LilyAnette

Chicken Wings in lemon & Oregano

2012-01-30T20:33:00.001-05:00

RecipeIngredients:6 chicken wings, dissected to 2 parts; Juice of 2 large lemons; 5 pip of garlic (grated); 1 small knob of ginger (grated to yield 1 tbsp); 1 tbsp dried oregano; 1 tsp cornflour; 1/2 cup water or lemonade; white pepper; Kosher salt Method: Marinate the chicken wings with the lemon juice, grated garlic & ginger, Kosher salt, white pepper and oregano. Leave it in the fridge for 2

Black Vinegar Braised Pork Hocks

2012-01-29T16:58:00.001-05:00

Without realising it, January is almost coming to an end already. Is it me or the same with everyone else that the days and months seem to fly by so fast that I feel like I am always trying to squeeze in time for everything here and there and never have enough rest even during the weekends! While I long for Fridays to come by when Mondays start, the fact is I haven't even time to laze around

Kumquat & Tangerine Chiffon Cake

2012-01-22T14:46:00.000-05:00

Today is the Eve of the Chinese New Year and as with all Chinese families, we will be having our Reunion Dinner tonight. I grew up loving and longing for Chinese New Year celebrations despite being a very westernized kid but there seems to be an underlying understanding in me that I am pure Chinese, only that I am illiterate in its language but everything else, I am almost perfect. I speak 3

Meyer Lemon Tart

2012-01-16T13:31:00.000-05:00

Although it is cold winter now, my appetite somehow yearns for spring and summer flavors. Perhaps it was the overeating of meat, nuts and anything buttery during the prior holiday months of November and December, come January and February, I always feel like I have to trim down by eating more greens and fruits based desserts. I do enjoy dishes with heavy gravy but when comes to the sweet tooth,

Lotus Leaf Wrapped Glutinous Rice

2012-01-14T12:33:00.000-05:00

My kids absolutely love sticky rice and everytime we go to the Dim Sum restaurant, they will always ask for the Lotus Leaf wrapped Sticky Rice (Lo Mai Kai) alongside the Char Siew (BBQ pork) steamed Buns. Glutinous rice is high in starch and requires extra water to cook it and some people gets indigestion for having too much. There are sweet glutinous rice desserts in the Chinese cooking, which

Bento Days

2012-01-10T18:48:00.000-05:00

It is hard to believe that X'mas was just 3 weeks ago. January started with a very busy schedule for me and my kids, hubby including. Today is only the mid of the second week of the first month of the year 2012 and I already feel like I am doing alot everyday and wondered if I still have stamina to run the whole year before the next X'mas comes along! On the bright side, no snow and terrible

Buckwheat Soba & Ham in Broth

2012-01-03T14:16:00.002-05:00

Today's temperature has dropped below 0'C but no snow in sight. I didn't complain much about this winter as there was no snow ever since that big Noreaster that dropped heavy snow on us last October. And I was glad that we did our X'mas break road trip with no hassle nor worries about icing roads. I was not joking that I ate my X'mas ham almost everyday last week and definitely all will be

Ham & Cheese Vegetable Pastry Pouch

2012-01-02T16:36:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year 2012. 2011 went by so fast for me and I can hardly remember what I did a year ago. This year will be my 4th year doing this Blog and every year I hope to do something different from the last. Thanks to my hubby for getting me a new camera, I have ditched my old Canon and jumped ship to Sony. Food photography has become an obsession rather than a hobby for me, and I intend to

X'mas Dinner 2011

2011-12-26T13:52:00.000-05:00

Merry X'mas & Happy Holidays. At the time of this posting, it is already Boxing Day but December is all about the Holidays and from the time we put up the X'mas tree, we will continue to celebrate the festivities up till New year's day! This year has been pretty hectic, especially since we returned from our Asia trip over the summer. Kids ushered into new classrooms, mingled with new classmates,

December Bento Days (2)

2011-12-08T17:02:00.001-05:00

It is the X'mas Season and I am incorporating the main colors of red, green & white in my daughter's lunchboxes. There are plenty of X'mas themed pastas in the stores now together with festive food picks and I just couldn't resist! The teddy Bears were cut out of beef franks and attached together with fried dried noodle strands and to save time, I used store prepared frozen vegetable spring

December Bento Days

2011-12-02T12:29:00.001-05:00

Penguin & Colder Days

Blueberry Almond Frangipane Tartlets

2011-11-04T23:21:00.001-04:00

Trying to rejuvenate my interest in baking. Although lagging in inspiration and ideas, I run my baking pantry weekly to look at everything. With X'mas coming, it is time to plan for my cookie boxes again and hopefully I will come up with something better this year, more colorful and wonderful! And hopefully no more unexpected NorEaster like the one that hampered the kids Halloween celebration

October Bento Days (2)

