Kitchen mice.

I've just begun our annual gingerbread house bake fest- a highlight of my calendar since I began the tradition four years ago. Let me tell you, though, this is the first time I've considered abandoning my goal after only one measly house of ging. 

Baking with a four year old and a two year old is a vastly different experience to baking with a three year old and high-chair-restrained one year old. The number of fingers I have had to bat out of dough, questions I have been asked, and the sheer quantity of batter my little kitchen saboteurs have snaffled is blowing my mind (and weaning my resolve). 

But, it's fun... And I do love the end result... 

Grudgingly Cooking

Woah. I have had a big week. Tough in many ways. Busy. Exhausting. Looooooong. 

I know I'm spoiled that my four year old and two year old still have midday naps. He has three hours, she has two. And that is time that I protect fiercely as it is when I work and remember that I was a me before becoming a mummy.

At the tailend of this hectic and hard week, my kids have utterly lost the plot. Both disavowed the need for a nap, insisting loudly, and in shrill unison, "I'm not tired!!". My little girl (miss two) finally drifted off. Which was, obviously, an invitation for master four to throw pillows at her until she woke screaming.

Usually, they're a little team of mischief. They play and whisper and plot and are sometimes a little like twins in terms of how they clash and love one another. Today, there was no love between them, just plain and simple antagonistic fighting. And it fairly did my head in, friends. After having to cancel a much-anticipated play date owing to dreadful behaviour, I still had to brave the local supermarket for a few weekend essentials. Because well, shopping on a Saturday is just no fun. 

If you're reading this, you've probably read that I'm not a huge fan of fast food. It's an occasional thing for us, simply because I am happy to feed them bananas or Vegemite toast for dinner if I'm tired/rushed. 

Tonight, however, having placated two teary, screaming children all day, and just wanting it to be over (!) I suggested, hopefully, a little afraid of my tyrannical duo, that we could get fish and chips on the way home. (Our local does unsalted chips on request and use local garfish). 

You can guess my mindset, right?

So when my master four said, in his own hopeful tone, that he'd prefer chicken drumsticks and salad, what the heck was I meant to do? Yeah, I'm a sucker and I came home and made it. The salad is his own composition- he requested watermelon, strawberries, Brazil nuts, snow peas. Then, as an afterthought, more strawberries and cheese, because they're his sister's favourites (I think they're back in the love phase of their relationship). 

A note. Please forgive the extremely excessive styling. I had to make it fun for myself. And, you know. I just love big plates.

My kids got my tastebuds.

When I was a teenager, I fell madly in love with natto. It's a japanese food - fermented soy beans. They're tiny and sticky and I have been pretty obsessed with them for two decades (yikes, showing my age). It's apparently unusual for someone who isn't Japanese to like natto. Or, at least, that's what the several hundred merchants I've purchased natto from over the years have assured me. My purchase always brings the question, first, to make sure it's actually what I meant to pick up. Then, confusion, "Do you actually like them?". 

They are unbelievably delicious, folks. Salty and sour, and sticky. I have to have them with a generous serving of finely chopped spring onion as the sharpness cuts through the natto perfectly. 

And now, I discover that my children not only love my edamame, and ask for them by name, but also natto. In the ultimate act of mummy sacrifice, I've just let them polish off my last tub (gah!) and, when they requested more, promised (for my sake as much as theirs) that we'll go to china town today to buy more!! 

I know, I know. Soy. GMO. Oestrogen. Whatever. I am proud of my dear little taste-bud-tastic kiddos!

Lamb Cutlets

Today, at childcare, kids were asked about the kinds of food they eat at home.

You have probably got the idea that I am reasonably intent on providing pretty healthy stuff for the kids. Treats are an exception rather than the rule. So you can imagine how I felt when the teacher said, with a laugh, that my son had said that "junk food is his favourite, even though it makes him sick." Ah dear.

Tonight, they're having one of our dinner favourites. This is a stove top to table dinner in under ten minutes. 

I boik chunky sweet potato "chips" (skin on for added fibre), and while that's cooking, I fry the lamb cutlets in macadamia oil for about 4 minutes each side. Then, I add greens (torn kale) and balsamic vinegar. Remove from pan, add prunes and water, reduce at high heat while you serve it up then drizzle the prune jus over the lamb. 

