Plunging into Cast Iron

So I've heard (ok, read, really) soooo many people online swearing by cast iron, and I'm honestly getting sick of even the more healthy ceramic-coated pans. 

I've been using the Happycall Diamond range for some years, and had to change the wok last year because I dropped it d:( It had a huge dent on one side, but honestly, it was also rather scratched, despite my using only non-metal utensils.

As is my wont, I did some reading up on cast iron. Some of the best sites were The Kitchn and Serious Eats, which explain how cast iron works (non-stick, heat-retentive) and how to care for cast iron. 

I decided to buy a small skillet first, as I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle the weight of a bigger one. This one is an 8 inch.

I spent two weeks, just seasoning it. Everyday I would oil it, put it in the oven and roast it for about 45min to and hour, then let it cool for the night.

The result blew my mind away. My pan is nonstick enough to fry eggs without them sticking. Of course the eggs don't slide around like in a brand new teflon or ceramic coated pan, but just a gentle nudge with a silicone or wooden turner lifts the egg off the pan.

The only cons about it are, firstly (of course) the weight. However, I've found my groove for washing and re-seasoning it, and I count it as strength training for my wrist.

The second con is that it stinks. The seasoning, that is. Even after cooling it down completely before storing in my cooled oven does not eliminate the stink. But we'll deal with it.

I've thrown away my HappyCall Diamond frypan. Don't need it anymore. Yay!

Modern Day Kungfu Manuals for Students

今天心血来朝, 为大儿子的两本自习"课本"做了两个covers. 虽然很简单, 却让两本<<武林秘笈>>增添了几分色彩. 希望他看到会更有心情复习.

Happy Birthday To My Big Boy

Eleven years old today!

I made him a chocolate sponge with fresh whipped cream. The recipe for the chocolate sponge is from Kitchen Tigress. Delicious!

Meet My Mother

My sourdough mother, that is. I finally got up the courage to try and make my own starter. After reading several sites on how to do this, including comparisons of flour, water and whether or not to add yeast to "help" it along, I decided to just do the most basic and least-additive version.

So I mixed some filtered water (since I have a water filter) with a mix of (the last of my) plain flour, bread flour, and wholemeal flour. I think my proportions were way off - it was super runny. 

The date should be 25 May 2015 midnight (start of new day)

24 hours later there were a few bubbles on the surface, but it still smelled like wet flour. And a layer of hooch had formed so I poured as much of it off as I could and added more wholemeal flour to thicken it up. 

After another 12 hours, it looked more or less the same, but my son said the smell reminded him of Thosai, the Indian fermented rice flour pancake that we like to eat. Great chance to teach him that Thosai is made of fermented flour paste. I poured off more hooch that had formed and added more flour.

Another 12hrs later, it looked like this! Reminded me of no knead dough after rising. I added still more flour (it's still too runny compared with the pics I saw on the net).

This morning (12 hours later) it had gone nuts! The plastic wrap had been pushed up into a dome by the growing mass of dough. I forgot to take a pic of it because I was so excited at seeing it and immediately pulled the plastic wrap off, which deflated the thing.

 So after feeding it a little more, I transferred it into a clean plastic jar and sent it into hibernation.

I've read that the starter should be at least be a week old before using it to bake, so in the meantime, it's recipe-hunting time! I intend to use this to make a rye loaf, which DH likes. 

Migration of Homeschool Posts to a New Dedicated Blog

Now that I have finally decided to really go ahead with homeschooling my Mouse through Kindergarten, I guess I should really focus on it, and posting our journey will also help me to keep myself motivated and in focus. I have migrated all my previous posts on "homeschooling" to

Training A Mouseketeer

I had a chat with DH earlier tonight, about my Kindergarten plans for Mouse through this and the next year, when he would officially be in K1 and K2 if he were to attend an MOE-approved kindergarten. All along, he has not voiced any support or objection about my schooling Mouse at home, but has always left things in my control. For that, I am very grateful, just as I have always been grateful for his support through my choices to have a natural childbirth, breastfeeding, and delay vaccinations.

Very generally, I described the difference in focus between Kindergarten education in Singapore and the US, comparing based on what I have read and learned from a number of homeschoolers as well as what my first two children went through in their time (they both attended a local church kindy). Then I let him know the goals I have set for Mouse to achieve by the end of next year (effectively, completing K2). He commented that I will be actually teaching Mouse more than what our local kindergartens are teaching. We both agree that our objective is just to get Mouse equipped to a certain extent for Primary School education, which I will most certainly NOT be handling. We do not need him to excel in anything (although that would be a plus), but to enjoy learning, and enter formal school with motivation, discipline, and a willingness to learn.

I still tell myself that, if there comes a day when I do not want to continue this, there is a Church kindy just a couple of blocks away d:)

Three Layered Sponge Cake

This cake caused me a lot of anguish. I started two days earlier before the birthday celebration of a close friend and mentor, with previously successful recipes, but batch after batch failed (thick fatty layer on bottom of cake) till I was at my wits' end. Up till now, I still don't know what I did in the last batch that magically resulted in these almost perfect sponge cakes.

Anyway, here it is. A three layered sponge cake, filled between layers with cream and sliced fresh strawberries and kiwi, then topped with more fresh dairy whipped cream and fruits.

Happy Birthday Yvonne!