Food for the kiddos

Food for the kiddos

Tuesday 25 August 2015

Chibi Maruko-chan 樱桃小丸子 Sandwich Tutorial (Level: Moderate)

My kids were staying back today so I had to make them some food to bring along. The kids didn't provide any suggestions for their sandwiches and I was pretty clueless too!

As I was preparing all the snacks for the box last night, I came across a Japanese girl on the pack of marshmallow. And she is Chibi Maruko-Chan. I made the sandwich using the picture on the marshmallow.
I am sure this cartoon character has a name but I really do not know her and the packaging is all in Japanese words! Thanks to a friend,  she solved the mystery for me. Her name is Chibi Maruko-Chan 樱桃小丸子!

Sandwich Tutorial :

Stuff Required:
1. Piece of white paper
2. Round mental ring cutter
3. A pair of scissors

Ingredients :
1. Two slices of bread
2. Bread filling of your choice
3. Red strawberry jam
4. Dried seaweed
5. A slice of cheese
6. Bow foodpick
7. Red candy strip(optional)

STEPS -
Step 1 : Draw a round circle using the metal ring cutter and sketch the girl's face on the paper. 
Step 2 : Cut out the hair on the paper(as shown in picture) using a pair of scissors. Using the cut out 'hair', placed it on top of a piece of seaweed and cut out the shape accordingly. As I was using a small piece of seaweed, I had to join the seaweed together to form the hair. 
Step 3: Cut the cheese with the mental ring cutter.
Step 4 : Place the seaweed to form the hair on the cheese slice.

You can do the same for the eyes but I was lazy to cut the paper so I cut a circle and compare the size against my drawing.

Step 5: Cut out seaweed to form the eyes, eyebrows and mouth. The small white dots in the eyes are formed using cheese. You just need a very thin straw to cut it.

Step 6 : Use some red candy to form the mouth or dap the mouth using strawberry jam.

I only add the blusher (strawberry jam) to the cheese in the morning as I need to keep the cheese covered in the fridge.

The cheese is completed.

Step 7 : Cut the bread(with filling) with the mental ring cutter and place the cheese on top of the sandwich.

The two sandwich set comes with quail eggs, strawberries and a packet of marshmallow.


Monday 17 August 2015

Exam! Aces for All Subjects

This week is the exam week and my kiddos are having a paper each day from Monday to Thursday. I can only hope they can score and I try not to stress them too much. Anyway, they don't seem to be too worried. I am the only who is stressed.

I made 4 Aces sandwiches or them today hoping that they can score 4 aces for the 4 subjects!!! Hahaha…
I know they love candy so I added bits of candy for the red heart and red diamond sandwiches. The other two sandwiches are actually peanut butter but I put a piece of dried seaweed for the color. I was in a rush this morning trying to cut and piece the aces on the sandwiches and forgot to add fruits. I added mashmallow and a packet of nuts to go along.  

I pray they can score for the papers this week to make up for the drop last semester. *Fingers crossed*

Friday 14 August 2015

Flower Garden Sandwich Tutorial - Super Easy

Friday!!!! I didn't want to crack my head and make something too complicated for the kids today. I didn't have any clue what to do for the sandwiches last night and slept early instead. Hehehe….hoping to think of something simple for the sandwiches and I could rely on the sandwich bags and stickers if I was clueless. 

After spreading the Nutella jam on the bread, I covered the bread with cling wrap and added stickers. I thought of a monster sicker or a funny face expression sticker initially but that idea can be used in October for Halloween instead. In the end, I decided to make colorful flowers and their favorite almond cookies can act as pebbles or stones in the garden.
This is a relatively simple idea to execute. All you need is…

1. Bread with filling
2. Clingwrap
3. Stickers (and some imagination) 

I added an egg with soy sauce, a jelly and cherries for the sides. The cute sauce containers are not inside the picture as I forgot to include them before taking pictures. hehehe…
Happy Friday!!! Happy Weekend to all!!!

