Eating al fresco

So its finally here?! The sun has finally arrived in London. And believe me this year we have had a cruel winter, its been a long and tiresome 5 months and we are long over due some sunshine! So its 6 am wake up times (since even the black out blinds are really not doing their job properly), wearing a t-shirt (but with a jacket close by in case of cloud cover) and lots of trips to the park. The days are definitely longer but my kids and I couldn't be happier. Its amazing how the weather can make a distinct difference to one's disposition.

Sunshine = play time but it also means eating all those fun things outdoors such as ice cream and fruit lollies. My daughter's purpose, besides the sand and swing in the park, is to have a picnic in the park. It doesn't matter if we are sharing a punnet of strawberries. She just loves to remove her shoes, sit on the picnic blanket and munch in the sunshine. And who doesn't? Often I like to carry small snacks to the park such as vegetable sticks with humous, or small sandwiches, chopped up mango and pineapple and so on.

On a number of occasions I have taken a picnic lunch but my kids are so distracted that they tend to graze rather than eat anything substantial but then i just forget about it and take them home for dinner where I will know they will eat properly after a day out in the park.

So last week, the kids and I made borek, which is a savoury Turkish pastry. We rolled out shortcrust pastry, cut squares and stuffed each one and sealed with egg wash. I popped them in the oven for 10-12 mins and they turned out crispy and flakey. My kitchen was a mess at the end, what with the kids covered in flour, bits of feta cheese and egg, but it was a fun activity to do and the best part was sitting on the table together munching on our boreks! We made two kinds, one  stuffed with spinach and feta and the other with garlic mushroom and cheddar. This is definitely another item to add to the picnic basket! The best part was that it was the perfect snack and my hubby and I had it later on for dinner with a large salad.

Enjoy the sunshine!

Pressure Cooker vs the Slow Cooker?

It seems like everyone is talking about how fantastic slow cookers are.  I kid you not, but every day a mother has told me how it's time saving, all you have to do is to just throw in leftover vegetables and meat and produces the most amazing flavours.

So of course, I have been tempted, what with my cousin all the way in California posting pictures of delicious blackberry porridge that she wakes up to at 630 am all deliciously warm and cooked for her. I decided I just had to look into it! I spent much of yesterday evening researching the pros and cons of a slow cooker.

It seems pretty straight forward to me, do some light frying of onions then transfer into the cooker, bung all the vegetables and meat in there and leave it to slowly cook for 8 hours or less. This seems like the perfect answer to all working parents out there right? Nothing like sticking in all the ingredients at 6 am and then leaving it on low setting and arriving back at home with a hot meal ready. No more chopping at the end of a long day when all you want to do is eat and put your feet up. And this is perhaps a godsend once you have kids? A comfort meal of lamb stew all ready at 6 pm with some crusty bread? Hell, you even have time to open that bottle of wine and enjoy a glass?!

So now I'm working from home and am toying with the idea whether this gadget suits my lifestyle. I am not away for 8-9 hours, would this suit me? We also tend to eat chicken and seafood at home rather than lamb or beef, so again would I use the slow cooker? I do love the idea of the rich flavours that are produced after many hours of slow cooking. I mean for soups or chillis this would be perfect right?

Now I am a die hard pressure cooker fan. I use it for lentils, chicken, meat, soups and even pasta. You cannot beat a pressure cooker when it comes to time efficiency. Chicken curry is made from beginning to end in less than 30 minutes. In fact this morning I made a chicken curry with channa dal (lentils) and butternut squash and want to share the recipe with you. I will be serving it for dinner this evening so the spices will be soaking in the gravy and I really can't wait to try it! Now if any one out there wants to try it in their slow cooker and tell me how the results were then please do share!

So for a family of 4:

8 pieces of chicken leg and thigh ( I find breast too dry)
1 small butternut squash, peeled and diced
1/2 cup channa dal washed and soaked
1 large white onion
1.5 tspn grated ginger

2 garlic pods grated
2 tspn cumin seeds

1 tspn coriander powder
1 tspn garam masala
1 tspn turmeric powder
chopped coriander to garnish
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 green chilli chopped

1. In the pressure cooker, add 3 tblspns of oil and fry the cumin seeds, green chilli, onion, garlic and ginger.
2. Keep stirring till the onions are browned. Now add the chana dal (removing the excess water)
3. Add the chicken, salt and pepper.
4. Add the coriander powder, garam masala and turmeric powder and stir for a few minutes.
5. Now add water till it fills half your pressure cooker.
6. Turn the flame to medium heat and allow 2 whistles, then switch off the heat. Once the air has completely come out, open the cooker and add the chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with steamed rice.

Feeding the Indian Mama

This week has been a roller coaster of highs and lows. It started off fantastic with having an 8 page recipe feature in Mother and Baby India magazine (April 2013). Copies are only available in India and I am getting my hands on a copy asap to share it with all of you! That has kept me on a high!

Followed by a wonderful weaning workshop on Wednesday, Spices for my Sweets. It was a new set of classes where we cooked lentils with steamed courgette and an aromatic beef stew using root vegetables.  It really felt special as there were many new moms, new babies and and lots of cooking!

Sadly it went down hill from there as I picked up a nasty viral flu and the doctor recommended plenty of rest and no anti biotics. Rest? Like other moms I was thinking how on earth would I rest with two toddlers? No chance of that happening right? But luckily, the grandparents had them for two days so I could just rest and catch up on sleep. I have been battling a blocked nose prior to the viral flu for two weeks, and that was part of the problem as to why it was lingering on. I know how important rest is but it's easier said than done. I think making that time for yourself is very hard and I need to learn to put some time aside for myself. Today they children are both by my side and I feel so relaxed, rested and so so happy that they are with me. A few days ago I was left feeling frustrated and physically drained and now I am as good as new.

