Chicken sausages

I made a batch of these organic, free range chicken "sausages" last week, and froze them for quick-fix dinners. They're organic chicken breasts mixed with wholemeal breadcrumbs, a free range egg and some boiled vegetables (carrot, broccoli and sweet potato). You could vary the base recipe with any veggies and add cheese or peas or herbs.

These, though, are so delicious that Dan and I find ourselves hoping Jonno doesn't finish them all---so that we can!

Baby bites

Organic broccoli florets, blanched, with butter <3

Play dough

Mum and I made some play dough for Jonno this afternoon- what a fun and cheap afternoon activity! I found a great recipe online here: http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/play-dough-L926.html for one that is gently heated on the stove top and it was perfect. I think it's arguable over who had more fun playing with it!

Satay chicken & "little trees"

For Jonno tonight, chicken satay sticks, "little trees" (like the dinosaurs do eat, mama!) and an organic Cous Cous timbale. I'm always surprised with meals like this to see what he attacks first and enjoys most. Despite whipping up a yummy organic satay sauce, the Cous Cous is the hit of the platter tonight.

For the satay sauce, I literally mixed organic crunchy peanut butter and organic low-fat coconut cream to a 50/50 ratio and cooked it with the chicken. I added a dash more coconut cream once I had removed the chicken from the pan, and let it simmer and reduce. For toddlers who can't have peanuts, cashew butter substitutes perfectly.

Little trees were quickly blanched and Cous Cous cooked according to packet instructions- you only need two tablespoons of dry Cous Cous to make a small timbale.

The little dish I served it in was given to me today by my clever mum who has impeccable taste and can always find a treasure in amongst op-shop trash.

Fish & Chips

Driving home from daycare today, my son cheerfully requested fish and chips. I happened to have a salmon fillet in the freezer that would be perfect for such a dinner. I defrosted it and then got to cooking.

(Makes two dinners)
Ingredients
1 salmon fillet
1/2 sweet potato
1/3 cucumber (optional)
1/4 cup rice flour
1 tablespoon (heaped) breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 tsp olive oil for frying

Julienne the sweet potato and put in a preheated oven (approx 220'c). No need to add oil, just use a non-stick baking tray or baking paper. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, depending on thickness, until soft.

Beat an egg in one bowl and then in another mix the two flours. Slice the salmon into fish-finger size pieces and dip first in egg yolk and then in the flower.

Heat a non-stick pan over moderate-low heat. Put in a small amount of oil and then wipe it around the pan with a paper towel to remove excess. Add the salmon pieces and fry for a couple of minutes on each side, until lightly golden then transfer to oven tray. Bake for a further five minutes until cooked through.

I served mine with choo-choo cucumber and a lemon wedge, which my little guy loved spritzing over the fish. I was surprised to see that he liked the fish better than the chips, and ate it all up very quickly.

Now, I had some egg and a little flour left over, so I combined them in one bowl and added finely grated organic zucchini and finely grated Parmesan, stirred and then lightly fried and baked (same technique as the salmon)- I will give these to him for brekkie tomorrow.

I smashed one fish finger and 3 little chips into a dinner for Emme, too.

Lovely-love

Since having babies, I have found myself marking celebrations and events that used to previously have little relevance for me. Valentines day is just such an event. Sure, Before Children (BC) it was a fun excuse to go out for dinner, spoil each other a bit. But celebrating all things love, not just romantic love, seemed quite appropriate this year; I have never loved so much as I do now.

My son and I started the day with some valentines day craft- he painted the paper we would later use as a table runner, and helped me stick cardboard love hearts to string that turned into decorations. And, we cooked. Of course, we cooked. We had a love-heart shaped loaf of spelt bread with truffle oil and balsamic vinegar, followed by Peking duck pancakes (my husband's favourite). The kids were then despatched to bed and we tucked into surf & turf with crispy kipfler potatoes. What excited me most though was our dessert. We made my nephew's signature cake (he is five, and quite the gourmet). It's gluten free, with ricotta, raspberries, almond meal and vanilla seeds, and it is just the perfect mix of sweet, tart, and moist. My entire family loves it.

In four quick months, Emme will turn one, and there is a small part of my brain already planning how we will mark the first of her birthdays. Particularly, how I can make pretty cakes without using too much colouring, preferably none. Well, I made the icing for this cake by simply whipping cream with raspberries. It was a lovely pale pink, though I'm planning to experiment with boiling the raspberries and mashing out the colour and adding this to the cream, and I think blueberries, and kiwi fruit would be worth trying as well. Any other ideas for colour-giving fruits and vegetables gratefully received.