2011-10-25T22:17:00.000-04:00

This post is for all the Halloween Themed Bento. My kids really look forward to Trick or Treat on Halloween night and with these Bentos, I would think that I extended the fun for the whole month for them instead of waiting for the very last day of October to collect their 'Treats'. Jack Skellington & Skull Skull Boy Jack O Lantern & Bat Frankenstein Monster & Mummy Frankenstein Monster &

October Bento Days (1)

2011-10-25T21:59:00.000-04:00

Nothing much going on these days. Creativity has shifted to the Bento boxes and the Halloween themes gave me more ideas on using up my dried seaweed sheets and carrots. Every year the celebration of Halloween seems to get bigger with more offerings of costumes, accessories and not forgetting all sorts of baking items in the stores. This year I attempted a costume for my daughter and to my

September Bento Days (3)

2011-09-30T10:14:00.000-04:00

The busy first month of school has gone by without a hitch and I am very glad that the kids are loving school. No whinning, no crying, no complaints..... music to every parent's ears. Not done much in the kitchen except for Bento. Obviously I am in the Angry Birds Craze now, albeit I don't own an Ipad or anything technically sophisticated that needs my fingers more besides this old laptop I am

September Bento Days (2)

2011-09-22T20:16:00.000-04:00

I managed to pick up some more Bento tools and picks during my summer trip to Asia. Seeing the supplies there was like a kid in a candy store and having Bento making as a hobby surely breaks the bank if one doesn't practise a bit of control over the impulse buying. The fact is new designs of Baran, picks, boxes and simply anything to do with Bento keeps getting cuter and better and for a mom like

Apple Streusel Muffin

2011-09-22T09:59:00.000-04:00

With rain on a daily basis and cooler evenings, summer is officially over for me. Despite being away for more than 2 months and busking under the hot sun of Malaysia, I always prefer the warmer days than winter days. It was great to experience the remaining of the summer here for the past 2 weeks and thanks to my hubby, he managed to freeze a big box of the summer blueberries from this year's

September Bento days

2011-09-14T13:38:00.001-04:00

This new School year sees both my kids graduating to the same school and myself becoming a very early riser to pack both their Bento lunch and mid-morning snack boxes. It was not easy for the first week, having just recovered from jet lag from our recent trip to Asia and sorting through new activities schedules for both the kids during the whole week. At first I thought I would have some free

Drunken Chicken (Shanghai)

2011-09-10T15:54:00.002-04:00

Hello all! Have been way too long that I have been away from cooking and blogging. Hope everyone who follows my blog is well and fine. With the year nearing to an end, that means alot of festivities and seasons to celebrate and I will get back right into the kitchen and continue cooking up and baking out stuffs that teases the eyes and pleases the palates. I have been out of the kitchen for more

Coconut Muffin

2011-06-08T18:33:00.000-04:00

It is Mid year with the month of June flying off fast! Is it me only thinking that the earth seems to spin the 24 hours of a day at high speed or same with everyone else? I hardly see any spring Tulips during the past months of April and May and now the Roses in my front porch are blooming with the Summer heat. In my 4 Seasons, I think Summer is the shortest one to stay. Despite the longer

Beef Tendon

2011-05-29T21:13:00.000-04:00

With less than 1 month to go before I travel to Asia, things have been a bit hectic. Cleaning up things, packing stuffs and getting ready for the end of another school year for the kids takes up alot of my 24 hours in a day. Along with that comes allergies and alternative weather of hot and cool can take a chunk of energy and concentration. Recently I have received a few comments on my posts. As

Rhubarb & Cranberry Whole Wheat Pie

2011-05-15T19:03:00.000-04:00

Spring is the season for Rhubarb and strawberry. Similar to celery in shape, Rhubarb is not associated to the green Celery though but considered a vegetable generally but called and referred to as a fruit in America. Its leaves are removed as they are toxic and the stalks are packaged and sold. This is my first time baking with Rhubarb and I didn't know what to expect except for the fact that it

Lemon & Coconut Cake

2011-05-11T15:49:00.000-04:00

Oh Spring, why art thou so lovely and brutal at the same time? My seasonal allergies have been slowing me down big time! Watery and itchy eyes with a runny nose just makes life miserable. Simply rubbing my nose dry, so to speak! As age catches up, I feel I am more susceptible to these type of seasonal allergies and any allergens can trigger something in me. Oh how I envy those people who can

Mango Pudding Tart/Mothers Day

2011-05-08T02:04:00.001-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers who follows my blog. I am in my 7th year of being one and everyday I learn something new on taking up this very challenging role. Sometimes I whine, nag, frustrated and worn down but all in all, motherhood is pretty much the most satisfying duty and undertaking a woman can go through in her life. To see a little child growing up while being involved as a a

Baked Vanilla Cheesecake with Strawberries & Pistachio

2011-04-24T12:33:00.028-04:00

Happy Easter! As with the idea of Easter, I pray for peace and respect among mankind. Seems difficult to attain with the ever growing greed for power, status and unrests all over the world these days. But I believe if one does good, a chain effect always ensues. Although my kids don't really grasp the real meaning of Easter yet besides the bunny and eggs, it is a sure way to talk to them about