Oodles of Noodles for toddlers

An 'OMG what am I going to feed him' moment came upon me a few days ago.  Not that the fridge wasn't groaning but it was groaning with all the high fat foods for the festivities to come.  So I came up with this.  A delicious (if I say so myself) slightly sweet sauce which worked well with the noodles and would also be great with some chicken.

Oodles of noodles (aka Prawn noodles with honey and 5 spice sauce) - serves 1 toddler

Ingredients

1oz, 30-35g dried noodles
1/3 Red pepper (capsicum)
4 Mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp Oil
1 tsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Honey
a large pinch of 5 spice powder
2 tsp water
1 tsp Cornflour (cornstarch)
A handful of cooked prawns (defrosted if frozen) or cooked chicken

Method

Cook the noodles following pack instructions but cook them for a minute or two less than recommended as you will be stir frying them.

Heat the oil in a wok and start to stir fry the mushrooms for a minute or so.  Mix the soy, honey, 5 spice, water and cornflour together.  Add the pepper to the wok and stir fry for a further minute.  Add the drained noodles, prawns and sauce and stir together until everything is hot through and the sauce is clinging to the noodles.

Allow to cool a little and serve.  Very popular with my little man.  He had a face covered in sauce afterwards!

Not one for babies this because of the honey.  Honey is a lovely, natural, safe food for kids over 12 months but before that age, it's possible they can contract botulism from it.  This is because honey often contains botulism spores.  Normally it's not the spores that make people ill but a toxin (poison) which is formed in the food.  The spores can't germinate in the honey and make the toxin so it's completely safe to eat if you're not really young but in the immature gut of a baby, the spores can germinate there and cause illness.  Cooking does not kill the spores either so steer clear of honey if under the age of 1.  After that, it's completely fine.

Carrot, Ginger and Pumpkin Soup

A zinger of a soup to cheer up your jaded taste buds from the days of excess!  Ginger is meant to help reduce feelings of nausea which is great if you've overdone it over the past few days.

My son was initially a bit unsure about this soup but once he started dunking with the bread he was well away.  It packs a punch so if you're a little unsure, tone down the ginger or serve in small portions but after the last few days, small portions are probably a very good thing indeed!

Carrot, Ginger and Pumpkin soup - serves 1 adult and 1 toddler

Ingredients

110g, 4oz Carrot
220g, 8oz Butternut squash (peeled weight)
15g, 0.5oz butter (or olive oil to make vegan)
1 tsp ground (powdered) ginger (use slightly less if wanted, this does pack a punch)
400ml, 13.5 fl oz water

Method

Cut the carrot and squash up into small pieces and saute in butter until starting to soften and brown.  Add in the ginger and fry gently for a minute or so.  Add the water and bring to the boil.  Simmer for 16-20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

Puree.  Garnish with coriander (cilantro) leaves if liked.

I've linked this lovely old recipe up to the Spice Trail Ginger challenge.

Merry Christmas!

I hope that Santa fills your stockings with everything you desire...

...and that Santa has a few black coffees on his route!

Top Tips for Christmas Dinner

Christmas is fast approaching and although I have a couple of recipes I need to blog, I thought I'd have a quick rundown of the top tips and hints for Christmas day.  I've made Christmas dinner a few times now on my own but even when I was younger I used to help my Mum.  There are some keeping your sanity tips here but also food safety tips (which is what I do as a job) because there is always a spike in food poisoning at this time of year and toddlers more than anyone need to be protected.

1.  Don't panic.  Christmas dinner is just a big Sunday lunch and it doesn't need to be perfect.  People don't really notice once they're full of champagne, sausages and sprouts whether the turkey was perfect.  (I know this from experience, I cooked for 11 last year after moving two weeks before and the new oven was a bit fiercer than my old one meaning I overcooked the bird.  Did anyone notice?  Nope.)