Fruit Yoghurts

My kids *love* yoghurts. And because I've succumbed to bribery and blackmail on occasion and bought those squeezey fruit yoghurts just to get us all through a supermarket shop, they now want that kind of yoghurt all the time. Gath. Those squeezey yoghurts- even the organic ones- are all sweetened. Best case, it's with apple purée, or organic cane sugar, but it's turning a nutritious food into a lolly, and training their taste buds to want sweet and sweeter.

So I'm thrilled to have been able to remind my guys how much they love plain yoghurt or, better yet, yoghurt with added fruit and nuts.

I'm a huge fan or five AM yoghurt which is organic and has no added sugar. Barambah is another favourite of mine though it's harder to get.

I added organic frozen berries. I'm finishing off my last two packs of organic berries - they're great but the food miles make me weep (they hail from Denmark, Belgium and Chile) but until recently they were all I could get my hands on easily. I've just sourced Elgin berries though which are grown (I believe) in NSW/QLD. 

I like the yoghurt with the berries and nuts on top but my kids prefer it all mushed up so it looks like "real" (aherm- read crappy) yoghurt.

Natural Remedies

My littlest one is sick today. She's running a high temp, and not even a bowl of glistening strawberries could induce her to eat breakfast today (they're her favourite- she scavenges them straight from the patch in summer). NB, she's wrapped in love courtesy of her "Arentie" Shay, who patched this gorgeous quilt for her before she was born.

So, I've just made a fresh lemon juice, and blended it with organic berries and a heap of Manuka honey, which I'm setting into little ice blocks in the hope it will cool her down and soothe her ills. Our house smells of eucalyptus and peppermint oils, too, which is gorgeous, and hopefully helpful. 

Do you have any natural remedies you swear by? 

Bad food day

Last night, I realised my kids hadn't eaten a single bit of fruit or veg all day! This rarely happens to us because well, I'm a planner. Also, I am obviously a little neurotic about kid nutrition. 

But yesterday, we seemed to lurch from one random thing to another, so that the kids had eaten:

2 pieces of rye toast (breakfast)

2 pieces of spelt raisin toast (morning tea)

Tuna sushi (lunch)

Popcorn (afternoon tea- home popped)

A Freddo frog each 

Ravioli with cheese (dinner).

As I mentally recounted their days' menu, I couldn't believe how stodgy their diets had been! A reasonably tragic scene ensued, one that will probably only be familiar to fellow parents, in which my husband and I ferried little bowls of strawberries and sliced banana into the kids- to eat while they bathed! Oh dear. 

The odd day of crap food is fine. Obviously! But I swung the other way today... Smoked salmon scrambled eggs with kale for brekkie (more on this later- it's one if my kids' favourite brekkies but it can be expensive unless you shop smart), nuts and fruit for lunch, a smoothie for afternoon tea, and now a dinner comprised of natural snacks. Busy lives make it tricky to keep an eye on their diets but it's so important to get it right, most of the time.

bath fizzies

These bath fizzies have become a favourite part of our weeks' activities. It's the gift that keeps on giving! 

Making them is a bit of fun, and the kids are learning to read the numbers on the scale, and then at night, they adore dropping one into the bath and watching it fizz and bubble. 

For me, they're fantastic because they have enough bicarbonate in them to act as a cleaning agent on the tub. No rims like you get with commercial ones and you control the quality of ingredients, eg, food safe and organic. 

Here's what I have done over the last few weeks, whilst firming up my own technique and recipe. The main thing is to use organic and food grade products to avoid allergies and irritation. Also, when adding the liquid to the dry, dribble it in so slowly, or else they'll fizz on impact and the jig is up. 

Dry Ingredients 

225g bicarbonate soda

113g Citric acid

113g Epsom salts (or other therapeutic salt)

113g organic corn flour 

Wet ingredients 

3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted to liquid

1 tablespoon filtered water

1 teaspoon fragrant oil - I use food grade oils, such as organic rose or orange, or vanilla.

Optional, a natural food colouring- just a couple of drops.

Combine the wet ingredients in a small jug and set aside.

Combine the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Use your hands to make sure any lumps are broken up completely.

So slowly it feels unnatural, dribble to wet mix in and stir constantly. If it starts to fizz, quickly mix in more dry ingredients- this will halt the reaction.

Once it's all mixed in, you will be able to form the mix into balls. Shape them and set aside for about 20 minutes while they dry out and firm up. Store in an airtight container and use at will. 

Sometimes, inexplicably, I find the mix isn't liquid enough to form. Add a tiny bit more oil if this is the case.