Baby bites

Smashed carrot, broccoli, potato and zucchini. She loved it! Started her off with a super dry toasted piece of kalamata olive organic sourdough toast for a starter. My little Emme is 8 months now and she just loves meal times, like most little babies. She is in that high-chair slapping stage. She sees food and just beats the high chair with gleeful expectation.
PS this veggie smoosh is the base for the chicken sausages I made my son for dinner - will post recipe soon.

Play date Saturday

Happy weekend! We have a little friend over for Jonno this morning. It's unbearably hot despite the early hour, but we braved the park for as long as we could manage. Even the children, who are generally immune to the discomfort brought on by weather extremes, were flagging and complaining about being sticky and hot. So, home we came for some cooling fruit and water (okay, and air-conditioning!).

Later today, my mum arrives for a week's visit with us. I'm beyond excited, as is Jonno. He has been walking around all week exclaiming randomly, "yay! Nanny come sleep! I excited!". It is very dear.

My mum is an incredible cook. I didn't realise until I became a mum myself how difficult it is to produce any dinner each night, let alone dinners of the calibre she made, night after night after night. I am salivating at the prospect of a week of her meals!!

I hope you have something fun and exciting planned this weekend.

Almond Meal Pancakes for Shrove Tuesday

I don't need much of an excuse for pancakes. In fact, in my pregnancies I craved pancakes constantly, and would indulge in really thin crepes with lemon juice and sugar whenever I had the energy to make 'em. Oh yum! But on shrove Tuesday it's not even an excuse, it's a must. In a testament to true hedonism, I don't adhere to lent but I happily see those who do off with a pancakey bang!

We had a play date this afternoon with good friends and so, while my little babes were fast asleep, I made a batch of these pancakes that were tasty and kid-friendly to take along.

Ingredients

1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tablespoon butter, melted.


Put almond meal, sifted spelt flour, sugar and baking powder into a bowl and stir until combined. Make a well in the centre and add the egg.

Put a teaspoon of vinegar in with the milk - it may start to appear curdled, that's good! Then add the milk and melted butter to the batter. Stir until combined.

There's no need to leave the batter to sit, you can cook straight away. Use a non-stick frying pan and you won't need added fat. Put the heat on low and dollop teaspoons of batter, evenly spaced. Cook on one side and flip when they appear to lift. Remove from heat once done.

These don't need any condiments, but you could definitely stir through some cinnamon or blueberries, or coconut shavings or finely cubed apple if you are feeling adventurous.

They were gobbled up in short order by our little contingent of boys, so I would say they pass the taste test resoundingly!

By some twist of baking fate, we ended up with a sad face pancake and a happy face pancake. Couldn't do that again if I tried!!

Happy shrove Tuesday

What better thing to take to an afternoon play date today than almond meal and spelt pancakes? Recipe coming soon...

On the brekkie bar today

Absolutely delicious seeded toast with a spinach omelette and perfectly ripe tomato. I think I'm really lucky that Jonno will almost always find space in his tummy for eggies and often requests them. When I was introducing him to solids, the advice was to hold off on eggs until 12 months owing to a rare but potentially fatal allergy some infants have to egg white. I chanced it when he was around 9 months (given absolutely no family history of egg allergies I figured we were on pretty safe ground!) and it was such a God-send. On days when you're busy and stressed and tired, to be able to hard boil an egg and add toast soldiers is just perfect. Our problem is actually making sure he doesn't eat eggs too often! He sometimes goes through this bizarre aversion to egg yolks, and studiously picks around the yellow and just eats the white, which is where scrambled eggs and omelettes come into play. This morning I picked some spinach and basil fresh from the garden and folded it into the centre of the omelette. The best thing about brekkies like this is that I love them as well, so we can really eat together.

Baby bites

Watermelon and Greek yoghurt

Sushi & Fruit

On our lunch table today: petite sushi (tuna salad and vegetarian), watermelon and strawberries (pink fruits are always a hit!). My son valiantly tries to use chopsticks for a minute or two and then somehow works out how to build a tower with them, or uses them as aeroplane wings to make close fly-overs of his lunch. Love it!

Baby bites

Ricotta and smashed raspberries

On the brekkie bar today

Poached eggs, smoked salmon and seeded toast.

Home-made baked beans

Baked beans are an awesome meal option for kids for brekkie, lunch, dinner and snacks on the fly. But there is so much sodium and sugar in the commercially prepared tins, whereas they're quick and easy to make at home using your own ingredients.

Tonight, I made a pot for my son in around 20 minutes, and had enough over to freeze two full meals. I know the argument for tinned food- it's so easy- but for the investment of twenty minutes cooking time, I can now just pick a bag out of the freezer, microwave it for 2 minutes and there's dinner!