2.  Plan your turkey (or other roast) to be cooked 1 hour before you intend to eat but start checking before the 'due' time.  This is good for two reasons, turkey especially needs to rest and will stay warm wrapped in foil for quite a long time.  Secondly, if the turkey is finished, there's then loads of room in the oven for roasties, chipolatas, parsnips etc.

3.  If you have one, reheat your Christmas pudding in a slow cooker.  Microwaves if you forget are fine but especially home made Christmas puddings are best (and more moist) if reheated in steam rather than in the microwave.  The only problem is the last thing you want to do is take up a ring on the hob, so the slow cooker is a funky way round it and something I only tried for the first time last year.  Just put an old upturned side plate in the bottom and rest your bowl on top then pour boiling water around it.  Cook on high for about 3 hours.

4.  Make some stock and do it in advance.  For all of my "people don't notice the turkey" chat they do notice the gravy.  A great way to make really tasty gravy is to get some chicken wings, roast them in the oven until they're browned and then bung them all into a slow cooker or sauce pan with some water.  Bubble away for 30 mins - 1 hour in a saucepan or 2-3 hours in a slow cooker.  Strain and freeze until you need it.  Then put with the juices and, if the flavour isn't strong enough, a chicken stock cube on the big day and bubble up until the flavour is to your liking.  Thicken with cornflour paste (made from cornflour mixed with cold water) and whisk in.

5.  Don't make too many vegetables.  The first time I did Christmas Dinner I think I made 10 different types and three of those were variations on potato!  Who needs potato cooked three ways?  Last time I kept it down to sprouts, carrots, roast potatoes, peas and sweetcorn and no-one complained!  In fact I think they were happier as there were more roast potatoes!

6.  Leave the fancy vegetables to the TV chefs.  If you want do braised red cabbage as that can be made the day before and reheated but all the prinking with side dishes is a waste of time and no-one is all that bothered.

7.  Prep the vegetables the night before.  Although it is just a big roast dinner, the vegetable preparation does take time.  Remember if you're used to cooking for 3 and then you're cooking for 12, everything will take four times as long.  So peel the carrots and sprouts and put into a plastic bag in the fridge (plastic bags are easy to fit around your over stuffed refrigerator!)

8.  Talking of the fridge, turn down the temperature (i.e. turn up the power).  On most fridges this means turning up the number.  So if it's on number 2 perhaps put it on number 4.  Fridges are less efficient the more full they are which is why it's best to turn down the temperature to make sure things stay safe.  I'm a food safety geek so I have a fridge thermometer.  If you do, between 2-5oC is ideal but many domestic fridges are nearer 8-10oC.

9.  Another fridge tip, take things out which don't need to be in there.  Ok, chutneys, pickles mustard, ketchup, those kind of things are better stored in the fridge once opened but they will be ok for one day at room temperature, you're not going to do yourself too much mischief.  Also take things out like unpeeled potatoes, carrots, parsnips, sprouts.  You can get away without refrigerating these (until they're peeled). Also remember that outside is unlikely to be much above 6 or 7 degrees which can be great for storing booze!

10.  Prepare the stuffing the night before.  There's a great recipe for a simple chestnut stuffing here and it's fine prepped, put in the baking dish and covered in the fridge overnight.

11.  Take your turkey out of the fridge for a bit before roasting and preheat your oven otherwise it will take a long time to come up to temperature.

12.  Make sure you wash your hands well after handling the turkey and clean any surfaces or equipment which have come into contact with it.  There is no need to rinse poultry under the tap (people actually do this believe it or not), all that does is spread cross contamination.  I'm a bit of a stickler for this because I work in food safety but once the turkey is in the oven it's best to have a good clean down before you move onto other things.

13.  If you have one, use a thermometer to check the temperature of your turkey.  You will hear lots of advice about what temperature to aim for but the food safety answer is that you can aim for different temperatures but it's not just the temperature but the time.  So stick a probe into the thickest part of the meat and, for me, I aim for 75oC but I hold it there for 30 seconds to make sure it has held that temperature for at least that long.

