A very special Monday..

Most Monday nights, we have a small group of very good friends come over for dinner. We all take turns cooking, which is a great break for me, but I love seeing what crazy things everyone makes. Anything from fondue to pork hocks, or coq au vin to spaetzle. It gets a little out of hand some nights. After consuming a ridiculous amount of food, we game. Like the geeks and nerds we are. 

But most of the time, the boys are already bathed and in bed and only hear of the stories of the dinners, or via leftovers. But on Labour Day, everyone came over early and got to hang out with H&W. They loooooooooooved it! And they loved the BBQ everyone pitched in for. 

Willem  trying on Aunty Jess' boots

And not everything had bacon! See!!

Aunty Jess having some boy-time.

Thanks guys for making our guys' day!
Love you all!!! xx

No-Bake Date and Almond Brownies

The last few weeks we have been going through some chaos here at the homestead. Bathroom renovations are still going on, the house is covered in a layer of dust, the hallway is off limits for the boys, we've been going out and about EVERYDAY to stay out of the way of the tradies, and to top it all off, our oven stopped working. Luckily the grill and fan still work, so we've had to cook a lot with a curve and my bread and baking have all been on hold until we can get it fixed.

Ugh.

I was able to make a variation of some date bars that I posted on FB this week though.

No-Bake Date and Almond Brownies!

Way too easy, super yummy, everyone loves them! Like eeeeeveryone. Grown ups and kiddos alike.

It's as easy as putting all of the ingredients into the food processor and letting it work it's magic for about 5 minutes.

 

Pour it out into a baking tin lined with parchment.

Let it set in the fridge for 30 minutes or so and cut it up.

Make sure you keep it in fridge to the freezer, it keeps it nicely set.

Ingredients :

• 2 cups pitted dates
• 3/4 cup natural almonds
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• A pinch of salt

Method :

1. Place all the ingredients into the food processor.
2. Blitz for at least five minutes. It will be a bumpy ride at first but once that's done, let the machine do it's thing.
3. Once it starts to look like nice wet potting soil, empty into a parchment lined smallish baking tray.
4. Spread it out and press it firmly down with the back of a spoon and smooth it out as you go.
5. Place in the fridge for a least 30 minutes.
6. Take it out of the fridge and slice.
7. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Enjoy and love the peanut buttery goodness!

 

Muesli Bars with Coconut Oil {Kid Cooking}

These are something I make quite often. I found the original recipe here when I was just starting out Baby Led Weaning and solids with the boys. They are nice little afternoon tea snacks and yes, there is a bit of sugar in them, it's not ALL bad. Besides, I think Jacob and I eat most of them! 

The last batch of these I made, I had some handsome help in the kitchen! 

Here is our latest version of them!

The Always Keen to Help Hendrik. 

Preheat your oven to 180C and line a baking tray, 20x25cm, with parchment paper.

Place all of the dry ingredients into a big bowl and mix to combine. The key is to have 3 cups of a mix of oats, fruit, nuts etc. We use our favourite muesli from Moore Wilson's that has oats, almonds, papaya, raisins, and such. Then we add in anything else we like. 

Melt the coconut oil and golden syrup, it doesn't combine as well as butter, but still does the trick in the long run. 

Pour the syrup mixture into the dry bits bowl and stir to combine. Pour it all into the baking tray and pop in the oven. 

Bake for about 20 minutes. Take it out of the oven and let it cool completely before cutting. This is the hardest part, especially if Jacob's around to sneak a few nibbles off.

We leave it in a airtight container in the pantry, I wouldn't know HOW long it would last, as it's usually gone in a couple of days. 