Beans

I love home made baked beans. They're so easy to make and a truckload better for you than their tinned counterparts. Don't mistake me; I have relied on tin beans in the past and will again. For quick, always-eaten dinners, they never fail to get my kids chowing down. But with a little more time up my sleeve, I love to make my own.

I blogged a recipe a little while ago. However, I've tweaked and improved it. So here's my baked beans, the 2014 version.

Ingredients

1 tin organic butter beans

1 tin organic kidney beans

1 small white onion diced

2 rashers free range bacon, diced (NB, replace with a teaspoon of mild paprika for a vegetarian alternative that's still bursting with smokey goodness)

1 celery stalk, finely cubed

2 fresh tomatoes, diced roughly

1 tablespoon good quality tomato paste

1-2 cups filtered water 

I tablespoon extra Virgin olive oil 

Herbs (optional- my master three currently won't eat any "salad", eg, anything green.)

Choose a heavy based pot with a lid- I use my le creuset Dutch oven. Over moderate heat, sautée onion and celery, then add bacon and cook for a few minutes, until a little browned. Strain and rinse the beans and add to the pot. Stir to coat in the onion mix. Add the chopped tomato and enough filtered water to cover. Lower the heat and cover, then cook for around twenty minutes. Remove lid, stir through the paste and cook for a further ten minutes to so. Check seasoning and adjust with a little coconut sugar or honey if necessary. Your beans are ready when the water has become a thick coating and the smell is making your tummy rumble. 

Here's the beta version in case you're wondering.

http://littlelunching.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/home-made-baked-beans.html?m=1

healthy doughnuts

With all the furore over Crispy Creme that's erupted lately (and possibly it's a very localized furore because a Crispy Creme has opened, for the first time, in my city of Adelaide), I thought this a timely post to make. 

When we lived in the UK, I used to indulge in Crispy Cremes very occasionally, and I have to say, if you're to buy store bought, they do have a soft spot in my heart. I know, it's not patriotic, and I know they're pretty awful for you, but once in a hardly visible blue moon, I think they're yum. However, as a rule, I make my doughnuts from scratch. Usually, by baking, but now, I've discovered something even better!

I have found the easiest and quickest way to make doughnuts, and they're relatively healthy, too! This is essentially a churros batter, but made to doughnut shape and fried in butter. I used spelt flour and coconut sugar, so they're low carb, low GI and most gluten free people can eat them. 

Ingredients

1 cup filtered water

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tablespoon coconut sugar

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 cup spelt flour

Cinnamon for dusting and extra coconut sugar for dusting

150 g butter for frying

tablespoon olive oil for frying

Combine cup of water with salt, coconut sugar and coconut oil in a sauce pan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, sieve spelt flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Once the water mix has come to the boil, add to the flour and stir until lumps are removed. This won't be a runny batter, like when making a cake, it should be perfectly pliable. 

Set the butter and oil going in a large frying pan. Shape the doughnuts with your hands and carefully place in the frying pan. Cook over moderate heat - they'll take about five minutes in total, and you want them to be cooked through without burning. After a couple of minutes, carefully flip to the other side and continue to cook for an additonal couple of minutes. Once nicely browned, remove from the pan and sprinkle with the extra coconut sugar and cinnamon. 

Super Cookies (vegan, spelt, organic, 3 ingredients!)

I was so excited by the idea of these cookies that I didn't stop to properly measure out my ingredients, sorry! This recipe is just a guide- I'll do it again soon but in the meantime, if you are comfortable just wading in and giving these a go, I can highly recommend them!

Recipe 

(Approx!!)

2 tablespoons sweet coconut spread

3 tablespoons coconut oil

1 cup spelt flour

Preheat oven to 180'c fan forced.

Combine in a food processor until you have a breadcrumb consistency then dribble about a tablespoon of filtered water in and combine until it forms a dough.

I used superhero moulds from my kids' play dough set but you can obviously shape them however you'd like. These are really yum. Bake for around 12 minutes, then leave to cool (if you can!)...

Sunday Lunch

Today's Sunday lunch was pretty special, if for no other reason than that we had nanny with us.

I made a French onion soup, and my mum made her famous beef burgundy which she served with a garlic and EVOO mash and a crisped piece of prosciutto.

Beach Holiday // Seaside Snacks

The kids, my mum, and I have gone beach. 

And it is sublime. 

We set off early this morning, armed with coffee and car snacks, on the long four hour journey into the Coorong. As car trips go, with a three and a two year old, it was exceptionally simple. We only had to stop twice (once for coffees, the next time for a bush wee for master three!). 

