What are we eating this week - 28 May to 3 June

Since getting married, I have at times started food calendars/diaries listing dinner plans for the coming days/weeks. However, these have always been abandoned after a few months. This is a fresh start. This week we are going away for a few days, so meal plans will evolve around what needs to be used up before going away.

Today, I'll prepare some carrot soup for my lunches this week (to share with my daughter). Dinner will be Prawn potato and cheese tortilla.

Tomorrow it'll be Thai-style mexican chicken wraps for K as I'll be out for a work do in the evening

On Wednesday I'm planning a pasta dish of some sort - most probably orecchiette with a creamy caponata sauce.

Thursday is pizza night.

And Friday skinny fish and chips

May Tea Time Treats - Flowers and Floral Flavours

A couple of months ago I spotted this challenge on a blog I follow ('Mainly baking' by Suelle). This month's challenge is hosted by Lavender and lovage. The theme for this month is 'flowers and floral flavours'.  After a quick search on the Food Network website, I decided to have a go at the Rose water and orange blossom baklava.

The comment at the end of the recipe

'This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.'

was surely not encouraging!

Well, I like a challenge, and decided to scale down the recipe further! I halved the ingredients (not wanting to waste a pound of nuts), and used half walnuts and half almonds. Pity that I also halved the amount of rose water and orange blossom water as well, as their flavour was too subtle!

Anyway, here are some pics:

Tea Time Treats is a monthly baking challenge co-hosted by Karen at Lavender and Lovage, and Kate at What Kate Baked. The full rules can be found here, if you are interested in taking part.

Mini savoury muffins

Over the last few weeks, my daughter has become mostly uninterested in food. In an effort to get her to eat something, yesterday I baked a batch of 36 mini savoury muffins, some with ham, some with grated courgettes, and some with finely grated carrots. I used a basic cake recipe for the base (obviusly omitting the sugar), creaming together 200g butter with 3 eggs, added one at a time. I then added 25g grated parmesan, around 50g grated cheddar, and 100ml full fat milk. Then I folded 200g plain flour and 2 teaspoons baking powder (sifted beforehand) in the wet ingredients. I divided the mixture into 3 bowls (around 250g of batter in each bowl). In one bowl I added around 70g finely chopped ham, in another around 70g finely grated courgettes, and in the last bowl around 70g finely grated carrots. I put heaped teaspoonfuls of the batter in a non-stick mini tartlet pan and baked for approximately 12-15 minutes in a preheated 180 degrees Celsius oven.

They smelled gorgeous whilst baking and are very tasty, especially still warm from the oven. However, I am not expecting my daughter to go through 36 muffins in a few days, so they are now stored in the freezer.

Update on the 'big' home project (2)

Apologies for my absence over the past weeks - work got in the way!

Anyhow, last Monday we received some excellent news over the planned extention of our home - we may not have to have a terrace in the third bedroom, making the room much larger than we thought it could possibly be!!! Yay!!!

Update on the big home project

So, after almost 7 weeks waiting for a plan from our perit (architect and draughts-person) to reflect our proposed restructuring, yesterday we had a scheduled appointment at her office. Much to our disappointment, there were several mistakes in the measurements and the plan was still a draft - yes that's after 7 weeks waiting!!!! (you can say I'm really pi**ed off)

Short of giving up on our project, we will find another perit!

Lemon drizzle cake

In the third issue of 'Baked & Delicious' there is a recipe for lemon drizzle cake. Incidentally, my in-laws happen to have a lemon tree in their small garden and last week they kindly provided a small bag of freshly picked juicy lemons. My plan was to make the cake as a Valentine treat, but although the cake turned out really well, it doesn't really scream love to you!

I used more sugar and flour than the original recipe suggested (I know, I know, but I'm not really good with exact measures) but the cake still turned out really well. Anyway, here's my slightly revised recipe:

Whisk together 175 grammes butter and 225 grammes sugar until light and fluffy. Add 3 eggs, one at a time, mixing between each addition until fully incorporated. If the butter is really cold, it may be necessary to scrape down the bowl from time to time. Pulse in 300 grammes sifted self-raising flour, the grated rind of 1 lemon, 3 tablespoons lemon juice and 3 tablespoons milk. Pour the batter in a greased 900 grammes silicon loaf pan and bake it in a 180 degrees Cecius pre-heated oven for around 1 hour. When the cake is out of the oven, prick the top of the cake with a skewer and pour over a syrup made up of 3 tablespoons golden syrup or honey and 3 tablespoons lemon juice (the syrup is preferably warmed through for a few seconds in the microwave).