I sautéed an onion and two rashes of free range bacon(diced) until golden then added a tin of organic tomatoes and simmered until slightly reduced, then added a tin of organic butter beans. Add a tablespoon balsamic vinegar and a tablespoon honey to season, then leave to simmer.

It took around 15 minutes to thicken.

Talk about delicious! Actually, my husband and I cleaned up what Jonno couldn't finish, and we were fighting each other off for the last spoonful!

On our table tonight

Roast chook with potatoes and nectarines, broccolini and an apricot gravy.

We all love chicken. My two year old just adores it. Though I'm not thrilled he has taken up my love affair with chicken breast meat. I tried so hard to encourage him to like wings- they're a "spare part" in our family! My little 7mo will eat roast chook and veg til her little heart's content, and a good roast is just outrageously easy. I hope your dinner was as yummy as ours!

"Quick Dinners"

From time to time, like any working mum, I have given my kids dinners that I cringe at, including, occasionally, fast food. I've said it before, I don't think that junk food is a huge evil as long as it's balanced by a predominantly healthy diet. But what I really, really hate, what makes me want to scratch my eyes out in frustration, is meals that are marketed at children, or at parents who are too time poor to properly read the labels and google search every ingredient, as being healthy fast foods for kids. I don't think there is any "fast food" that can be consumed on a regular basis and justified as meeting all the nutritional requirements of growing babies and toddlers. Or adults, for that matter. It is so cynical for big supermarkets to make a range of products, put zoo animals on the packaging and laud them as healthy dinners for kids. The particular range that earned my ire included a microwaveable bacon & cheese pasta- don't even get me started on the packaging of the container- and had approx 70 ingredients. To make pasta. Cheese pasta with bacon. The recipe I posted last week takes less than ten minutes and includes organic pasta (two ingredients) and three cheeses (three ingredients).

I am not unrealistic. Life is busy, we are busy, and often it's about choosing the lesser of two evils. But meals like this dressed up as a good "first choice" just make me want to weep.

Eye-fillet & Pearl Cous Cous Shepherd's Pies

Quantities make two ramekin size pies.

Ingredients

40g piece eye fillet, cooked
1 organic carrot
1/2 zucchini
1/2 potato
1/2 cup uncooked pearl Cous Cous
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp butter
1 tsp flour (as always, I used spelt)
1/2 cup milk

Set a pot of water boiling and add the diced potato and the uncooked pearl Cous Cous. Leave to cook until potato tender, around 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat and then add the flour. Stir until combined and the flour has browned a little. Add the milk and stir continuously until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat while you grate the vegetables and finely dice the cooked steak. Add these to the white sauce and stir. Return to the low heat and allow to thicken and reduce. Add the worcestershire sauce- you don't need much. Strain the potato and Cous Cous. Incorporate half of the Cous Cous into the white sauce mix and mash the rest of the Cous Cous with the potato.

Evenly distribute the steak mix amongst two ramekins and then top with the mashed potato. Bake at 180' for 15 minutes.

Manuka honey and spelt doughnuts

Here it is! The recipe to the delicious doughnuts I made for Jonno the other day.

Ingredients

1 cup flour (I use organic spelt)
2 tablespoons manuka honey
1 tablespoon dried yeast
1/4 cup milk, warmed gently (not boiling)

30g butter
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp cinnamon for dusting

Preheat oven to 150'c and line a baking tray.

In a bowl, combine sifted flour, yeast and honey. Put a well in the centre and pour in the warmed milk. Stir with a wooden spoon until it forms a dough ball, then knead until it has a springy consistency.

Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a draught free spot until it has increased in size (about an hour).

Separate into three pieces of even size and roll between your hands until you have a length of dough, even diameter. Form into a circle, lay on tray and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes on low heat, circa 150'c, depending on various ovens. They will be golden brown to touch and smell like sweet doughnutty goodness.

Melt the butter and use a pastry brush to top each doughnut. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over each doughnut. Cover in tea towel while still hot for at least ten minutes to soften.

Serve while still warm.

I am not going to sugar-coat it (pardon the hilarious pun), these taste healthy, but they also taste good, and when it comes to growing tastebuds and bodies, healthy options are the best options.

Nb I made today's batch out of wholemeal spelt. I preferred the ones I made out of white spelt flour.

The littlest of lunches

Creamed banana and half a passionfruit from our friend's vine. This tastes like tropical islands and sunshine on a spoon.

