CookiNg Oil

Hoo..So use canola oil for cooking for better health.

Best Heart Benefits From Canola and Fish Oils -- Not Olive Oil
By Jeanie Lerche Davis

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/13/1728_55672?src=Inktomi&condition=Home%20&%20Top%20Stories

WebMD Medical NewsMarch 14, 2000 (Atlanta) -- Olive oil may be nearly as dangerous as saturated fat in clogging arteries, according to authors of a study comparing the effects of canola, olive, and fish oils. They presented their findings today at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Anaheim, Calif.

"We expected there to be no detrimental effects at all because they were all good oils. What we found is that two were good and one was not -- olive oil. Olive oil impaired vascular function just like a Big Mac or fries or Sara Lee cheesecake," says Robert Vogel, MD, head of cardiology at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. He tells WebMD that the study's results "represent a major change in terms of what we should be telling people about what they should eat."

Vogel has long been recognized for his work regarding diet and health. "There is such confusion in the population as far as what's good and what's bad," he says. His research specifically focuses on the endothelium, which is the lining of blood vessels such as arteries and veins. When the endothelium is injured, it triggers atherosclerosis, which is the buildup of fatty substances on the blood vessel's walls that leads to heart disease.

His study is based on the famous Lyon Diet Heart Study, published in 1999, which showed that the low incidence of heart disease of coastal Mediterranean residents was due to a "Mediterranean diet" of bread, vegetables and fish, less meat (red meat replaced by poultry), fruit, and -- not olive oil -- but canola oil.

"Most people don't realize that the Lyon diet did not use olive oil. Volunteers in the study didn't particularly like the taste of olive oil, so they substituted with canola oil," says Vogel. "It's fascinating. ... Although they may have made part of their decision based on the tastes of the volunteers, it was actually a very smart thing to do."

In his study, Vogel and colleagues compared olive oil -- which is very much a part of a traditional Mediterranean diet -- with canola and fish oil. Ten volunteers, all with normal cholesterol levels, were given three meals composed of canola oil and bread, olive oil and bread, or salmon, with each meal totaling 50 g of fat.

Both before and after the meals, arterial blood flow in each volunteer's arm was measured using a technique that combines ultrasound and a blood pressure cuff. "We can watch what happens to the size of the artery when we increase blood flow. Normally, the artery should increase 10-15% in diameter. If it doesn't increase, you don't have normal [blood flow]," he tells WebMD. Arterial blood flow can be an indicator of whether the lining of the arteries -- the endothelium -- has been damaged, Vogel says.

The olive oil meal caused vessels to constrict by 34%, whereas the canola oil and salmon meals caused insignificant changes in blood vessels, Vogel reports. Because such constrictions injure the blood vessels' endothelium, they contribute to heart disease.

"We showed that omega-3 fats [the kind of fat found in fish] cause no impairment in [blood vessel] function, but olive oil with omega-9 fats does. The real importance is not whether it's monounsaturated or polyunsaturated; it's whether it's omega-3," Vogel says. Canola oil is enriched with omega-3.

Laurence Sperling, MD, medical director of preventive cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, reviewed the study for WebMD. "I think this is an interesting finding and it explores a bit more the impressive benefit that was seen in the Lyon Heart Trial," he tells WebMD. "There was a lot of speculation about the benefit -- was it due to various components of the diet ... or the fact that [Mediterranean people] eat a lot more foods prepared with olive oil?"

Noting the study's very small size, Sperling says that it is a "well-done study. There's a lot of good data to suggest that this is a good measure of the [health] of the blood vessel."

Ronald M. Krauss, MD, head of molecular medicine at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., tells WebMD that Vogel has been a leader in studying the ability of the blood vessels to dilate and allow more blood to flow. "His method of doing the measurement is pretty well established," Krauss says, however "this [study's] observation should be confirmed in larger studies and not interpreted to point the finger away from olive oil until we have a real clear picture whether this is consistent and until we understand the mechanism."

Vital Information:
In a small study comparing different types of oil, olive oil was found to be potentially damaging to blood vessels, while canola oil and fish oil were not harmful.
Canola oil and fish oil contain omega-3 fats, but olive oil contains omega-9 fats.
One expert cautions that more studies on a larger number of people are needed before these results can be confirmed.

