When I first heard that “we not only eat with our mouths, but also with our eyes”, I didn’t understand what it meant. Over the years, I have come to understand that for food to be appetising, it has to be aesthetically pleasing as well as palatably pleasing.
It can be a challenge to coax children to eat, especially children who are picky eaters. When my youngest brother was a boy, he didn’t like to eat. Once when told to eat his dinner, he replied, “I already ate dinner yesterday!” My mother was a little exasperated with him. Well, he has got over that stage, and is now quite a foodie.
Children’s Food Art
A friend sent a photo of a plate of breakfast arranged as a smiley face. She said it was how she used to get her daughter to eat.
Festive meals at home
Christmas is around the corner. I have been hearing many people say, “I’m going to a Christmas lunch” or “I’m going to a Christmas dinner”. The end of the year is a good time to catch up with friends before the new year begins.
Belinda sent a photo of a Thai meal. She wrote: “Sarah and her family were over last night. Learnt from her how to cook Thai basil pork properly and catfish in chili paste.” I have always been impressed with Belinda’s home-cooked meals.
Christmas menus
I prepared a Thai Christmas lunch a few years ago. There is a post on this blog somewhere. The main idea was to have red curry and green curry for the Christmas theme. Pomelo salad with cherry tomatoes is one of my favourite Thai salads. It’s refreshing and goes well with curries.
Elena, from the Homskil team, makes excellent risotto. Serving it with asparagus and grilled tomatoes makes it ideal for a Christmas meal. If you are tired of turkey and beef, baked salmon with almonds is a good alternative.
Appetisers go a long way in turning a meal into a feast. See featured photo: deviled eggs and cheese in pastry topped with cranberry sauce.
I heard our neighbours singing Christmas carols last night. They were having a Christmas party with lots of guests. I was wondering what they served for dinner. I was being a kay-poh (a busybody in Singlish slang).
It is good to know that people are celebrating at home. There is nothing like a homey Christmas and having family and friends to celebrate with.
A simple Christmas cake is a great way to end a Christmas meal.
If you are planning a Christmas meal at home, hope this blog post will give you some inspiration. If you are planning to serve turkey, there is also a post on Christmas turkey somewhere in this blog.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
By Chayo, HomSkil Editor 1, 15 December 2025
HomeBlog by HomSkil 