It's the Final Countdown

This second pregnancy has gone by way too quickly. Without realising it, the final countdown has now begun. I'm going to be 37 weeks pregnant in a few days time, meaning there's only less than 4 weeks to go before baby pops. However, realistically she could come out earlier too, just like Sabina, who was born 11 days earlier than her due date.

We went for a maternity photo shoot 2 weeks ago and initially, I was a bit apprehensive how Sabina would behave during the photo shoot as I would really love her to be in it. Both hubs and myself were totally impressed as Sabina was so cooperative and did everything as she was told. Here's a sneak peak of our family portrait. Can't wait to see more soon!!

We're nearing the end of the Chinese New Year as we welcome the Year of the Goat. Better late than never, I'd like to wish everyone Gong Xi Fa Cai!!! Wishing you and your family a happy and prosperous year of the Goat.

Also, for the first time in years, we finally managed to have a family reunion dinner together with my family as they flew over for Chinese New Year. In case you're not aware, reunion dinner is usually held on New Year's Eve.

We had a little feast of our own. It was absolutely delightful and delicious. We had stir-fry vegetables, steamed fish, sweet and sour prawns, roast pork (air fried), braised mushrooms with scallops and abalone, and last but not least, lotus root and red dates soup with pork ribs. I feel like having another mini feast now :)

Air Fried Turmeric Chicken Wings with Curry Leaves

I know that about 2 months ago, I got the fancy kitchen gadget called Thermomix. Not long after that, I bought another kitchen gadget...Ooops!!

Please welcome my latest addition to my kitchen family, the Phillips Avance Collection Airfryer XL. Eating healthier and frying without oil. That got my interest!!! I must say, I've been using both my gadgets a lot and I kept telling my hubs that they're the best things that I've ever bought last year for my kitchen!!!

I was trying out my own recipe last week with the Airfryer, where I would traditionally have to deep fried it with lots and lots of oil. This time, with the Airfryer, I did not have to use a single drop of oil. Did I say that I am super impressed?

You can try this recipe with either chicken wings or drumsticks, but I personally prefer the wings. My only tip is, do note that the curry leaves will fly and might get stuck at the top grill. Make sure you get them out when you've finished cooking, otherwise they will get burnt when you use the Airfryer next time!

Air Fried Turmeric Chicken Wings with Curry Leaves
Recipe by Michelle Lee
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 21 minutes
Total time: 26 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken wings
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground paprika/chilli
• A pinch freshly cracked black pepper
• A handful fresh curry leaves

Cooking Directions

1. Cut the whole wing into sections; which are drumette, middle and tip. Discard the tips.
2. Marinade all the ingredients except for curry leaves, preferably overnight.
3. Preheat AF at 200 deg C for 3 minutes.
4. Air fry the chicken wings at 200 deg C for 8 minutes.
5. Throw in the curry leaves and air fry the chicken wings at 180 deg C for another 10 minutes.
6. Serve with steam rice.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and is looking forward to the new year!! I know I am!!!

We had a lovely Christmas Day with lots of good food and surrounded by friends. In fact, we even had two Christmas meals in a day!!! Christmas lunch at our friend's place and Christmas dinner at our place!! I'm sure all of us were in some sort of food coma that night!!!

Anyway, for the first time ever, I've decided to cook a traditional Christmas meal, sort of. This was our menu:

• Christmas Honey and Marmalade Glazed Ham
• Bread Rolls
• Coleslaw
• Potato Bake (cooked by my dearest friend)

I actually bought the leg of ham from Woolworths just a few days before Christmas and was frantically looking for recipes on how to glazed a ham as I've never done it before. I think I was a little bit too ambitious and was stressing myself at the same time with "What if it doesn't turn out ok?", "What if it taste yuck", and so on. Did I tell you I've never made bread rolls before too? I was trying to do a lot of things from scratch with my new Thermomix and I'm just glad everything turn out ok!!!

