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Old Cucumber Soup

~ Posted on Tuesday, October 7, 2014 at 7:52 AM ~

For this post, I am sharing my next food recipe, Old Cucumber Soup. I was trying to replicate my late mum's cooking for this soup which is quite commonly cooked when she was still alive.

This is one of the many soups that Chinese people likes to make. It is said that the soup is good for the skin and helps prevent aging, also high in dietary fiber, calcium, iron and rich in vitamin A, B6, and C. Without further ado, here is the recipe for Old Cucumber Soup :

Ingredients:

* One medium size Chinese old cucumber (the one I used is about 8 inches long, 2.5 inches wide)
* Water
* Red dates (I used about 5 big ones, seed removed)
* 5 small dried scallops (makes the soup sweeter)

* 200g pork ribs (can use old kampung chicken as well)
* 2 piece dried cuttlefish (makes the soup sweeter)
* 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut to slices about 1cm thick
* 2 slices of salted/preserved vegetable (called 'Tai Thou Choi' in Cantonese)

(** Carrots not shown in picture below as I added last minute after realizing I forgotten about it hahahah!)

Methods:

* Scrub the skin of the old cucumber clean and cut it half length-wise. It would be better to leave the skin in as removing it will cause the cucumber flesh to disintegrate and turning into a mushy mess after cooking.
* Scoop out the seeds using a spoon. You may skip this step if you are fine with the seeds.
* Cut the cucumber into smaller chunks (I cut about half inch thick slices)
* Blanch the pork ribs in boiling water for a few minutes, drain and set aside.
* Add all ingredients into slow cooker, add enough water to cover the ingredients with about an inch more.

* Put on high mode for half hour, before switching to low settings for about 6-7 hours.
(Note: If you use gas stove to boil this soup, you can simmer over low heat for about 1 hour)

Outcome:

I'm sorry the picture above does not show justice. I took it under yellow light and was rushing to get kiddos ready for bed so just managed a quick snap. The soup is darker due to the amount of red dates I put in, I guess the more the darker. Tastewise, it reminded me of the one my late mum used to make so it is nice to be able to relive these memories. It is very easy to make this dish, little ingredients, easy to follow steps. This recipe is definitely for keeps!

To view my other recipes, feel free to hop over to my Recipe Library page for more info!

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Category Food Tag Family, Homemade, Memories, Recipes, Health n Beauty

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iPad App Review - The Berenstain Bears Living Lights Collection #2

~ Posted on Monday, September 29, 2014 at 7:18 AM ~

We have some of the Berenstain Bears' story apps on my iPad and have previously reviewed "The Berenstain Bears Living Lights Collection #1", so when I saw the pitch release for this collection of the Berestain Bears stories, I decided we must review this app. Without further ado, here goes my feedback...

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* Title: The Berenstain Bears Living Lights Collection #2
* Price: $19.99
* Category: Books
* Released: July 30, 2014
* Version: 2.6
* Size: 151 MB
* Language: English
* Seller: Oceanhouse Media, Inc.
* Rated: 4+ Made for Ages 6–8
* Requirements: Requires iOS 6.1 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Description from the product page:

"Dive into 8 exciting Berenstain Bears Living Lights interactive storybook apps that help young readers learn how God wants them to live every day! Explore pictures, learn new vocabulary, and personalize the story with your own narration. Enjoy The Berenstain Bears and the Golden Rule, The Berenstain Bears Go to Sunday School, The Berenstain Bears Hurry to Help, The Berenstain Bears and a Job Well Done, The Berenstain Bears Learn to Share, The Berenstain Bears Love Their Neighbors, The Berenstain Bears Play a Good Game, and The Berenstain Bears Say Their Prayers, all in one convenient place."

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* This app is engaging and interactive and I love that we can also touch the objects in each page on the screen and the words pop out to tell you what it is!

* I like that this collection of story apps is meant to teach our children how to live their life according to God's way, to be kind even though it is not easy, the benefits of going to Sunday schools, to be helpful, to focus on the job being assigned and more.

* I think that even though you are not a Christian, you can still be able to use this book as it instills good moral values in our kiddos.

* This app is fun to read and educational as well, I also like that it is relatable to our family of 5 as well.

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You can purchase the "The Berenstain Bears Living Lights Collection #2" app from the iTunes App Store.

I'm a full-time mummy

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the promo code to redeem the application for free from iTunes Store in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous iPad Apps reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My iPad App Reviews"