Brekkie

Avocado on whole meal toast, strawberries and a soft-boiled free range eggy.

swings and roundabouts

You know, this blog is more about intention than it is about unqualified success. My son, bless his cotton socks, is very, very good at being Two. And this, by definition, makes him contrary and stubborn, and sometimes utterly unfathomable. Tonight for dinner, I offered him chicken involtini with sweet potato "chips" and the most perfectly buttery ripe Avocado I've ever seen. This is pretty much a plate of his favourite things. He loves chicken, he loves bacon/ham/prosciutto/small goods in general, and you know by now his penchant for apricots. As I explained to him what was on his plate, I was met by an enthusiastic, resounding (and actually very cute), "Yeeeechhhhhh!". I explained to him that these are things he has tried and loved, but no dice. Finally, like many mummies before me, I resorted to threat: "Darling, stay seated at the table and eat. Your. Dinner. Or else, it's straight to bed with you."

What do your think his response was? A shrug of those dear toddler shoulders, a nod of understanding and, "Ok, mama. I go bed." What is the world coming to when a dinner, delicious and cooked wi love (not to mention great ingredients) is snubbed in favour of a one hour early bed time?!

So, Son was dispatched, the involtini reappropriated by me as an early evening snack (yum!) and the Avo and sweet potato were mashed into dinner for my baby. She doesn't have the reservations he did and is tucking in with much satisfaction and gusto.

You know, feeding a toddler is no mean feat, and I so badly want him to grow up with a love for food- good food. But you can never get it perfect. I remember reading a while back that toddlers, when hungry, will eventually eat. The point of the article was that they're better not eat anything than being offered crap to entice them to eat. Zero nutrients being better than truly harmful ones. I don't like him missing a meal, but I have also read that babies and toddlers are generally self-regulating, and they shouldn't be forced to finish a meal until their plate is clean. I don't know...it's tough to work out how to handle a defiant little two year old sometimes...but I know his dinner was absolutely delicious!

Vegan "sausage" rolls

It's recommended that toddlers eat a 3/4 cup of vegetables each day. I have no problems getting the suggested 1 cup of fruit into my guy; he has always loved fruit. But vegetables present a bigger challenge.

I always thought I would be one of those mums that shied away from "disguising" veggies in meals to make them more palatable. After all, shouldn't children grow up with a real love for and knowledge of their foods?

Hmm. The reality of toddler-rearing, I have found, does not leave much room for such notions! Disguise of every kind is fast becoming this mama's MO. I mash veggies in where I can, make delicious savoury muffins, anything I can do to encourage my son to eat all the nutrients he needs to grow big and strong.

Well, these sausage rolls are a fantastic solution. The pastry is so healthy, I think I'll be turning to this for future baking for myself.

Ingredients-

Pastry:

55g organic cashew butter (a shelf-stable product available near healthy peanut butters)
110g whole meal spelt flour (you could substitute regular)
Approx 1/4 cup of water.

Filling
110g silken tofu
1 cup spelt flour
1 carrot
1/2 capsicum
1/2 broccoli head
1/2 onion


Preheat oven to 200'c and line a flat baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
Put the cashew butter and 110g spelt flour into a bowl and rub together with your fingers until the consistency resembles breadcrumbs. Add the water tablespoon by tablespoon, gradually combining using a wooden spoon until you have a pastry dough. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, blitz the vegetables until they are finely diced. Add the silken tofu and incorporate flour spoon by spoon until a firm consistency is reached. Depending on the veggies you've used, you might need more or less flour than this. I made these vegan but you could definitely add a nice grated cheese here, perhaps half a cup of vintage cheddar.

Remove the pastry from the fridge and, on a lightly floured surface, roll out until about 3mm thick. Lay the filling out in a large log in the middle of the pastry. Dip your fingertips in water and run along one side of the pastry, then roll tightly. Cut off any excess pastry. Place on the prepared oven tray. Repeat until ingredients are used. If you have any pastry over, freeze it. If you have the filling left over, you can turn it into dumplings or freeze it for later use. You can coat the rolls in an optional egg wash or olive oil wash but they don't need either.

Bake for approx 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden.

I made an organic tomato sauce by boiling two whole tomatoes, removing skin. Once the water has reduced to almost nothing, mash until salsa consistency then add 1/2 tsp honey and 1/2 tsp white vinegar. Stir and leave to cool.

That's more like it !

We just tried Emme on her brekkie again and it was a hit now that she is properly awake. Kinda makes perfect sense, that.

Baby brekkie

For my seven month old this morning, stewed apple, sweet potato, prune and organic rice porridge, mixed with one teaspoon of Greek yoghurt. Meal times are still proving super tricky with my seven month old. She loves food- she's one of those babies who's been pulling food off our plates from four months- but she won't eat when she is tired. She got through about half of this before her sticky little palms were rubbing at her eyes and it was time to give up on breakfast and start the first nap going. I have, in such a short space of time, forgotten the intricacies of finding a rhythm with a small baby still learning to eat and self-settle and generally exist. In any event, I made enough of this concoction to heat-fill two sterilised jars, so this will be a good go-to brekkie for a little while.