H & W proud of their efforts.

print recipe

Muesli Bars with Coconut Oil

by August-14-2014

Ingredients

• 125 grams coconut oil
• 1/4 cup golden syrup
• 1 1/2 cup rolled oats, or we use our favourite muesli
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup self raising flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 180C and line a baking tray, 20x25cm, with parchment paper. 
2. Place all of the dry ingredients into a big bowl and mix to combine. 
3. Melt the coconut oil and golden syrup in a saucepan. 
4. Pour the syrup mixture into the dry bits bowl and stir to combine. 
5. Pour it all into the baking tray and press it down and into the corners of the tray and pop in the oven. 
6. Bake for 20 minutes. 
7. Take it out of the oven and let it cool completely before cutting.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 35 mins Yield:

Strange food requests and so many new words!

The boys are getting more and more vocal everyday.

"Please"

"Thank you"

"Curry puff"

"Proper fluffy please" (Hendrik)

And I ask "What veggie would you like for lunch?" Willem says, "Lettuce please."

19 months. Crazy.

But I am shocked and amazed that somehow they have taken to eating salad! And requesting it on a regular basis. It's probably just a phase and they will hate it next week. But still pretty cool...

 

 

Vegan Corn Chowder - Meatless Monday

This weather! Rain, rain and more rain! If this is the start to winter, I'm not sure I'm looking forward to it anymore. Everything is damp, laundry is taking forever to dry, everything smells musty. At least it's not cold... Yet!

Last week, I made this super hearty soup with a heap of leftover corn on the cob that I completely spaced serving at our latest family cook-off. Yeah. It happens. Nobody went home hungry. The corn was not missed. So score for us!

Vegan Corn Chowder

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients :

• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 potato, peeled and diced
• 1 kumara, peeled and diced
• 5 corn cobs, already cooked, kernels removed
• 1 litre vegetable stock
• freshly ground pepper

Method :

1. Saute the onion and garlic in oil for 5 minutes in a large saucepan.
2. Add the celery, carrots, potato and kumara and saute for another 5 minutes.
3. Add the corn kernels and stock to the veggies. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.
4. Puree with a soup wand or in a blender.
5. Serve up with some freshly ground pepper and done!

I served this with some roasted cabbage and it was amazingly filling! All three boys devoured it! And the leftovers were popped into the freezer.

Enjoy!

x

A quick pantry lunch - Tuna Cakes

I've become one of those people that have a full pantry, basically my mother. You never know what you will need! Or, as I have found lately, "why did we need this?" I've come across a few things lately that I have NO idea what I bought them for... But this is not about my brain-fart moments... It's food related. I swear.

Anywho. I love being able to come home from playgroup and whip together something like this. It's not super flash, but it's good, I love it, the boys like it, and it takes all of about 10 minutes to make.

Tuna Cakes

Ingredients :

• 180 g Canned (tinned) Tuna in water
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• a little bit of dried herbs, chives, parsley (or fresh if you have them)
• 1 tsp seeded mustard
• 3 or 4 tbsp whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp grapeseed oil, or canola is fine

Method :

1. Drain the tuna in a sieve.
2. Quickly beat the egg and add your herbs and mustard.
3. Add the drained tuna and flour to the egg mix and mush together with your fingers like you would meatloaf.
4. Separate into four equal amounts and roll into a patty shape.
5. Heat up the oil in a small fry pan and cook through until golden and crispy on the edges.
6. Drain them on a paper towel and devour.

Yum... I make a fake tartar sauce for mine, but the boys are happy to have them with some edamame.
Enjoy!
x

My Monday Caffeine Hit - Sweet Tea

Trouble. On the move.

As of late, those sweet little boys of ours have slowly become little monsters. Climbing, clingy, fighting, crying, whining, dropping that morning nap, teething... Ugh. By 2pm they are HOPEFULLY down for an afternoon nap. A loooooong afternoon nap. I take about 15 minutes to sit down, have lunch, breath, and plan the rest of the afternoon, which usually means getting dinner started too. So it's lunch and a little caffeine hit and I'm good. But sadly, by this time of the day, our most loved and most used kitchen appliance (our coffee machine) has been off for a few hours. And seriously, having a flat white that late in the day just feels wrong! So, the answer?

Hello, Sweet Tea!

