Homemade Hummus - easy recipe

Hihi friends of Hazelnutt House (",)

I was quite excited when I saw that naan has been introduced to the Mission range of bread, pita and wrap products.  I bought it and decided to prepare a hummas dip for dinner to go along with the naan.

I would usually use dried garbanzo beans (chickpeas) but I did not have the time to soak the beans overnight since I wanted to prepare hummus for dinner.  So, I grabbed a can of garbanzo beans and made my way home.

There are many varieties of hummus recipes online, but this is how I prepare mine.  I usually make use of what I have instead of going out to get every single ingredient for one recipe. 

Most recipes call for lemon juice but I hardly use lemons at home, so I replaced it with just water since the chickpeas form a really thick paste when blended in a food processor.  Tahini which is a paste made from sesame seeds is usually needed, but I do not have that in my kitchen, so I added the next best thing, sesame seeds.  In place of fresh garlic, I made use of garlic salt... hehee... seems like I am replacing most of the usual ingredients used to make hummus - but I assure you, it still taste pretty good, imo (",) 

So, I blended everything together and when a smooth paste is formed, I transferred everything into a bowl and added olive oil.

Here's dinner for Kiddo and I (",)

Although Kiddo loves the naan, I thought it was too 'bready'... I prefer the frozen ones that I usually buy.  I think I will start storing some hummus in the fridge and bringing it to work for lunch along with some carrot and celery sticks.

Talk to you ladies soon (",)

Products that I will not repurchase from iHerb

Hello, friends of Hazelnutt House :) 

I thought i'll share some of the products that I've bought on iHerb that didn't work for me.  I'm in no way slamming these products, just wanna let you know why it didn't work on me and why I won't be repurchasing them.  For your consideration in case you've your eyes on these products that you can purchase form iHerb.

1. Giovanni Cool Mint Lemonade Scrub - I gushed about this body scrub initially coz it smelled soOOooo good...lemoney and minty, a combination which I adore. The minty effect is powerful, I must say.  Your skin will be tingling for a long time during and after use. However, it left an uncomfortably oily film on my skin after washing off.  So I thought i'll just wash the film off with an extra coat of body wash, but the film seems to cling on for dear life.  Despite the heavenly scent, I think it is far too much trouble and discomfort to use.

2. Sibu Beauty Age Defying Eye Cream - This eye cream contains sea buckthorn which is a good anti-aging ingredient however, sea buckthorn has a less than pleasant smell.  I know coz I've tried sea buckthorn supplements and they smelled really bad, at least for the brand that I've tried.  This cream smells too, though not as badly as the supplement.  It doesn't seem to sink in readily into my skin and when it does dry it leaves a matte layer which I can't appreciate since I am looking for a hydrating/moisturizing eye cream.  Who would have thought that an age-defying cream wouldn't be moisturising.

3. Herbatint Rosemary Herbal Oil - I've used this hair oil several times, usually heating it up a little before I slather it all over my hair and scalp for a deep treatment.  It smells great!  And the surprising thing about this oil is that after washing off, it doesn't leave an oily feeling on my hair!  I supposed lots of people will appreciate this factor, right? Yeah, I appreciate that but it doesn't seem to do much for my hair.  A deep conditioning mask will do a better job.  I will continue to use it till I run out but I don't think I will repurchase it. 

4. MyChelle Dermaceuticals, Creamy Pumpkin Cleanser - I wouldn't say that this is a bad cleanser coz I think it works well as a cream cleasner.  However, it just did not fit into my cleansing regime.  I usually remove my makeup with makeup remover or cleansing oil and then I double cleanse with a foaming cleanser.  I can't use this cleanser as my first step to removing makeup, coz it doesn't do that well and I can't use it to double cleanse since it does leave a creamy film on my skin.  So I usually use this only on rare days when I do not have makeup on.   

5. Go Raw, Organic Super Cookies in Chai Masala - Hmmm... I was excited about this brand of chips, it looks more like chips than cookies to me.  There are lots of good reviews for this product and I was eager to try.  I don't like the taste, the ginger is too strong IMO and the chips were dry and gritty... tasted like doggie food, if I have to give it an apt description. 

