Thursday, 10 January 2013

Publishing Gig @ Asian Parenting 10.01.2013


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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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Tuesday, 8 January 2013

New Tactics?

Some of you have read that my son, baby numero 2, has always had a good appetite. I never had to worry about him eating, compared to my daughter. His favourites are stuffed tortelloni, sesame chicken, potato in any form, noodles, fruit and all things munch-able like dry fruits, cashews and rice cakes. In fact his first love (after his mama of course) is biscuits and not just any kind but he is partial to a digestive and if there are any chocolate ones then he is all over them! Often he needs to be restrained as he knows no boundaries when it comes to chocolate!

He was able to eat his 3 square meals and snacks in between. But now he just doesn't seem interested in meal times. He barely sits for 5 mins and then wants to do something else. And my boy has always been interested in food! So this is a new one for the entire family.

Now for the last couple of weeks the tables have turned, his daily food intake looks like this:

breakfast bowl of milk and cereal
half a banana/orange etc

lunch 5 bites (previously at least 10 bites)

snacks of fruit, rice cakes etc

dinner again 5 bites

What hadn't changed was his milk intake, but I was scratching my head trying to understand what was going wrong. My daughter on the other hand, well her appetite increased and though she took what felt like ages to finish her meal, nonetheless she would finish up including snacks.

This Sunday I had had enough with my son and refused to give him any post lunch snacks. Of course I carried them in my bag when we stepped out to the Southbank but kept him distracted and just offered him milk or water. And before 6 pm, he sat with a bowlful of chicken curry and rice and gobbled the whole thing up. I was so relieved. Yipee he ate his dinner! I know its a cliche how all moms worry about their children's food, and yes that's me!

And yesterday I decided to do that, again he didn't have much lunch and this time I only carried a bowlful of strawberries with me. We stepped out for afternoon activities and by 530 my kid was ready for his dinner. I was happy to see that he had built up an appetite and again gulped down his dinner of stir fry noodles with tofu and shitake mushroom. That went down with some fruit and milk. We had had a super busy afternoon with activities. So perhaps he was hungry after all the stimulation? Or maybe it was the eradication of snacks? I am happy to not offer snacks, but the problem is my daughter (who is 3.5 years) by 4 pm needs a snack. And as my two are together most of the time, I have to offer them both.

So what shall I do parents? Perhaps I just offer fruit? But then what about my daughter who needs more? It seems only breakfast is on track.

Looking forward to some advice. Wish me luck!



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Saturday, 5 January 2013

Butternut squash salad with haloumi

Last night was the perfect evening of old friends meeting over dinner and drinks. The children were put to bed and there was minimum preparation in terms of dinner. All had to be done last minute and took very little time to prepare.

The menu was a stuffed ravioli, baked sea bass and a salad of butternut squash and haloumi dressed with an oil of roasted and crushed coriander, fennel and cumin seeds. This was infused in olive oil with crushed garlic and lemon juice. It was so delicious and so healthy!


I made butternut squash after ages, and it was so nice to cook and eat. I steamed it, and then tossed in the spice mixture. It gave a nutty, Middle Eastern flavour and went perfectly with the haloumi which I grilled separately. Then I finally tossed the leaves in, added some pomegranate vinegar and olive oil and it was ready to serve.

So here is the recipe for the salad:

1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds

Roast the above and transfer to a pestle and mortar. Crush up.

Now add two tablespoons of olive oil, a garlic clove, half the juice of a lemon and sea salt and pepper. Crush and allow to infuse for as long as you can.

When ready to serve, steam the butternut squash in a colander. Then toss the squash in the dressing.
Grill the haloumi and place on the salad leaves. Put the butternut squash in the middle of the salad. Sprinkle lots of pomegranate vinegar and olive oil and serve straight away as the halmoui tends to get rubbery.

Lots of spices and lots of flavour...Enjoy!
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Tuesday, 1 January 2013

New Beginnings...

As I write the first entry for this year, I am left reflecting on last year's accomplishments. It seems ever since having my first child, its been one thing after the other. And last year was no different for us. After a family visit to India in February, we started house hunting for a bigger place. Now with two children and a roomful of toys we had to make the move. 2012 was all about the new home. At the same time it was also about leaving the old home behind and since the entire process took 7 months, as a family we had time to process 'letting go' of our first family home together. This was our first my home together, and baby 1 and baby 2 came home to this house. So it had numerous memories for us, both as a newly married couple but as parents. And I'm glad its taken time to arrive to this place, as I believe its given us time to detach and move forward to the next chapter.

Though everything has revolved around the move, I am also happy to announce that in the midst of the chaos, I started weaning classes Spices for my Sweets; a place for moms and babies to learn about the various recipes I've been posting on my blog and to get familiar with spices and flavours. We have cooked mushroom pilaf, butternut squash puree with cumin, spicy spinach and potato, beef stew, tofu with figs and so on. It has been successful and I hope to run one more morning class. Currently classes run on Wednesdays at 10 am at my home.

A Taste of Something Spicy started as well, this time an evening class for parents only who want to learn how to cook Indian food. Its a relaxed evening of cooking, eating and enjoying a glass of wine. Classes are at 830 pm again from my home on Thursday evenings.

I am aware that I have been communicating alot more on my facebook group 'Spices for my Sweets'. Now that I am settled into my home, I hope to write more. 2012 has been a fantastic year for me, I have had to face many challenges juggling both my kids and trying to make some space for something other than my children. The satisfaction of the classes is wonderful and happy mommy= happy kids!

2013 will be more cooking, eating and writing...bring it on!
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