Also, all three of the dishes that I prepared were all made with my Thermomix. I must say, it has been used quite a lot lately and I'm absolutely loving it. It definitely has to be one of my best purchases for the year 2014.

Last but not least, happy new year to all of you!!! Wishing you lots of love and happiness. Thank you Lord for blessing me with a wonderful husband, my lovely daughter Sabina and another baby on the way. Can't wait to start the new year as a family of four.

Learn, Live and Hope

In light of what is happening lately, we must remember to learn from yesterday, live for today, and continue to hope for a better tomorrow.

I pray that the Lord will comfort the hearts and bring peace upon the families and those who are affected by this tragic event in Sydney.

First Day of December

For once, our Christmas tree is up on the first day of December. All it needs now is a nice tree topper, a tree skirt and lots of presents beneath the tree! Ho Ho Ho!! Have you all put up your tree yet? Do you have any Christmas tradition?

This year I've been quite organised compared to the previous years as I've almost completed my Christmas shopping!!! Just a few more presents to buy and I'm done!!! I'm actually quite proud of myself this time around as I'd normally leave it till quite last minute and then it's panic mode!!!

However, with a toddler now, I do find it hard to leave things to the very last minute. Planning ahead and being organised do make things a lot easier, and I have to find that out the hard way.

Speaking of some home-made presents, I've been searching the internet for some nice recipes that will make small Christmas gifts. Do you have any go-to and fail-safe recipes to share?

My Latest Kitchen Gadget: Thermomix TM5

Yes, I've jumped on the Thermomix bandwagon and I'm really glad I did. I've been wanting one since I attended a demo quite awhile ago when they were still selling the old model. My dearest Mum decided to give me her Thermomix since she hardly uses it and I used that opportunity to trade it with a brand new model TM5.

I placed my order in the beginning of October and it was an agonising 6.5 weeks wait for it to arrive!!! Boy am I glad when it did arrived and guess what I cooked as our first meal a few days later?

I knew what I wanted to cook as my first meal after I attended my second Thermomix demo as I was completely blown away. It was the Salmon Velouté Meal. I love that dish so much because you're actually cooking 3 dishes at the very same time!! You get a really nice potato and leek soup, a side of vegetables, and the beautiful Salmon, served with a lovely sauce. Even Sabina loves this dish!! She kept asking for more!!

Since I had my Mum and Sister with us at the same time, I decided to cook the Chilli Mussels with Thyme and Tomatoes, and also prepare the Lemonade drink. It was a total hit among my family.

I can't wait to try out more recipes with my new gadget. What's your favourite Thermomix recipe?

Princess Sabina's 2nd Birthday

Happy 2nd Birthday to my beautiful Princess Sabina!! I can't believe you're now 2 years old and that you're no longer a little baby but growing up to be a cute little girl!!! Time has certainly flown pass by way too quickly the last 2 years. I still remember clearly when I was planning your first birthday party!! In fact, I still remember clearly the day you were born!!!

For her 2nd Birthday, we decided to have it outdoor in a park. The weather was lovely and nice, apart from being a little bit too windy!!! Hence the hair in my face photo below LOL (and it was the only family photo of us DUH).

My Mum flew over to visit us and of course, was able to join us in this wonderful celebration. Sabina has been spoilt quite a bit since my Mum has arrived but I guess that's what grandparents always do!!

Now, the highlight of birthday parties are always the cake and this year, it's a Peppa Pig cake!!! Those of you who knows my daughter well enough, will know that she loves Peppa Pig and is a huge Peppa Pig fan. This cake is made by the talented lady, Kerry and if you ever need a cake, you contact her at Rainbow Designs. Not only does her cakes look amazing, they are actually really yummy and delicious too!!

Sabina has been very blessed by all our friends and family. Look at all her presents!! Thank you all so much for coming to her party and showering her with gifts. I hope everyone of you had a wonderful time :)