14.  Don't put the stuffing in the turkey, it prevents good air circulation and you will have to recalculate cooking times.  If you think about it a turkey has a great source of hot air circulation inside and out which helps it cook reasonably quickly.  If you fill that up with stuffing, you make it all cook much more slowly and the last thing you want for a lovely turkey is dry breast meat.

15.  As soon as leftovers are cool, put them in the fridge.  If space is at a premium, I have to admit I have stripped the turkey meat on Christmas day and put the bones in the slow cooker for stock straight away, as a turkey kind of monopolises the fridge.

16.  Have something available for toddlers to eat if you're not planning to eat the main meal until 1 or 2.  Last year I made a little pot of chestnut stuffing for my toddler for him to eat at midday. He was then napping during our meal and finished his nap just as pudding was being served.  It worked really nicely and the last thing you want on Christmas day is a grouchy hungry toddler or one that's wired on chocolate.  That said, don't bother cooking something different for toddlers if they will eat at the same time.  Even babies will find something in a Christmas dinner to have a munch on.  I remember my, then 6 month old nibbling on a sprout!

17.  Ask for help.  I'm not doing Christmas lunch this year but I am doing boxing day for 14 and 12 are staying overnight.  So far I have my Mum making sausage rolls, one sister bringing pate and tiramisu and another sister bringing mince pies.  Asking for help is not weakness it's necessity!

18.  Buy more butter, milk and bread than you think you need.  Ok, I realise the shops are only shut for a few days but it's surprising how much of this you get through.

19.  Oh and don't turn into a crazy person...  It is just one day of the year.  Yes, this really was the pork pie queue last year!  This year the queue was longer, in the rain.

20.  Have a merry Christmas!  After all it's all about having fun!

Apple and Berry Crumble for the Whole Family (low sugar)

My husband had a rough morning at the weekend with my son.  It's my fault, we're trying to get him to go swimming and we haven't done so regularly since he was a baby.  It was always something I'd intended to do but my son was a bad sleeper and getting him to nap was vital for a night's sleep.  Ironically bad naps in the day meant bad sleeping at night.

All of the baby swimming classes seemed to coincide with when he normally napped and they were all things I needed to commit to for 10 weeks or more.  So, I just didn't.

Fast forward to 2 and a half and we have a little boy who is a bit scared of water.  He will get in but clings like a limpet around your neck.  We started taking him to classes (or rather my husband did) and things were gradually improving but then this Sunday, it all took a turn for the worse.

So this is what I made to cheer up my husband.  Not sugar free baking but certainly low sugar.  Only 20g added sugar per portion.

Apple and Berry Crumble - Serves 2 Adults or 1 adult and a very hungry toddler!

Ingredients

3 small dessert apples
110g, 4oz Frozen mixed berries (my mix had blackberries, cherries, strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants)
110g, 4oz Plain flour (use wholemeal if liked but you might want more sugar if you do)
60g, 2oz Butter
40g, 1.5oz Light Muscovado Sugar, reserve 1 tsp (demerara is also good)
1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
A few gratings of nutmeg

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC / 400F.

Peel and chop the apples and stew with a few tbsp of water with a lid on over a low heat.  When starting to soften, blitz a little with a hand blender to puree some of but leave some lumps.  Pour into the dish.  Then heat the fruit (you can do so from frozen) until thawed and leaking juice.  Mix the apple into the berries and pour back into the baking dish.

Rub the butter, flour, spices and all apart from the 1 tsp of sugar together.  You can do this in a food processor but it's so much better by hand because the unevenness of it improves the texture and appearance I think.

If you want to prepare this in advance, allow the filling to cool and refrigerate and refrigerate the topping separately.  Don't assemble until you're ready to cook or the topping goes a bit soggy.

Once you're ready to cook, add the crumble topping on top then the reserved tsp of sugar and bake for 20 minutes or until browned.