This was our snacky lunch (or part of it). The dukkah was exceptional, and the bread: a just baked sourdough. As for the peanuts: How exciting! I loved watching my little guy learn how to crack the shell and peel the nut of skin. And he ate them all!

Tomorrow morning, our favourite Providore reopens and we are eagerly anticipating our first coffee there. It's such a highlight!

Sunday Lunch: Chicken Tagine

This recipe has morphed from it's original into a total family staple. It originally comes from the little recipe booklet that came with my sister's Emille Henry Tagine, and in that version of this recipe, lamb is used as the principal ingredient. However, the first time I tasted it, my sister had made it with chicken, and I absolutely adored it. Since then, I've made it with eggplants and chickpeas in place of the chicken, so a completely vegan version, and it was delicious. The most important ingredients to give it its signature flavours are pitted prunes and cinnamon, and a long slow cooking time...

Ingredients: 

(serves 4)

5 free range chicken thighs, chopped into 2cm cubes

1 onion, diced

garlic, smashed

1/2 cup pitted prunes

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1/2cup peas

1 cup filtered water

1 tablespoon raw sugar

1/2 cup uncooked Risoni/Rice optional

Coconut oil for frying

In your tagine, heat oil over a moderate heat, then add onion and garlic and sautee until translucent. Add chicken and cooked until browned (NB, this is where I would usually add eggplant, if doing the vegan version). Add cinnamon and water and stir, then place lid on. Leave to simmer away for around an hour, checking occasionally that it's not sticking. It looks absolutely disgusting at this point, don't be concerned. 

Remove lid and add the prunes and stir, cook for an additional twenty minutes, lid on. 

Then, incorporate sugar, peas and risoni, stir and finish up for another 10 minutes or so, lid off, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't catch on the bottom.

It's great with some nuts added through at the end too, or served with some oil and spicy chutney. The long cooking time is perfect for a mid-winter lunch as I can set it going early in the morning and just enjoy the fragrant aroma all day long! 

Cous Cous Sushi

I don't actually think wholegrain cous cous is a preferable alternative to brown rice. It did however have the advantage of being super quick to prepare, and that's the reason I made this sushi with cous cous instead of rice. 

The filling is a beautiful avocado and a sesame seed omelette.

It's  super easy to make sushi, and I often don't use a rolling bamboo mat x the trick, for me at least, is not overfilling the nori.

Simply prepare your rice or sushi as per the packet instructions, and your fillings of choice. Lay out the nori paper, shiny side down, and spoon rice/cous cous in the middle section only, leaving at least 4cm exposed on either edge. Wet one edge with a little bit of water and roll, keeping pressure evenly applied. Refrigerate before serving.

Happy 4th of July, Americans!

I hope your celebrations are filled with family and the best kind of food - healthy stuff! Here's a suggestion for your breakfast table. This is a flag made from organic frozen raspberries, organic forzen blueberries, and organic co-yo for the white. For those of you not in the know-know, co-yo is what I call this heavenly creation - youghurt mixed with dessicated coconut. The coconut stops the yoghurt from spreading too far, and gives this a delicious texture and taste. 

Enjoy your Independence Day, folks. 

Date & Malt Bisuits

In grappling with the rather diminutive size of my littlest one (at two, she's still barely fitting in size one clothes) I started looking at nutritious ways I could up her calorie intake. We had peanut butter & honey ice creams (amazing and dangerous because I just wanted to eat them all myself), lots of banana based treats, and malt extract, liquid, in its purest form. 

I was attracted to malt because not only is it high calorie and high carb, it's also filled with nutrients, and boasts some great side effects. According to the folk over at livestrong, malt "contain vitamins B2, B3, B6 and B12, iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, as well as some amino acids that can be used by your body to build protein...Drinking malt extract beverages at night might help you get to sleep more easily because of the mineral content, which relaxes your muscles. The maltose in malt extract is easy for your body to digest and provides a quick source of energy. B vitamins are needed for metabolism and energy production. Minerals are needed for normal muscle tone and strong bones."

And so, today, we set about baking some snacks using malt and dates for the sweetener. In fact, these awesome little guys have five ingredients (six including the optional 70% dark chocolate I finished them with). 

(Measuring and mixing is a SERIOUS business!)

Ingredients: 

1 cup sifted spelt flour plus a little extra for kneading

1/2 cup LSA

1/2 cup roughly chopped dates

1/3 cup liquid malt

75g butter, melted

Dark chocolate (optional)

Preheat oven to 125'c fan forced, and line a baking tray with baking paper.

