Baker's Corner: Apple Walnut Muffins

So, if you have been following me on Instagram, you will know that I am very much into packing my children’s lunch boxes. It is something I really enjoy doing so I don’t find it to be a tiresome chore. Probably, years of seeing my mom packing lunch boxes for me and years of me packing my own lunch boxes has made me more amenable to the task. Sometimes I do it entirely by myself, sometimes I just give instructions to my domestic helper and she does it or other times I do some of it and she does the rest. What matters is that it gets done and usually within 20 minutes during the weekday morning frenzy 😀

Packed lunches are especially useful when you have children who are picky and/or small eaters so you can ensure that you are providing them with adequate variety and nutrition while still making school lunches fun. I am still figuring out what my children enjoy in their lunchboxes and so I do spend time on the weekends experimenting and tweaking lunch-box friendly recipes. I prefer packing finger foods that can be eaten at room temperature. Even though my children eat from their lunchbox during mid-morning recess at school, they still do come home and eat a proper home-cooked hot lunch in the afternoon. Most of the time, I opt for simple things like assorted plain or grilled sandwiches, pinwheel sandwiches, simple pastas, bee hoon, pancakes or breakfast muffins as the main dish coupled with raw or steamed veggies, fresh fruits, dried fruit and nut, munchies (such as popcorn, veggie straws, spiced fox nuts) and a small treat (their favourites are jaffa cake, jam biscuits & crunchy creams). But I must admit, adding variety and colour to their lunchboxes can pose quite the challenge sometimes. An extensive school lunchbox post is in the pipeline and hopefully will be posted soon.

I usually bake blueberry muffins or oatmeal raisin/cranberry muffins for the girls lunchboxes. This time, I decided to do apple walnut muffins. I tweaked the original recipe by using part all-purpose and part whole wheat flour, reducing the sugar content and incorporating a little more flavour. The addition of apple, walnuts and oats adds some nutrition and texture to the muffins. The best part about this recipe is that the muffins can be made ahead of time and they freeze beautifully. When you want to use them, all you have to do if pop them in the fridge overnight and the next morning, just microwave for a few seconds. They taste almost as good as freshly baked.

I am pretty sure that my children’s lunchboxes will come back empty when I pack these muffins. I hope you try this recipe. If not for lunchboxes, they work great as a breakfast, snack or picnic option too 😊

Recipe of the month: Bubble Tea

My first tryst with bubble tea was many years ago when my local friends introduced me to this delightful drink. I clearly remember thinking how marvellous it was. During a holiday to Taiwan (the undisputed bubble tea capital of the world) with my husband, I lost count of how many cups of bubble tea I greedily slurped 😊

Bubble tea (also known as pearl milk tea, bubble milk tea, or boba) is a tea-based drink. Originating in Taichung, Taiwan in the early 1980s, it includes chewy tapioca balls ("boba" or "pearls") made from cassava root, sweet potato and brown sugar or a wide range of other toppings such as popping bubbles, jelly, taro root, red beans, fruit chunks, basil seeds among others. There are dizzying varieties of the drink with a range of exciting flavors. 

Bubble teas fall under two categories: teas (without milk) and milk teas. Both varieties come with a choice of black, green, or oolong tea, and come in many flavors (both fruit and non-fruit). The two most popular varieties are black pearl milk tea and green pearl milk tea. Milk teas include condensed milk, powdered milk, almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk, 2% milk, skim milk, or fresh milk.

Bubble tea shops often give customers the option of choosing the amount of ice and/or sugar. Sugar level is usually specified in percentages (e.g. 30%, 50%, 70%, 100%), and ice level is usually specified ordinally (e.g. no ice, less ice, normal ice). This drink is highly customizable so it can be adjusted to suit even the most fastidious.

Singaporeans are wild about bubble tea and during the Covid-19 pandemic, the country's obsession with bubble tea became all too apparent. There are bubble tea shops at every turn so whether one is craving for a decadent brown sugar boba milk or a creamy cheese tea macchiato, they don't need to travel very far to get their boba fix 😊 

I love bubble tea but I am no authority on it nor am I addicted to it. It is something I drink only once in a while as a "drink-meets-dessert" indulgence. Bubble tea can be high in sugar, fat and calories depending on what goes into it so despite the allure, I tend to keep my distance. That said, I really wanted to try making bubble tea at home because of how fun and creative it is. At the end of last year, I bought some English breakfast tea, a bag of quick-cooking tapioca pearls and fat metal straws (to accommodate the marbles of tapioca that cluster at the bottom of the cup) in the hope of making bubble tea at home. But I just kept postponing it and it never happened. Finally, this weekend I decided to end my procrastination once in for all. 

Here is the recipe. It is super-duper simple you guys. I hope you try it especially if you have never tried bubble tea before.

A Memorable Morning at Lower Seletar Reservoir Park, Singapore

I used to live in Yio Chu Kang when I first arrived in Singapore many years ago. Everytime I would take the train from Yio Chu Kang to Yishun, I would always glance outside the window and admire the tranquil waters of the Lower Seletar Reservoir. However, despite countless visits to Yishun, I never made my way to the Lower Seletar Reservoir Park. It was barely a few kilometers away from where I lived for two whole years. Its funny that it has taken me 15 years, moving house and having two kids to finally check out this popular nature spot.

In the last two years, we have been to Upper Seletar Reservoir Park, Upper Peirce Reservoir Park and Lower Peirce Reservoir Park multiple times. Now, finally, I have checked off Lower Seletar Reservoir Park off my list too. I must admit I get frequently muddled up with the similar sounding names. Although all of them are lovely places for outdoor family fun and leisure activities, my favourite has to be Lower Peirce Reservoir Park. I would highly recommend that you check out these parks especially if you have young children and/or are fitness and photography enthusiasts. 

Located on the northern shore of Lower Seletar Reservoir, the Lower Seletar Reservoir Park is largely flat with some undulating terrain that provides a pleasant place for outdoor leisure activities. The park, with an area of 3 hectares, is equipped with a jetty, shelters, restrooms, and a 1.3 km jogging track. 

Sought after outdoor activities at the park include jogging, birdwatching, kayaking, photography and fishing. 

We visited the Lower Seletar Reservoir Park as a family with the intention of enjoying a nice long walk - a combination of nature and exercise. Fortunately our children are always game for exploring and it seems to us like they can walk the ends of the earth.

The car park is quite small with only a few lots available. The nearest MRT station is Khatib (NS14) which is around a 15-minute walk away. There are several bus services available (more information at the end of the post). 

My first impressions of the park - although small, the park is picturesque and serene with silvery blue waters, lush tropical greenery and balmy breezes blowing. It is an agreeable place for leisure activities, both on land and in water. The park features a Family Bay with a new performance stage, a water play area, a bioswale rain garden, a look out point as well as a Heritage Bridge.

I was vaguely aware of a water play area at Lower Seletar Reservoir Park but due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation, I mistakenly assumed it wouldn't be in operation. I hadn't packed the twins swim wear, towels or a change of clothes. Much to my dismay, the girls caught sight of the (very much operational) water fountains and wading pool within the first 10 seconds of us arriving at the park. They raced towards it gleefully, fully expecting to be allowed to play to their heart's content. I felt horribly guilty about not checking properly beforehand and we quickly moved away from the area especially as a few children arrived and began frolicking in the water which made my children's yearning only grow stronger!