Tag / it’s monday

by Sharlene

It’s Monday (November 28, 2022)

We are heading into December soon! I don’t quite feel ready yet….! How about you?

Some things last week:

It was Thanksgiving last Thursday and the kids were off school for the week. In last week’s post, I had mentioned that my 11yo went for a 3 day 2 night science camp in the mountains. He had a blast and loved all the nature stuff that they learnt. They took a night hike, had a campfire, caught aquatic bugs in the river, did a ropes course, and touched a snake. My younger son was especially envious about that part 🙂

On Thanksgiving, we did our usual hotpot. We bought meat from the Japanese supermarket on the way back from picking up the kid from camp. And the rest of the vegetables and three types of mushrooms were ordered from Weee, the online grocer that specialises in Asian goods. The mushrooms (enoki, beech, oyster) from Weee somehow always end up being cheaper than getting it from the Asian supermarket.

The kids helped make a brownie cheesecake (recipe from King Arthur). My younger boy loves cheesecake but no one else does (I quite like Japanese cheesecake though!), so this was a kind of compromise

We also tried a new-to-us ramen place, I had the crab ramen. Lots of fresh crab!
And also ate at the kids’ favourite Taiwanese beef noodle place, which also has good xiaolongbao.

Last night, we had Indian food. This is paneer butter masala and dal makhani with garlic naan.

Currently…

Reading:

The Many Daughters of Afong May – Jamie Ford (in case you’re wondering about the picture, I was just comparing how huge this cabbage was to that hardcover. It was a 3.5 kg (7.7 pound) cabbage although the order had stated that the cabbage would be about 2.5 to 3.2 pounds 😛

Savor – Fatima Ali

Remarkably Bright Creatures – Shelby Van Pelt

Watching:

The Crown

Listening:

Eating and Drinking:

Right now, just an oolong tea. I had sourdough toast with butter for breakfast.

Cooking:

Maybe a mushroom Alfredo as I still have some mushrooms to cook up. It will be a slightly chilly week so I wouldn’t mind some soup too. Maybe tomato soup.

Last week:

I read:

Below Zero – Ali Hazelwood

Hunt the Stars – Jessie Mihalik

I posted:

#WeekendCooking Spam Egg Rice Sandwich

Library Loot (November 23 to 29)

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 
by Sharlene

It’s Monday (November 21, 2022)

Happy Monday! The kids are off school this week as it’s Thanksgiving break. This morning, we dropped my older son at a two-night science camp in the mountains. It’s about an hour’s drive from us through some very windy roads. But he was super excited to hang out with his friends. They’re going to do a night hike tomorrow and hopefully lots of other fun stuff. My younger one was sad that his big brother is going to be away though!

Some things last week:

Over the weekend, we picked up takeout from our favourite Singapore/Malaysia eatery. There’s beef rendang on top, a red vegetable curry and a green chicken curry, satay chicken cutlets, and horfun (rice noodles with a soupy gravy).
I’ve finally been feeling better enough to take walks outside without coughing too much. So I had to take some photos of the lovely colours around the neighbourhood.

I made granola with coconut chips, banana chips, raisins, and sliced almonds.

Currently…

Reading:

Made waffles for Sunday breakfast. And this is one of my current reads – The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

Watching:

White Lotus Season 2

Listening:

Buzz, Sting, Bite – Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson

Eating and Drinking:

Granola with yogurt.

Cooking:

The kid wants to make a spam egg sushi sandwich tomorrow. So we will see how that goes!

Last week:

I read:

Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight – Riku Onda

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 
by Sharlene

It’s Monday (November 14, 2022)

Some things last week:

Unfortunately, this past weekend has been one of not sleeping well due to a cough.

The husband picked up some Japanese cheesecake from an Asian supermarket. I’m not a big fan of regular cheesecake and prefer the much lighter texture of Japanese cheesecake. I believe it has less sugar and the whipped egg whites make for a less dense cake. The 9yo though tried the Japanese cheesecake and declared the regular type is better!
The husband also picked up some sushi from that supermarket. Our go-to sushi takeout place that was run by the nicest family closed down recently after five years. Some new owners are taking over so hopefully they will have similar food. Meanwhile, this supermarket sushi is quite a decent (and easy) substitute.

The kids were watching Cooking Haru YouTuber (a Korean food channel) recently, and the 9yo decided he wanted to have the egg toasts (here’s the video) for breakfast. It was fun to make it with them.

Currently…

Reading:

Watching:

I started watching the first season of White Lotus on HBO Max and sadly, finished Extraordinary Attorney Woo, which I grew to adore.

Listening:

Buzz, Sting, Bite: Why We Need Insects – Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson

Eating and Drinking:

A few slices of baguette, tea for breakfast

Cooking:

Not sure yet, but I have some zucchini and broccoli to cook up. Maybe I’ll put them into a baked pasta as I also have lots of cheddar cheese. Or some type of vegetable fritters would be nice, if I can bother with the frying!