Rabbit Sandwich

I made this rabbit sandwich for the kids yesterday but didn't have time to post. Feeling lazy, I used a rabbit mold and didn't feel like cutting any seaweed. I used the Nutella chocolate instead. After using a toothpick and painstakingly putting the chocolate to form the face, I gave up halfway and switched to my seaweed puncher which was so much faster. Unfortunately, my faulty puncher refused to cooperate with me the morning. So I had to continue with the chocolate until the task was completed. :( 

 I filled the bread with peanut butter and added a color bow to the sandwich.  Not forgetting to add blusher to the rabbit cheeks using strawberry jam to make them more adorable!
The sides include a jelly, an egg with sauce and some cherries. I used some rabbit stickers on the jelly to add more colors to the box.

I am not a cat or dog person but a rabbit person. I love rabbits! The sandwiches were just too adorable. I don't think I want to eat the sandwiches if I make them for myself. Hahaha…. 

Tuesday 11 August 2015

Happy 50th Birthday Singapore

Long weekend is over....

One of my kids was asking me why I didnt make them a National Day sandwich this year. The small one didn't want the usual Singapore flag sandwich(that I have been making them every Auguest for the last couple of years) so I have to come up with something else this year, besides it is the Golden Jubilee we are talking about.

Initially I really didn't know what to do for their sandwich but I came across their school folder while nagging them to lee their homework. The folder was full of iconic landscapes for Singapore and the idea was born. 

I spent almost an hour last night trying to cut the dried seaweed and I only managed to squeeze in the Merlion, Singapore Flyer and Marina Baysand. I wanted to add Changi airport too(because it is easy to cut) but was limited by the size of the cheese. Oh...the two flower thingy on top are suppose to be fireworks. Not sure if my kids got it.

I cut SG50 on the seaweed and pasted it on the egg and top off with Singapore flag. Hey, I DO really really love my tiny country de loh and very proud to be her citizen leh.

The final product for the kids.  I used two different color of cheese just to see which one will turn out better. I think the lighter shade is more outstanding.
Happy 50th Birthday Singapore and many many more to come!!!

Wednesday 5 August 2015

Garfield Sandwich Tutorial (Level:Difficult)

My kids were whining that I make them a Garfield sandwich for school. They have been reading a lot of Garfield comic books and watching Garfield on TV.

I have been using the delay tactics and finally no running away. I have to do it!

I made the Garfield face on cheese the night before and it took me almost an hour to make 2 Garfield faces on cheese. Gosh! A lot of patience required.

This is not an easy tutorial and takes some time(and alot of patience too!).

Ingredients -
2 slices of cheddar cheese
1 slice of mozzarella cheese
2 slices of bread
Bread filling of choice
Dried seaweed

Tools -
A sheet of clean white paper
Mental ring bread cutter
A pair of sharp scissors
A pair of tweezer
A toothpick
A butter knife

Steps -
1. Draw a Garfield picture (size must be the same as the metal ring bread cutter) and cut out the eyes and ears from the drawing.
2. Placed the cut out ears on the cheese and draw on the Mozzarella cheese using a toothpick. Do the same for the eyes and nose.  
3. Using the metal ring, cut the cheddar cheese. Assemble the nose and eyes on the cheddar cheese.
4. Cut 6 small triangles(like Christmas tree) from the dried seaweed and form the strips of Garfield around the face.
5. You need a thin long strips of seaweed for the center and 2 small oval for the eyes. 
6. Cut another 2 long strips of seaweed to form the mouth(this is the difficult part). As you stick the seaweed onto the cheese, the seaweed will soften due to the moisture form the cheese and you will be able to bend the seaweed to a curved line.

Step 1 to 6 should be done the night before unless you are keen to wake up an hour earlier to make this sandwich.

7. Fill bread with desired fillings.
8. Cutting the mental ring bread cutter, cut the bread like the picture show below but do not cut all the way. You need to leave the top part for the ears of Garfield.

9. Put the ears made of cheese on the bread and cut out the shape on the bread using a butter knife.
10. Place the Garfield cheese on top of the bread and you should get the image below.
The sandwich box is completed with an egg, a jelly, a small packet of nuts and a small chocolate treat. Of course I gave them a packet of milk to go along as they were having lunch in school
I hate Mondays!!! But it is not Monday…

The completed work.