Monday, 28 January 2013

Cooking overload!


This week I've been cooking non stop. This was on top of the weaning classes that took place on Wednesday where six mommies and their cuties joined us to learn dal and courgette puree for 6 month old babies and butternut squash with garlic and sage risotto suitable for 9 month olds. Both used spices and both made under 45 minutes. Delicious and quick! Over half the mommies had a second older child, so the risotto recipe went down a treat for one mommy in particular who texted me later that evening that her 3 year old son (who has become particularly fussy lately) gobbled up his dinner. I was so thrilled to hear this! As I'm sure she was too that her little boy had eaten!

At A Taste of Something Spicy it was a more grown up affair. We made aromatic lamb chops with spices such as fennel, black peppercorns, cumin and coriander seeds. To accompany the meat, we made carrot with garlic, mustard seeds and dry Kashmiri  chillies, and Bombay potato. One of the moms only ate kosher meat, so I was happy to buy and cook her meat separately. I tailor all my recipes so that everyone can taste the food.

And our home cooking this week was lasagne, fish curry, noodles with tofu and mushroom, miso salmon, chicken curry and potatoes with mustard seeds, lamb curry and lentils.

Sunday we stepped out to this fantastic restaurant in Angel called Naamyaa, Alan Yau's sister restaurant to Busaba. Again Thai food, inspired by Bangkok street food. My daughter who is 3 ate with us. The food was fairly pungent and fiery but we ordered some non chilli delights for her. She had the garlic chicken wings and spring roll to start with and the Hainese poached chicken with steamed rice and cucumber. And a pomegranate and cherry cream soda drink which was delicious! For dessert the caramel ice cream on spicy pineapple with crumble. The staff were super friendly, it was very spacious (perfect for my little man!) and many high chairs in sight. We had such a relaxed lunch and I just enjoyed being fed for a change! I can't wait to go back!



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Monday, 21 January 2013

New Tricks?


Saturday night was early dinner out with the family and it turned out to be a nightmare. We went by six to avoid the busy dinner crowd and opted for this cute restaurant in North London, not far from the house so we could nip there and back so that the kids would be back in time for their 8 pm bedtime.

Now some of you might have read that my son cannot sit still. Since he mastered walking at 13 months (he is now 19 months, so thats 6 months of non stop-ness!) he finds it difficult to sit at meal times. Initially it was the novelty of walking, he just wanted to walk everywhere and practice his new found skills. Yes, I am that mom pushing the empty buggy while her son wants to walk or sit on my hip. A few months on now, he can sit, but only for 5-10 minutes. I tend to feed him at home beforehand, then take him out but sometimes we do want to step out without all the strategies. We also take the i-pad to distract him, but even now this is hit and miss.The one time we had a pleasant experience was at a pizza restaurant where there was a large tv screen and the kids were allowed to play with pizza dough. That was the first time in a while that my hubby and I felt relaxed and actually breathed between mouthfuls.

My daughter who will be 4 in May, was a totally different kettle of fish. She could be persuaded to sit and eat, and for her eating was and has always been a way of socialising. Even if she ate at home before, she was happy to participate in the conversation, nibble on starters and enjoy dessert. My son is not there yet. And I guess it is this difference that my husband and I are struggling with.

So lets get back to that dinner experience. I knew by the time we got to the restaurant Samar would be famished. He had barely snacked since lunch time and when my boy eats he has a good appetite. I was feeling positive. How delusional was I? He sat in a high chair when we got there, had to be persuaded to continue to sit in it by having juice with a straw. Then when his food came, he literally had one bite and wanted to get off his high chair. Peppa pig on the i-phone didn't do the trick either. He just wanted to walk around the restaurant, while we had to literally gobble our food down. My husband has now said he is happy not to go to a restaurant for the next 6 months. Help! We rushed home and while my daughter went to sleep (thank god one child ate properly) I gave my son some dinner, some yoghurt and straight to bed.

The evening left us drained and disappointed, especially since having children our restaurants have narrowed down solely to child friendly restaurants, and even then it's becoming difficult. And not just when we are out, at home its a struggle with an active child. So after browsing through various mommy-sites, one mom suggested placing books and toys at the dining table to hold their attention. At Sunday lunch time this is exactly what I did, and wow did it work! I found all of his favourite books, and while he turned the pages, I spooned his lunch into his mouth. I don't know if this will work when we are out, but since we have another 6 months before we ever go to a restaurant, I'll deal with that then!

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Wednesday, 16 January 2013

Chicken Noodle Soup

So a few blogs back, I mentioned my son's change in eating his meals. In particular lunch and dinner really suffered. A week of no snacks after 4 pm, was quite testing. I had to keep him pre occupied with an activity so his mind wouldn't drift to biscuits and other munchies. I cut out heavier snacks like bananas, sandwiches and dry fruit and just offered fruit like strawberries and melon. However it was very hard on playdates. While my eldest was happy indulging on breadsticks and cream cheese, he was feeling left out which would result in either a stroppy toddler or a stroppy daughter (after I'd hidden the snacks). By the end of it, I just couldn't control snacks if we were out of the house. On Friday, we were home and I didn't offer the kids snacks after 4, which meant I couldn't snack either. I felt so irritable without a biscuit at tea time! Why was I suffering in all this?! By the end of the week, I had forgotten why I had implemented these strategies in the first place. The result was that some days it worked and others it didn't.

