Cooking Like Jamie Oliver

At least, I'm trying to!

Everyone knows that cooking is a talent that God did not bless me with so I was really intrigued by the new Hand Blender developed by Philips in collaboration with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. Oliver's vision was to create a series of blenders and food processors that were easy to use (even for Kitchen Noobs like me!) yet versatile enough to prepare anything from gravies to salad dressings.

Philips Jamie Oliver Hand Blender (S$108)

The blender also comes with a set of exclusive Jamie Oliver recipes to get you started (more tips and recipes  here).

Guide to setting up your appliance and recipes to start cooking

The 5 Components of the Hand Blender: 
1) A powerful 650W motor with power buttons
2) Main blender bar with titanium-coated blade - stays sharp for longer
3) Chopper - for chopping onions, etc
4) Whisk - for whipping cream
5) Beaker with lid - for keeping extras in the fridge for later

Clockwise from left: Main motor, blender bar and whisk; chopper components and container;
Closer look at the motor with only 2 buttons to lessen confusion

The blender bar, whisk and chopper are interchangeable and can easily be attached to and removed from the main body. I thought that was very convenient!

Since it was my first time doing any sort of blending in our kitchen (I told you I was a Kitchen Noob!), my mum-in-law thought we should start with something really easy: making juice! =)

We decided to make watermelon juice since we had some watermelon in the fridge. As we weren't sure whether to use the chopper or the main blender bar, we decided to use both and compare the difference.

Using the chopper to make watermelon juice

Vs. using the blender bar to make watermelon juice in the beaker provided

This beaker is really useful when preparing pancake batters or smoothies with your hand blender because if you don't finish the batch, you can just pop on the lid and keep it in the fridge for later. Very convenient!

Watermelon juice made using the blender bar (left) vs juice made using the chopper (right)

Other than the fact that the juice made with the chopper is slightly finer, there doesn't seem to be any difference between the two. But I guess if you want more juice, you would have to use the blender in the beaker as the quantity that can be placed in the chopper is very limited.

When we realised how easy it was to blend the watermelon into delicious juice, we started to rummage our fridge for more fruits to make into juice!

Such as Orange & Carrot Juice (with a lot of pulp)

And Mango Milkshake

Both were nice but the hubby and my girl preferred the Mango Milkshake best of all. The creamy, sweet taste was superb on a hot and sunny Sunday afternoon! =)

Another benefit of the hand blender is its versatility. As Jamie Oliver says, "being handheld means it can be used to blend directly in your pan, whether it's a pot or even a deep roasting tray for the perfect gravy." So we tried to blend some porridge to test if it works.

Blending porridge into a creamier texture

I thought there will be splatters all over but there were none. Super easy and fast, perfect for making baby food for when I have a baby in future! =)

The verdict?

I really like the Philips Jamie Oliver Hand Blender as it is lightweight, convenient and easy to use and wash. Folks with dishwashers would be happy to know that the blender accessories can be safely washed in a dishwasher as well. However, the Hand Blender may not be suitable for big families of more than 5 people as it is only able to blend small quantities. You may need the Philips Jamie Oliver Food Processor or Blender instead.

As a Kitchen Noob, I enjoyed using the hand blender as it was really idiot-proof. I now have more confidence to venture into my next creations, chocolate ice-cream and cream of broccoli soup (look out for my next post)! Wish me luck! =)


Disclosure: This is Part 1 of a series of sponsored conversations on behalf of Philips Electronics Singapore. All opinions are my own.

We Are a Finalist of the Singapore Blog Awards 2013!

This came as a huge surprise!

We made it to the TOP 10 in the Best Family Blog category of the Singapore Blog Awards 2013! O.M.G!

We couldn't have done it without you, thank you for your support! =)

Now if you reallly love me and realllllly want to support me (pretty please!), you can help by VOTING for me!

Click here to VOTE!

Online voting by the public constitutes 30% of the total score, so I need your votes!!

You can vote once DAILY, so don't forget to come back and vote again. But no matter whether you vote once or twice, you should know that I'd still love you very much =)

Once again, THANKS SO MUCH for ALL YOUR SUPPORT!! ^_^

The Softness of Comfort

Who doesn't love the feeling of soft covers?

I guess like father, like daughter, as the hubby does not buy bed sheets that do not pass the "stroke test" while the girl is super picky on the kind of blanket she uses. She would literally kick off her blanket again and again if it isn't soft enough for her taste!

Some time ago, Comfort Ultra sent me their new range of fabric conditioners, Comfort Ultra Pure, to try out.

Specially formulated for delicate skin, Comfort Ultra Pure ensures that your laundry ends up with pure softness and long lasting fragrance.

