Actual Cooking for Tufeil

Sun, 7th Feb 10 (10months old)


I just came back from a sleepover @ Nan's place and discovered just how much Tufeil LOVES mashed potato. All these while i had been giving him KFC's, Popeye's and Breek's mashed potatoes. Expensive and troublesome to go out and buy, so suddenly i decided to make them myself!


Well, a few days before that, i already discovered www.weelicious.com and found the recipe for baby mashed potatoes and other easy things to make. Anyone who knows me would know that i'm crap at cooking. If you were to rate me from 0 to 10 0 being worst and 10 being excellent, i'd be like.... -2!


So i started from the EASIEST THING to cook.

EGG YOLK

1 Egg, fully cooked
1 Tsp Water

1. Crack and peel egg.

2. Separate the cooked egg white from the yolk (parents can eat the egg white for a protein boost which you’ll probably need at this early hour).

3. Place the egg yolk in a bowl.

4. Mash with a fork and add water until it makes a thick paste.

5. Serve.


Hard cooked eggs

*This method creates an egg that is fully cooked but still silky, not dry, overcooked and easy to mash
4-6 eggs, any size, white or brown will do

1. Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with water.
2. Bring water to a boil.
3. Turn off stove and let rest for 10 minutes.
4. Remove hot water from eggs and cover with cool water until eggs are room temperature.


I don't eat boiled eggs myself so have never boiled them before. And i also doubt Tufeil will like it, so i only made 4pcs. I kept chuckling inwardly to myself at how many times i hafta consult the instructions again and again, as simple as they are! Thinking... rest for how long? Was it to remove the water first or rest first? Is this considered boiling yet? How long do i let it remain boiling?


The recipe said only 1 tsp of water to every egg.... but i thought it was TABLEspoon. But even after 4 of them, the mixture was still too thick so i added another 2. *Shrug*


Actually at the same time, i was also doing mashed potatoes. Again, i laughed at myself. Action pro sey!


Mashed Potatoes (Serves 4 = 2 Cups)

1 Lb. Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and halved
1/3 Cup 2% Milk
2 Tbsp Butter
2 1/2 Tsp Salt, divided

I have NO idea what 2% milk is. I took it to mean Fresh Milk. But then we dont have them in the fridge (nobody in the house drinks milk! me i drink CHOC milk. Certainly can't put THAT in mashed potatoes now, can i? haha) and all the other ingredients were available (Surprise!) and i cldnt wait to get started.

So i replaced 2% milk to Express BreastMilk. HAHA. Also, i was afraid if it turned out badly so i only did HALF of this proportion. So that comes out to 5pcs of potato @ 8oz, 80ml of eBM.....

Instructions:

1. Place potatoes, 2 tsp of salt and cold water to cover the potatoes in a large pot.

2. Bring the water and potatoes to a boil.

3. Reduce to medium heat and continue to boil for approximately 15-17 minutes or until fork tender.

4. Heat the milk and butter in a saucepan or in a glass bowl in the microwave until warm and butter is melted.

5. Mash the potatoes using a ricer, food mill or potato masher in a bowl until smooth.

6. Add the warm butter/milk mixture and 1/2 tsp salt and stir to combine.

7. Serve.


I had to google what is a ricer (still don't know), food mill (I have but a kiddy version, so i dont think its up to mashing potatoes) and a potato masher. As it turned out, the last item is actually the thing you use to fry burger. Check! Yayy we have that!



Instruction said to turn down the heat to medium and continue to boil. But I wasn't sure if it was boiling yet cos the bubbles were so small as compared to when i was boiling the eggs. PLUS, the gas on my stove at high was not too high so i didn't bother to turn down to medium.

WOW! The potatoes were SUPER soft and sooo easy to mash! So that i only mash under 1min. It was a magical sight when i poured it the milk + butter and stirred. It was like a revelation to me... "So thissss is how u make mashed potatoes" was what really went thru my head like a flashing neon sign.