KookyCulinary

Everytime we go to Ikea, we would always end up at the food court and have some meatballs. Can’t resist them! Lil’ C love them, so I got a bag of the frozen ones from Ikea.

Today’s bento: Meatballs with lingonberry sauce, peanut butter & jelly sandwich, grapes and jellybeans for a treat.

Every month, I would borrow the book From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan from the library, only to bookmark some recipes and returning it every month without making anything. Finally after many months, while my parents were in town, I finally managed to try out one of the recipe that I had previously bookmarked.

Since it is blueberry season now, what better recipe to try than the Orange Berry Muffin? This recipe is very easy and quick to make. The verdict? Usually I find muffin recipes to be too sweet but I was surprised to find that this muffin is not sweet at all. The sweetness of the muffin comes from the blueberries which is what I like. This is definitely a keeper.  

Since the weather has been so awesome and Lil’ C is out of school, we have been trying to go to the park almost everyday. We’ll pack a little lunch or grab take-outs, head over to the park and have a picnic. We have been trying to go to different parks and checking out the different playgrounds. I never knew that so many nice parks exists here!!

Anyway, lunch yesterday was this simple bento:

Turkey and String Cheese on a stick, Carrot Bundles, Por Lor Bao(Pineapple Bun) and Apple sauce.

Sorry for being MIA again lately. The weather has been awesome this week and we have been taking advantage of it. We have a very short summer here and so when the sky is blue and the weather is warm, everyone is outside playing. Sometimes I feel like we are just like the bears. We hibernate in the winter and play in the summer. In the winter, the sky turns dark around 4 pm but in the summer, it does not turn dark till almost 10 pm! So we definitely want to take advantage of it while it lasts.

Meals have been very simple this week. we have been eating lots of sandwiches, take-outs or simple BBQ. This is also one of the simple meals that we had this week.

Fish with Tartar Sauce, Rice Pilaf & Corn. The fish is actually panko-crusted frozen fish from Costco. It’s actually not too bad and very handy for those days that you don’t have time to cook. I dress it up with my own homemade tartar sauce.

Recipe for tartar sauce:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sweet pickle relish
1/2 cup minced onion
lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste

Mix it all together and refridgerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

I received this surprise in the mail this week. Yay! Thank you Foodbuzz!!

This tote will come in very handy for the summer trips to the farmers market. And I love the badge with my blog name on it.

In case you haven’t heard of Foodbuzz, it’s a great place where food bloggers can connect with other food bloggers to discover new food ideas & dining experience. You are also able to check out fellow food bloggers in your neighborhood. If you are a food blogger, Foodbuzz is also a great place for you to earn some extra money. Just click HERE to sign up for the Foodbuzz Featured Publisher Program. Interested in earning extra cash and surprise gifts like the above? Hurry and go  check out Foodbuzz right now!

I love agar-agar especially those with coconut milk. It’s very easy to make. This is what I usually bring to a potluck when I am too lazy to make anything fancy. But I usually try to use different molds just to have fun. If you are interested in the recipe, it can be found in my previous post HERE.

This summer has been a very hectic summer. We have been traveling a lot. That is why my blog update has been so sporadic. My parents are here now and my in-laws will be here soon. Luckily we are all able to fit into my car while my parents are here. However when my in-laws and a few relatives come next month, we will probably need to rent a bigger car.

While checking online for great car rental deals, I discover that Advantage Car Rentals are having great savings and discounts on their car rental this summer. Their car rental starts at $20.99 per day. They even offer up to 50% discount on Luxury and Convertible car rentals. Whether you have a small family or a large family, need a van or a truck, Advantage has a huge variety of cars to fit your needs. I am probably going to rent a van to fit everyone in. So if you are looking to rent a car this summer, go check out Advantage Rent a Car today.

I have not been cooking at all this week since my parents are here. Either we have been eating out or my mom has been cooking. I have become so lazy!! I think it’s going to be hard for me to start cooking again after they leave next week.

Anyway, this is something that I made before I left for my cruise. It was for Lil’ C’s last day of school. I decided to make a simple gift for her teacher. A cookie bouquet!

The cookie bouquet is made up of shortbread cookies on a lollipop stick and decorated with royal icing. This is my first attempt at making the cookie bouquet. Not quite satisfied with it. It was fun making it though.

I am back after a week’s cruise to Alaska. It was an awesome trip. My parents came from Malaysia and joined us on the cruise. The weather was great, the seas were calm and of course, the food were awesome! If you are ever thinking of going on a cruise, make sure that you go on a diet pre-cruise because you will be packing on the weight during the cruise like I did.

Food is available pretty much from the moment you wake up till you go to bed and it’s all free, even room service! The best part of an Alaskan cruise is the dining view. Imagine watching a glacier passing by while you eat your lunch and occasionally a glimpse of whales and dolphins jumping out of the water. So gorgeous!

Sending lots of lovey-dovey hearts in her bento will remind her that mommy loves her. :) Today’s bento consists of Nutella Sandwiches, Cheese Hearts, M&M chocolate, Carrot Sticks with Miso Dip & Grapes.