Serve with custard (traditional), cream (my preference) or ice cream (a shooting offence with hot crumble if you believe my father in law).

If you like this but you're looking for sugar free / no added sugar baking, take a look on the right hand side of my blog.  I've added a new 'label' to sugar free baked goods and recipes containing no junk, no sweeteners, all natural stuff!  Enjoy!

Creamy Mushroom Pasta Bake for the Whole Family

Sorry about the lack of posts.  As I'm sure all Mummies feel at this time of year, it's like one foot is in the supermarket, one at work, a hand holding my son's hand and the other is stirring mincemeat / cake mixtures or writing menus.  It's like some festive torturous form of Twister!

So all of this plate spinning / balancing and generally spreading myself thinner than the merest scrape of Gentleman's Relish has meant I've not posted recently.  For that, kind readers, I apologise and will try harder in future!

This was a dish I made last weekend.  Serve, if liked, with some vegetables or salad.  Yummy!

Creamy Mushroom Pasta Bake - Serves 2 adults and 1 child

Ingredients

130g Pasta Shapes of your choice
260g Mushrooms
200ml Milk
1 tbsp Cornflour (cornstarch)
2-3 tbsp water
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp oil
75g Extra mature cheddar (sharp)
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp dijon mustard

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC / 400F or equivalent.

Boil the pasta following the pack instructions taking one minute off the minimum cooking time (e.g. my pack said 10-12 minutes so I cooked it for 9.)

Bring the milk to the boil in a saucepan and then mix the cornflour with enough water to make a paste.  Add whisking all of the time until thickened, then add in half of the cheddar, the thyme and mustard and set to one side.

Fry the mushrooms in the oil with the chopped garlic until softened.

Mix the mushrooms, pasta and sauce together and put into a baking dish sprinkling with the remaining cheddar.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bubbling and browned.

I've linked this up here.

Sausage Casserole for the Whole Family

Could there be a more warming, family friendly autumnal or wintery dish?  I say "no" and I'm wondering why I didn't think of this around bonfire night?

This is the poor relation to a cassoulet but tasty nonetheless and thrifty too.  I used 700g of sausages in this recipe which easily would have fed 5 adults and by reducing the amount of meat each person has and increasing the amount of pulses it's not only environmentally friendly (especially being cooked in a slow cooker) but it's also great health wise.

Slow Cooked Sausage Casserole for the whole family.  Easily served 2 adults and a toddler with leftovers for 2 adults.

Ingredients

700g Sausages
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely diced
2 tsp olive oil
500g Passata
2 sprigs of thyme, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 sprig rosemary, chopped
1 tin haricot beans (235g drained weight)
1 tin chickpeas (230g drained weight)
1 red, yellow or orange pepper (capsicum)
1 tsp smoked paprika
4 cloves of garlic

To serve; garlic or crusty bread

Method

Saute the onions and carrots in the olive oil until the onions have softened and they're starting to colour.  Put in the slow cooker.  Split the sausages if large by pressing in the middle, twisting and cutting where they are twisted to make two short fat sausages.  Brown the sausages and put into the slow cooker.  Add the remaining ingredients plus a couple of tbsp of water.  When you have slow cookers you get to know how much water you need to add, it varies by cooker as some lose more steam than others.  If you feel like more is needed, add more but be aware that the vegetables will release some water as they cook.

Cook on high for 4-6 hours or until done to your liking.  Serve sprinkled with parsley if you're feeling poncy and garlic bread.  A hit with the husband and my son!

We'd had some good news when I'd made this dish.  It's been an absolute roller coaster the last 6 months emotionally but it feels like the end may now be in site.  So we had this with champagne!

I've linked this up to naptime creations this week.

Eat Your Greens Soup for toddlers and adults

I love soup.  The most versatile dish, using up bits and bobs from the fridge and cupboard.  It's incredibly thrifty and a sneaky way to hide the vegetables if your child (or partner) is less than keen.