It's such an American thing... Sweet Tea. I love reading a trashy Sookie book and she offers someone a sweet tea. Makes me a bit nostalgic. There are many many things that I do and don't miss about the US, but Sweet Tea is in the definitely 'miss' category. I know, I know, you can buy it at the dairy and you can get Lipton, but there is always that part of me that hates giving in to things like that! Maybe it's just my stubbornness. I am a Taurus after all! That and it's probably not very good for you, and definitely not for the little ones (holy sugar batman!) ... but it's sweet tea. Everything in moderation, right? 

btw, this was a double batch :)

Anyway, here's how I make mine...

Wheat and, even better, Rye Thins!

I'm a bit of a fan of snackie, salty, crackers and chips. I blame my darling mother for my addiction to chippies. All too easily a bag will disappear in a sitting. Crumbs poured into my mouth and everything. It's my Homer Simpson moment. Also, the boys love crackers, and having control over the ingredients makes me feel a little better about the addiction I will probably be handing down to those little men. Let's just say, finding recipes like these are just little highlights to my day. Especially when the come out so well!

Meatfree Monday - Mushroom & Silverbeet Lasagne

I love a good, hearty lasagne. And to get that heartiness in a vegetarian dish - always add mushrooms! I found this recipe and thought it was a good basic idea. A great starting point for an easy lasagne. Also, as I try to budget more and more (it's amazing how much those boys can eat!!) I switched up a bit of the original ingredients for more of a budget conscious mind.

This is what you need...

Pikelets and Tea Parties..

Far out! Seriously easy!
I love pikelets! You can add pretty much anything to them. Corn, bacon, apples, bananas, savoury, sweet, topped with honey, jam, or just plain!
Here's all you need...

Leftover Makeover - Risotto Balls

Sheesh! Balls!

Right. Mind back in the right.... Leftovers.

We've been lucky the boys are ok with leftovers, but I feel bad making them eat things for lunch they may have had for dinner the night before. Not to mention, I get bored of eating the same things as well.

One of the MANY dishes that Jacob is amazing at, is his risotto. Amazing. Did I mention amazing? He's got the technique. And the free for all of the garden and the fridge. Maybe.... MAYBE... Someday, he'll write his own risotto post/recipe. Maybe.

Anywho, to get the boys to finish off this super tasty dish...

No Bake, Date & Coconut Balls... Dreamy...

After the big pantry clean out of 2014, I found a lot of ingredients that I noticed hadn't been used in ages or just about to go off. Soooo.. Hello coconut!

Since the boys love eating pitted dates, google uncovered this combo in this gem! Easy as and actually the only tedious part is making the actual balls. I wanted to make them small enough for the little mens' fingers to handle, so I used a teaspoon to form each one. Also, beware, when I first started the food processor, it was full on! I thought it was going to dance it's way off the bench!

It's really cool to see what happens when the coconut gets mixed and pulverised and turns into an oily mess... My hands loved making all those little bits and slithering in the oil..

Toss them in remaining coconut and ta-da!! After some chatting with a lovely old friend, I'm am really inspired to try some crushed nuts to coat them, especially walnuts! How yummy does that sound?!

So success! Boys love them. I love them. Done. I can't wait to try our next incarnation of them!

Ingredients :

• 2 1/2 cups desiccated coconut
• 2 cups (200g) pitted dates

Method :

Place 2 cups of coconut and the dates into a blender or food processor. Process on high speed for 3-4 minutes, pausing to scrape down sides as needed. Remove from processor and roll teaspoon-sized balls. Roll in remaining 1/2 cup of coconut.

What variations have you tried?...

X

Protein, veggie style!

I saw this recently somewhere on Facebook, and thought it was pretty brilliant. I do try to use most of these as often as I can, but didn't realise that many of them were good sources of protein! I'd be keen to try out chia and hemp seeds.

If anyone has some yummy recipes for them they would like to share, please do!

X

 

Kid friendly Curry? Yes! Score!

