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The Secret Language of Parenthood

When we were kids, I remember English was more of a secret code language of the adults  (read parents).
Whenever they had to talk about stuff related to us, they switched to English, and there we sat looking dumb, knowing that they're talking about us 😛

Later when we went to higher classes like 2-3, only then we were included in the English language club and there were no more secret talks, except the eye signals... that language is on another level LOL!

But kids today... completely different story.

Me: " Arslan hold her.. its time for her medicine."
Abiha: "Nooo no medicine time.. I don't want it"
😐

Relying on spelling out words for the time being,

Me: "Arslan don't order the C-O-K-E, she has a bad throat."

Yeah that works fine for the time being, and for SMALL WORDS. When big words comes up and the other partner is left staring blankly at the speller.. spelling the word mentally, decoding the sentence. AWKWARD 😑

Not fair Universe!! Where's my secret language of parenthood???

Now I know...

Never knew a tiny little star can give me such feelings of joy and happiness!
So proud!

Now I know why our parents were always after us to study and excel... truly, this feeling is addictive.

AND THEN THEY WERE 4.

Hello readers,
Wanted to share the amazing news with all of you.. We've been blessed Alhamdulilaah with daughter number 2 MashAllah.

Contrary to everything I believed in, second time was very easy for me. Maybe it was because I was prepared.. or maybe because I knew I have to recover early because 2 babies are relying on me?!

Motherhood is extremely tough, I was prepared for all the pain, hardships and difficulties as I embarked on this journey the second time.. but I wasn't prepared for the emotional roller coaster it'll give me.

When you're expecting your second, you realise how much you love your firstborn.
I just couldn't get over the fact that life will completely change once again for all 3 of us and especially my first born baby.

She'll have to share a mom and a dad, she'll no longer enjoy the privileges of being an only child... She'll no longer know life as the 3 of us.

I was expecting tantrums... I was expecting her to be distant, to be sensitive especially since she's already a sensitive child but what hit me the most and made me cry, out of sheer joy and love, was her being responsible. Looking at her so easily give away her space.. and share the love was completely unexpected. Yes I was preparing her from months and I think that played it's role.

We always talked about how she'll soon be getting a baby sister and she'll have to help mommy take care of the baby. I believe this did the trick for me. She was completely involved in it and was actually looking really forward to the occasion.

One of my biggest fear was gone.. my first born loved my second. But this wasn't it, the second fear I had this second time around was for me. I know many second time mommies can relate to this as well... will I be able to love my second as much as I love my first? This thought was on my mind throughout.

They say you have your first child for yourself.. but you have your second for your first born, to give him company, to give him a sibling. I do agree to it somewhat but it also made me think, what if I favour my first child? How will that look on me as a mother... mothers can't favour one child. But I couldn't bring myself to believe that I can love another just like I love my first born. . It seemed impossible.......... until I held my second in my arms.

I was afraid of the love being divided.. what I didn't know was that it multiplies. Us mothers are strangely build.. we seem to have this never ending love supply. It was so natural, almost like the instant I became mom of two.. my heart grew twice the size! And my fear of being unfair vanished. I'm sure all mom's of multiple children can very well agree with me.

Once again I underestimated motherhood.. and once again it proved to be the bestest most wonderful feeling in the world. I thought there's nothing sweeter than watching your child play with his dad.. I was wrong, there's nothing sweeter than watching your child play with his sibling. Such joy!

Albeit nothing is perfect, all of us are still adjusting to this new routine, but we couldn't ask for more. Perfection is rather boring ;)
Really excited to wait and watch how things unfold for us, the different milestones we need to achieve as a family of 4 MashAllah!

Can't wait to share the shenanigans with you guys!
Need lots of prayers..
Lots of love xx
Dr. Mom Chef  <3

Crispy Fried Chicken Steaks with Bechamel sauce, rice and fries.

Hello readers,
So alot has been going on, lots of changes lots of stuff happening, but what remained steadfast is my LOVE FOR FOOD.
And so I'm back with a very DELICIOUS and YUMMY recipe.

I think alot of people like me have a hard time following recipes to the exact.
I like adding stuff according to my own measurements, not using spoons and all.
You know... A pinch of this, a dash of that ;)
If you do get what I'm saying, then hurray you're going to love what I have in store. :D
The following recipe is a complete meal.
It's like those celebratory meals you prepare to treat yourself or/and your family.
Now some measurements I have written exact. The others I have played with a little, especially spices, so be free to adjust/omit them according to your taste, and have an awesome time cooking.

