will extend 20% discount on the sets during thier product promotion offer. Check out the NTUC Finest (Thomson Plaza has one) which I used to get my set from there, too.

A set of 2 to 3 glass pots costs about S$100 to $150 (regular price).

Stir Fried French Beans with Prawns

French bean isn't long bean, eventhough their colours and shapes are similar, but the length and texture of these beans are in great difference. Frence bean is much shorter than long bean, and french bean tastes more crunchy while long bean is softer than the other, after cooked. French bean looks smoother and thicker on its skin while long bean looks more 'wrinkled' and thiner than the other.

I love both beans, but for different kind of cooking and recipes. I like to cook long bean with either sambal chili, or chop and mix it in the eggs to make an omelette with long beans. As for french bean, my favourite recipe, of course, is this one!

Simple & fast cooking method with great taste!

Serve 4
Ingredients
Handful of french beans, trimmed and cut into 2" long, lengthwise
4 large fish balls, sliced
8 - 10 medium prawn, shelled, cut a deep slit and devained
1 teaspoon of light soy sauce (to season the prawns)
1 teaspoon of Hua Diao rice wine (花雕酒)
Pinch of salt and pepper
Sprinkles of sugar (much less than ½ teaspoon)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
⅓ small cup of water

Method
1) Season prawns with light soy sauce for at least 10 minutes. Set aside. Heat wok with oil over medium-high fire. Add garlic, and stir-fry for 1 minute till fragrant.

2) Place french beans into wok, and add water to create sizzling effect. Sprinkle sugar, and stir-fry for 3 minutes, or until french beans turn from light green to bright dark green in colour.

3) Add in sliced fish balls, and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add salt and pepper, mix well with the ingredients. Reduce heat to medium-low fire. Cover wok with lid to simmer the ingredients for 1-2 minutes.

4) Add prawns, and sprinkle Hua Diao rice wine. Stir-fry for 3 minutes till prawns are pinked and lightly curled. Heat off, and serve.

With less than 15 minutes preparation and cooking time, you will get this healthy and tasty vegetables dish served for your dinner.

This french bean dish counts less than 150 kcal for a decent portion. You may considered it as low-fat dish, but moderate in nutrients since it has the greens and two kinds of meat/ seafood.

Tips: Simmer the french beans for a couple of minutes if you find the french beans are still too raw (if you wish to totally eliminate the greenish taste), but do not over cook the french beans till too 'old' (soft). To retain slight crunchiness of the french beans gives better taste and texture in the palate.
* Sprinkle some sugar when first added french bean in the wok to enhance its bright green colour.

Positive Kids Camp @ Genuis R Us

"School Holiday Camp for the kids!"

This was second time my girl joined this camp this year. She did not join any of the school organised camps which normally take place in other school, but I get her to join this Positive Kids Camp. I believe at her age of 7, she should learn something more relaxing, for her leisure & pleasure, and focusing on her mind, rather than so much on academic studies over holidays.

She first joined this Positive Kids Camp organized by Genius R Us in the beginning of this year (during first school holiday). The first camp was a half-day session over 2 days, and all about Yoga for children. Price at $150 per pax. The children practiced both indoor and outdoor Yoga (in a park). They also learnt about how to manage stress and think positively as well as how to speak positively. On 2nd day before the camp ended, parents were invited to join them for last 10 minutes session. Some mild work-out session and dancing altogether. The parents also got to see how their children talked about what they like about themselves. Fun, and my girl enjoyed it very much.

When this long holiday was approaching, my girl has already started asking if she could join the camp again! She loves it! I started noticing the weekly newsletter (free subscription to my hotmail account) from Mum Centre which always feature school holiday camps for children over school holiday period.

Here you go! The Positive Kids Camp was featured here again. This time, they had few different camps. There was this Fun & Creative Camp which has not just Yoga, but also some cooking classes for sushi/ Japanese food, cookies, and chocolates. My girl chose this camp as she loves cooking, too.

This camp is a 2-full day camp, at $260 per camp. I think it’s worth it as my girl gets to learn something (Yoga and cooking) she loves as well as benefits her health and mind.

