Chicken, Leek & Potato Soup

I’ve been trying to fight off a bothersome cold since last Thursday without any medication. Although my midwife said I could take one paracetamol pill to ease off the symptoms, I’ve been rather reluctant to do so. Instead, I’ve been drinking lots of water and honey. I don’t even remember the last time I was ill. Probably a few years back? Daniel was beginning to think that I could never ever fall sick because even when he did, I was never affected. I suppose it’s true that the pregnant body automatically shields the baby from all “harm” and poor mummy takes all the crap! I’d rather it be this way, honestly.

 
Thankfully I haven’t lost any appetite, however I’m never quite close to saying I’m hungry either now that I’m sick. Therefore I need to remind myself to eat or else I could very well just be drinking honey water all day. Despite the warm sunshine outside, I made us a typical wintry soup – chicken, leek and potato. The original recipe called for bacon but I thought pan-fried chicken was the healthier option. I also added an extra potato to create a thicker texture to the soup.

I really like leeks so the flavour was great for me without having to add too much vegetable stock. Also, as the texture was rather rich, it served well as a meal by itself with a bread roll or two. It is definitely one of our favourite homemade soups! I’ll have to cook up a batch of it and freeze it before Theodore arrives!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownie

Mr Sunshine is out and that makes me as happy as a lark. I’m beginning to think I’m a green plant whose well-being is dependent on natural sunlight. Charged with full gear motivation, like a car refuelled, I kept myself busy in the kitchen from 8am to make some Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownie. Unsurprisingly, this tested and tried recipe is found on my favourite BBC Good Food website.

It’s rare to see a brownie baked in a round tin but as I rarely make them, I haven’t got a square or rectangular tin in my inventory. Does the shape really matter? Not, in my opinion.

 
The moist and dense brownie struck a balance between the bitterness of the dark chocolate and the sweetness peanut butter. Although the recipe asked for 280g of brown sugar, I only used 200g. The sight of a mountainous amount of sugar in my pan was shocking so I reduced it. When it comes to this brownie, one should savour the peanut butter and dark chocolate; not sugar.

 
I like my brownie to have a slightly fudgy texture and this was how the Peanut Butter and Chocolate brownie turned out.

Decadently rich and satisfying, this brownie is pure heavenly indulgence for peanut butter and chocolate fanatics out there.

How can I possibly not share this tin of joy with my friends? I’ve set aside the humble slice you see in the picture above to share with Daniel and the rest will be generously shared with others. Bet they’ll hate me when their waistlines expand!

Chocolate Marble Cake

I was craving for a small slice of chocolate cake but if I went to a cafe I know jolly well it would be more than just a slice of cake. Instead I walked to the supermarket to get the ingredients I needed to bake a cake and decided to share it with Daniel’s colleagues. Everyone’s happy this way!

By now you’ll know that I’m a big fan of BBC Good Food recipes. That’s where I got the Chocolate Marble Cake recipe from. With 222 reviews and so close to obtaining a perfect 5-stars rating, I’ll only have myself to blame if it didn’t work out.


The cake was moist and fluffy. It also had just the right amount of sweetness so it didn’t hurt the teeth. As suggested by the recipe, I alternated the plain and chocolate batter before giving it a swirl at the end.

Before I cut into the first slice, I was filled with excitement! I wondered if my marble cake would look good. I’m always envious of bakers who are confident of the cakes they bake for others. They’ll never have to steal a slice before serving it.

I always make sure I taste the cakes I baked before sharing with people. I don’t think I can deal with the embarrassment of treating others to an undercooked, terrible tasting cake.

As you can see, I had more chocolate batter than plain one hence the cake looked more chocolatey than having a proper marble effect. However, it was still mouth-watering! It was so delightful to have a slice to indulge in after dinner. Very heavenly!!!

British Pancakes to Beat Monday Blues

With eyes wide open at 6.30am, the first thing that came to mind was "pancakes". It always puzzles Daniel how I can wake up with a growling stomach even when I’m not pregnant. As far as I’m concerned, breakfast is THE most important meal of the day. It not only provides me energy to deal with the ups (and downs) of daily life, it also makes me a happier person. Whoever has tried getting me out of the house while I’m on an empty stomach knows not to mess with me. A hungry Yoyo is an angry one.

