Plants in my garden

There are a few plants that I did not mention in my previous post about my vegetable patch.

Spring Onions

I am not sure if these are called spring onions because the bulbs and stems are much smaller compared with what I used to buy when I was studying overseas. Spring onion contains antioxidant, vitamin C for immunity, decreases high cholesterol level, sugar level and blood pressure. Having these plants is really a convenience because we usually require only a small quantity to use as toppings on dishes or a few stalks to add to stir fry dishes for more flavour.

I am not sure what these are called in English. Direct translation from Hokkien would be 'Red Bamboo Leaves'. The leaves can be cut, washed and boiled for consumption to get rid of 'heatiness' in our body. Sugar can be added for better taste. My MIL mentioned to me that pregnant woman should not consume this.

Okra (Lady fingers)

My FIL planted about 20 plants of this and since they start to bear pods, we have okra dishes on alternate days but we can never have enough of them. Stir-fry with either anchovies or dried shrimps, steamed with pork, cooked with curry dishes, assam (tamarind) dishes are some of the dishes prepared by my MIL who is a very good cook. I will also stir-fry with garlic with a dash of liquid aminos for 1 year old Tao and she loves it. I feed her regularly because they are free from pesticides and chemical fertilisers. My 3 year old Tian who dislikes vegetables does not mind having okra dishes as well. I think this is due to we have too much of them and since they are free, we will pluck those okras when they are still young and tender, so the texture is really fine and tastes sweet.

Chinese Yams (Shan Yao/ Huai Shan)

Our neighbours who pass by our house will always wonder why we neglect to trim this bush since my parents-in-law take such good care of our vegetable patch. This is in fact the leaves of Chinese Yam (Shan Yao/ Huai Shan) and we have to let it grow abundantly so that we will have fuller roots to harvest early next year. Yes, it takes that long. This Chinese Yam that we are growing are slightly different with those we can buy at wet market. The flesh at the root is purplish whereas normal Chinese Yam is white. We consume these yams by preparing as desserts or porridge.

It is believed to benefit kidneys and female endocrine system but there is no scientific evidence to support safety and effectiveness of the claims yet. My parents-in-law said their parents would prepare Chinese Yam porridge for them whenever they got sick as a child as they were too poor and lived too far away from the city to consult a doctor.

Chillies

Chillies contain high levels of vitamin A and C as immune boosters and antioxidant. Like spring onions that I have mentioned above, it is good to have chilies in my garden because we will not feel obliged to buy a whole bunch of chilies when we need only one or two for flavouring dishes or dipping. The rest will normally rot away before we need it again.
This type is chili is too hot for my liking though but the Indian guards who patrol our neighbourhood will certainly ask for some when they see us around.

Car accident

I have always considered myself as a cautious driver but I have had a few minor accidents before.

First accident I had was many years back when my hubby fetch me to visit their family plantation quite far away from main road (tar road). He was driving along bumpy red soil road and I asked him to let me try to navigate the 'jungle road'. We came across a puddle at a T-junction and my hubby told me to drive 'faster' past the puddle so that our car would not get stuck. I listened to him, pressed onto the accelerator hard and swerved right. However, I accelerated too hard and could not go straight in time and went straight into a ditch. My hubby did not know to laugh or call me stupid. Some farmers passed by and used their lorry to pull our car out.

Second accident happened when I was driving along a long stretch of road. When I came to a traffic light, I saw the light turning yellow and decided to stop instead of rushing pass. The car behind me could not stop in time. Luckily, I saw the car coming fast towards me and I released my brake and tried to go forward but the car still knocked my bumper. The lady was so scared that she was trembling as she wrote her phone number to me. I was quite calm at that time and asked her to see if her children were injured. I recognised her as she was a teller in a bank that I always go so I was not worried about compensation.

Today, I meet with car accident again! I went to fetch my daughter, Tian from her pre-school and went to petrol station to fill up petrol. It was raining when I drove back home. As I reached a junction, a van turned despite seeing my car going straight. I honked at him, pressed on the brake and made a slight turn to the right to avoid him but his van was not fast enough and I knocked the left rear of his van. I could not swerve in time as the wheels were locked when I braked due to no ABS function. The impact of my car hitting the van caused it to bump into another car stopping at the junction. It was a funny scene as the innocent driver told me she saw our car knocking and she had already stopped her car but did not expect she would be hit as well. The driver turned out to be a driver of a pre-school as I saw the pre-school logo on his shirt (I won't dare to let my kids to be fetched by 'bas sekolah' anymore).