So this soup has three green vegetables as well as onion in it.  There is a bit of salt from the bacon so not for babies but my toddler certainly enjoyed it asking for seconds.  He might be going through a bit of a growth spurt at the moment though.  I hope so, he's eating me out of house and home!

For soups, frozen vegetables are also great as texture isn't so important.  Mix this up a bit, try other vegetables, as Louis Walsh would say, "You made it your own!"

Eat Your Greens Soup - serves 3 adults (I froze one portion for work another day) and 1 hungry toddler

Ingredients

1 Onion
1 tsp vegetable oil
300g, 10.5 oz Smoked Bacon
140g, 5oz Broccoli, include the stalk (see the method below)
100g, 3.5 oz Green (French) beans
140g, 5oz Frozen broad beans
600ml, 21 fl oz Boiling water

Method

Fry the onion in the oil until starting to soften.  Cut the bacon into smallish pieces and add to the onion. Continue to fry until the onion is soft.  If you prefer to omit refined oils, use fattier bacon and cook it gently with the onion so you're frying in the bacon fat.

In the meantime, chop the Broccoli, you can include the stalk which is often thrown away as this has loads of flavour and blends pretty well, just chop it up.  Top and tail the green beans and put all the vegetables in the saucepan with the bacon and onion.  Add in the water and bring to the boil.  Simmer for approx 7 mins or until the vegetables are cooked.  Puree using a traditional or stick blender and serve.

I've linked this up to naptime creations this week.

Parsnip Chips for Babies and Toddlers

Nothing wrong with adults having them either!  A great recipe for the slightly reluctant vegetable eater as these look a bit like chips, they taste sweeter but handily, unlike potato based chips or fries, these count towards your five a day.

Parsnip Chips - Serves 1 adult and 1 toddler as a side dish

Ingredients

1 Parsnip
1 tbsp Olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC / 400F.

Peel the parsnip with a potato peeler, top and tail and cut into small wedges approx 1cm, half an inch across and 7cm, 1 and a half inches long.  Try to make them an even size as any really thin bits will easily burn.  As the season goes on later on in winter you might find the core of the parsnip is a bit tough and woody.  If that's the case, cut out the core and discard and just use the outer bit.

Toss the parsnip in the oil and place into a baking dish or tray big enough to take the parsnip in a single layer.  Roast for 20-30 minutes.  Keep an eye on them because they are a bit higher in sugar than potatoes, parsnip can burn quickly.

Once softened and browned, allow to cool enough before serving to your child.  This would be a great recipe for baby led weaners to try as it's something big enough for very small children to hold but that adults will love too.  Just make sure they're not too crunchy before offering them to small babies.

(These are great for serving with a roast or maybe even Christmas dinner...)

Enjoy!

I've linked this up to simple and in season, on lavender and lovage.  Mainly because this is probably the simplest and most seasonal dish there is for December.  I kind of feel cheeky posting it as a 'recipe'!  I've also linked this up to Just Another Meatless Monday because I would LOVE a kitchen aid mixer!!!!

12 Days of Christmas

As advent is here, I thought I'd have a bit of fun, here are my 12 days of Christmas in recipes and great gifts for foodie types and a few words of wisdom...

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a cracking duck fat roastie.

Here is the recipe for the ultimate roast potato.  (Homer Simpson style drool...)

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me two oven gloves

I love these ones.  I was a silicone oven glove convert for a while but these look fantastic.  Where silicone ones go wrong is you lose so much dexterity and wrist protection.  It might help me stop burning myself on the pizza stone making sourdoughs!

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, 3 tasty hens

Here are some top turkey leftover recipes for you over the Christmas period, this leftover pie would also be great when you have all that turkey to use up.  A tasty soup is a piece of cake to make, works brilliantly with turkey or chicken and is lovely and warming when it's cold out.  Another sneaky use for leftovers which would also work with turkey is a pasta bake.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, 4 crispy birds

Here's one really lovely crispy duck...  Yummy!  Why not try something different this year?  Duck, Goose, Pheasant... ok, perhaps not Swan.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, 5 gold rings!

