I want a new phone that’s really pretty
Something with a touch of urban simplicity
A phone that’s always smart and witty
That’s why I know I want an iPhone 4 from Digi
I want a phone that’s hip to carry
A phone that won’t suddenly die out on me
A sleek, slim iPhone 4 only from Digi
Ah yes..it’s most definitely the Digi iPhone 4 Me
Mushroom soup has always been something very special and comforting to me. As a child, I loved the aroma and taste of this soup and would yearn for it all the time. Unfortunately, my kids have yet to develop this love.
I had always wanted to create homemade mushroom soup from scratch, as opposed to using the canned versions. I’ve added chopped mushrooms to the canned mushroom soup before, but I’ve never made the soup myself. However, I have had recent yummy encounters with the Marche mushroom soup and also, a couple of weeks back, my new neighbor cooked some herself and shared a bowl with me too.
Hence my interest and yearning to cook this spectacular soup was renewed.
So today saw me making my very own version of mushroom soup. I used white mushrooms, and chopped them up real nice. Not too fine though, because I do like the soup slightly chunky.
I also made my own chicken stock. I used chicken bones, celery, carrots, garlic, yellow onions, bay leaf and parsley.
On hindsight, I should have simmered the stock a little longer. I only simmered it for about an hour or so.
But it was enough to make a nutritious mushroom soup, served with LOVE. 🙂
Hubster gave the thumbs up for this soup, and well…I’m sure the kids will love it too…someday 🙂
Here’s my recipe for Mushroom Soup. I referred briefly to a recipe from a cookbook for kids 🙂
Ingredients:
4 – 5 medium white mushrooms (chopped finely)
1 tsp butter
2 tbsp oats
Fresh milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Chicken stock (homemade or store bought)
Corn flour (optional)
Method:
Boil ingredients for chicken stock for 1-2 hours, then strain the ingredients. Bring stock to a boil and add the chopped mushrooms and butter. Cook for about 10 minutes.
Mix the oats with some fresh milk and pour mixture into soup, while stirring (Oats will provide added fibre to the soup and taste awesome). Add salt and pepper to taste.
If you like the soup to be smoother, you could also blend it in the blender, but I was too lazy to do so. Also, I did add a little bit of corn flour too, to make the soup thicker.
Lately I have noticed the emergence of playgrounds or playareas almost anywhere, even in places where you least expect it: in the malls, in restaurants, in offices (parents talk business while kids play). It has become very important for kids to have fun and for adults to adhere to the unwritten rules and etiquette while their kids indulge in fun play.
Unfortunately, as a parent, I have unwittingly encountered and personally experienced and witnessed adults who are not aware (or who choose not to know) of these rules.
Rule 1: You are not a kid anymore!
Please do not use the playground toys as if you were reliving your second childhood. In case you haven’t noticed, only kids are allowed on those toys and machines.
Rule 2: Tit for Tat (specifically applicable to paid rides, like merry-go-rounds)
On the merry-go-round rides in the malls, only 3-4 kids are allowed per ride, and each ride costs around RM2 usually. If your kid is on one of the horses and you pay the RM2, and then someone else’s kid comes on another horse, it is good etiquette and EXPECTED that the other kid’s parent/guardian pay for another merry-go-round ride, where your kid can ride along too. It is not compulsory, but it is a nice gesture and a polite one.
We never had this problem when we were in the States.
Unfortunately, we encountered a sad and sorry incident here just last weekend. Ethan and Hannah wanted to go on the merry-go-round in Queensbay Mall, and Hannah wanted the purple horse. She ran towards it, but all of a sudden, a much bigger boy rushed to the purple horse and sat on it. His brother got on another horse and they both poised themselves, waiting for me to put in the tokens.
My hubby told them no, we were not going to ride on the merry-go-round because Hannah wanted the purple horse. We then took Hannah to another ride (for one person). The rowdy boys rushed to that same ride and attempted to *cut queue* again. And again, my husband told him off.
Finally the two boys ran off.
Then we put the tokens into the merry-go-round and Ethan and Hannah started having fun on it.
But only for 2 seconds…
Out of nowhere, the 2 boys ran towards the merry-go-round and climbed on the horses. Hannah got really scared and wanted to climb off!
After the ride, the two boys ran off. I could see their parents were about 50 meters away, just watching and not reprimanding them for not behaving at all.
…which brings me to Rule 3.
Rule 3: Keep and eye out for your kids
When kids play with other kids, make sure they do not bully other kids. If they do something wrong, like pushing or screaming, stop it right there and tell them it’s not right to do so.
I do that all the time with my kids and even when I see other kids doing something which is not right, I will not hesitate to tell them so.
And of course…all the rules apply provided Rule 4 is followed.
Rule 4: Do not make yourself invisible
Make yourself present at all times. I have seen kids running around in playgrounds unsupervised, and this is totally uncalled for. What if they get hurt, or what if they hurt other kids? Or what if something *else* happens to them?
I recently read that we can use cucumbers to clean taps and stainless steel surfaces around the house. According to the tip I read, using cucumbers would remove even the oldest tarnishes and stains from stainless steel surfaces, returning the sheen to your appliances.
I was excited to try this out because if this worked, it would mean one less thing I could do without the use of detergents, which meant my hands would not need to be exposed to harsh chemicals too.
So…what do you think? Did it pass the test? 🙂
Well, I’m satisfied 🙂 … and I even used the slice of cucumber to clean my kitchen sinks too!
Heh heh…one more thing….this is also a good reason for me to show off our new bathroom tap (pictured above). Got it from Ikea and had the taps installed in both our bathrooms. Our old taps were the kind where you need to turn it counter-clockwise to turn it on. We’d much prefer these new ones because if our hands were really filthy, we could use our wrists to lift and turn on the tap!
We had wanted to change the taps for years but we only recently found a reasonably-priced one in Ikea. Nice or nice? 🙂
After several months of procrastination, we finally landed ourselves a SWEET SWEET deal on an investment for our home:
The front-loading washer was the model we had wanted a few months back, but it was way over budget. However, after a few months of waiting, we got it for a very very reasonable price. And we got ourselves a dryer too. Hehe…oh yes, my days of overflowing laundry baskets are hopefully over! 🙂
Some of the main reasons we chose to have a front-loading washer AND dryer are:
We’ve only used our new washer and dryer for 2 days and we’ve already seen a whole lot of advantages:
One downside to owning a dryer is of course the peaked comsumption of electricity and power. So I will endeavor to hang some clothes out to dry too, on days when it is sunny enough. Hopefully that will be enough to strike a balance between power consumption and cleaner, drier clothes 🙂
Little Miracles
Our Journey of Love