6. Go Raw, Organic Super Chips, Pumpkin - This tasted better than the Chai Masala cookies, but sadly, I still associate it with doggie food... :( I realised it's made from pumpkin seeds instead of the fleshy sweet orange fruit that I thought I was getting.  

7. Stash Tea Company, Moroccan Mint Tea - Big mistake... somehow this tea tasted big on liquorice... and I for one dislike liquorice.  I don't see liquorice as an ingredient, so something in there tastes like liquorice. 

8. J.R. Liggett's Old Fashioned Bar Shampoo, Tea Tree and Hemp Oil - I really wanted to like this product after reading reviews on how it cleaned and cleared up oily scalp on some people.  I did read that it may not work with either hard or soft water, I can't remember which but I am sure Singapore's water doesn't go well with this bar shampoo coz having been warned by some reviewers, the exact thing happened to my hair as I was trying to wash it out.  It lathered well and I was happy till it was time to rinse.  My hair seemed to have turned into a waxy mess during the rising stage, the water seemed to have turned the lather hard or something and to rescue the situation, I had to use my regular shampoo to wash this shampoo off.  So it really depends on the type of water that runs in your tape when trying this product out. 

iherb haul

Hihi friends of Hazelnutt House (",) 

there's always a good reason to shop online yeah?... As I was tossing and turning in bed one night, unable to fall asleep, I decided to do some shopping on iHerb. 

About a week later, my loot arrived.

Here's what I got: 

• EcoTools Full Volume Styler brush - I love this brush and instead of having a paddle brush to brush out my hair and a separate round brush for blow drying, I use this huge round brush. 

• EcoTools Retractable Kabuki brush - LOVE LOVE LOVE this brush!  It's fab for touching up on the go.  I retract this and cover it up with the cap and leave this at work or take it along with me when I travel.  The first time I bought this brush was probably five years ago.  It was in the silver packaging.  I am still using it, just thought I should get another.. just because....

• Edamama in Slightly Salted and Spicy Wasabi - The salted version tastes better... somehow the wasabi powder manage to land on the sides of my lips and mouth area and I could feel the heat which was rather uncomfortable. 

• Annie's Bunny Grahams, Chocolate flavour - Kiddo's and my favourite! Not too sweet, just right with a tad bitter chocolate taste.  Repurchased this countless times.
• Stacy's Pita Chips, Cinnamon Sugar flavour - LOVE LOVE LOVE... everyone in my family loves this, even Kimmie The Dog.  Repurchased this countless times too!

• Go Raw Super Chips, Pumpkin flavour
• Go Raw Masala Chai Super Cookies... nice texture, but I don't fancy the taste... won't repurchase this again, but I may try the other flavours.

• Stash Tea in Morrocan Mint and Breakfast in Paris - I'll recommend Breakfast in Paris.  It is a lovely light subtle taste of bergamot, this black tea is neither tart nor bitter.  Steer clear from the Morrocan Mint tea though coz it tastes like it contains liquorice.  I bought it coz it contains peppermint and spearmint.  I thought it will be a good combination along with green tea to detox BUT... somehow it tastes of liquorice... eeks!

• Alba Cotanica Hawaiian Shampoo & Conditioner in Mango
• Dickinson's Witch Hazel toner.  OMG!  I didn't know that this toner smells soOOooo bad! I really doubt i'll use it again... will probably use it to wash something... say, the sink? 

• Some E.L.F. lip products

• Nutiva Chia Seeds - repurchased countless times, coz I eat it with oats every morning.  Kimmie The Dog eats it too, so I have to repurchase this quite often.

• Auromere Need soap - purchased this for Kim, coz neem soap is supposedly good for her sensitive skin.  

Here's a code that I'm sharing with you ladies.  Use it to get some dollars off your first purchase. 

Talk to you soon!

Gatecrashing ideas for Chinese wedding

Hihi friends of Hazelnutt House (",) 

Last year when a friend of mine got married, she invited me to be her one of her bridesmaids and my daughter as the flower girl.  Click here, if you wanna take a look at Kiddo's flower girl makeover.   

So, one of my duty as the bridesmaid was to design a menu of exciting dishes for the groom as well as the groomsmen.  The bridesmaids scour the internet for ideas and we finally came up with these four pretty original dishes.  

