Dukkah cutlets

Dukkah and quinoa crusted lamb cutlets with mashed sweet potato, corn and avocado. 

Marrow: Wonder Food.

So. It turns out... my kids love bone marrow. Yes. They love it. To the point where they were fighting over the very last morsel. I must admit, as a child, I too found this delicacy irresistible. It was only as I grew up and learned about animals and the provenance of bones that I let the ewww factor outweigh everything else.

Bone marrow is super, mega, logic-defyingly rich in nutrition, including Vitamin A, iron, zinc, selenium, magnesium, manganese and calcium - to name a few.

I would never have thought to try the kids on marrow, except that we've had my mum visiting. Yes, she who introduced me to this glorious food in my childhood. Not only is she super-nanny with the kids, and a huge help and source of entertainment to me when she comes to stay, she kicks me out of the kitchen and takes over meals. And they're amazing. She left this lovely stew for us - with marrow-filled bones and all. And now, I can safely say, I won't be turning back.

Let's all eat a sweet potato plus pie

My little boy loves that nursery rhyme. Tonight I made him a sweet potato pie, except I served the sweet potato (and carrot) mash in a basket made out of Parmesan cheese. I topped it with a poached egg and some snow peas- all favourites over here.

They also love smoothies. Tonight, they're washing dinner down with a spinach, berry and beetroot concoction.

A whirlwind kitchen affair.

I've been really busy lately. Job busy. Kid busy. Life busy. And like all busy mums, this means something's gotta give.

For me, it's been a slight decline in the time I have to spend cooking. And this makes me sad! I love to cook. It has always been my favourite hobby; and a source of relaxation. Giving my kids great nutrition is a cornerstone of how I want them to grow up. The double headed beast of fast food and processed foods are insidious amongst today's children. Even products mocked up as healthy are loaded with hydrogenated vegetable oils, sodium, colours, and suspect quality ingredients.

Today, I put aside a pretty scary list of to-dos so that I could get my head back in the game.

Like in most homes, brekkies are a major hassle.

We have about an hour to get everyone fed and dressed, bags packed and out the door. Lucky for me, my kids love: sandwiches, muffins and porridge. Porridge is especially handy to put together- and my kids love it served as a Bircher muesli. This one contains- organic oats and sultanas, grated Apple, yoghurt ad full cream milk. I will serve it with a drizzle of Manuka honey.

I made fruit cubes for sweet treat snacks. A mix of dried apricots, Brazil nuts, dried coconut, marmalade and filtered water. 

Baked beans! I have blogged my recipes for these before. And here is the real motivation for my cooking session today... I was looking at baked beans in the supermarket and saw the levels of sodium and sugar and panicked. I used to always make beans for my kids, until I got a bit busier. But there's no excuse! This is so quick and easy and I've frozen six cans worth for future dinners.

Ice cream! Oh, my kids love ice cream. I blitzed raspberries and cream in a nutribullet then whipped it until thickened. That's it. No sweetener. My guys love this..

And finally, chicken nuggets! A heap of raw veggies with organic chicken mince- seriously yummy.

Blue Swimmer Crabs

we have been going to the beach a lot over the summer, and the kids have been finding crabs washed to shore as part of that. Like all toddlers, they're also pretty into Octonaughts... 

So today, when they saw crabs at the seafood counter (just caught!) we had to get some.

The kids were great with it- they loved feeling the smooth shell and touching the buggy eyes. My son dropped one into the boiling water, and they both tried some of the flesh.

I had to tell them it was "sugar chicken" to get them to attempt it. My daughter LOVED it. Like a little butcher bird, she kept asking for more more more.

My son was far less convinced... Still- a delightful and fun food experiment...

Eating Organic.

Almost everything I cook with is organic, and that's been my preference for a long time. Though, since becoming a mama, it's become increasingly important to me. Even when my children were having their first gappy little gums of real-world food, I knew that I wanted it to be free of pesticides and chemicals. The idea of subjecting their precious, tiny systems to these 'everyday' chemicals was, and is, abhorrent to me.

I know it can be expensive though, so I thought I'd share some tips with how I keep our pantry and fridge stocked with organic food without breaking the budget.

1.  Grow your own. Even in a tiny apartment, we always had pots with spinach and herbs. If you have more space, be adventurous and get some good seasonal plantings going. What do you enjoy eating most of? Tomato? Strawberries? Lettuce? Carrots? I find we get a great yield of strawberries (the kids usually pluck about three a day each off the small patch we have).