Last week:

I read:

Wash Day Diaries – Jamila Rowser

The Book Eaters – Sunyi Dean

Messy Roots – Laura Gao

I posted:

Library Loot (November 9 to 15)

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 
by Sharlene

It’s Monday (November 7, 2022)

Hello, Monday!

Some things last week:

We tried a new-to-us eatery, which has food that comes on sizzling plates. It’s fittingly called Sizzling Lunch. I had pork belly with rice. I was surprised as the meat wasn’t seasoned, but they do provide garlic shoyu and teriyaki sauces. So you can season it after. The kids had fun cooking their meat, and enjoyed the crispy rice at the bottom.
Made some tangzhong bread.
It felt like we haven’t had laksa for a while, and luckily I had two more packets of the laksa paste from Singapore. I added prawns, fish cake and fish balls. Didn’t have bean sprouts so had to make do with cabbage.
Also, working on a C2C (corner to corner) moss stitch blanket in a bid to use up some stash.

Currently…

Reading:

The Golden Enclaves – Naomi Novik

Watching:

Listening:

Made in China – Anna Qu

Eating and Drinking:

Coffee and toast for breakfast. The clocks changed on Sunday but alas my body clock hasn’t so I was up at 515am.

Cooking:

Chicken rice – at least I plan to cook the rice, I may just serve it with a roast chicken from Costco.

Last week:

I read:

Back to the Garden – Laurie R King

I posted:

If You Could See the Sun

Black Forest Birthday Cake #WeekendCooking

Library Loot (November 2 to 8)

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 
by Sharlene

It’s Monday (October 31, 2022)

Happy Halloween!

It’s also my husband’s birthday today. So we went out for lunch yesterday, and I made his favourite Black Forest cake.

It’s a five layer cake. Fresh cherries aren’t in season so I decorated with raspberries. I used frozen cherries to make the cherry filling. And for the chocolate cake I used this recipe by King Arthur, which makes for a delicious, light and moist cake.

Later today, we will go out for trick or treating around the neighbourhood.

But last Friday, the school held a Trunk or Treat in the parking lot, where families decorated their car trunks, some with little games and everyone with candy to give away.

The kids wanted these Halloween costume hoodies – one is a Minecraft creeper and the other, a velociraptor. But today, the velociraptor decided to be a velociraptor Hogwarts student, so he wore his Ravenclaw cape and tie with his dinosaur hoodie.

Currently…

Reading:

Leech by Hiron Ennes

Watching:

The K-drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo on Netflix

Listening:

Eating and Drinking:

I’m about to have some coffee.

Cooking:

Tonight, I was thinking of cooking either risotto or linguine with scallops.

Last week:

I read:

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism – Amanda Montell

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow – Gabrielle Zevin

I posted:

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Library Loot (October 26 to November 1)

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 
by Sharlene

It’s Monday (October 24, 2022)

Some things last week:

We went to a local haunted house with friends. It’s an actual historic carriage house built in the late 1800s (I believe). It was donated to the city some decades ago and every fall is turned into a haunted house and Halloween fair with games for the kids and treats like caramel apples. The proceeds go to local community projects.

We had lunch at our favourite ramen place. This is butter miso, and you can request to have a spicy sesame paste that makes it spicy and even more delicious.
I made aglio olio with mushrooms, seared scallops, pan roasted chicken, steamed asparagus, and cucumber and tomato salad.

Currently…

Reading:


I’m trying to read I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee but I’m not enjoying it. Is it something I’m meant to “enjoy”? since it is supposed to be about Baek’s struggle with her maybe-it’s-depression-maybe-it’s-not?

Watching:

The Great British Bake Off. I decided to skip the Mexico week episode, as it sounded incredibly horrendous. Luckily, Halloween week was fun. I’m rooting for Syabira, who’s from Malaysia.

Listening:

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism – Amanda Montell

Eating and Drinking:

I had some baked oatmeal with tea for breakfast.

Cooking:

I made some baked oatmeal with blueberries and coconut chips

Last week:

I read:

I just finished If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang, a story set in an elite international school in China.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow – Gabrielle Zevin

I posted:

Library Loot (October 19 to 25)

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 
by Sharlene

It’s Monday (October 17, 2022)

Some things last week:

Hey, it’s Monday again. Hope you had a good week!

I woke up early Saturday morning to catch the BTS Yet to Come concert in Busan. 6pm Korea time is 2am California time. It was full of their older songs (and some new ones). As always, they are truly amazing on stage. Today, the news of their decision to enlist in the Korean military finally came. They expect to reconvene in 2025.

The concert did put me in the mood for Korean food, so we put in an order for chicken wings, bibimbap, kimbap, and Budae Jjigae (or Army stew, which has sausage, spam, kimchi, noodles, vegetables, and cheese).

On Sunday, we had lunch at a Taiwanese eatery that we hadn’t been to since before the pandemic! The food was as good as ever. The kids loved the beef noodles, xiaolongbao, and more.

