Belated weekending

Sorry for my absence - I have been trying to locate a camera cable which a certain three year old had taken off my desk and hidden! Eventually he showed me where it was so I have finally been able to download some photos from last weekend. It started with a quick trip to our local famers market to stock up on fruit and veg (and some sweet daffodils which Rascal couldn't resist).

Then I had to try these gorgeous French Breakfast Puffs which I saw recently at Salt and Chocolate.

 

 They were a delicious start to the weekend - though Rascal just seemed to like the cinnamon sugar on top!

The the boys helped Aussie Dad build a wall around a garden bed out the back (we may even get lawn back in here one day!).

And on Sunday there was a little bit  of Autumn crafting for my little boys. Hope you had a nice weekend and week!

Gruffalo Crumble

A couple of weeks ago my mum gave me a large box of Granny Smith apples which has resulted in lots of fruit crumble making in our house. If Junior had his way we would be eating "Gruffalo Crumble" (as he likes to call it), every night but we have tried to restrict it to the weekends. My favourite fruit crumble combination is apple and raspberry with the following favourite crumble topping;

Ingredients

6 Granny Smith Apples

1 1/2 cups of frozen raspberries

1/4 cup wholemeal flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

1/2 cup almond meal (original recipe called for chopped nuts but the almond meal is more kid friendly)

60 gm butter

Method

• Peel, core and quarter the apple and put in a saucepan with a dash of water and the lid on. I bring the water to the boil and then turn it off and let it steam while I prepare the crumble
• For the crumble I put the dry ingredients in a bowl and then rub in the butter.
• Place the apple in an oven proof dish (6 cup capacity) spread raspberries over the top.
• Sprinkle crumble mix over the fruit and bake in a 180 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the top is crisp and golden.

Enjoy warm with lashings of cream or custard (or both).

Peanut pumpkin goodness

Last weekend my sister-in-law gave me this amazing Brode D'Galeux Eysines or peanut pumpkin. I had no idea what to do with it but a quick google search found this recipe for French Heirloom Pumpkin Soup so I made a huge pot full which was delicious.

That used up half the pumpkin! Since then Puggle has been eating lots of pumpkin mash, we are having roast pumpkin with tonight's dinner and this morning I made these yummy pumpkin and cheese scones (recipe below). Now I just have to decide what to make with the last quarter of the pumpkin. Any suggestions for yummy pumpkin recipes?

Pumpkin and Cheese Scones

(Addapted from "Women's Weekly fresh food for Babies and Toddlers")

250g Pumpkin, chopped coarsely

2 1/2 cups (375g) self-raising flour

1 tablespoon caster sugar

50g butter

1/4 cup (30g) grated cheddar cheese

1/4 cup (20g) grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup (125ml) milk (approx)

grated parmesan to top scones

1. Preheat oven to hot. Grease deep square cake pan

2. Steam pumpkin until tender, mash in a bowl and leave to cool 10 mins

3. Place flour and sugar in a bowl, rub in butter. Stir in cheeses and pumpkin. Make a well in centre of mixture and add enough milk to make a soft sticky dough. Turn onto floured surface and need lightly until smooth.

4. Press dough out to about 2cm thick and cut dough into rounds using scone cutter. Place side by side (just touching) on prepared pan. Sprinkle on extra parmesan and bake uncovered in a hot oven for 10-15 mins.

Yummy served warm with a little butter.

Easy Blueberry Muffins

Now that Junior is at school full time I try and bake once a week with Rascal. One of our favorite and simplest recipes is this one for Blueberry Muffins which I found on the side of the frozen berry box.

I often use wholemeal flour or half wholemeal, half white and I prefer to use buttermilk. We also often use mixed berries or raspberries. I love this recipe because you just fling all the dry ingredients into a blow, mix in the wet ingredients, add your berries and then spoon them into the muffin cases to bake.

The mixing doesn't have to be done perfectly which is great for little fingers - in fact it is much better if it isn't over-mixed and both Rascal and Junior love them.

What's for breakfast?

Kids eating habits seems to be something that most mums stress over at some point. I try not to worry about my boys eating habits too much because they both seem to eat very little some days and then more than make up for it on others. However, it can be very frustrating when I have made an effort to serve up something that I think they will love and they won't even touch it! However every now and then they really surprise me. A week or so ago I made my first green smoothie. I have been meaning to try one for ages but didn't really think the boys would like it. Junior wasn't that keen but to my surprise Rascal loved it.

The next day I read another blog post (sorry can't find it now) which reminded me that perhaps I should be making a little more effort to get Rascal to eat breakfast. He still demands a big drink of milk first thing in the morning and then is far to busy to eat anything for breakfast. However, as soon as we step out the door (and he has to sit still in the pram or the car seat) he wants a snack. I always have fruit and crackers at the ready but I though perhaps I should try making some sort of smoothie for him to drink in the mornings. Last week I tried it (just some milk, yoghurt, banana or pear and a spoon full of Sustagen powder) and it seemed to work. I need to build up my smoothie recipe collection to include a few more easy but nutritious breakfast options and perhaps find some more ideas for breakfast on the go. What is your favourite smoothie recipe for little ones? Do you have a perfect breakfast for little ones who are so busy they need breakfast on the move?