2.  Shop at farmers markets. Even if the food isn't certified organic, you have a great opportunity to form a relationship with the growers. Much of their wares will be 'spray free', and essentially organic, without being able to jump through the requirements for certification (soil testing etc). This brings up a whole new issue of 'food miles', which are so very important. Supporting local, eating what's in season when it's available.. this all makes sense. Though I do put personal preference or organic over local from time to time, but that's just me. Also, talk to your growers and give them your number in case they have "gluts" and want to sell produce at a discount rate. You might be up to your elbows in preserving jars for a couple of days but so what!

3. Supermarkets are cynically (and helpfully) cashing in on our desire for great, organic produce. The two in my area both stock an abundant and good selection of organic produce - more often than not, a greater quantity than they can easily sell. As a result, there are always excellent reductions. Today, they had packs with two heads of certified organic broccoli in each for around $1.90 (down from the $4.90 they were originally). I bought three packs (six heads), chopped, washed and blanched the florets and froze in snap lock bags.

4. Organic meat IS expensive so look into ways you can cook your favourite meals but stretch out the meat in the recipe. If you're doing a curry or stew, bulk it up with extra vegetables. We use organic chicken mince to make our own sausages (and I bulk them out with extra mashed veggies). I use organic grass feed chuck steak for casseroles. Free range pork belly, slow roasted.

5. We are also predominantly grain free and this does not have to be expensive. Anything you buy that is marketed to the gluten free market is generally over-priced. Not to mention, often heavily processed. Quinoa flakes are always a bargain and are fantastic - grate some apple and cook with cinnamon and currants for a cheap porridge. Use as an alternative to flour or crumbs when binding a recipe. Use Quinoa flakes instead of breadcrumbs. Same goes with good organic brown rice - it isn't expensive when you think about what a coffee costs, and you can sprinkle a little into most dishes to make it go a bit further. Nut meals are excellent, though expensive, so bulk them out with grated vegetables, coconut flour or, if you're not grain free, organic wholegrain flour.

6. Don't waste! When you're buying products that cost a small fortune, the last thing you want to do is give them fridge real estate and then tip them into the bin after a week. I know that a lot of people say one shop per week is better for your budget, but I find that doing small top up shops through the week keep my selection current. Organic will not last as long. This is the point. Vegetables are not naturally designed to sit forever! The fact that they grow mould or soften is a GREAT sign that you're not corrupting your system with ... well, crap. Work out a couple of recipes that use a dump of vegetables - risotto, soup, stew, stir fry, pasta sauce, and make a point of preparing these once per week, so that you don't have to throw stuff out.

7. Get a great fruit and vegetable wash. I use envirocare fruit and vegetable wash for all my fresh produce. In the wake of the contaminated berry scandal we're seeing in Australia, I'm going to be blogging something else about this later. However, whether I buy organic or not, I wash them all as soon as they walk in the door. Before they get a bed in my fridge, they're scrubbed of any sprays, germs and bugs. Get in a good habit and this WILL save you time (though, ughhh, it feels arduous until you get the hang of it!). This is a great way to clean, chop and store produce so that you get the most out of it. My mum reminded me after reading this post that cider vinegar diluted in water is also a good agent for cleaning veg.

8. Be prepared. Make your lunch for work with good quality ingredients. Don't buy crap just because it's around the corner!

If you buy vegetables that are infiltrated by chemicals from seed stage, sprayed during growth to ward off bugs, sprayed once picked to prolong shelf life, and (worst of all) do not wash them properly, you are eating chemicals every meal time. Just sayin'. 

Nummy Nuggets

These organic chicken nuggets are always a hit in our house. I must admit, I end up snacking on almost as many of them as the children do.

Ingredients (Makes around 15 small nuggets)
1 Organic Chicken Breast
1 Organic Chicken Thigh
1/2 cup grated cheese (parmesan or cheddar)
1 whole courgette, sliced into pieces
1 onion, sliced in half.
1 organic FR egg
1/4 cup milk
1 cup quinoa flakes
Olive oil for frying (Coconut or Macadamia fine too)

Preheat oven to 200'c fan forced.

In a food processor, combine the chicken, cheese, courgette, and onion until a thick paste forms.
Whisk the egg and milk together in one bowl. In a separate bowl, place the quinoa flakes.

Set the oil heating to moderate-high in a frying pan on the stove.

White it heats, remove approximately teaspoon sized portions of the chicken mix and place it first in the egg, then the quinoa, then the oil.

Fry for around 3 minutes either side (until a light golden brown) then transfer to a baking tray to finish in the oven for approximately 10 - 15 minutes.

I served these with home made potato crisps (finely slice potato and fry in the same oil, once you've removed the nuggets, then top with a small sprinkle of himalayan salt) and some fruit.