In a bowl, combine all ingredients except the chocolate and mix with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Turn it out onto the baking tray and shape into a rectangle. 

Bake for twenty minutes then increase the temperature to 180'c and finish for five minutes. 

Remove from oven and cut into bite sized pieces immediately. 

Set aside. If you're using the dark chocoloate, melt it eithet in a microwave or using a double boiler, and spread over the bottom of the treats. I drizzled a little over the tops, too. 

The kids smashed these. They are sweet in the best possible way, and with a really great depth of flavour owing to the malt. I hope you like them as much as we did!

Here's a blog I wrote when we first discovered my little one is teeny weeny (funny, I remember feeling so distraught, and now her pocket-rocketness is just another awesome part of her!): http://littlelunching.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/thumbelina.html

And here's that sinfully wickedly yummy peanut butter ice cream recipe: http://littlelunching.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/honey-and-peanut-butter-ice-cream.html

Courgette & Kale Gnocchi

I feel as though my gnocchi is getting further away from the traditional version every time I make it, and I'm well aware that this recipe might shock puritanical pasta lovers. But, surprisngly, this clean and green version of the well-loved pasta is nutty and delicious. The trick was in pureeing the greens to such a point that they were pretty much slush. 

Ingredients

1 x courgette, washed and sliced. 

1 handful of kale, washed well

1 free range egg

Approx 1 cup spelt flour

In a food processor, combine first the courgette and kale and blitz until a paste like consistency is achieved. Add the egg and half the flour and blitz. You want to form a dough only a little wetter than a pie pastry dough. Continue adding flour, a spoon at a time, until it comes together. 

Turn out onto a chopping board and knead for a moment, then wrap in gladwrap and refrigerate to firm (approx ten minutes). 

Remove from the fridge and section it - we did four sections. On a lightly floured work surface, and using your fingers, roll the dough into long snakes. Slice into one cm pieces. (Older kids can do this with a butter knife, under supervision.)

Meanwhile, set a pan of water to boil on the stove. Add the gnocchi and cook until it has begun to float to the surface of the water (five minutes-ish). 

For the kids, I heated a little olive oil and truffle oil and sauteed the boiled gnocchi with some grated cheese. Voila! Easy dinner, and doesn't it look vibrant? (For grown ups, I would have made a sauce with capers and anchovies, oil and garlic, to set off the nutiness of the gnocchi.)

Mid-Week Baking: sugar-free muffins

I've posted before about how hard I find it to shake off my control-freak nature and let the kids help me in the kitchen. The thing is, it really is a great activity for them. My son, particularly, loves cracking eggs, stirring things, measuring out dry ingredients and counting the components of recipes.

Looking for an activity today, we settled on baking (my kids love to eat, and as you know, I prefer that they eat treats we've made ourselves).

These berry muffins are organic and sugar free, and so simple that even with a three and a two year old at the helm, they turned out beautifully.

Ingredients
1 cup organic spelt flour
1 tablespoon gluten free baking powder
1/2 cup LSA for extra fiber
3/4 cup organic yoghurt
1 cup berries (mine were frozen organic)
2 tablespoons coconut spread, melted
2 tablespoon manuka honey

For the icing, I used a handful of frozen berries, a cup of cream and a tablespoon extra of honey.

Pre-heat oven to 180'c fan forced.

The most important thing with ANY muffin recipe is not to over mix your batter. I don't understand the science behind it, but once you've added your wet ingredients to your dry, you only get three or four whips of the spoon to combine the components. Anythign more than that and they miraculously turn out rubbery and evil.

So, sift your dry ingredients together and stir to combine (I let my kids wear their arms out here - it's no fail). In a separate bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Make a whole in the center of the flour mixture and add the yoghurt/berries etc. 

Gently bring it together, again, being careful not to beat the fluff out of it.

Spoon mix into prepared muffin tins, and bake for around 15-20 minutes. Do the skewer test to check they're cooked through. If they are browning too much on top, cover with alfoil while they finish.

I served generously heaped with icing (I'm trying to put kilos on my littlest one!) but they are great without. Just a bit of warm butter would finish them nicely. And yes, the eggs are intentionally left out - they don't need them here. This is a matter of economy, really - we must go through two dozen eggies a week in our house, so any recipe I can get away with cutting them out, I do... 

I'm a fan of sugar-free muffins, using natural ingredients like banana, honey or coconut spread to sweeten instead. Here's a recipe I did a while back for banana and coconut muffins.