GlimpSe of U...

My BB is now 1.2kg ..and put on another 4kg... sob sob..cry out LOUD..very very loud.. so scary to see my weight shooting up non-stop. nopause in between. how am i going to shed those kgs gained???

But,felt relief is that bb is healthy and normal. doc said bb is slightly bigger..another sob.cos that means if bb too big, harder to go for natural birth.. got to control what i eat le..

no more baking !

Popiah

finally im making popiah during weekend. the ingredients are not difficult to prepare but the process of wrapping was tiring..

but my popiahs are not bad.. crispy and nice..yum yum


Ingredients:
1. mengkuang
strip it thinly. put into a pot and add water to cover the mengkuangs. heat up. add dark soya sauce and pepper. shimmer till the water dry up and mengkuangs are soften.
2. carrot
strip it thinly. boil it with plain hot water
3. tau pok.
strip it. boil with hot water too
4. tauge (beansprout)
clean it and remove roots. boil with hot water too
5. popiah skin ( cover the skin with a clean clothes, as stated in the instructions)

Methods.
1. after all the ingredients 1/2/3/4 are ready (cooked & boiled), you can start to do the popiah wrapping
2. put a small amount of each ingredients ( or you can mix 2/3/4 in a bowl, easier) then warp the filling with the popiah skin. tighten the wrap with a bit of strach water at the end of the wrapping.
3. repeat till you finish all the fillings.
4. remaining popiah skin keep in freezer. the instructions said to keep in fridge with temperature -18 deg ? so i reckon it meant freezer.
5. deep fry the popiahs.

tada... one dish ready to consume. LGG loves it cos it is fried ! shake head! anything fried and crispy will be his favourite.

of course, i fried some bee hoon to go with the popiahs..


lots of work with the popiahs..spending whole afternoon in kictchen..phewww
Happy Cooking !

DUmpling

This year the first dumpling i've tried is vegetarian dumpling given by our aunt.
Expected. vegetarian always not as nice as actual. But not so bad though



So, now im looking forward to mum's dumpling. Since young, i never buy dumpling from outside cos i grew up eating only MUM's dumplings. maybe this is about time for me to learn how to make dumpling ? muahhh

mum said this year she tried red bean dumpling.. yum yum.. MUST try !

Asam Fish

Tried out this asam fish recipe from the microwave cooking book.
Not bad at all. It is suppose to be asam fish head but i use fish body instead of fish head not much flesh..



Ingredients:
1. Fish (clean)
2. tomatoes ( cut into 4 )
3. lady fingers ( i use long bean instead,)

Blended ingredients:
1. 5 shallots
2. 5 garlics
3. 1/2 ginger
4. 3-4 dried chillies
5. 1 lemon grass

Methods:
1. heat up oil. fry the blended mixture till fragrant. add in sugar + salt to taste.
2. squeeze some lemon juice into the mixture.
3. add in fish.. let it shimmer for a awhile, then add in the long beans & tomatoes
4. let it shimmer for about 20 minutes, stir once awhile.
5. when it is done ( fish meat cooked and long beans cooked ), scoup out and squeeze some lemon juice to add to taste.

Tada...one dish done !

BB products

One more headache is the bb product shopping. there are so many brands in the market to choose from. Not sure which is better and with best value.

Fren recommended Avent as this brand is designed according to scientific research and the design will prevent some of the unnecesary problem experienced by bb of he past. Some books recommend Pigeon.. blahh.. many others.

Anyway, i bought a mixture..
pigeon breast pump + bottles + pad
Avent bottles + soother.
Pureen's diapers +pad + baby bath <-- bought at motherhood exhibition.. super good deal

I bought quite a lot of clothing from mothercare and gotten the VIP membership. but the stuff there are so ex. even the soother is much expensive compare to outside shop like metro/isetan.. so don't buy from mothercare.. bluff people one !!
I bought spring maternity wear from mothercare.. it is so much x compare to i buy it from spring shop itself... another super expensive shop is IOI.. kena bluff cos my first purchase of maternity clothes was from this shop. super expensive !!

still have some more thing to buy this weekend. gonna shop n shop

BB Movement

Every now and then i can feel bb kicking inside..sometimes she kicks so hard till i can see my belly pop up..