Currently…

Reading:

Hana Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation by Sylvia Liu

Watching:

The Resident on Hulu

Listening:

I just downloaded Cultish by Amanda Montell

Eating and Drinking:

Toast and tea for breakfast as usual

Cooking:

Claypot rice – a kind of flavoured rice cooked with chicken and Chinese sausage (lap Cheong). Traditionally made in a claypot but I just cook it in a rice cooker. I sear the chicken and lap cheong on the stove first and add it later to the rice cooker when the rice is about half cooked. Here’s a recipe that’s similar to what I do in the rice cooker, except I don’t add the dried shrimp.

Last week:

I read:

Counterfeit – Kirstin Chen

Mika in Real Life – Emiko Jean

I posted:

Library Loot (October 12 to 18)

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 
by Sharlene

It’s Monday (October 10, 2022)

Some things last week:

Made some cheddar and green onion scones (recipe here)
As you may recall, I was sick last weekend, and this pesky cough is still hanging around. So my diet has mostly been soupy, healthy stuff. But I got a bit tired of all that, so the husband picked up some biryani and tandoori chicken leg, and I ordered a dal makhani (black lentils) that came with naan.

Over the weekend, we made sushi at home. And also picked up some salmon, tuna, and amberjack from the Japanese supermarket.

Currently…

Reading:

The Fortunes of Jaded Women – Carolyn Huynh

Watching:

The Resident on Hulu

Listening:

I am almost done with The Fervor by Alma Katsu.

Eating and Drinking:

I had toast and tea for breakfast

Cooking:

Chicken stew tomorrow. Maybe a shepherd’s pie after that.

Last week:

I read:

Loveless – Alice Oseman
Finlay Donovan is Killing It – Elle Cosimano

Drunk on Love – Jasmine Guillory

I posted:

Library Loot (October 5 to 11)

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 
by Sharlene

It’s Monday (October 3, 2022)

Some things last week:

Ugh wasn’t the best weekend for me as I had a sore throat that turned into a bad cough. I did however test negative for covid though, so that’s a plus, I guess?

Dinner yesterday – while the rest of the family got to have some delicious dumplings (xiaolongbao, panfried dumplings, green onion pancakes and more), I had just one xiaolongbao and also this sliced beef noodles. The noodles and beef were fine but eh that soup wasn’t very good.
Rice porridge is always a good thing to eat when sick. I made stock with dashi powder, cooked some rice porridge in it. I recently watched a YouTube video where they stirred the porridge with a whisk to break down the rice grains more – after cooking for 20 minutes. And hey, that worked well. I’ve always made rice porridge the way my mum taught me, which was to add the washed rice grains in with cold water and cook it until the rice has broken down. So to watch that YouTube video, where the water is boiled first then the rice grains added after, was interesting.
Earlier in the week, I made vanilla ice-cream (using this recipe). Yup, it’s autumn, but it’s still warm enough here for t-shirts and ice-cream.

Currently…

Reading:

Love Marriage – Monica Ali

Watching:

Great British Bakeoff

Listening:

Fervor – Alma Katsu

Eating and Drinking:

Lots and lots of tea

Cooking:

We have leftovers from yesterday, thankfully. I am thinking of very simple meals the next couple of days. Tuna mayo rice with salad maybe?

Last week:

I read:

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea – Axie Oh

Husband Material – Alexis Hall

I posted:

Library Loot (September 28 to October 4)

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 
by Sharlene

It’s Monday (September 26, 2022)

Some things last week:

On Friday, the husband and I went to get our booster and flu shot. And as someone who had little or no reaction (other than the sore arm) to my three previous Pfizer shots, this Moderna booster really hit hard! I woke up in the middle of the night feeling cold and it was a warm night too. I had to go pull on long pants and warm socks and still felt miserable and shivering the rest of the night. I don’t know if it was lack of sleep or because of the booster, but the next day I had a bad headache for most of the day. It was definitely a day to rest at home and not do much.

Thankfully, felt so much better on Sunday. But then my younger son started getting a sore throat and mild fever. He tested negative for covid luckily but is having a bad runny nose today and is home from school for now. I had picked up some ribeye from Costco earlier, so since the rest of us were feeling ok on Sunday (and the sick kid was happy to have congee), I made ribeye, potatoes, and asparagus.

Currently…

Reading:

Husband Material – Alexis Hall

Watching:

Rings of Power on Amazon

Listening:

Eating and Drinking:

Pancakes for breakfast

Cooking:

I was thinking of making a baked oatmeal like this one (minus the nuts as I have a kid with slight allergies) so that there’s something quick for breakfast this week.

I’ll cook up some of the laksa paste I brought from Singapore. And maybe some chicken rice too.

Last week:

I read:

Amari and the Night Brothers – B.B. Alston (audiobook)

Garlic and the vampire – Bree Paulson

A Deadly Education – Naomi Novik

I posted:

Library Loot (September 21 to 27)

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.