The original recipe suggests a crunchy topping made up of the grated zest of 1 or 2 lemons and enough granulated sugar to bind. I can say that this really brought out the lemony flavour and added some zinc to the cake.

All in all, I was quite impressed. The cake is moist, but not too much. It tastes really good. I presume it keeps quite well too, however I didn't get the chance to test that  :)

100 ways to be kind to your child

I came across this list today. Some, well most of them, I still can't do with my almost 15 month old, however I thought I'd share it with anyone reading as it seems such a good idea!


100 Ways to be kind to your child CreativeWithKids.com

Tell to your child:
1. I love you.
2. I love you no matter what.
3. I love you even when you are angry at me.
4. I love you even when I am angry with you.
5. My love for you can reach you wherever you are.
6. If I could pick any 4 year old (5 year old...) in the whole wide world, I'd pick you.
7. I love you to the moon and then around the stars and back again.
8. Thank you.
9. I enjoyed playing with you today.
10. My favorite part of the day was with you when we…

Tell them:
11. The story of their birth or adoption.
12. About how you cuddled them when they were a baby.
13. The story of how you chose their name.
14. A story about yourself when you were their age.
15. A story about how their grandparents met.
16. What your favorite color is.
17. That sometimes you struggle too.
18. That when you're holding hands and you give three squeezes, it's a secret code that means, "I love you".
19. What the plan is.
20. What you're doing right now.

Play:
21. Freeze Tag
22. Uno
23. Crazy 8s
24. Gin Rummy
25. Memory
26. Go Fish
27. I Spy- especially in the car when you’re tired and feeingl snappish.
28. Catch

Pretend:
29. To catch their kiss and put it on your cheek.
30. That their tickle tank is empty and you have to fill it.
31. That their high five nearly knocks you over.
32. That you are super ticklish.
33. That you are explorers in the backyard.
34. That it's party day! Decorate for no reason!

Try:
35. To get enough sleep.
36. To drink enough water.
37. To eat decent food
38. Wearing earrings or whatever makes you feel pretty.
39. Calling friend the next time you feel like you are about to lose it with the kids.
40. Giving a gentle touch to show approval.
41. Dancing in the kitchen.
42. To get your kids to bop to the music with you in the car.
43. Showing your kids that you can do a somersault or handstand or a cartwheel
44. Keeping that sigh to yourself. Just jump in and help clean up cheerfully.
45. Using a kind voice, even if you have to fake it.

Read:
46. A book of silly poems.
47. A book and then act it out. (Like "I'm going on a Bear Hunt")
48. Your favorite childhood book to them.
49. When the afternoon is starting to go astray.
50. Outside under a tree.
51. In the library kids corner.
52. The comic book they love that you're not so hot on.
53. About age appropriate behavior so you can keep your expectations realistic.

Listen:
54. To your child in the car.
55. To that Lego description, and think how important it is to your child.
56. For that question that indicates your child really needs your input.
57. A second longer than you think you have patience for.
58. For the feelings behind your child's words.

Ask:
59. Why do you think that happens?
60. What do you think would happen if______?
61. How shall we find out?
62. What are you thinking about?
63. What was your favorite part of the day?
64. What do you think this tastes like?

Show:
65. Your child how to do something instead of banning them from it.
66. How to whistle with a blade of grass.
67. How to shuffle cards- make a bridge if you can!
68. How to cut food.
69. How to fold laundry.
70. How to look up information when you don't know the answer.
71. Affection to your spouse.
72. That taking care of yourself is important.

Take Time:
73. To watch construction sites.
74. To look at the birds.
75. To allow your child to help put ingredients in the bowl.
76. To walk places together.
77. To dig in the dirt together.
78. To do a task at your child's pace.
79. To just sit with you child while they play.

Trust:
80. That your child is capable.
81. That you are the right parent for your child.
82. That you are enough.
83. That you can do what is right for your family.

Delight your child:
84. Clean your child's room as a surprise.
85. Put chocolate chips in the pancakes.
86. Put a love note in their lunch.
87. Make their snack into a smile face shape.
88. Make sounds effects while do something.
89. Sit on the floor with them to play.

Let Go:
90. Of the guilt.
91. Of how you thought it was going to be.
92. Of your need to be right.

Give:
93. A look with Kind Eyes to your child.
94. A smile when your child walks into the room.
95. A kind touch back when your child touches you.
96. The chance to connect before you correct so that your child can actually hear your words.
97. Your child a chance to work out their frustrations before helping them.
98. A bath when the day feels long.
99. A hug.
100. Your turn- how can you be kind to your child today?