Lunchbox Idea #1 - Zucchini Slice

This weekend I have been looking for lunchbox ideas for my two girls. Even though Ashleigh will have access to a tuckshop in the senior school, I still like to pack lunch for her to ensure she eats healthy. It could also save her some time since she's not the fastest eater, and if she had to queue for a while to buy her food, she may not have enough time to eat. Caitlin will have to bring her morning tea and lunch since she will not be able to visit the tuckshop.

My two girls have different tastes. Caitlin loves sandwiches but Ashleigh does not like sandwiches. It makes it challenging to think of something that they will eat and also food that is not too fiddly. Today was spent baking blueberry muffins, cookies and zucchini slice for their lunchbox. They like the zucchini slice. I might try baking them in a muffin pan instead which will make it easier to pack.

2 zucchinis, coarsely grated
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup self raising flour
5 eggs, lightly beaten
ham or bacon - chopped
1/2 spanish onion, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. Grate the zucchini into a large mixing bowl. Add in the cheese, chopped onion and bacon or ham. Season well with salt and pepper.
2. Then, add the flour and eggs and mix well.
3. Pour into a well-greased square baking pan (8 in or 20 cm). Hint: You could also line the pan with parchment/baking paper, to saving greasing the pan.
4. Bake in a moderate oven for 30 minutes or until browned.
5. For lunch, you can serve with a side salad.

Quiche Lorraine

I made some quiche for lunch yesterday,  a change from noodles or dumplings. I cheated and used store-bought Pampas shortcrust pastry for the base. Actually, I wanted to cheat even more by buying the Pampas Savoury Flan, but they were all sold out at the supermarket. Hence, I decided to make small quiches.

Shortcrust pastry - cut to size to fit the small pie tins
4 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper
ham, cut into small pieces
onion, diced
1/2 cup pure cream
shredded gruyere cheese

1. Heat the oven to 180C (160C for my oven).
2. Grease the pie tins to ensure the pastry does not stick.
3. Cut the shortcrust pastry to size and cover the base (ensure you cut the pastry slightly larger due to shrinkage). Prick the pastry with fork.
4. Blind-bake the pastry in the oven for 10 minutes. Then remove from oven.
5. In the meantime, fry the diced onions in a medium-size pan. When onions are transparent, add in the ham and fry till edges of ham are brown. Remove from heat.
6. Break the eggs into a measuring jug. Season with salt and pepper, then add in the shredded gruyere cheese and cream.
7. Spoon the onions and ham equally into the pie tins. Pour the egg mixture over.
8. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until cooked through.
9. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes.
10. Serve with mixed salad on the side.

Deep-Fried Onion Chicken in Special Sauce

This dish was one of my sister's favourite dish when we were growing up in Malaysia. There was one restaurant near PJ Hilton, called "Nam Fong" where we go for dinner and this was always something we ordered. Sadly, I don't think the restaurant exists anymore. When I saw this recipe in a "Hawkers' Fare Simplified" recipe book at the Popular bookstore when I was in Malaysia, I had to buy it.

The recipe is a little fiddly because of the deep-frying, but it's tasty. I'm going to cook this for my sister when she visits during Christmas/New Year.


Along with this dish, I also tried a new dish "Steamed Silky Egg". Apologies for the photo - I forgot to take a photo before serving.


Since it's spring/summer time, we can buy 'kangkung' (Water Spinach or Water Convolvulus). So I stir-fried kangkung and leftover shimeji mushrooms with some sambal, not too spicy for hubby.