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ON THE SEVENTH DAY (A serious case of the ‘can’t be bothered’s)

March 1, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Ham/pork, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged eggs, feeding the family, parenting, recipe

A dinner to cook when you're not cooking dinner.

A while back I surveyed a few of you to find out more about your cooking habits. Admittedly, it was probably completed by those of you who enjoy being in the kitchen (so is statistically a total sham), but I thought it was interesting to see how often each week you make dinner.

Not a single family reported that they cook every night of the week. Most reported cooking (in some semblance) 6 nights with a takeaway on the 7th (which was usually pizza).

I think this is an outstanding effort! Well done all of you who manage to put a homemade meal on the table 6 nights a week!

This fits the pattern at my place. ON THE SEVENTH DAY I have no motivation or intention to cook anything. For us, that night is Friday night. At about 4pm I come down with the most severe case of ‘I’ve-been-cooking-all-week-and-all-I-will-reach-for-from-the-fridge-now-is-wine’ and the children’s hunger becomes extremely uninteresting to me.

But the pesky little rascals still need to be fed.

Seeing as we submitted to the mega-mortgage last year, any decent takeaway is a bit too $$$ for the budget (and despite my temporarily uninspired state, I still can’t face giving them the nasty takeaway options on a regular basis) so I opt for the cheap and cheerful ‘cooking when you’re not cooking’ options which can be made in 10 minutes from start to clean up.

High on the list is toasties. Multigrain bread, cheese, avocado, a bit of whatever vaguely slimy cold meat is left from the week and I’ll even sneak in a bit of tomato.

Muffin ‘pizzas’ are popular too, and even a bowl of baked beans/spaghetti combo with toast soldiers.

But ever since our trip to the country, but kids are HUGE fans of eggs. I have embraced them like a new best friend.

So pretty they are, full of protein, minerals and iron (and cholesterol – but kids don’t need to worry about that). And they’re so easy to cook. Boiled with soldiers is always a hit, and when I’m feeling a bit fancy, I roll out these…

Ham & egg yummies

2 slices ham, chopped
4–8 cherry tomatoes
100g roasted capsicums and/or zucchini
4 eggs
Handful of grated cheese
Parsley leaves

Divide the ham, tomatoes and capsicum between four shallow ovenproof dishes. Crack over the egg (whisked or whole is up to you). Scatter with cheese and black pepper.

Preheat grill to medium and cook for 3–4 minutes until the egg is set. Serve with parsley and fresh bread or toast soldiers.

MAKES 4

Comments (4) »

Don’t forget the daggy ingredients

February 28, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Chicken, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged chicken, cooking techniques, feeding the family, parenting, recipe, vegetables

Do you own some?

We’re all so terribly well educated when it comes to food these days, aren’t we? We’ve all sat on the couch and watched enough Masterchef to know that there are two different types of truffles (best not get them confused), we know that fois gras comes somewhere from inside some kind of poultry and a jus needs to be made with ‘exemplary’ stock.

Armed with this knowledge, we live our pre-kids lives throwing fabulous dinner parties and drinking way too much wine. But once the wee children arrive on the scene and tell us to shove our gourmet ingredients up our bums, we find ourselves ill equipped for the challenges of feeding a family on a daily basis.

Do you find your cooking style has changed considerably these days?

There are so many dishes that I’d never made before children – cheese sauce, muesli bars, pasta bake, sausage casserole (!) etc etc etc.

And there are so many ingredients that I wouldn’t have bothered with either. In the past, my curries would have been made with spice pastes and a million added extras, but these days they’re a milder affair to suit the very discriminating palate of Miss F. So I’ve gone back to curry powder. And so gorgeous it is in its cheery little tin. And so good at introducing a bit of flavour in a friendly way.

A good saucey serve of this curry on a fat bed of rice with a beguiling papadum and my kids are in heaven.

Some adults might secretly prefer this creamy mild flavor too, but those who crave a little more heat can add a big handful of fresh coriander and some chopped up fresh chilli on top of theirs.

Easy to make and delicious for everyone.

Mild (& creamy) chicken curry

1 tbsp olive oil
500g chicken thigh fillets, excess fat removed, cut into 4-5 pieces
1 onion, peeled, finely diced
1 carrot, peeled, diced
1 finger eggplant, diced (peeled if your kids hate the skin)
1-2 tsp curry powder (depending on your kids)
400ml lite coconut milk
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups pumpkin, peeled, diced
1 cup peas

Heat the oil in a large non-stick saucepan over medium/high heat. Add the chicken pieces and brown all over (takes 4-5 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the onion and cook, stirring for a couple of minutes before adding the carrot and eggplant. Stir regularly for 3-4 minutes until everything is starting to soften. Sprinkle over the curry powder. Stir until fragrant and everything is well coated.