When I see a Krispy Kreme stand, I have to buy.  Sorry, we all have our vices!  I will eventually make it over to Birmingham to see an old friend and the Christmas markets having promised and failed to do so two weeks ago but when I go, we will be visiting Selfridges for Krispy Kremes.  Sorry Joe.

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, 6 months of paying

Not related to cooking but a tip of another kind.  I've been listening to the radio on my way into work hearing about companies who will loan you money until after Christmas while they hold onto your electrical goods (when I was little, these were called pawn shops.)  Then there are the 'pay day' loan companies, some of which charge thousands of percent interest for short term loans (when I was little these were called loan sharks.)

So, here's my idea.  It's something we did as a family a few years ago.  We capped Christmas spending.  We set it at a maximum of £10 per adult.  It meant I managed to do all of my shopping including kids for less than £200.  I know many people who can ill afford it spend thousands.  It is just one day folks, it's not worth it.  Why not even do home made presents one year?  Perhaps one big thing for the kids.  Remember, it doesn't do kids any good to get everything they want, even if little Johnny down the road does, little Johnny will probably grow up to be a big brat!  It really actually is the thought that counts.  Those years we restricted the amount we could spend, I had some of the best presents because it forced people to really think about what they were buying.

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, 7 ducks a swimming

The one I mentioned earlier isn't swimming anymore granted but have a look around your local area as it's quite common to have Boxing Day charity duck races.  I went to one in Kenilworth once (pictured) which was fantastic fun, a great atmosphere and a great way to get out of the overly stuffy house and maybe stand up for once over the Christmas feasting period!

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, 8 treats from milking

I am really fortunate to have a fantastic cheese shop in my local town but I will definitely be stocking up this Christmas on some of my favourite cheeses.  Stilton?  Well it goes without saying but also a good cheddar, a well aged red leicester, some creamy goats' cheese, a brie or camembert style cheese (my favourite is vignotte which is super creamy), a creamy blue cheese like Smooth Blue, a really hard almost parmesan style cheese like Berkswell and then maybe a crumbly Lancashire.  A great selection of cheeses would make a fantastic gift if you're thinking of something at the last minute, a lovely slate or wooden cheeseboard is also a fantastic idea.

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,  9 ladies dancing

...well dancing sessions.  With the popularity of Strictly, we all now think we're samba experts but seriously, why not give it a go?  Especially after all of this scrummy food!  I tried my hand at Salsa when I went to Center Parcs a couple of weeks ago and it was fantastic.  I was surprised at how quickly I picked it up and how much fun I had.  So, if I was given a present of some dancing classes (9 or however many), I'd be a very happy lady!

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, 10 post lunch sleeping

Why is it we all insist on mass catering on Christmas Day?   As long as there is a sofa for the cook to snooze on after lunch, it will all be ok...

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, 11 icers piping...

I am a lucky woman in lots of ways, my husband makes our Christmas cake and has done for the last few years.  I have to admit by the time it comes to decorating the Christmas cake, I'm pretty frazzled so the simpler the better.  My top tip though is using cookie cutters and ready to roll icing which you can colour.  Forget fancy piping, it always looks a bit twee anyway.  My husband is going to decorate this year's with some little gingerbread men shaped cut outs but here is one from many years ago.  The observant of you will realise I made the 'holly' wreath by using a Christmas tree cutter and tweaking a bit.  By using different shades of green it then automatically looks more professional, chuck on some silver balls, stick it all on with icing, done!

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, 12 sprouts a trumping

They do have a reputation, but they're also delicious.  Don't forget my bubble and squeak cakes for boxing day breakfast to use up those left over sprouts!


My last word of wisdom is... don't panic.  It's just a big roast dinner.

Merry Christmas!