The school has just started and boy, how seriously time flies so fast. I now have a primary 1 student!! How could that happened in just a breeze? With this new milestone in our child's life, inevitable changes are likewise expected. There's now the study habit forming, home works to attend to and of course the "baon" (food) preparation for school. Among all these, I guess the later will bring me more excitement than difficulty. To be able to provide your kids with good foods, as a foodie mom,  I'd rather take it as an opportunity instead of an added responsibility. Anyway, when it comes to personally attending to a child's needs, there shouldn't be such a thing as "busy working mom" isn't it? So, my new found routine simply brought me back to baking goodies and all of us in the family coudn't be happier. On his first day in school, I decided to prepare Ina Garten's popular outrageous Brownies. But since I found the recipe too sweet, I adjusted the level of sugar. Also, I modified the ingredients used to my own liking. Eventually I was more than appeased with the results. It's moist, gooey and decadent. Just the right texture properties for brownies. From now on, I should be keeping this recipe easily accessible for this will only be the start of the many food requests (especially of baked goods) to come.

Ingredients (what you need):

1/2 lb unsalted butter

1/2 lb + 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (Hershey's)

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate (Hershey's)

3 extra large eggs

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

1/2 + 1/8 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Melt together the butter, 1/2 lb of chocolate chips and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly.

3. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, vanilla extract  and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

It's just less than a week before Chinese New Year. Everyone and everywhere are gearing up for this big celebration (well at least in this part of our world). Suffice it to say, chinese influence is also all over and to our delight, it found its way to our home. Last weekend, I stumbled upon fresh and nice seafood produce at Fair Price Extra in Jurong Point Shopping Centre. As I looked through the glass container of live fish and crustaceans, I didn't think twice in getting some. Chinese dishes immediately haunted me and left me craving. That explains for these dishes gracing our dining table. If you're looking for healthy and light dishes to enjoy, you might want to try these 2 recipes.

1 medium size live seabass (cleaned), 1 small red onion (chopped), 3 cloves garlic (minced), 2 tbsps spring onions (julienned), 1 tbsp ginger (julienned), 1 tbsp sesame oil, 2 tbsps light soy sauce, 1 tbsp sugar, 4 tbsps water, 2 tbsp olive oil

1. Steam seabass for 7 mins or until tender. Set aside.

2. In a hot wok, saute onion, garlic and ginger in olive oil until fragrant. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, water and sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 mins.

3. Pour over the sauce into the steamed seabass and top with spring onions.