In the Chinese culture, the groom and his buddies have to eat their way through four (sometimes more) dishes before the groom gets to meet the bride.  

The bridesmaids have to create the dishes with these four elements in mind - sour, sweet, bitter and spicy. 

For the sour dish, we filled plastic champange flutes with apple cider which is truly and awfully sour when you drink it neat.  For the toppers, we made a skewers using rolled up sour candies and lemon slices. 

The sweet dish was simply Lotte Choco Pie  dunked in condensed milk and double dunked in colourful sprinklers. 

For the bitter dish, we coated a marshmellow with 99% Lindt cacao (available in major supermarkets).  The chocolate bar was first melted slowly in a microwave.  To amp up the bitterness of the dish, we tossed in some fresh cranberries that are bitter and tart.   

Lastly, for the spicy dish, we served the men with fried bean curd filled with chilli padi laced with a generous amount of wasabi.  

   

Thank you for reading, hope this entry comes in handy when you're planning a gate crashing menu for someone's wedding.

(",)

Quick and easy boxed lunch - veggie pasta

Hihi friends of Hazelnutt House (",) 

It's Sunday night!!!  

Tis the night that I prepare my lunches for the next couple of days - usually three days worth of lunch.  I do not enjoy eating out while at work but I don't mind eating the exact same home cooked lunches few days in a row.  So, my lunches are prepared, usually on a Sunday night and on Wednesdays nights.  I used to prepare sandwiches or wraps in the morning before heading to work, but I prefer to sleep in a bit more instead (",) ... so it's preprepared refrigerated lunch boxes for now.  

Tonight, I've celery, bell peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and broccoli. 

Here's what I do to put everything together...

Coat the pan with olive oil and in goes the ingredients... and swish them around a little before I added the seasoning.

For this veggie pasta, I added some wholegrain mustard and pesto. 

When the veggies are well coated with the seasoning, in goes the pasta that I've boiled earlier.  Stir it all up and let it cook for a bit.  I try not to cook my veggies all the way since I heat them up before eating which in turn cooks the veggies further.  

Just FYI, here's the other bottles of seasoning that I alternate with.  I try not to use tomato or cream based sauces for my packed lunches coz the idea is to eat healthy and sauces are higher in calories as well as salt content.

Here's my little tubs of veggie pasta ready to be refrigerated (",) 

I usually go with 30% carbo and 70% veggies for my veggie pasta. Coz having a full lunch makes me wanna go to sleep while at work.. hehehe...

Talk to you ladies soon!

Sandwich party

Hello Friends of Hazelnutt House (",) 

When I invited my pals over for a get-together, I scoured the world wide web in search for some easy recipes.   

Simple recipes were abundant and I noted a ton of them on a notepad.  I couldn't decide which recipes to choose!  After thinking for days, BINGO!  A sandwich party!  

So, I decided to put together three different sandwiches for that day. 

Egg mayo croissant:

• croissant
• eggs (hard boiled)
• mayonaise (I used my favourite Kewpie Mayonnaise) 
• pepper (to taste)
• leaves

Ham & cheese focaccia: 

• focaccia
• sliced ham
• sliced cheese
• tomatoes 

Cucumber on baguette:

• baguette
• cucumber
• cream cheese
• butter
• salt
• dill weed

Three selections of sandwiches using different types of bread.

I added these fairy flaggies just for fun (",) 

It also helps hold the sandwich fillings in place instead of having them slide around as I cut through them.  I poke the flaggies into the focaccia loaf before slicing it with a serrated knife.

Easy to make, and fun to have... although my friends were poking fun at me for adding this lil' finishing 

touches to the sandwiches. 

Fairy flaggies: 

• office labels (narrow strips)
• toothpick
• fairy stamps & ink

Hope this entry helps in one way or another when you are planning a lil' get-together with friends this holiday season... not very Christmassy but it should be a suitable occasion for a sandwich party (",)

Easy cinnamon sugar snacks

Hello friends of Hazelnutt House (",) 

Well, I love anything with cinnamon and toasting or baking with cinnamon & sugar is like having natural air freshener in the home.  I bought this tiny bottle of cinnamon sugar in Daiso while in Japan. 

