Mini Masterchefs...

There are lots of benefits in having your children help you in the kitchen.

I think teaching your children to cook is an important life skill - when they eventually leave home (I know, I know it's a long way off for me...) they will be able to look after themselves... In the process of cooking, they are learning maths and science, using fine motor skills and following instructions.

We tried something a little different with dinner tonight, and something I think we will do more often.

Tonight we had pizzas for tea. I cut everything up, and Madeleine assembled our pizzas. She had lots of fun arranging all the toppings on the pizzas and sprinkling on the cheese.




We used Pita breads for our bases this evening, but we do like to make our own sometimes, too. You could even use english muffins as a good size for the kids. You can top your pizza with anything you like, and so the beauty of a meal like this, is that everyone can make their own depending on what their tastes.


You could also do something similar with wraps or tacos as well...

Pumpkin and Apricot Cake

Do your kids eat their vegies? No? Previously I've talked about Madeleine not eating veg and how I hide vegies in food, like most Mummies do....

Like all kids, Madeleine eats cake though, and will eat this one that is full of pumpkin without any problems.

This recipe was given to my by a friend, who got it from one of our other friends, but I don't know where she got it from!

I thought I'd share it with you today, because it is so yummy, and really really healthy as well.

This cake has only 1/2 a cup of oil in it, and it makes a lot of cake! There is only 1 cup of sugar for the whole cake as well.... Orginally the cake had 2 cups, but I have reduced it by half, and have found it to be sweet enough. I use Jap Pumpkin as it is my favourite. The other great thing about this cake, is that it is dairy free, so a great one for people with allergies. It freezes well, and because it makes so much, I freeze individual portions for lunch boxes.

So here's the recipe:

Pumpkin and Apricot Cake

100g dried apricots

500g pumpkin

4 cups plain flour

2 teas baking powder

1 teas bicarb soda

2 teas ground cinnamon

1/2 teas salt

2 cups caster sugar

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Cover the apricots with boiling water and leave to plump up for at least half an hour, then drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the water.

Puree the apricots until smooth, adding the reserved water if needed, to make 1/2 cup of puree.

Peel, seed and chop the pumpkin. Steam until very tender, then drain thoroughly and mash to make 2 cups of puree. Set aside to cool (about 20 mins)

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees and grease your pan. This mix will fill a baking dish, but I have also made it in loaf tins - you'll just need more than one.

To a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, bi carb soda, cinnamon, salt and sugar. Make a well in the centre and then add the eggs, oil, apricots and pumpkin and mix until just combined.

Transfer to a baking dish, smoothing the top and bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

I'd really love your feedback if you try this... You can leave a comment below.

I'm Dreaming of a.... White Kitchen!

Our build is taking forever.... Sigh....

We sold our house over 12mths ago and we are now on to our second builder.

The planning process is dragging on and on.... The big problem for us is that our original house plan didn't meet 6 star energy efficiency requirements. We've had to go back to the drawng board and start again.. After meeting with management, we finally seem to be getting somewhere, and they tell us that our plans should be finalised within the next week. We are hoping that we might be able to submit our plans to council before this year is out... Fingers crossed!

We have moved twice now - the last time when I was 36 weeks pregnant with Christian! And I have been cooking in tiny little kitchens... The kitchen I have now is actually back and white, but has NO PANTRY! A lot of my kitchen stuff is in storage because there is just not enough room. So you can imagine how much I am looking forward to my new kitchen...

Cheese and Onion Muffins

This is another staple in our house. I make these savoury muffins and freeze for David's lunches... Cheese and onion are David's favourite at the moment, but you can change what you put in these to suit your tastes..... Here are some other ideas for you -

red onion, zucchini and cheese

ham, corn and cheese

semi dried tomatoes and fetta

Cheese (fetta or parmesan, even tasty - or a mix!!) and Olives

Fetta, Olive and Chargrilled Capsicum

Spinach and Fetta Cheese

So for the Cheese and Onion ones you will need:

2 cups SR flour

3/4 cup milk

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup cheese (I use half a cup each of parmesan and tasty)

One onion finely chopped

Some curry powder or Cayenne pepper to taste

Pinch of salt

Start by preheating your oven at 180 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper cases if using (I find these savoury muffins stick to paper cases, though, so if you have a silicon pan then it would be ideal for this)

Place onion, cheese, cayenne pepper, salt and flour in a bowl and stir to combine.

Then in a jug - whisk eggs, milk and vegetable oil.

Carefully combine wet and dry ingredients - Don't mix too much so you end up with a light muffin.

Spoon in to cases and bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until muffins are lightly browned and cooked through when tested with a skewer.

This will make approximately 15 muffins. The number of muffins you make will depend on what you put in them.