Now my mind has been distracted with my son's cold that developed over the weekend. His eating is erratic now, dinner at 5 pm yesterday of poached egg and a glass of milk and some more dinner at 630 of boiled rice and sai bhaji (spinach with lentils and 5 vegetables), and a large bowl of blueberry yoghurt.

Today I've made a soup for him, filled with vegetables, chicken, noodles and of course spices! I used a pressure cooker and allowed 2 whistles, however you can use the conventional method below.


For 4 portions:

1 spring onion
1 garlic pod crushed
2 bay leaves
4 black peppercorns
1 clove
1 sprig of rosemary leaves
1 small carrot
1/2 courgette
1 baby potatoes
1 small chicken leg or thigh
handful of raw noodles
salt to taste

1. In a large pan, sautee the whole spices, rosemary, garlic and spring onion in a tablespoon of olive oil.
2. Add the vegetables roughly chopped.
3. Now add the chicken (still on the bone) and water till it covers three fourths of the pan.
4. Put a lid on and cook for 35-45 mins till the vegetables are softened and the chicken is cooked through.
5. Now remove the chicken and shred the pieces, put the pieces back in the pan.
6. Remove the bay leaves and clove, and blend the soup now.
7. Add the noodles now and simmer on low heat till the noodles are cooked.
Serve with warm bread and butter
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Friday, 11 January 2013

What a week!


As I write this post, I am reflecting on how privileged I feel it is to be a mom. Its been a busy week of new classes- drama and dance, and my eldest starting back at nursery after the X'mas break. I was in awe of my children, watching my daughter dancing to the beats in dance class and my son who tagged along and joined in on the fun. I was filled with so much love and happiness seeing them enjoying themselves. My son with his infectious laugh filled the room when Madagascar's 'I like to move it move it' came on. And my daughter couldn't stop dancing and holding her brother with excitement. Gosh, its these moments that I feel so happy to be a full time mom. Not to say that I don't have days when I want to tear my hair out but I guess this is the reason I had children. I always thought that parenting was giving on the mom's part, but how wrong was I! My children have changed me, and every day I feel honoured and privileged to have such loving children.

Then my eldest started nursery again on Tuesday and she came home with a tummy ache. I was worried it might be appendicitis but thank god it wasn't! After throwing up she felt heaps better and decided to have a late lunch of plain rice, yoghurt and some potato with mustard seeds and ginger.

The recipe for this is really simple, and takes no time at all:

1-2 large potatoes
1 heaped teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon grated ginger
5 curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1. Peel and chop the potatoes into bite size cubes.
2. In a pan, add a tablespoon of oil and when hot add the mustard seeds. Once they pop add the ginger and curry leaves. Saute for a minute.
3. Add the potato and the turmeric powder
4. Stir till fully coated in the spices and add a cup of water. Simmer till potatoes are cooked. You may need to add more water.
5. Add salt and serve

Besides enjoying moments with my kids, I also had a recipe published in the online mag Asian Parenting. Its been wonderful to be recognised. All this has come about because of my children-a big cuddle and kiss to my angels!

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Thursday, 10 January 2013

Publishing Gig @ Asian Parenting 10.01.2013


  •  International
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Baby / Family / Food / How to's / Moms / Recipes

Sweet and sticky plums recipe for babies

By theAsianparent.com editorial team | 10/01/2013
 16  0
What can be healthier than home made baby food? Here's a recipe from a full time mother who could not find what she wanted in conventional cookbooks, so she started creating her own recipes, sometimes with exotic spices.
sweetplums Sweet and sticky plums recipe for babies
Photo credit: Rushina Kapashi
The smell of the warm spices and the stewed plums was heavenly for this compote! Suitable for babies from 6 months onwards.
 For 2 portions:
3 plums
1 stick of clove
1 cinnamon stick
2-3 whole black peppers
1 star anise
1/2 cup water
Cooking instructions:
1. In a small pan, add 3 halved and destoned plums, then add one clove, one cinnamon stick, 2-3 whole black peppers and one star anise.
2. Add half a cup of water and simmer on medium for 12 mins.
3. Once it is thick and sticky in consistency then remove from the stove. Once cooled, remove the whole spices and the skin of the plum.
4. The plums should be very mushy in consistency so you may decide not to blend and serve it to your baby straight away.  If you want to blend, add two tablespoons of water. This tastes very good with baby rice first thing in the morning.
Recipe by Kim Wilshaw
This mummy started creating her own recipes after she started weaning her children. It all came about after becoming a full time mum. She was unable to find any cookbooks that used spices. With an Indian background, she wanted her children to understand spices from the beginning but also appreciate all other world cuisines. Check out her blog at www.feedingindianbaby.blogspot.com
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