Lately, early morning 5am or so, she will start to exercise inside my tummy..i will wake up and cannot sleep anymore..notti.. no day and night..she moves the most when im resting..

According to readings, bb moving can be anytime, but just that during the day when we are busy with work/cooking/household chores, we might not notice the movements..and also bb may be sleeping cos the adult movement is some kind of lullaby to them.. like rocking chair..so they sleep when mummy is active..

So, when mummy is resting, calming down, she starts to move about cos no more rocking from mummy..cute huh !

i wonder what is she doing inside..kicking ? twisting about ? punching ? most of the time from ultrasound, we can only see her moving her arms and legs.. but those movements cant be felt so much like what im feeling daily..

and mummy is advised to sleep side way, best if on left side, cos this is the best posture for bb to get enough oxygen & nutrients flowing from mummy's body to uterus. I used to sleep flat on my back ever since.. so the adjustment to this sleeping posture is not easy..always having aching on my arm/shoulder when awake and need lots of cushioning like pillow/bolster to support me on each side..

after all these months, i still find sleeping side ways not so comfortable but kinda used to it already.

i do simple yoga almost everyday.. i think light exercise does help. at least i don't feel clumsy with my enlarging tummy. after giving birth i think im gonna pick up yoga again.. good exercise that can do anytime in your life stages. just in different phases..

Dim Sum where-abouts

We went to this restaurant for both mother's & father's day celebration.

First time, we had dinner there, the food is so-so, normal chinese food.
Second time, we went for the lunch dim sum.. yummy.. nice. they have wide range of dim sum to choose from and the price is reasonable.

Just to help me remember this restaurant:

Red Star Restaurant
Add: Blk 54, Chin Swee Road, #07-23
Tel: 6532 5266 / 6532 5103

Recommended place for dim sum. Only during lunch hour 12 noon to 3pm.

Water Crest soup

i always like water crest soup (Si yang Cai tang). this is the soup we usually order when eating in Crystal Jade restaurant. i think this can reduce heat from body or something.

That day this dish just crossed my mind, never knew i saw the watercrest in ntuc, so quickly grab one packet.. so tonight will be watercrest soup for dinner !!!

i'm not sure how to cook it, but from what i see, it should be as below.

Ingredients:
1. water crest
2. pork ribs
3. garlic
4. salt

so, i shall try out tonight and see how it goes. wish me luck !

Pork Ribs

That day saw a recipe to cook beef.. but i alter the recipe with pork ribs. nice nice nice..so i shall call this dish Steam hot Pork ribs



Ingredients:(for 2)
1. 1 potatoe (cut into 4)
2. ginger ( slice in pieces)
3. lak ci (the small round hard thing you found in dumpling, i bougth from market for $2 one packet)
4. 1 cinnammon
5. pork ribs (clean properly, rinse with hot water to remove the blood)
6. garlic (diced)
7. 1 carrot (cut in small chunk)

Method:
1. prepare a big bowl, put in one small bowl of water, heat up
2. add in pork ribs and the rest of the ingredients
3. let is shimmer and stir as and when
4. add in some salt to taste.
5. let it shimmer for another 30 minutes, till the lak ci/potatoes/pork ribs are soft

Ta-da !!! one dish prepared. simple & easy and a nice dinner.

Sponge Cake

Sunday, i tried to bake this traditional Sponge cake but failed. cos my cake ended up to be so hard. when i dip into milk, i noticed the milk cant even soak the cake, imagine how compact this cake is ! maybe my mixing method is wrong.. dunno why also.



The recipe from the DJ:
Traditional Sponge Cake (20 x 6 cm baking tin)
Ingredients A:
4 eggs
100g sugar

Ingredients B: (sifted)
120g plain flour
¼tsp salt

Ingredients C: (mix well)
25g milk
50g melted butter
½tsp vanilla oil

Method:
1. Put eggs into mixing bowl. Use high speed to whisk until frothy. Add in sugar slowly. Whisk mixture till very light and fluffy (about 10 mins)
Continue to use slow speed to beat for1-2mins
2. Fold flour lightly into egg mixture in one direction
3. Lightly mix in Ingredients C in one direction. Do not over-mix
4. Pour into lined and greased baking tin
5. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180ºC for 25-30mins until cooked and golden brown. Remove

WeEkn-ENd MEaLS

Hoo.. guess what i've cooked during weekend ?!? heee.. salmon & spaghetti.. yum yum

Salmon is easy. We bought 3 strips of salmon fillet from market for $5 (good deal) then what i do is just to clean the fillet, wipe salt and little pepper on it. wrap in aluminium foil and put in microwave for abt 8 minutes. The result is so yummy, the juice and the salmon meat is so so so tender and nice.