You’d probably know by now that I swear by most of the BBC Good Food Recipes. They are foolproof and hardly fail me. To satisfy my craving for pancakes, of course a recipe name such as “Perfect Pancakes” sounds hopeful.

Ingredients (Serves 8)

• 100g plain flour
• 2 eggs
• 300ml semi-skimmed milk
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil or vegetable, plus extra for frying
• pinch salt

Instructions

1. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the eggs into the middle with 50ml of milk and 1 tbsp oil. Whisk till you have a smooth, thick paste. Add more milk if the mixture is too stiff.  Continue adding milk till the consistency is like slightly thick single cream. 
2. Heat the pan over a moderate heat, then wipe it with oiled kitchen paper. Pour some batter into pan and cook undisturbed for about 30 secs before turning.
3. Continue to cook the other side for 30 secs too and then serve. 

Unlike American pancakes, I don’t have to strive for them to rise and be fluffy and this makes things a lot easier on a sleepy Monday morning. I learned from Daniel that British pancakes are usually served with a dash of lemon juice and sugar. Since I depleted all lemons in the kitchen yesterday, I served the thin and golden brown pancakes with sugar and a little butter.

I’m definitely energised for the day! What about you?

BBC Good Food Vegetable Ragu

Do you have days when you just don’t feel like touching and eating any meat? Yesterday was one of those days for me. While I do love poultry and meat, I do occasionally feel like a good vegetarian meal such as Vegetable Ragu.

This year I started learning to make my own pasta sauce. Not only are they surprisingly easy, they also taste fresher and healthier. This vegetable ragu recipe from good old BBC Good Food is a gem as it is so cheap and easy to make.

Since recipes aren’t set in stone, I omitted celery and red lentils in my version. I added dried basil and cayenne pepper to spice it up a little. And I’m currently in love with balsamic vinegar so I was rather generous with it too. As it cooked on the stove, the ragu was bursting with sweet smelling vegetables – the perfect healthy comfort food on a cold day.

This is to me the fun part about cooking – not restricting yourself to whatever the recipe calls for and taking initiative to tweak it to your preference.

BBC Good Food Recipe Books

I used to dominate the kitchen because I loved to. However I had to minimise my time in my territory ever since we found out about Bao who’s not very cooperative when it comes to standing or walking for an extended period of time. Therefore, I very willingly assigned some cooking responsibilities to Daniel.

A few months back, my sis-in-law gave us a couple of BBC Good Food recipe books as part of our birthday presents. I can’t tell you how much I love their recipes. They are easy to follow, tested by others and so reliable. You can even find many mouth-watering recipes for free on their website! These books came in handy for Daniel who isn’t quite the experienced cook.

 

Each recipe comes with a well taken photo of the dish together with its full nutritional breakdown. I love how they aren’t too fancy and are actually extremely easy to follow.

Here’s what we’ve tried so far.

Italian-style Beef Stew, perfect on a cold wintry day. We served it with mash for dinner and pasta for lunch the next day.

 

Thai-style Beef Patties which was like a time & travel machine that transmitted us to Thailand the instance we bit into them. The original recipe asked for minced pork but last minute shopping on a Saturday evening in Germany pretty much guarantees that we won’t get everything we want.

 

Chicken noodles soup is another of my favourite on days when I want something gingery, warm, spicy and just plain simple. A very healthy meal!

We do cook almost everyday since it can hurt the pockets to eat out daily. There are days when I miss living in Singapore where I can just walk to the coffeeshop and be spoilt for choice. However, I learnt that cooking for ourselves is a lot healthier and it can be a really fun activity to do together too.

Now that Daniel has learnt a few tricks in the kitchen (and he has done more than what I’ve shown you above), I feel so much more at ease about the arrival of Bao. We won’t have family nearby to help us, neither is there the concept of a confinement lady who cares, cook and wash for me & Bao (thank God I won’t have one anyway!), but seeing Daniel putting in all his effort to sort everything out at home without me lifting a finger is really comforting. At least I know Bao and I are well taken care of.