Zoo Party

We finally celebrated Pickle’s second birthday, just a few weeks late, with some of his little friends (and their families) joining us for afternoon tea and general hilarity. Given his love of animals, a zoo party was a logical – and incredibly simple – choice.

I made invitations featuring Pickle’s favourite noisy lion, RaaRaa, and used pictures of the same (free colouring pages from the internet) to make a simple bunting. Cups and serviettes featuring a menagerie of animals were on the table (paired with plain green plates), with a little zoo animal for each guest to take home. Add a few orange balloons and a zoo made from Duplo and our animal collection – done.

The food was simple too (a change for me, as I tend to go overboard and then get flustered because I have so many things to make), and chosen with toddlers and preschoolers in mind. Sweets, crisps and fruit, cocktail sausages (of course), popcorn and homemade gingerbread panda bears and tigers.

I had an absolute cake disaster to begin with (trying a new recipe combined with a failure to measure my cake tin was the issue – lesson learned!), but my go-to chocolate mud cake recipe saved the day, and I’m quite happy with my decorating attempt. Again, simple but recognisable, and the birthday boy loved it.

He had a great afternoon, and was exhausted by the end of the day – at one point I’m sure he was close to falling asleep in his cot while his friends, and Tiny’s, leaped about in his room!

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Meal Planning

Much like last week, most of this week’s meals come from my new Chelsea Winter cookbook, At My Table. It’s been a long time since I bought a new recipe book (I got rid of a whole lot earlier in the year and vowed not to replace them), and I’ve been giddy with excitement at trying some new recipes. I did browse through others in my collection for inspiration this week, but the pull of Chelsea’s recipes is rather strong.

Sunday: Greek-style meatballs with yoghurt sauce and pita bread – enjoyed by all, but the meatballs were even tastier the following day.

Monday: crispy fish wraps with mango salsa – the mango salsa was divine, and combined with a mild fish like hoki, it was a very tasty meal indeed.

Tuesday: roasted pumpkin, beetroot and feta tart – meant for last week, but pork from the farmers’ market was calling our names instead.

Wednesday: steak and bacon sandwiches – I love a good steak sandwich, and the paprika mayo served with this one sounds goooooood.

Thursday: mushroom soup with crunchy mushroom toppers – it will be interesting to see whether my boys will eat this one!

Friday: chicken quesadillas – a family favourite that I make up as I go along.

Saturday: quick tomato macaroni cheese (from Jamie Oliver’s Jamie’s Dinners) – sundried tomatoes and mozzarella should make for a delicious twist on this family favourite.

As for last week’s dinners, I’d say they were all a rollicking success. The salmon and cabbage red curry was amazing, the mediterranean sausage bake went down well-enough (except for the beans. None of my boys like beans.), and the creamy chicken pie was deeeeelicious.

The Sisterhood: Ninja Bake 2013

On Friday morning I set out to bake brownies for The Sisterhood Ninja Bake 2013, using this no-fail brownie recipe. Except…I didn’t have enough eggs. Oh.

I really didn’t want to take the boys to the supermarket for the sake of one egg, so went back to my recipe books. There was a can of condensed milk in the pantry, and I was dying to try making Tim Tam Truffles, but didn’t want to grab a teaspoon and eat waste the rest of the can, so decided on chocolate chip cookies as well.

While the cookies baked, I experimented with the truffle mixture: one-and-a-half packets of Tim Tams in the food processor with three-quarters of a can of condensed milk, plus three vanilla wines to help with the texture. While the cookies cooled, I rolled the truffles into balls and coated them in finely-grated dark chocolate. A few pieces of biscuit hadn’t been crushed sufficiently, so I really had to do a bit of sampling along the way.

When the cookies and the truffles were ready, they went into pink-paper-lined pink containers (double feel good factor: baking treats for strangers and using containers where a portion of the sales go towards breast cancer research!), tied with ribbons to secure The Sisterhood poems, little cards, and pinwheels bearing the recipients’ names.

Next morning, dressed and hooded in black, I set out on my stealth mission. The first drop was less than a five-minute drive from home; into the letterbox with one box of treats. The second drop was a little further away; the curtains were drawn so I got bold and dropped a box on the front doorstep, even stopping to take a cheeky photo. The third drop was across the other side of town; I had this feeling I’d be seen if I attempted to open the gate (it had a squeaky look about it), so the box joined the day’s newspaper in the letterbox.