My girl asked me some questions that she learnt from the camp. She asked me how long does Yoga practice exist? Where is the origin country of Yoga practice, etc? She has also offered us her cooking, the assorted sushi & chawanmushi, and dessert that she made i.e. chocolates, cookies, and chocolate coating fruits. Taste of these chocolate cookies was pleasant indeed. We were impressed by the food she made!

In fact, they conduct regular yoga classes in various locations. The only hassle to have classes at their centre is ERPs! The holiday camps are conducted during weekdays, and we have to fetch her thru and flow during peak hour. The ERP charges at downtown were killing part, especially for us who do not work at downtown. Luckily, it was just a 2-days thingy. As for regular classes for long term, go to one that is nearer and more convenient to you, then!

Check it out for your children, if you are interested!

Genius R Us
Add: 75B Tanjong Pagar Rd
Tel: Positive Focus @ 67372977, or 6221 4561/81830563(sms)

Vegetarian Mixed Vegetables Dish (斋什菜)

"Vegetarian dish as healthy meal. Cook it for both vegetarian and normal meals are equally good for you!"

Today is Chinese Chu Yi (初一).

We had vegetarian meals for the day, of course.

No time for extensive cooking after work, we had the simplest vegetarian dishes for dinner. This vegetarian dish is one of them, simple but flavoursome, with moderate nutrition contents. Express dinner recipe is always good for working class like you and me.

This dish takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and get cooked.

This healthy vegetarian dish counts less than 120 kcal for a decent portion.

Serves 2 -3
Ingredients
Half a cabbage, washed and sliced or chopped into bite size
1 carrot, thinly sliced
4 fried bean curd puff aka Tau Pok (Chinese translation: 豆仆), sliced
1 sheet of dried bean curd skin aka Fu Zhu (Chinese translation: 腐竹), soaked for 5 minutes, and cut into smaller pieces
1 tablespoon of Vegetarian Mushroom Sauce (act as ‘oyster’ sauce)
Sprinkles of sugar (less than ½ teaspoon)
Pinch of salt and grounded white pepper to taste
⅓ small cup of water (or less)
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Method
1) Heat wok with oil over high heat. Add cabbage and carrot, and stir-fry for 1 minute. Sprinkle some sugar, and stir-fry for another 30 seconds.

2) Then, add Fu Zhu and water. Reduce heat to low - medium fire. Cover wok with lid, and simmer for 3 minutes, or until carrot soften.

3) Return to wok, and add Tau Pok. Then, add in salt and white pepper. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Add in mushroom sauce, and stir-fry for another 1 minute, before heat off. Serve.

Tips: Do not add too much water, unless more vegetable gravy is preferred. Add water just enough to soften the carrots through simmering.

Simple, Healthy & Delicious Home-made Teowchew Steamed White Pomfret (潮州蒸白鲳)

"Check out what's good for eating more FISHES! See fresh White Pomfret, the perfect fish for steaming style. Loved by whole family, healthy and delicious dish which never fails to impress your loved ones!"

I steamed Teow Chew-style with Sea Bass, but Sea Bass is not the most popular fish type to make an authentic Teowchew steam fish. So, I used the genuine fish type this time, the white Pomfret! Teowchew style steamed fish will be cooked together with other sides such as beancurd aka tofu, salted vegetables and tomato, sometimes.

Got the fresh Pomfret from my favourite fish store in the wet market early this morning. Fishes and other sea creatures from this store are always fresh, with reasonable price. I had this medium size Pomfret which good for 2-3 person from the fish monger at S$8 after discount rate (Was initially priced $9).

White Pompret is a scaleless fish. So, it's easy to handle. Its flesh is fresh and sweet naturally. White or Golden Pompret is more suitable for steaming while black Pomfret is better as fried fish.

Eat fish for EFA:
It's always good to have more fish than red meat. Low-fat, and low-calorie. Fish contains Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) i.e. Omega-3 and Omega-6, which claimed to help in preventing cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and fatty heart, lowering cholesterol level, improving skin and complexion, developing brain for children, and also, lowering risk of having depression.


