Fidel's Favorite Porridge

Since Fidel was 6 month old, I started give him porridge for his lunch and dinner. When he was 5.5months I gave him cereal twice a day. He doesn’t drink so much water, he doesn’t like drinking water. End up he got constipation. There was one day he tried to poopoo , already sat on the potty for 35minutes, till whole body sweating and crying, the stool still didn’t come out. The stool was too hard and he didn’t have strength to push it out. I took him to the hospital then.

The nurse helped to insert 5ml of Glycerin Enema into the rectum. This liquid treatment is adhered to clear the bowel, induce better functioning of the bowel, to cleanse and provide therapeutic benefits. After 1-2minutes, “all” came out. Wow!

OK… We go back to the porridge again. Doctor encouraged introducing more porridge and fruits/vegetable purees in his diet. These are rich in fibre and will help prevent constipation.

I cook porridge and add potato, carrot, and spinach/broccoli. I use slow cooker to cook the porridge. The spinach, I will put it in 20-30minutes before I get the porridge done. For the broccoli, 15minutes is enough. Overcooking vegetables may lose its nutrients and vitamins.

Shredded potato and carrot

Porridge with broccoli

Porridge with spinach

Fidel loves to eat the porridge. If we feed him too slow, he will complain and crying. Sometimes he will open his mouth big big while I just want to scoop it from the bowl. Must quick!

2008 Great American Seafood Cook-Off

The Great American Seafood cook off is celebrating its 5years. It presented by the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board featured top chefs from around the nation cooking with domestic, sustainable seafood from their home state.

There were several challenges in creating their dish for the final round of competition. First, the dishes had to contain one of two mystery ingredients. Next, keeping it healthy and simple, the dish’s ingredients had to represent all five food groups and be a dish that even the most harried home chefs could prepare.

The judges casted their votes, now it’s time to cast yours. You can vote and enter to win a trip to New Orleans.
What you need to do:
1. Visit GreatAmericanSeafoodCookOff.com, click the red Box “Vote and Enter to Win a Trip to New Orleans: RECIPE CONTEST".
2. Pick your favorite of the top five recipes listed.
3. Click “Enter to Win” and enter the contest by casting your vote for your favorite recipe.

As for me, I would choose “Colorado Striped Bass Panzanella” of Chef Paul Anders, representing Colorado. I choose this recipe because the ingredients can be easily bought anywhere. This domestic seafood is really good for our health because it’s fresh. I’ll try this recipe one day.

So, why not go check out their site today, discover the new recipes, and cast you’re votes too. Who knows you might win a “Trip to New Orleans” prize package including two Southwest Airline roundtrip tickets, hotel accommodations, dining experience and more!

Our Saturday Favorite Menu

Almost every Saturday afternoon we eat a very simple lunch. It’s our favorite menu. We like it so much. Plain porridge and some canned foods! You just need to add a few small limes, small chili, and a little bit of sugar. And it will become very tasty. Yummy….
It’s very easy to prepare.

Ingredients:
- Rice, to make the porridge
- 1 Canned peanuts (left)
- 1 Canned pickled lettuce (right)
- 2 Limes
- 3 Tablespoons of dried prawns (soak in the water for 15min, throw the water)
- 1 Teaspoons of salted soya bean (also known as Taucio)
- Few small chili, cut into small pieces
- Sugar

Method:
1. Cook the rice until it becomes the porridge.
2. Open the canned peanuts put on the small plate.
3. Open the canned pickled lettuce, put on the small plate, add 1 lime juice, small pieces of chili, and 1 teaspoon of sugar.
4. Pound the dried prawns, put on the plates, add small pieces of chili, salted soya bean, 1tsp of sugar, and 1lime juice. And stir it.

Done! Isn’t it very simple?
You can do it in a short time, take the canned food, open, open, cut, cut, add, add. That’s all!
You can serve it together with fried egg or fried salted fish too.
If you like sour and spicy, I’m sure you will like this menu very much.

The Prawns and Sambal Jempol

This morning I was thinking of eating prawns. Thinking of how often my mother in Jakarta boils the fresh prawns and eat it with Sambal Jempol, the original hot chili made in Indonesia.

Actually I’m not a person who likes prawn very much. After I move to Penang, we often go to hawker food to have our meal. Every time I eat Hockian Mee, Curry Mee, Fried Kwetiaw, I will leave the prawns at the side.

Don’t know what makes me thinking of eating prawns today. Maybe because I’m pregnant. Am I craving?

I bought them home, and I cooked it for my tea time, and serve it with Sambal Jempol, I purposely bought this Chili back to Penang. Because I found that the chili sauce in Malaysia is not hot enough.

I really enjoy the prawns I cooked.

I found that eat prawns while pregnant is good. Because they are a good source of protein and zinc.

The protein is essential for the development of the baby (especially the brain) and may help protect against preeclampsia during pregnancy.

Zinc supports a healthy immune system, helps maintain your sense of taste and smell, and is needed for DNA synthesis. Zinc also supports normal growth and development during pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence.

The prawns don’t contain high levels of mercury like some other fish do.

The only risk is food poisoning, but it will not actually harm your baby. As long as consume the prawns while they are still fresh, and well cooked, then it is fine to eat them. Just don't eat a gone off prawn cocktail that's been sitting in the fridge for 3 weeks. This advice applies to anyone, not just pregnant women!