Like always I will be looking forward to lots of feedback from you guys.
And remember keep following us, lots of great stuff in store for you guys :)

The recipe is as follows,
Enjoy.
Regards,
Dr. Mom Chef xx

INGREDIENTS AND METHOD:

-> For Chicken

- Okay so take a chicken breast and finely sliced 2 thin steaks out of it.
- Hammer it thin but not too thin that it'll break during cooking.
- Next put them in a bowl,
- Sprinkle thyme, basil and little oregano flakes over the chicken.
- Add 2 tbsp white flour (maida)
- Red pepper
- Paprika
- Salt
- Black pepper
- White pepper
- Mustard powder
- Chicken powder
- Ginger garlic paste
- Onion powder
- Soya sauce
- Vinegar
- Hot sauce
- 1 egg.

* Mix and coated everything well. The mixture should have consistency of a thick paste.
* Let it marinate for 24 hours or atleast 4 hours.

-> For Coating

- 4 tbsp maida or white flour
- 1 tbsp corn flour
- 1 tbsp rice flour
- 2-3 tbsp of bread crumbs
- Black pepper
- White pepper
- Paprika
- Red chilli powder
- Mustard powder
- Salt.

* Mix all these together in a large bowl amd set aside.

-> For fries.

* Par boil them.
* dry them with a paper towel.
* coat them with cornflour, salt and red chilli powder.

-> For Bechamel sauce,

- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp maida or white flour
- 1 cup milk

* Whisk well, once it's all mixed add:

- Salt
- Black pepper
- White pepper
- Red chilli flakes
- Chicken powder
- 1-2 tbsp of grated cheese.
- Sprinkle oregano at the end.

* Remove from heat when thickened.
** Keep stirring to make it smooth.

-> For Rice,
I just served it with steamed rice, you can always make a quick batch of garlic rice.
You can also omit rice if you're not a fan.

And that's it, pour the beautiful sauce over the crispy chicken steak just at the time of serving. Plate your rice and fries on the sides and voilà, excellent restaurant quality meal rigjt at your home :).

Sorry I hadn't dished out my rice yet, hence not seen in the picture.

NOTE:
* Please be careful when adding salt since all components contain salt. Don't make it too salty.
* You can adjust/add/omit spices as per your liking.

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NEW ORLEANS CHICKEN: it's Finger biting good.

Hello readers, :)
As promised I'm trying my hardest to get my blog back on track. I know recipes days were Thursday but till I get my bearings straight let's go by the day shall we :D

So I'm starting off with the oldest recipe I have.
" NEW ORLEANS CHICKEN "
THIS basically made me fall in love with cooking. I've made it COUNTLESS times now, half of them have been for my brother only LOL.
It's extremely easy, quick and super delicious without any special ingredients.
It's a favourite at our place. I would love for you all to try and give me feedbacks and also share. :D
I would also love to give credits to the original owner but I honestly don't remember where I got it from, it's like that old , have added 2 extra ingredients to the recipe which I think was needed to customise it to our palates.
I've also written that it's a TGIF copycat recipe but I'm not too sure about the authenticity.
Anyways.. have an amazing weekend you guys, and do try this, it will seriously blow you away :)
Regards,
Dr. Mom Chef xx

Here's what you need,

INGREDIENTS:
For 2 breast fillets cut in Julian style.

*For marination:
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar

*For egg mixture:
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 tbsp milk

*For batter:
- Flour (maida) 4-5 tbsp heaped
- Salt 1/2 tsp or to taste
- Mustard powder 1/2 tsp
- Ajinomoto 1/2 tsp
- Breadcrumbs 3 tbsp
- Black pepper 1/4 tsp
- White pepper 1/4 tsp

METHOD:

- Marinate chicken for 20-30 minutes.

- Prepare the egg mixture in a separate bowl and keep it aside.

- Prepare the batter by mixing everything together.

- Heat oil in a pan to fry.

- One by one dip chicken pieces in egg mixture first then lavishly coat in the dry batter, and deep fry till golden brown.