I quickly called my hubby to come. The driver acted blur and told me to claim insurance. I said, 'Yes, claim insurance but YOUR insurance, not MINE.'

He said he wanted to leave first because he had to fetch the children back home. Luckily I was calm enough at that time and did not panic (Maybe due to past experience :p). I told him, 'To claim insurance, you need to make police report so you need to wait.' Luckily, I did not foolishly let him go after he gave me his name card. Without police report, I would not be able to claim compensation on my car repair which I think will be very expensive looking at the damage done.

The ever-ready 'Towing service' arrived and told me to make police report with him and they will settle the rest of the bills with the driver's insurance company. So my hubby called his dad to come to fetch Tian home and went to police station with me. I made my report and the person in charge of the towing company told me they will take a few days to settle the insurance issues and will repair my car like new!!

I honestly marvel at the efficiency of the towing service. In fact, there were two companies coming to us but the guy who reached first shooed away the second guy. I guess economy is bad and people have to stay competitive in order to survive. If only every organisations are as efficient (you should know which organisations I am referring to), we would have much better place to live in.

I remembered this morning when I went out with my hubby and parents-in-law for breakfast, I removed Tian's booster seat so that we could sit comfortably. When I wanted to fetch Tian in the afternoon, I was considering to take time to put the booster seat back on the passenger seat or not. So I thought, better be save than be sorry and went to my bonnet to get the booster seat. When we left the petrol station, I remembered to put the seat belt on Tian. Otherwise she would have been hurt from the impact. Sometimes we do take short cuts when we think the distance from her pre-school to our home is so near and do not bother with booster seat when we have placed it in bonnet. After this incident, I will ensure my kids are properly strapped in car seat (for Tao) and booster seat (for Tian) every time we go out.

* Photos will be uploaded soon.

Our little garden

We have a little vegetable patch in from of our house. Plants are planted by my parents-in-law without using chemical fertilisers and pesticides. We will collect vegetables and fruits peels, water from washing rice, vegetables and fruits etc and place them on the soil as natural fertilizers and the plants are growing so well.

Screwpine leaves

Screwpine leaves (Pandan leaves) are use to add flagrance to foods and desserts. It is rich in anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties.

Lemongrass

Lemongrass is also used in cooking and I used a lot during confinement in my food as well as in boiled water for taking bath. It is antibacterial, antifungal and improves blood circulation.

Aloe vera

We use aloe vera for surface burns by applying the gel found in the succulent leaves on affected skin area as it has skin-soothing and healing properties. We also consume aloe vera by scrapping the gel of the skin and cook as desserts. Pregnant women should not consume aloe vera juice and desserts.

Basil Leaves

Basil leaves are used as spices for cooking. They are anti-inflammatory, anti-stress and purify blood.

Chemical Laden Vegetables and Fruits

My hubby's family are involved in plantation, so they are very familiar with how vegetables and fruits are grown and how farmers use pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers. I never take much attention to this issue until recently my hubby told me how commercial farmers load their products with pesticides and chemical fertilisers.

Taking one example, most farmers will encounter red-mite which will cause red rusty dots on vegetables. This is very unappealing to ignorant customers (like most of us) and due to pressure to get a good selling price, farmers will spray pesticides on their farm every few days. When my hubby showed me pesticides that farmers normally use, I told him there is a note on the bottle warning farmers to pick the vegetables and fruits one week after applying pesticides.

My hubby says it is impossible because the life cycle of a red-mite is shorter than one week. Farmers have to apply pesticides every few days even before harvesting otherwise their vegetables start to have rusty dots.

So next time when you buy vegetables, remember the more perfect looking vegetables that you are selecting, the more pesticides have been applied just before they are harvested. Choosing slightly imperfect looking vegetables will be better for your health. We are not marrying the vegetables anyway!

The other option is to buy organic vegetables (which is not financially feasible for most people) or plant some vegetables on your own. I will be posting some vegatables that we plant on our vegetable patch in coming posts.

