I'm a full-time mummy

I had earlier confessed that one of my 2013 resolutions (I rarely made them in my life so when I made it for this year, I'm trying to stick by it!) is to learn to cook for the family and also shared a recipe I tried out, the Szechuan Vegetable soup. For this post, I am sharing my second soup recipe which is taught by my dear hubby (yes! You read it right!) and one of my favorite soup since my childhood which my late mum used to make, the Lotus Root Soup!

I remembered I used to love putting this soup in my plate of rice and just plain eat my rice and drink the soup as it is. Oh, that and lots of peanuts of course! Used to fight with my elder brother for as many peanuts as we could find in the soup hahahah...

Ingredients:

1. Lotus root (skinned and sliced - thickness depends on your preferance)
2. Dried scallops (optional)
3. Ground peanuts (boiled and removed skins after) (optional)
4. Salted/preserved vegetable (called 'Tai Thou Choi' in Cantonese)
5. Pork bones (boiled for about few minutes)
6. Red dates (big sized about 12-14 pieces, deseeded)
7. Soup beans (it looks like Pinto beans) (optional)

Methods:
* Clean the pork by blanching in boiling water for few minutes, then drain off the water.
* Rinsed lotus roots, red dates and soup beans.
* Boiled ground nuts for a few seconds and remove the skin layer (my own preferance to have white smooth peanuts).
* Add all ingredients into slow cooker, add enough water to cover the ingredients with about an inch more.
* Put on high 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 for 1 or more hours until the pork is tender.

Picture below with ingredients just before adding hot water into slow cooker.

Outcome:

Hubby said he likes how the soup turns out muddy looking as I told him I preferred clear looking soup similar to the one my late mum used to make. Hubby also commented that I need to reduce some more water because I'm using slow cooker instead of gas stove to boil this soup (I actually put in a lot of water, almost about 80% full in the slow cooker).

Nevertheless, hubby whacked 3 big bowls of the soup and Ben had a bowl of the soup the next day when I made noodle soup with it so I guess it's good, just need to reduce water next time. Overall, I'm very happy with this attempt!

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

I received a total of 4 handmade soaps from Claire Organics for my review and this post will be touching on the first 2 that I tried: Guinness with Raw Honey and Mulberry Yogurt soaps. Here goes the first part of my review for Claire Organics soap:

Description from the product page:
"Guinness with raw honey - signature product - unscented: Gentle care for baby eczema, soothing for sensitive skin.
Guinness Stout made with hops and barley which are both extremely gentle and wonderful to use from head to toe. Barley contains minerals that preserve the skins elasticity and protect it from free radical damage. Hops have a relaxing effect on the body, are skin soothing and have natural anti-septic, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Brewer’s yeast kills the bacteria associated with acne.

Mulberry Yogurt Soap - Whitening, Anti-Aging
Fresh from our organic home garden, Mulberry is a great whitening agent that naturally diminishing dark spots and remove blemishes. Their rich source of anti-aging antioxidants effectively fights off wrinkles and tightening opened pores. Mulberry makes a great facial bar for glowing, flawless skin."

I would like to apologise for the lack of pictures taken on this post because I got really excited in trying out handmade soaps and did not snap much pictures before I use it. Whoooopss...

# 1 : Guinness with Raw Honey (Signature product)

The first time I tried out this soap, I was wondering to myself this soap smells a bit alcohol-ish but I couldn't make out what type of alcohol it is as I'm not a person who drinks any alcohol. I found out later that this soap contains Guinness Stout with added raw honey.

Upon using it for about 1 week, I feel my skin smoother and I also use it a few times on my girl who had a mild rash on her tummy during that time. The soap did not leave any irritating sensation on her skin and I also noticed her rash is less reddish and less sore after bathing my girl.

I do however do not like that the soap crumbles easily and upon giving back my feedback to the sponsor, I learned that handmade soaps also tend to 'melt' a little faster than commercial soaps because of the more moisturising oil used in the soaps. Now that explains this phenomena as I do tend to leave my soap wet after shower hehehehe...

# 2 : Mulberry Yogurt

Ooo... I love this soap! In fact, I use it sooooo slowly and with gentle care, trying to conserve and preserve the soap as long as possible! I can feel that my skin is gently covered and lathered with the smooth yogurt texture and I also noticed that my skin is not as dry as it used to be. Love this! I would totally recommend this soap!

You can browse for more handmade soaps at Claire Organic's Facebook page.

Yes, yes, we are all waiting for this glorious moment!

3 lucky winners will EACH get to win a bar of Claire Organics handmade soap!

Giveaway opens for Malaysians only! Just read below for the giveaway terms and entry form, OK?

To enter the giveaway, kindly read and follow the instructions as stated in the Rafflecopter form below.

• You can enter either via login through your Facebook account OR just key in your name and your valid email address. 
• Please also leave your valid email address in the post comment so that I can contact you if you win this giveaway.
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I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the products 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.

No, really. This post is not intended to give you my personal tips on how to cut your child's hair. I'm actually asking the question, how do you cut your child's hair?

Ever since my boy started growing his hair, I have been his sole hairstylist. He refuses to let anybody but ME to touch his hair. Numerous attempts to lure him to a saloon and barber shop resulting in him hiding behind us and shaking his head frantically.

Sigh... I should be proud of my boy's ermm... good taste (hopefully!) in sticking to one and only hair stylist, but I admit I am still clueless on how to cut a child's hair!

The initial attempts in hair cutting has resulted in lots of laughs and jokes on my boy and myself. I really do not know how to cut his hair properly, especially the sideburns and above the ears part. Even until this day as my boy is slowly approaching his 4 years old milestone.

Normally I cut his hair at our balcony, always before his water pool playtime. This is so I could easily wash away the trimmed hair on the floor. I'll get my boy to sit still on our Ikea stool and he'll be wearing his Spiderman swimming trunks and waited as I cut, cut, cut!

I have tried checking in Youtube on tips to cut around the sideburns and above ears area but couldn't find any videos and tips on this. Hence, I am still depending on my own judgement and luck to cut my boy's hair everytime heheheh...

So any tips?