A couple of years ago now, I worked as a nanny and looked after two lovely little hobbits! Cooking for them was pretty easy with the exception of the curry dilemma! They weren't really keen on anything curry. Not even butter chicken! It was something that I was hoping wouldn't happen with the boys. As soon as they were old enough, it's been all about variety.

A recipe for a veggie korma was sent to my inbox from the Vegetarian Times. I made it with really no intention of giving it to the boys, but when Jacob and I had it for dinner, I thought the boys might actually like it. The next day, I warmed up the leftovers, curious to what would happen, ready in the wings were a couple sandwiches, just in case.

Let's just say, I had the sandwiches for lunch, the boys devoured the korma! It was a triumph for me! I am amazed everyday at what they enjoy eating. Things that are basic and bland seem to get thrown on the floor lately while the garlicky and spicy get eaten straight away. Hendrik will lick Vegemite off of crackers and leave the crackers.

Anywho, this reasonably mild korma still has incredible flavour and Jacob who is renowned for his hot sauce consumption, didn't use any. It's loved by everyone in our clan! 

Sorry for the lack of photos!

So here is our version...

It's almost baking season.. Apricot & Orange Muffins

This week has been a bit chilly here in old Welly. A brutal reminder of the upcoming winter. We've had to bust out a bit of the winter gear and merino pyjamas. Cold southerlies, rain, chapped lips, and heaters on... Time to start baking.

A couple of weeks ago, I came across a very simple, easy baking cookbook from the library. I was drawn to one recipe in particular, it included two of the boys' favourite snacks, apricots and orange. There was no losing with this one.

The recipe is only altered slightly from the book, as those hungry boys love chewing and eating oranges. Peels and all! The original recipe only calls for the zest of one orange, instead I used two for that extra bite they love.

To make these awesome zesty muffins...

The Great Pantry Purge of 2014!

Happy Friday everyone! 

Slowly, oh so slowly, I have been TRYING to declutter the house. Yeah, very slowly. But in an afternoon, mostly while the boys slept, I was able to clean out our pantry and it was so satisfying! 

First task : Empty it! Granted I had hoped to have a completely empty pantry, but had to go halves as I didn't have enough bench space to keep everything. There was that much chaos!

Second task : Clean it. Get rid of cobwebs. Dust. Wipe it all down. CLEAN!

Third : Get rid of the things that were past their use by date. Which surprisingly, wasn't as much as I thought. Good to know we have a decent pantry rotation! 

Four : Make a list of the things going BACK in and find a way to have it all make sense! Spices and jars of bulk goods in alphabetical order. Baking things together. Noodles and pasta, canned goods. Excess bulk out of the way... 

Five : Start again from the other side!  

And the finished result.........

Merry Merry Christmas one and all!

What a lovely holiday we have had here in Wellington! Christmas Eve day was spent waiting for Jacob to finish a short work day, listening to christmas songs, and reading The Night Before Christmas!

Christmas Eve was pretty icky weather, rainy most of the day, gusting winds, but Jacob being a brave cook, headed out to the BBQ for some tandoori chicken and an oven roasted terakihi for the fam. Odd combo, but so yummy!

Our first whole fish! Love it! And I think we'll be seeing more of them! The rest of the evening was getting ready for a lovely Christmas... Washing hand-me-down wooden blocks, decorating chalkboard toy boxes that Jacob built, drinking wine and snacking on mince pies.

So, the next morning...

Then off to Auntie Lisa's for an amazing day of feasting, beautiful weather, and warm family fuzzies...

Santa Etta

Silas opening a rather important gift from Opa

Monkeys all around!

Hendrik loves his monkey!

Timmy may be a bit over Christmas...

Cheese of the addictive variety

Etta's Adventures in Cheese Appreciation

Opa and Silas

Yes. Turducken.

Layer upon layer upon layer....

Thank you Lisa, Paul and Jeremy for an amazing meal!

And somehow I ended up on the wrong side of the camera. A rare sight.

A little playtime before...

... an beautiful Christmas dessert!

We hope everyone has had an amazing holiday filled with joy, love, family and the warmth of summer!

xo