I have a HUGE gigantic bottle of plain cinnamon powder which I picked up at Phoon Huat as backup.  I'm not even sure if I will be able to use it up but since the smaller bottle wasn't available when I wanted it, I had to settle for this giant of a supply. 

So, here are some easy to prepare snacks that Kiddo can help out with.  

First up, 

Cinnamon Sugar Wrap

Kiddo spread butter on the wrap and we went on to sprinkle cinnamon powder and sugar all over. 

Pop it into the oven and wait... not too long though, coz it will start turning black very quickly.  So, stand next to the oven and watch over it (",)  I'll say it will probably take 5 minutes or so.  If you are using a toaster oven, it will be much faster.

Next up, 

Cinnamon Sushi

Kiddo flattened regular square shaped bread with a rolling pin and went on to spread butter on the flattened pieces.  Next we added cinnamon and sugar and started rolling each slice into a log.  

Lastly, we cut the log up with a knife and that's that... oh yes, we did pop these 'sushi' pieces into the oven for about 5 minutes.  

I used to teach in an international school and there was cooking class every week.  I tried this out with different spreads e.g. chocolate, peanut butter and jelly and butter with rainbow sprinklers and THE KIDS LOVE IT!

Lastly, 

Cinnamon Banana Toast

We sliced the bananas into thin pieces and layered them onto buttered bread.  Sprinkled some cinnamon and sugar all over and toasted it (",) .... a warm and comforting snack indeed, but beware, it is pipping hot once out of the oven!

Oh man... now I feel like baking me so cinnamon rolls!  

Check out my cinnamon roll entry here (",) 

iHerb repurchase - free delivery for orders over $40usd

Hihi ladies of Hazelnutt House (",) 

here are some stuff that I am repurchasing from iHerb.  Maybe it will give you an idea on what 'tried and tested' items you can get if you're thinking of making an order.

I like this Annie's Homegrown Cheddar Classics.  They are about $3ish usd.  When I first snacked on these, I thought they were much tooOOooo salty.  So the entire box sat on the shelf for quite awhile till I ran out of adam cheese which I snack on with celery and carrots.  I remembered this box of salty crackers and decided to pack it with my celery sticks and carrot for my afternoon snack at work.  This combination turned out fab!  A good alternative if cheese isn't available.

I share this Snickerdoodle animal snack from Barbara's with kiddo.  It's about $4ish usd.
I like that it isn't overly sweet and has a strong taste of cinnamon.

I love love love this tea cup which is currently on sale for $2.95.  It comes with an infuser and a lid - all in clear glass.  Gonna get me a couple more so The Hubs can have his own.  Here's the link (",)  

And since I've run out of this Harney & Sons Earl Grey Supreme, it'll have to go into my cart too (",)
It's $7.99usd.

iHerb is offering free shipping via SingPost for orders over $40usd.  

Talk to you ladies soon!  Gonna browse iHerb for more online satisfaction! 

Review - Harney & Sons tea, Vanilla Comoro and Earl Grey Supreme

Hi friends of Hazelnutt House (",)

I purchased these tins of Harney & Sons tea from iHerb without much knowledge of this brand.  I love how the tins look and I'm already thinking of how I can make use of them once I'm finished with the tea.  

Vanilla Comoro is a decaffeinated black tea and Earl Grey Supreme is a regular caffeinated black tea.

I'm not a tea connoisseur but I really enjoy tea.  

Based on my tea preference, I would say that it is worth spending the money on both these flavours. 

Both the Vanilla Comoro and Earl Grey Supreme are $7.99USD each on iHerb.

I shall put it in simple layman words and give my views on these two types of tea. 

This vanilla tea tastes like regular black tea although it is decaffeinated.   There is no bitter or tart taste.  The scent of vanilla infused with the tea is very warming, creamy and rich.   Especially suitable as a comfort drink (",) Very smooth... Taste great with absolutely no sugar (",)

I like this Earl Grey Supreme for the smooth taste of tea.  Not too tart or bitter.

The scent of bergamot is neither too strong nor weak.  Just right!

I'll like to take this chance to link you ladies to a Tea Community website http://steepster.com 

You'll be able to find reviews of many different types of teas here.

Right now, iHerb is offering free delivery with SingPost for orders over $40usd.

Remember to use this code if you're making your first order on iHerb.com (",)

Talk to you ladies soon!