I have succumbed to nutritional supplements

I have never bought nutritional supplements because I do not trust the claims regarding the products. I do not feed my kids with nutritional supplements because I am worried some might be harmful to their liver.

Since Tian started pre-school, she started having flu and took forever to recover. Then the virus spreads to Tao who is always very cranky if she is not feeling well. Since last week, my MIL has been suggesting for me to buy some 'cod's liver oil' for the kids. I am doubtful about the ingredients used since most companies are profit-oriented and will not be so ethical to ensure quality and safety of ingredients used. However, I told her I will get something for the kids today.

This morning, I went to the shop selling organic products that I usually go to buy phytomilk powder and foods for the kids and bought RM309 worth of products! I think my hubby will faint when I tell him tonight.

I bought 2 bottles of Liquid Multivitamin (from Salus-Haus, Germany) for the kids (cheaper to buy 2). The shop owner recommended for me to buy Oligo Cal-Plus, Oligo Enzyme (from Oasis Herbs) and Natural C (from NHF) due to I am having phlemy flu for many days that I am not able to smell anymore.

I hope the kids will get flu and cough lesser after taking this multivitamins and will not spread to me anymore so that we do not have to depend on supplements. I still prefer to eat natural foods anytime. I will update on the results after taking these supplements.

Teething Nightmare

I notice Tao has been gumming on her fingers these few days and suspect that she must be teething again. Her incisors started erupting in 8th months and all eight completed their appearance when she turned one.

She became very cranky and when I checked on her gum yesterday, I saw all 4 canine teeth areas were whitish. It must be very painful to have all 4 canines erupting at once. She woke up crying yesterday night and was inconsolable. She would put both her pointer fingers into her mouth and gummed at her fingers.

Every children is different. Everytime when Tian (elder daughter) was teething, we would not even know until we noticed new teeth in her mouth. She started sleeping through the night before she turned 6 months old. We could easily go travelling and bring Tian with us because she could sleep as we carry her.

She was such an easy baby that we decided to have a second baby so soon, thinking that the most difficult period to take care of a baby is only the first 4 months. Having Tao really changed my mind and I started telling people every baby is different (even siblings) in their temperaments.

We do love Tao, especially her grandparents. They give in to her demand (to the extend I think they are spoiling her) even though they grumble about her demanding attitute occasionally. I think it is because Tao resembles my hubby and his sister more and it makes them see their children in this granddaughter.

Note: Tao called her dad 'pa pa' when he came back from work and she made him so happy.

What I have been doing......

During these few weeks, I have been trying out recipes found in blogs and magazines. I spent some evenings baking some muffins and making jellies. I feel better feeding my daughters homemade snacks without colourings, additives, preservatives etc. I know there will be traces of additives in the ingredients alone but I do not add them during the process :)

Chocolate Rice and Cranberry Muffins

Coconut Milk and Milo Jelly

Soymilk and Longan Jelly

Self Feeding and Learning to Walk

I have been putting some cereals in a bowl for Tao to feed herself so that I can do my work. She spends more time trying to grab her food (pincers grip) and gathering scattered cereals on the floor than actually eating it.

Since Tao is one, we have been training her to hold her own bottle when drinking milk. This is way too late compared with Tian who could hold her own bottle since she was 6 months old. I think we spoil Tao more. Another reason is that due to breastfeeding, Tao has been rejecting formula so we always try our best to hold her and coax her to finish her milk. We will be very happy as long as she finishes her milk and do not mind holding her but it is time for her to be more independent.

Tao enjoying her bottle of phytomilk mixed with formula milk

Since last week, she has also tried to take a few steps unaided. We were thinking she would learn to walk later than her sis as she seemed more cautious and 'lazy' to learn. If she begins to walk in this one or two weeks, it would be in her 13th month like her sis.

It's Time to Change a New Pair of Spectacles

This morning, I left Tian and Tao in the bedroom as I went to the connecting washroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. I closed the door behind me to prevent Tao from crawling into the washroom.

I heard Tao screaming and thought the two sisters must be fighting for certain toy. When I came out, i saw this.