Job done; all treats delivered, hopefully discovered in time for a lazy Saturday morning cuppa. Just like last year, I returned home feeling good. Feeling better than good – feeling awesome. Feeling awesome about a successful ninja mission and being part of something so super-cool.

(Later, I was sprung by one of the people I nominated to receive baking; she was so grateful for the delicious goodies left for her, which makes this so worthwhile.)

Check out The Sisterhood on Facebook for delicious pictures and stories from ninjas and lovely responses from lovely recipients x

Have you entered my GIVEAWAY for a gorgeous Rudi by Em cushion cover?

Random Thoughts on Thursday

~ since almost losing my engagement ring last year while pregnant with Pickle, I have been wearing it inside my wedding band. I could probably swap them around again, but when I try, it just doesn’t look right anymore. It’s also still loose, and I’m still scared of losing it again.

~ The Sisterhood are having another Ninja Bake! It’s in October, and registrations are now being taken for stealth bakers. Last year’s stealth mission was SO MUCH FUN, and I can’t wait to do it again – why not join me in spreading some deliciously baked love??!

~ for a few weeks, I carried a thank you card around in my nappy bag, intending to drop it off to a friend one afternoon while Pickle slept in the car. It migrated out of my bag, and onto the bench, then onto the mantlepiece because said-friend was coming to visit. Two weeks later…it’s still sitting on the mantlepiece and I’m now wondering if we’ve gone past the point of no return?? It’s for Pickle’s birthday…which was two-and-a-half months ago….

~ when I was little, I once commented (after reading the racing results in the local paper, for some reason) at the breakfast table, “Gee, Quinella and Trifecta win a lot of races, don’t they?” I think I’ll be keeping that one from my racehorse trainer father-in-law!

~ Pickle is finally unswaddled, hurrah!! I tried three or four times unsuccessfully, but a couple of weeks ago, when I tried, he was obviously ready. He’s still a rubbish sleeper, and currently spends the night in bed with us, but we both sleep better when he’s snuggled in beside me. He does, however, hate the sleeping bag, so I’m glad we’re coming into warmer weather.

~ I love spring. My hayfever does not.

~ eating dinner on Tuesday night, Tiny suddenly asked, “Mum, what animal does pineapple come out of?” Tall and I almost choked; out of the mouths of babes, huh?!

~ I’ve been nominated for the Munch Awards Best Kids Food Blog; voting commences 4 October so keep an eye out for the link and vote for me, if you wanna.

Fun with Food: Chocolate Candy Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like them, although I’m sure there’s someone out there who’d turn one down.

The rest of us are often divided; some are fans of the traditional condensed milk version, some like to add dried fruit, some like them dense and crumbly, while others like them crunchy. Me? I’m in the chewy centre camp, which sees me gravitate towards recipes using brown sugar.

These cookies are a bit of fun for kids – to make and to eat. The little pops of colour look great, and the different textures are quite delightful.

Best enjoyed warm, just out of the oven, but if you manage to be restrained, they’ll last about one week in an airtight container.

Chocolate Candy Cookies – makes roughly 18 cookies

120g butter, softened
165g brown sugar
1 T golden syrup
1/2 t vanilla essence
1 egg, lightly beaten
210g plain flour
1/2 t baking powder
60g chocolate melts (I used dark melts)
60g candy-coated chocolates (like M&Ms or Smarties, or proper baking ones – or, replace with 60g of milk or white chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 170degC. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add golden syrup, vanilla and egg, and mix well.

Sift together flour and baking powder; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Add chocolate melts and candies and mix.

Roll mixture into balls a little smaller than the size of a golf ball; flatten slightly in your hands before placing on the trays. Leave plenty of room for the cookies to spread – they’ll double in width.

Bake for 10 minutes, then swap the trays around; bake a further 10 minutes, or until the cookies are nicely golden (the top tray is likely to brown quicker, so you may wish to remove them earlier).

Leave to cool on the trays for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

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Fun with Food
Fun with Food is a way for you to share your foodie (mis)adventures with other people. You don’t have to be a superb cook, or produce Masterchef-quality plates of food; this will be a place to share new and favourite recipes, meal plans, cooking on a budget, lunchbox ideas, new products, kitchen successes and disasters (because we all have those!) and maybe some handy tips for getting fussy kids to eat their dinner!

The linky will open on a Tuesday and stay open for a week, so I hope you’ll share your kitchen adventures, and be inspired by what other people are doing in the heart of their homes.

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