Rascal in the Kitchen

I used to cook a lot with Junior when he was a toddler but I haven't been cooking very much with the boys lately because with two enthusiastic helps things can get a little out of hand.
Now that Junior has started Preschool, Rascal and I get a bit more one-on-one time so this morning we finally got around to making a little morning treat together. I must admit I opted for very simple no-cook chocolate balls but he loved helping with the mixing (and tasting) and wearing Juniors apron for the task.
What simple recipes do you share with 2 year olds? “Come over and play at the Childhood 101We Play link up”

The Joy of Honey

Perhaps we have read too much Winnie the Pooh to Junior, but for some reason he just loves honey. He would quite happily eat honey sandwiches for dinner if I let him. For the past month he has been asking to make Honey Crackles (Honey Joys). Today we finally got around to it. I used this recipe from the Women's Weekly Kids' Perfect Party book. Not the healthiest of afternoon snacks but its nice to have a little honey goodness every now and again.

100's of Biscuits

Last week I made a big batch of biscuit (cookie) dough using the Planning with kids 100's of Biscuits recipe. I made a batch that day and then put 4 bags of dough in the freezer (each will make about 24 small biscuits) to use later.
The first batch was just plan but since then we have tried them with jam and choc drops - all have been a success with the boys. I do love the idea of being able to take a packet out of the freezer in the evening and then have fresh baked biscuits for morning tea within 15 minutes the next day. Makes me feel like a domestic goddess turning up for a play date with three young boys and a batch of warm biscuits! Simple pleasures are often the best!

The Male Mind

Earlier in the week Junior and I made a batch of gingerbread - something we haven't done in ages. I asked him to add a choc drop to each on and this was his first attempt.
Apparently it is a gingerbread lady rather than a gingerbread man!

Pumpkin scones

Recently we were given a rather enormous pumpkin which we have been slowly making our way through. So far we have enjoyed roast pumpkin, lots of pumpkin soup and this weekend pumpkin scones for afternoon tea.
I haven't made these for ages and had forgotten how much I love them with a cup of tea in the afternoon. I used a recipe from the my CWA cookbook (copied below) which makes sweet pumpkins scones but we are also going to try and find a recipe for savoury pumpkin and cheese scones because there is still plenty of pumpkin left!
2 cups self raising flour
1 egg
a tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon hot water
a cup of mashed pumpkin
pinch of salt
1/2 cup of sugar

Cream the butter and sugar with hot water. Add the egg and beat well. Add the pumpkin, then the flour and salt. If too stiff, moisten with a little milk. Roll out, cut and bake in a fairly hot oven for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Do you have a favourite pumpkin recipe to share?

What's in the box?

With Junior starting Kindy this year, comes the dilemma of deciding what goes in his lunch box. He takes a piece of fruit to share for morning tea every day and thankfully he is a pretty good eater, but like all littlies there are a number of things he "doesn't like" (like fresh tomato or lettuce - although he will happily eat tomatoes when they are cooked in something!).
So far he has been pretty happy with a standard sandwich but I'm sure that will get pretty boring after a few months. The request most days has been for ham, cheese, carrot and beetroot sandwiches - an interesting combination but all good stuff and given that he is happy with wholemeal bread I'm not complaining. We have also resorted to vegemite and cheese a couple of times when the fridge was looking a little empty. He will also snack on carrot sticks and hummus for dipping, or a boiled egg which is handy.

However, he has already let me know that some of the kids take packets of Tiny Teddies or Milky Way bars as part of their lunch so I have also included home made mini-muffin a couple of times. I have been thinking of trying him with some pasta salad or zucchini slice but I'm not sure he will like savoury slice cold for lunch. I'm looking for inspiration for ways to pack an interesting and nutritious lunchbox. Any suggestions or links to other sites would be great so please me know what you have been making your littlies for lunch.

So far I have found Taste.com and The vegan lunchbox - any other suggestions?

Strawberries aplenty!

The other thing that Hubby and Junior bought back from Albany ws strawberries. Lots, and lots of strawberries.

So we have been busy in the kitchen, washing cutting, eating and making ....
Strawberry Jam, ... and ...
... Strawberry Icecream. I'm not a fan of strawberry flavoured icecream but home made with real fruit is something completely different. Very Yummy.

Do half birthdays count?

This week Junior turned three and a half and I made the mistake of wishing him a happy three and a half birthday. The mention of a birthday led to an immediate request for a birthday party.
This request was declined but we settled on making a cake to mark the occasion.I have been thinking about trying to make a Rudolf cake for our Annual Christmas BBQ at the end of the month so this gave me a chance to give it a quick trial run. Just as well because I think it will need a bit of tweaking so my reindeer doesn't look so anorexic next time.
The cake did at least passed the Junior taste test - although I think it did that before I even got it in the oven!

Pasta making

Last week I didn't manage to do any cooking with Junior at all. We were going to try a chocolate cake but hubby had finished off the eggs so that canned that idea.
Luckily we went to a friends house for a playdate on Thursday and she made us some yummy egg pasta for lunch. Junior loved helping with the rolling and cutting and then cleaned up his plate full of pasta with home made tomatoe sauce. A reminder that I will have to try this again sometime.

Cinnamon Biscuits for Grandpa

Thanks to a friend who recently introduced me to the delights of American Biscuits, this afternoon we enjoyed a delicious plate of Cinnamon Buttermilk Biscuits using a recipe from The Rustic Table . They are incredibly easy to make and delicious served warm straight from the oven. A quick google search brings up hundreds of similar recipes although we omitted the raisins and chose vanilla glaze icing.

Junior just loves them (especially the vanilla icing) and was keen to help out.
We cooked a batch for afternoon tea with Grandpa.
Even Bub had a little taste and seemed happy with the final results.