So its not just about feeding the little ones, but feeding yourself--the carer as you have the most important job in the world. And by feeding I mean, putting good stuff into your body by resting, taking time out and of course eating good wholesome food. Staying positive, fresh and well is a priority so that the kids can benefit from that energy. Have a super weekend!

Choc Chip Cookies with Orange Zest

I hardly do any baking, but once in a while it's a group activity with the kids. The suggestion from my daughter was initially strawberry cookies, but since we didn't have all the ingredients we settled on easy peasy chocolate chip cookies, but with some orange zest (that was mom's contribution!).

It didn't take even 10 mins to prepare and the results were more like madeleines in texture rather than crispy chewy cookies. Not sure if this is a bad or good thing? So this was our baking attempt today. Mixing and sticking in the oven while we ate our lunch. Then cooled down and ready to eat as soon as lunch was over. Was perfect timing!

So for 10 cookies:
75 gms light brown sugar
75 gms soft butter
1 egg
150 gms self raising flour
choc chips
zest of an orange

1. Mix the sugar and butter together
2. Add in beaten egg
3. Now sift in the flour, choc chips and zest.
4. Put the oven on at 180, and grease a baking tray. Drop small spoonfuls on the tray and bake for 10 mins.

Enjoy!

Ants in my Pants!

My son, who will turn 2 years old in a couple of months is becoming a handful at the dinner table. I have spoken about this a few entries ago and its reached the point now where he is obviously hungry but finds sitting at the dinner table a challenging task. So to recap, we moved house 5 months ago and in the previous place we had one of those high chairs that fitted into our slim dining table. We purchased a new dining table for the new place which is a lot thicker than the last one which has resulted in the high chair not fitting and becoming redundant. I adopted the approach that he is over a year and a half and should be able to sit with all of us on the table together. We have a farm house style dining table with benches and stools where he sits propped up on cushions. However he is not restrained and he feels he can walk off at any time. I did bring lots of books and this helped a lot, and we were happy for a few months and now again its started- 5 mins attention span and back to wandering around the kitchen.

One evening was spent by my hubby placing him back and forth to the dining table till he settled to eat. Kind of like controlled crying but this time to sit at the table. I kid you not, but it took almost ten times till he stopped crying and ate his meal which followed by lots of praise and clapping. However, for me this was the last straw. I was fed up of meal times going this way.

After literally crying to another mommy friend, she suggested to use her high chair. Its one of those that turn eventually into a regular chair and is suitable up to a child's 10th birthday. But I didn't want to buy one without test driving it. So I borrowed it a week ago and my life has changed forever. I realised that most days I would be emotionally drained from trying to feed him and also was left with that anxiety that he hadn't eaten enough. Now ever since the high chair has entered our lives ( yes I say 'our lives' as we are all affected), he has been sitting, reading his books while I feed him. And more often than not he has eaten his entire meal! Bonus!

In reflecting on this, I've realised how crucial it is to sort out difficult eating habits. By no means am I saying that its easy or that one gets it right. I'm just saying that the task of feeding your child 3 meals a day has to be done with a little less stress, less frustration and a little less shouting from my part. Now I understand that my son's habits can be changed and one needs to try new things all the time. I don't know how long it will last. I'm just hoping for the best.

Fish Cakes!

I made some fish cakes this week for the family. I served this with baked beans for the children and a salad for my hubby. Went down a treat!

For 10 fish cakes:

2 fillets of salmon roughly chopped (without skin)
1 fillet of cod roughly chopped (without skin)
4-5 baby potatos, peeled and boiled and mashed
handful of coriander
salt and pepper to taste

Put all in a food processor and blend well.

Now make into palm size fish cakes. Do some small ones for the kids. Set them on a tray or a plate with cling film and leave them in the fridge so they can firm up.

When you are ready to pan fry them, beat one egg and dip into bread crumbs. Now dip each fish cake into the egg, once fully coated roll into the breadcrumbs again till fully coated. Now place into a frying pan with some hot oil.

Fry till crisp on each side, approx 3-4 minutes. Crispy and delicious!

What about Mommy?

As moms we spend so much time and effort for our little ones. Whether it be cooking, school drop off or nursing through the night. It can feel endless from the moment you rise till they are tucked into bed. The day ends with feelings of satisfaction, sometimes disappointment and most days just drained from all the emotional and physical demands.

The day is  broken up into little time slots: 20 mins for laundry, 10 mins for tidying up toys, 10 mins for prepping the vegetables for the evening's dinner, then another 20 for cooking it and 20 mins for the boring washing up and so on and on. Its just endless and these time slots are driving me insane. But in saying that, its the only way to manage the chaos and the never ending toys that are found everywhere- yes including the laundry hamper and the fridge. Help! We've been taken over!

It's already the month of March and spring is just around the corner? Well, kinda...and its Mother's Day on Sunday. And the point I am trying to make is that being in a caring role as a mom or a dad, there is very little care taken of ourselves. We need to to be fed or nurtured as well. I notice of late that whenever I go out to a restaurant I am literally eating like a starved woman. Just being able to order and be fed is the most loving thing! We went to Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant on the weekend, and I honestly can say I ate more than my husband. And it felt great! I was actually full for a change. At home meal times tend to be rushed, or kids' leftovers and of course cold :(

So this Mother's Day--not just moms but dads, take some time to sip a cup of coffee very slowly or just forget about doing the dishes for one day. Being a parent is never ending and as my mom always says 'a mother's job is never finished'.

Happy Mothers Day for Sunday. May it be full of lots of love and kisses!