Serves 2 - 3
Ingredients
1 medium white Pomfret
1 leaf of salted vegetable, washed, steeped (for about 1 hour), and thinly sliced
1 cube of bean curd aka tofu, cut into smaller pieces
1 - 2 small red tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 preserved whole plum, lightly mashed
2 slice of ginger, cut into strips

3 - 5 tablespoons of water (if more soup in the dish is preferred)

1 tablespoon of Hua Diao Rice Wine (Chinese translation: 花雕酒)
1 tablespoon of white sesame oil
1 tablespoon of grounded white pepper
Sprinkle of salt

Optional
1 fresh red chili, thinly sliced


Method
1) Wash and clean fish, place in a large metal or porcelain dish.

2) Season with sesame oil, (very little) salt, white pepper and Hua Diao Rice Wine.

3) Put in some water from the side. Then, place ginger strips, tofu cubes, salted vegetable strips, tomatoes, preserved plum, and lastly, cut chili, on top and the side of the fish.

4) Place whole platter in the top portion of electric steamer, or in a wok half filled with water (place platter on a steamer rack in the wok). Steam fish for 25 - 30 minutes, or until fish meat turns white and tender. Serves hot with rice.

Tips: To test if the fish is cooked, use a fork to poke through the fish meat, if the fork is able to poke through easily, it means cooked.
* Try NOT to place the side ingredients too much and right at the centre and on top of the fish while steaming to prevent uncooked fish meat. The side ingredients on top might be too cooked, but the fish meat covered underneath might be difficult to get cooked. So, spread the ingredients slightly at the side.
* You may also like to skip the salt if the salted vegetable is salty enough to taste. Sprinkle a little bit of sugar instead.

Shark Fin Melon Soup

Shark fin melon is NO shark fin, but just kind of greens, an edible melon.

We called it shark fin melon simply because its flesh resembles shark fin squash when boiled and soften.

Its plant name is Cucurbita ficifolia.

This melon often cooked as dessert or soup. I love it in soup as it tastes mild and natural sweet in soup. You may imagine a taste of a little bit like the winter melon, but sweeter than winter melon; A little bit resembling the old cucumber soup, but not taste not as robust as old cucumber though. However, the texture of melon flesh is a total difference. When this shark fin melon is boiled and soften, its flesh will ‘split’ and becoming strips which looks like the shark fin.

This shark fin-like melon flesh is almost tasteless, but soft in the palate. A combination of ingredients in this soup recipe is a total success. The most natural sweetness from these ingredients will be extracted into the soup. Not only that, this combination also contributed to nice colours, and moderate nutrition value instead of having just the shark fin melon which has little vitamins and minerals. Chinese eats shark fin melon for its 'cooling' effect.

Since the ingredients used in this soup are good enough to sweeten the soup naturally, I cooked it as vegetarian soup, without pork ribs added.

It has also becoming a diet soup for me during this dieting period of mine (chuckling)! But of course, you may add pork ribs or chicken thighs, if meat is preferred. Without meat, this soup is also low-fat, calorie in this soup is less than 100 kcal for a large portion!

It’s a very simple and easy soup recipe, but mild and heart-warming taste for the family.

Serves 4 – 6
Ingredients
Half a shark fin melon, washed thoroughly and cut into smaller pieces, seeds removed, but with rind intact
2 sweet corns, halves lengthwise
2 carrots, cut into smaller pieces lengthwise
1 tablespoon of wolfberries
Pinch of salt to taste
1 pot of water, 50% filled (about 1500ml)

Optional:
200 grams of pork ribs, blanched

Method:
1) Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat.

2) When water boiled, place all ingredients in the pot. Add in salt. Reduce heat to low fire. Simmer for 1 hour or until ingredients are soften. Cover the pot with lid, or lid slightly tilted on the pot, if soup is bubbling strongly.

Please do not mistaken the winter melon as shark fin melon (smiling). Winter melon is longer in shape and dark green in colour while shark fin melon is with 'pattern' on the rind and lighter green in colour.

Tips: It would be good to boil this soup with slow cooker, too! Place water and all ingredients into the croak pot. Sprinkle some salt, and adjust slow cooker to Auto-shifted/ Low mode, before leaving your house for work. By the time you reach home, the soup is all ready for consumption. * Unless you are cooking this shark fin melon for dessert, else cook the shark fin melon soup together with its rind for better nutrients and its fleshes will not disintegrate easily. The flesh is easily removed from the rind for eating once it is soften. Its thick rind will not present any ‘greenish’ taste in the soup. Hence, no worries about cooking it!