Mini toads-in-the-hole

Made this the other day and a friend has requested for the recipe. Since I got it from recipe book and need to type it out, I thought might as well share it here for everyone. :)

It's very easy to make actually since I got it from Kids' cookbook. I normally use a 12-hole tartlet tin to make this. Original recipe is for making about 4. So I have slightly modified the recipe for my own convenient.

Mini toads-in-the-hole

The toads in this dish are little sausages, while the holes are made in a batter.

Time to cook: 20 minutes
Preparation: 15 minutes

Ingredients (for making about 12)

• plain flour, 180ml/12 tbsp
• salt, a pinch
• eggs, 3
• milk, 180ml/12 tbsp
• cocktail sausages, 12 (original recipe is using 3 chipolata sausages)
• vegetable oil, 5ml/1 tsp 
• baked beans and steamed green beans, to serve  

1. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add a pinch of salt. 
2. Make a well (hole) in the centre. Whisk the egg and add to the well. Gradually whisk in the milk, beating until a smooth batter is formed. Pour into a jug.
3. Preheat the oven to 220 C/425 F/Gas 7.
4. Brush the 12-hole tartlet tin with oil. Add one sausage to each, put in the oven and cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Remove the tin from the oven and immediately pour in the batter. Return to the oven and bake for 15 minutes, until risen and golden. 
6. Remove from oven. Loosen the edges. Serve with baked beans and green beans. But we actually just eat it without the bean as breakfast. :) 

Tips: To make sure you get lights, well-risen batter it is important that the batter is added to a very hot tin and then returned to the oven as quickly and carefully as possible. It is also necessary to avoid opening the oven during the cooking time.

I reckon it is best served warm. So I usually wake up much earlier if I'm making this for breakfast for the day. It's actually nothing to shout about but kids love it (yeah they love the sausages actually. Hehehe.) but it's something quick and easy to make (which is good for me.) And 12 of them will be gone is just one morning. ^_^ Sometimes if I have I will add some sliced mushroom and cheese to it too. You also can try make it a large one, using 8in pie tin and put fruits (e.g. strawberry , banana) on it. But of course, that one should call a different name. :)

Losing her first baby teeth

*Back-dated post*

Date: Nov 3, 2011

Few days back, Lynn was complaining to me about her teeth "Mommy, my teeth is broken!". First thing that come to my mind was cavity. As this girl of mine does not like to brush her teeth. She would tell me she has brushed her teeth but in actual fact she did not. So I answered her right away "See, don't want to brush your teeth." But then when she told me her teeth was getting very loose, I was wondering is it time for her baby teeth started to drop?

I was not very sure of the age when the child would start to lose their baby teeth. So I Google it and found that, a child's baby teeth starts to loosen and fall out on their own to make room for permanent teeth at about age 6. And girls generally lose baby teeth earlier than do boys. Alright, so that explains what happen to Lynn and it's normal. Phew, not cavity! :D

I could not remember at what age my baby teeth started to fall out but I do remember for some of the baby teeth that were so "stubborn" to fall out, I had to get some help from my brother to get them out. We had tried tying thread to the loose tooth to door knob, then push the door to pull out the teeth; removed the loose tooth with a quick twist; and even using pliers when all other methods were not working! Alright back to Lynn, I told her not to play around with her loose tooth. I also gave her a small clean plastic bag to school, so if the tooth drop off she can put it inside the plastic bag and bring home for me.

2 days later, when I picked her up from school, she excitedly told me her tooth had fallen out. But as her friends requested her to show them her tooth, in the process of showing around, she lost the fallen tooth. I was kind of disappointed as I wanted to collect her baby teeth. But now it won't be complete anymore.

About a week later, I could see the new teeth is erupting. Told her she has to take good care of the permanent teeth as there would be no more new teeth after that. I hope she has a good set of teeth like me. *Keep my fingers crossed*

She was so excited about the teeth......

Kids' First Hike to Gasing Hill

 The 2 cheeky fellow!

2 weeks ago, we went to hike Gasing Hill. It was actually suggested by a friend who was running a Weight Loss Challenge, who wanted to organize some outdoor activities for the contestants to encourage them. It can consider as first hiking for the kids. We went to Sarawak 2 years ago and we went for something like jungle trek during that time. But Hao was just merely 1 years old so I was actually carried him on my sling throughout the whole journey. While Lynn was half walking and half being carried by hb during that time. But on that morning at Gasing Hill, both Lynn and Hao were actually walk with us all the way.

We woke up at 6am, I made an energy drink for all of us. I even bathed myself and the kids to minimize the chances of getting mosquito bite. We left the house at 7am to Gasing Hill. We met up with the others at the entrance. There were many people there. Roadside was full of cars parked by those that also went there for hiking. I remember it was not that popular when I went there few years back. But it always good to see that people are getting more health conscious nowadays.

The weather was good and the trail was not very wet. We took Trail 1. For parts that are too high for Hao as he is not very tall at the age of 3, hb would carry him. But most of the time he walked himself. After completing Trail 1, we rested for a while before continue Trail 2. The kids were enjoying themselves throughout the whole journey. Hao was running, skipping, and hopping around, enjoying the freedom. He even made the "Whoa" "Whoa" sounds, and "doi" "doi" when hopping down the steps. LOL! Other people who walked along the line with us, was commenting how can he be so energetic, shouting and running and jumping there while they have to stop talking to reserve the energy. Hahahaha! And guess what, after we finished hiking, the kids even went to play at the playground nearby! Yeah, they just have too much energy to spend! But as soon as they stepped into the car, both of them went to the La la land. LOL!

The kids requested to go Gasing Hill again last Sunday. So we went there again. And this time, we did not stopped after trail 1. We hiked all the way from the main entrance until we finished trail 2, and then took a slow walk back to where we parked the car near the entrance. I'm not too sure the distance of both trail 1 and 2, but the whole hiking (plus walking back to the car) will take slightly more than 1 hour if we did not take any long break. We are actually a little slow due to the kids. Gasing Hill is an easy place for hiking actually. You don't get very tired from it, and yet you get to sweat a lot. It's a good place for people just started to hike. From young children to old people, as long as you have a pair of good shoe that have good grip is sufficient. We have decided to make it every Sunday is the family exercise day, everyone get to exercise together. :) If the trail is wet due to rain, we will go jogging at the park. Me and hb like to exercise. And I feel happy that both kids like to exercise like us (I hope so)!