Then, of course i have some fruits salad to go with it. Perfect !

Yummy Salmon


Spaghetti was great too. I made the sauce myself. simple really. learnt from a recipe book borrowed from library.

Tomato sauce:
- 2 big tomatoes (boil/peel skin/dig out the seed and mash it)
- 1/2 big onion (cut into small chunks)
- 5 garlic (diced)
- Olive oil
Make sure you smash the tomatoes into smooth chunks/purees form.

1. Put in some olive oil into frying pans
2. fry diced inions & garlic till fragrant.
3. put in the mashed tomatoes.
4. add in some salt & pepper to taste.

scoup out the mixture and leave it to cool. You can keep in fridge for storage.

After you have cooked the spaghetti, remember to put some olive oil ( i missed out this part, my noodles turned out harder after leaving it for some time ).
add in minced meat ( dicd sausage ), button mushrooms (sliced ) then when abt to eat, add in the home-made tomatoes sauce & don't forget the pamerson cheese , sprinkle on top !

Yummy spathetti


suppose to be pumpkin soup.. but turn out to be pumpkin paste. but i love it either way..

Yummy.. as simple as that for my weekend dishes.

Sad REaliTy

One of my aunt back home just had one of her leg, from knee down amputated.
She has diabetes for years. always look exhausted.

So sad to hear abt this news. I used to go to her house and stayed overnight when i was young. They always teased me and his youngest son a pair ! which i dunno why but tot he is my bf when i was young, 5 or so. haaaa.. until when i started schooling then i know that is not the case, he is just a cousin who is abt my age, one year older than me.

My aunt has many kids:
- one twins (one passed away when young, one is drug addict, in and out of rehab dunno what happen to him cos my aunt & uncle disowned him already)
- 3 sons and
- a daughter

Eldest son's business venture caused the family to shift from their big house to rented house..im not sure the current house is theirs or still rented.

the second son is very very obese.. have some sickness they say but not sure how true. till now still single.

the youngest son married with a hairdresser who got pregnant before married. the wife was then left my cousin to another old man.. they said she kena "bomoh".. but after that heard she came back to my cousin. messy

The normal one is the daughter, who married a normal m,an, have kids and all.

Now, she travelled back from KL to take care of her mum. Cos all the daughter in laws cant do that..

See.. still daughter better. sons all cant depend on....

Hope she will get on with her life, as my mum said her the other leg also not doing well. May Buddha bless her and her family.

My mum ONCE again warn me to control my sugar intake as my family members have diabetes background. Sigh.. i cant bake that much liao..

my recent checking on glucose level for pregnancy is normal. But that does not mean i wont get it later. so must really control. I don't want to get any part of my bodies amputated !!!

ChiCkEn CH@p...

Tonight im cooking chicken chop. The recipe as below (Curi from DJ's recipe again)..

I've marinated the chicken and keep in fridge since yesteday evening. so, today will just fry it.

Chicken Chop
Ingredient:
Boneless chicken thigh : 1 kg <-- i just use two chicken thigh

Seasoning:
10 shallots (minced) <-- i din use 10, i used abt 5
3 tbsp ginger juice
1 tsp chillies powder
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp kunyit powder
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp corn flour
5 serai (bruised)
1 tbsp sugar
1½ tsp salt

Method:
1. Wash chicken thigh thoroughly, cut into big pieces, drain and put
in a mixing bowl
2. Add seasoning and mixed well thoroughly
3. Cover mixing bowl with aluminium foil and leave in the fridge
to marinate for approximately 4 hours
4. Add a little oil in a skillet, fry chicken pieces with low flame
on both sides till cooked


Hope it will turn out yummy.. should be spicy.