I reprimanded Tian for snatching my spectacles from younger sister but I knew her intention was good. She wanted to tell her sister not to play with mummy's spectables but her method used was wrong.

This is not the first time Tian broke our glasses. About a year back, she broke my mum's spec that she put on the table. When my MIL raised her voice asking her to return to my mum, she became anxious and struggled with my MIL and broke the spec.

A few months back, she broke my hubby's spec as my hubby liked to play 'wrestling' game with her. She kicked his face and broke the nose pad area due to it was bent and repaired several times already.

Also a few months back, she played with my sunglasses (old one) that I did not use anymore. She tried to put it on by herself and somehow bent the glasses in the wrong way and snapped it.

I have planned to change to a new pair of spectacles but felt that it does not have to be so soon as my spec is still in good condition and I guess Tian is just helping me to decide to change my spec sooner. I have to set aside several hundred ringgit for this. *heartache*

Oatmeal with Fruits for Breakfast

Tao always has oatmeal with fruits for her breakfast after she turns one year old.

Since her older sister, Tian goes to pre-school in the morning, I will cook for both of them. Tian does not like her oatmeal as much as Tao and I think this is due to she has got use to all those oil and monosodium glutamate laden breakfast like tossed noodles, fried vermicelli etc that hubby and my parents-in-law eat every morning.

Oatmeal with fruits is easy to prepare.

Oatmeal with organic raisins

Oatmeal with mashed apples

Ingredients.
3 tbsp organic instant oatmeal
1/2 cup water

Choices of fruits.
1) 1/2 small apple, peeled and diced
2) 1/2 small pear, peeled and diced
3) 1/2 tbsp organic raisins, cut into smaller pieces due to choking hazard
4) 1/2 tbsp organic dried blackcurrants
5) 1/3 ripe avocado, diced
6) 1 banana, diced


Step 1.
Add oats and water into pot and bring to boil. Simmer and stir from time to time (to prevent oats from sticking to pot) for 3-5 minutes. Off the stove and cover the pot for 5 minutes.


Step 2.
If using choices of fruits no. 1 and 2., add together with oats and water.
If using choices of fruits no. 3 and 4., add after water is boiled.
If using choices of fruits no. 5 and 6., add before serving.

Step 3.

If your toddler is not able to chew effectively yet, apples and pears need to be removed from oatmeal and mashed before mixing with oats.

*Choices of fruits are not limited to above. I intend to add more varieties like mangoes, grapes, blueberries, dried cranberries, dried apricots etc.

Stir Fried Cabbage & Tomatoes with Chicken & Silverfish Stock

I tried some variation in Tao's meal today. I add tomatoes after her first birthday as tomatoes cause some allergic reactions in babies. She likes this flavour and finishes her portion without much coaxing.

Ingredients:

For Stir-Fry:

1 big leave of cabbage, cut into small pieces

1/2 medium tomato, diced

1 tsp 100% organic virgin coconut oil

1/2 tsp Bragg Liquid Aminos

For stock:

1 x 2 inches chicken breast, sliced and blanched

1 tsp silver fish (can be replaced with anchovies)

Others:

1 tbsp millet

1 1/2 tbsp rice

Step 1.

Soak millet and rice in 1/2 bowl of water for 30 minutes and steam in a pot for 30 minutes.

Step 2.

Boil 1/2 cup of water in a pan, add chicken and silver fish. Simmer under low heat as you continue with Step 3.

Step 3.

Heat a non-stick pan and add coconut oil. Add garlic and fry until fragrant. Add cabbage and tomatoes and fry until cooked. Add liquid aminos.

Step 4.

Add fried cabbage and tomatoes into stock. Add steamed rice and mix well. When the stock has almost fully absorbed into rice and vegetables, scoop the portion needed for your toddler.

Stir Fried Zuchinni & Pumpkin with Salmon

Tao has come to a stage where she enjoys more textures in her food. On some days, I will stir fry vegetables for her. When I am frying her vegetables, I will stew some fish/ chicken meat/ pork or silver bait for some stock. I will then steam her rice (a mix of rice, millet and quinoa) or cook Organic Wholegrain Ramen/ Fine Vermicelli separately. I will scoop required amount of rice/ noodles/ vermicelli to mix with the veges and stock, heat up in a pot for a few minutes to ensure the food are tender enough for her.