- Serve with fries, sauces or dips and Enjoy! :)

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WEANING : THE BASICS

Hello readers!
I'm so I'm so MIA these days.. motherhood has me by the throat. I tell you it never gets easy especially if you're living alone.
It was MOMMY MONDAYS yesterday and I thought ill share a piece I wrote few months back with you. It's on WEANING. Now weaning can be of two types.. from breastfeed to normal milk or the introduction of solids.
When you're finally settling into motherhood.. and making a routine.. its time to wean and then starts a more tedious process. This here is just an introduction on how to go about it.
I hope it helps you somehow.

WEANING

Motherhood. . A single word encompassing: sacrifice, joy, fear, tears, sadness, love, struggles.. Life. Once you're in it there's no going back. Life does a 180, your time becomes some one else's, your life becomes someone else's, for you nothing is important enough than your kids, they are your priority. All these responsibilities though tough, are thoroughly rewarding.

Once a mother gets used to taking care of a little one and has settled in a routine finally, comes the biggest task... WEANING. After you get over the shock that your little one is growing up so fast that it's already time to introduce solids.. you may have alot of questions.

Weaning is anything but easy, but needs to be done properly so that your little one can develop good eating habits that'll be part of them as they grow up.

Weaning is basically the process of introducing solids to a baby. Now as per the WHO standards the advised age to start weaning is 6 months. This may vary depending on your kids general health and weight. Your baby's doctor is best to advise when to start weaning but it can be anywhere from 4-8 months. It is best to start solids once the baby is able to sit unsupported atleast for sometime.

After you get the go ahead from the doctor, you might ask what to start with? Well the first foods are basically any milk based food. Lots of doctors prefer to start with Rice Cereal/Cerelac. It is easier on their little digestive systems and also rice rarely is a cause of allergy. You can also start with bananas mashed and thinned in the milk you give them. Remember that the little ones don't know yet how to swallow properly, so give them foods with a little thin consistency. Over time you can increase the lumpiness so that they get used to swallowing and are quickly shifted to normal table food, after all making purees is hard work and babies need to be trained into eating thick consistency else switching them over will get difficult and they'll gag on the slightest lump.

Sooji( semolina) is also a good nutritious food. But see how your little one reacts to rice cereal first, as sooji being a hard grain can be a bit tough to digest.

Start with tiny spoonfuls first. After the little one has their morning feed, at the time of next feed introduce the solid. Also give as much as the little one takes. If they close their mouth after 2-3 spoonfuls, stop. This is the most important advice I can give, NEVER force feed, you'll end up raising a fussy eater/ someone who would HATE food. Also "solids before one is just for fun", it's only to get the little ones into habit of eating and nothing more. Babies before one need all their nutrition from milk.

Increase those spoonfuls little by little over the next couple of days if your little one is okay. Increase quantity with age.
Always give new foods at daytime, so that if God forbid there's any allergy etc. You can easily go to hospital, and before starting anything new, continue the same food for 3 consecutive days so as to eliminate any allergens.

Start giving 1-2 oz water with the solids, as the baby reaches 8-9 months or in hot weather you can also increase this amount. Another thing to note is that the milk intake might decrease after introduction of solids. That's not an issue, as long as the baby is gaining weight and is happy/ healthy. Within a month of introducing solids, you can increase to two meals per day, and within a month of that, 3 meals. Remember it's not necessary that they eat bowl fulls, whatever they are happy with, and if after half an hour to 1 hour the baby is still hungry, you can give milk.

The best guide to what foods need to be introduced when is your doctor. Also there are countless charts present on Google. Remember egg whites and nuts are serious allergens so be careful when giving them and best introduce these after 1 year. Same goes for whole milk.

Give as many nutritional foods as you can, fresh homemade fruit and vegetable purees, rice in chicken stock etc. But if you're out and have no alternative then no harm in giving cerelacs and bottled foods, just keep them to the minimum.

Last but not the least, take care of yourself, do NOT stress. Take things slowly. Like all the other seemingly tough phases, this too shall pass soon and you'll have your little one eating with you at the table. So relax, breathe and remember: A happy mom equals a happy baby. 

To update you guys my little one is 1 year and 3 months today and eats everything with us MashAllah :)
Oh and a very important point, when they are teething they can go on a hunger strike, and may stop taking solids altogether. Remember it's okay.. give them milk and easy chewable stuff to ease them with the teething. :)

Well hope it helped you guys.. especially the new moms and moms to be, best of luck with it. I shall see you all very soon inshaALLAH.
Take care and lots of love,
Regards,
Dr. Mom Chef xx

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