After-cooking tots:
Forgot to take picture !! anyway, the chicken turned out not bad at all, very fragrant and taste nice.

But, i have a problem with chicken thigh frying. always fry for very long still the inside (near the bones) look bloody. So yesterday i actually put it in oven for 10 minutes.

Recommended dish!

I'm 24-WeEkS *O*

Im 6 months preggy now.. 4 months more to go !! can't wait to welcome my baobei to our world..

next week will see her again..this time i want doc to show me more of her look...but i think unless it's 3D else hard to see that clear.

Bee bee also preggy, givin birth in Nov. She is really something. one year one bb. muahhh

Sesame & Honey Stewed Ribs

Got this recipe from web too.

Sesame & Honey Stewed Ribs


Honey is a more nutritious substitute for sugar to add sweetness to this dish. There are many varieties of honey to choose from and you pick the type your family likes best. Some varieties are lightly lemon or orange flavoured.


Serves: 4 people


8 - 10 pieces pork ribs (washed and cleaned)

6 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

1 large knob ginger (finely chopped)

2 - 3 tablespoons dark soya sauce

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

3 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon sesame seeds (lightly toasted)

5 - 10 black peppercorns (whole)

salt to taste


Method:

1. Place ribs in a deep pot with enough water to cover them completely.
2. Add soya sauce, salt, pepper, garlic and ginger.
3. Cover pot and simmer for about 1/2 hour before checking if the meat is tender. (If the meat is still tough, top up with a little water and stew for another 15 to 20 minutes.)
4. Add honey and sesame oil, mixing well. Continue to simmer until gravy starts to thicken. Carry on mixing from time to time to ensure ribs are evenly coated.
5. Turn off heat, place ribs on a serving dish and pour remaining sauce over the ribs. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving






After-cooking tots:
The water i use is just to cover the ribs. But after stewing for 45 minutes, still so much water left. it's a bit like soup than the stewed ribs.

But, the taste is good. Can try again.

Wan Tan Mee

Weekend meal..first time make wan tan mee.
Cant get "char siew" so just make do.



The thing is, it looks better than it taste.cos the noodle stick together. My boiling method not right, put too much noodle at one time.

so, shall do it again !

Muffins

Hooo.. managed to squeeze out some time for my muffins making..happy happy.

They are nice..yum yum..simple steps too.





MUFFINS
Ingredients A:
Self-raising flour: 300g
icing sugar: 250g <-- i've reduced it to 150g, still my ,muffins are sweet

Ingredients B:
egg : 135g eq to 3 eggs
milk : 105g
melted butter: 125g
vanila essense : ¼ tsp.

Steps
1. preheat the overm to 220ºC <-- my oven no need to pre-heat
2. sieved the self-raising flour, then add in the icing sugar. Place the mixture into a mixing bowl and leave aside
3. Mix Ingrediets B together with mixer till even. Pour the mixture into the flour mixture, with one direction speed, mixture all together till evenly. Do not over-mix, else the muffins will be too tough.
4. pour the final mixture into cups/muffin cup- 80% full
5. Leave in the oven for abt 15-20 minutes <--i leave it at 150ºC for 35 minutes


Shall post the photos of my muffins when free.

W@rK-ING d@y

working on sat.. been some time ever since i have to work on sat. col on long leave. so no choice.

This weekend no time to bake anything. But, now i hnd itchy, wanna bake some muffin. geeessss.. how this gets on me. i've printed many many recipes from web. but just no time to do it !!!!

After work, LGG & i will go to the motherhood expo for some purchasing before GST hike. Gonna get all the bb stuff le before i get too heavy to move like now.

shall see if tmw have time, bake something nice. cant wait !

Fatty PealScale GirlFriend

LGG got a girlfriend for the lonely fatty pearlscale.. so now he is not so lonely..hopefully..

The new pearlscale looks much smaller compare to our "ah pui" pearlscale. but still the tummy bloated like me cos it is suppose to be like that.. smaller ah pui.

so, now my home has 3 ah pui.. me, fatty pearlscale, small pearlscale.. three bloated at the tummy.. muahh...

the new pearlscale still not used to her new tank. always remain at the bottom. unlike the fatty, always swim like mad to the top begging for food. very very hungry .. all the time..

Finger cross, they will survive till my bb born..