This morning, I have prepared stir fry zuchinni with pumpkin with salmon stock to go with her rice.

Ingredients:
For Stir Fry:
1/4 zuchinni, diced - smaller pieces if your toddler is not able to chew yet
2 x 2 inches pumpkin, diced
1 tsp organic coconut oil
1 small clover of garlic, slivered
1/2 tsp liquid aminos, optional


Others:
1 x 2 inch salmon, sliced
1 1/2 tbsp rice (The scoop for Mamil formula milk powder equals to 1 tbsp)
3/4 tbsp millet
1/4 tbsp quinoa (I use lesser quinoa as it is coarser and Tao does not like too much of it)


Step 1.


Soak rice, millet & quinoa with 1/2 bowl of water for half an hour and steam in a pot until cooked (around 1/2 hour).


Step 2.


Boil 1/2 cup water, add salmon and simmer for 10 minutes. (Do not simmer if you intend to feed this salmon to your toddler as it will become tasteless)


Step 3.
Add coconut oil into non-stick pan (more oil required for normal pan) and fry garlic until fragrant. Add zuchinni and pumpkin into pan and fry for 7-10 minutes. Add liquid aminos and some water and simmer to desired consistency.


Step 4.
Add steamed rice and fried zuchinni & pumpkin into stock and stir. Keep the heat on until the stock has been fully absorbed into rice and vegetables. Now it is ready to be served.

Ler Tao's 1 year old milestones

I brought Tao for her 1 year old vaccination 2 days ago and below are her milestones.
Height: 74cm
Weight: 8kgs (the growth chart reflects that she is not growing enough and we were advised to give her more solids and healthy snacks). I think this is due to her falling sick before and also our 'war' of weaning her and she drinks only 2oz of milk each milk feeding time a few weeks ago....guilty, guilty
Teeth: 4 at the top and 2 at bottom with another 2 erupting at the bottom

Language:
1) Calls her grandma 'Ah Ma' (much to her grandma' s delight) and calls me either 'Ah Ma' or 'Ma Ma'.
2) Calls her sister 'Ah Jie'
3 Recognizes her dad and grandpa by pointing but not able to pronounce yet
4) Will point and say 'bird' and 'ball' when she sees one
5) Imitates what adults say in two syllabus eg. he4 shui3 (drink water), sshh sshh (refers to hot), huai4 dan4 (referring to her when she misbehaves)
6) She will pass things that she is holding to us when we say 'gei3' (give)
7) When she does not want her grandpa/ dad to carry her, once they say 'chi4 kong1 yuan2' (go to the park), she will agree to be carried.
8) Understand and wil follow our command like shake her head, wave goodbye, gong xi and clap hands.

Temparament:
1) Will cry pitifully when left alone or when she sees people going outside/ upstairs without bringing her along
2) When we refuse her something (food or toy), she will lie on the floor, roll about and cry. At the same time, she will see if we are looking at her or not
3) When she sees adults tending to her sister, she will be jealous and go to the adult for attention too
4) When she cries for us to tend to her, she will stay at where she is and refuse to come to us. Instead, she will cry until we go to her.

Meals:
1) Her milk feeding problem is solved once we realize that she does not like formula. So I am mixing Organic Phytomilk with lesser formula for her (as mentioned in my previous post)
2) As she rejects eating her porridge, I have also started to use Multigrain Ramen from organic shop, 'mee sua' (fine vermicelli) or steamed rice. I will prepare some soup based dish (chicken/ pork and silver bait) with vegetables and/or fish and lastly, add noodles, vermicelli or rice and stew until very tender due to Tao does not have molar for proper chewing yet. She seems to like the variety that I have prepared for her so far.
3) Snacks on fruits (like avocados, bananas. apples, organic raisins and blackcurrants), rusk biscuits and bread.

Physical Coordination:
1) Crawls on all fours most of the time
2) Likes to climb onto furnitures. She will push stools to the side of coffee table, climb and sit on it
3) Able to stand without support when she is unaware like when we pass toys to her but once she realizes, she will quickly hold for support or sit down
4) Unwilling to walk yet. We try to hold her arms and let her take some steps but she will just stretch her legs to the front to sit down