The best thing is, Comfort Ultra Pure is dermatologically tested to be safe even for the delicate skin of a baby! That means no more washing of your baby clothes and blankets separately! You can now throw all of them into the washing machine together with the rest of your laundry and you will still get baby-soft clothes and covers suitable for children or adults with sensitive skin.

We've been using the softener for a while now and let's just say, the girl has been tolerating her blanket a lot better (I say tolerate because she never liked blankets in the first place).

I mean, who can say no to a soft blanket? Definitely not me =)

Disclosure: This is a sponsored advertorial on behalf of Comfort Ultra Singapore. All opinions are my own.

Chums

Whenever my colleagues and I want to celebrate, we would always head on to Chums Steakhouse in Toa Payoh because it has the most value-for-money lunch in the area.

Available daily from 11.30am to 2.30pm, every order of a set lunch comes with a free flow All-You-Can-Eat Salad Bar!

Salad Bar

Variety of side dishes

Everything you need to make your favourite vegetable or fruit salad

3 different types of soup

The Salad Bar does not just serve salad but also different kinds of side dishes, soups and even soft serve ice-cream! *Yum*

If you love coffee or tea, you may also top-up $3.50 with your meal to get the All-You-Can-Drink Java Bar. If you're wondering about the quality of the coffee, rest assured, it is taste-certified by my coffee-addict work buddy.

Java bar

My favourite mains here is the beef steak (it is called a steakhouse, isn't it?) as it is succulent and goes well with the accompanying mushroom sauce.

Beef steak

And like I always say, no good meal is complete without dessert! You can choose between vanilla, chocolate or mixed soft serve ice-cream topped with rainbow or chocolate toppings.

Soft serve ice-cream corner

Yummy ice-cream

Yes, now you know why we like to have our lunch here indeed.. *grin*

Chums Steakhouseis located at 190 Lorong 6, Toa Payoh #02-516, Singapore 310190.
(Tel: +65 6358 2998)

Linking Up With:

   

What Are We, If Not For Our Mothers

My mum with her precious granddaughter

As the saying goes, you appreciate your mothers so much more when you've become a mother yourself. Thanks Ma for everything. Hope you like your gift =)

 Happy Mothers' Day! ^_^ 

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Our 4th Anniversary at Equinox

The hubby surprised me with a bouquet of flowers delivered to me at work to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary on the day after Labour Day. Thereafter he came to pick me up and brought me to Swissotel, The Stanford for our romantic dinner.

Equinox

Located at the 70th floor of Swissotel, Equinox Restaurant is the highest restaurant in Singapore boasting of amazing views of key iconic structures in Singapore such as the Esplanade, Singapore Flyer, Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands.

Fine dining at the highest restaurant in Singapore

The hubby told me that you had to top up $20 more just for a table next to the window but we both thought that it was fully worth it for the experience =)

Champagne for him and mocktail for me
(The bouquet was just too cute so it had to be in the background of everything! *laughs*)

Taking pictures of us together with the hubby's new S4 while waiting for the food

As the sun began to set and the sky turned dark (literally), our tasty appetiser finally arrived!

Appetiser: Quail meat roll with cabbage

Up next were our sides that went with our gigantic main dish of the best and most expensive beef steak we had ever tasted since our Kobe beef directly flown in from Kobe during our trip to Hokkaido last year.

Left to right: Black pepper sauce to drizzle on the steak, potato gratin with cheese, seasonal vegetable with mushrooms

Mains: Black angus beef sliced into 6 pieces, 3 for each of us

Despite its hefty price tag, the beef was one of the best we had ever tasted (and believe me, we have tasted a lot!). The meat was tender, juicy and literally melts in your mouth. Each bite oozes with so much flavour that even though we were so full (each piece was really thick), we kept eating as it was simply too delicious to stop!

After meal we ordered dessert and was pleasantly surprised with a complimentary cake from the restaurant to celebrate our anniversary! So sweet of them =)

Happy Anniversary cake

Dessert: Hazelnut parfait with cherries soaked in brandy

Both the cake and our dessert were equally delicious but tried as we might, we really couldn't finish them! Alcoholic fanatics like the hubby would probably prefer the parfait as it contained some brandy, which went really well with the chocolate and hazelnut.

All in all, although each dish took a while to serve to us as I suspect they made every dish from scratch upon ordering, the awesome food and beautiful views fully made up for it. The service was also very good as the waiter was very knowledgeable and responsive to our needs.

We had such an enjoyable dinner, definitely one that I will never forget =)

 Happy 4th Anniversary to Us!! 

With many more to come!