Pour in the milk and stock. Add in the pumpkin and return the chicken (plus any juices) to the pot. Mix well, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover, add the peas and simmer another 5 minutes until the pumpkin is tender and the chicken is cooked through.

Serve with rice and papadums.

Serves 2 adults & 2 kids.

PS: I cook my papadums by spraying them with canola oil spray (optional) then chucking them in the microwave on HIGH. Watch them CLOSELY, they suddenly sprout and are done in a matter of seconds. – They’re not as delicious as traditional ones, but they’re quick and easy and an essential lure for getting the kids to happily tackle this curry.

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When good food styling turns bad

February 21, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Sweets & treats · Tagged cooking techniques, ideas, recipe, treats

I need to be careful with this post and word things very delicately indeed, just so that Google doesn’t relegate my entire site to the ‘smut’ category without realising that I am just reporting on a pretty average food styling day in the kitchen.

Things started out well enough – first round testing on some new recipes. Always a risky endeavor, the first go at a recipe is rarely perfect and often needs quite a bit of tweaking. Also rare is photographing a recipe at this stage, but for some reason on this occasion, I decided that I would. So the camera was all set.

Inspired by nut cake recipes, I’d decided on devising some little nut ‘puffs’ – cakes in patty pans. And with walnuts and other good ingredients, these are a treat with a bit of fibre and not too much sugar.

And the little things turned out quite well. Yummy straight out of the oven – quite bready and not too sweet. But deciding that they could be more ‘special’, I decided to ice them – something rarely done in my kitchen due to the hassle, the sugar factor and the impatience factor as both I and the kids are keen to get stuck in. Still, combining icing sugar mixture and lemon juice together is hardly a bother and away I went. Deciding on a ‘rustic’ finish to suit the look of the cakes, I splashed the gooey white stuff about. Standing back to examine my handiwork I could immediately see my error of judgment. Instead of ‘Donna Hay’ gorgeous rustic, my cakes look like soiled props from some nasty adult film. Bless those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about.

Hmmmmmmmmm

Dismayed, I decided that leaving them as is would only lead to much mirth from my best friend (and much humiliation for myself) – the only thing that could save them (and me) now was chocolate. So my healthy little nut cakes ended up with not one icing, but two! Still the kids were happy enough and I must say they tasted pretty good.

Dark chocolate and lemon icing nut puffs

Better.

But as with all recipes, a second go at them made the world of difference. A bit of mixed spice to jazz up the flavour and I’ve given the cum icing a miss – just some dark chocolate melts, melted and spooned over, then topped off with a pecan. Despite their soft-porn history I refuse to rename them, thus here are my dark chocolate nut puffs. Enjoy.

Take two – delicious.

Dark chocolate nut puffs

1 1/2 cups self raising flour
2/3 cup almond meal
2/3 cup chopped walnuts (or hazelnuts)
1/2 cup oatbran
1/4 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp baking powder
50g softened butter (if you’re not scared of fats, they’re even better with 75g)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg, lightly whisked
1 cup full fat milk
Pecans or almonds (optional)

Heat the oven to 180C. Grease 24 patty pans.

Sift the flour into a bowl then mix in the almond meal, walnuts, oatbran, spice and baking powder.

In another bowl, use a hand held mixer to cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the dry ingredients. Mix through the egg and milk. Divide between the pans and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and cooked through.

Eat warm with some sifted icing sugar sprinkled over the top, or top with melted dark chocolate and pecans or almonds.

Comments (2) »

What I would cook if Nigella was coming for dinner

February 15, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences · Tagged recipe, vegetables

Considering the amount of time I spend fishing crumbs off my chest, it’s probably no surprise that I’m a big fan of Nigella Lawson. Although I must say, the impact of me plucking pasta from betwixt my A-cups is somewhat anti-climactic after the last season of her TV show where she spent SO much time in dressing gowns, in bed or in pretty, busty party frocks while she hosted ‘supper’ parties.

What I love most about her, is that she is so hugely successful that she could easily turn to the director and say, ‘you know what, I don’t think I want to do the sausage in the open mouth shot’, and yet she doesn’t. With good humour she plays it up and laps it up – she MUST enjoy it, or she wouldn’t do it. I don’t care what her motivation is, I think she is fantastic TV entertainment. And bless the person who put together the nigella talks dirty video – it made me SNORT with laughter (although it does increase my phobia of ever being on TV).

Anyway, in the spirit of all things delectable, I’ve spent a bit of time contemplating what I’d pop on to cook should Nigella be on her way over for tea. My food is generally less stodgy than hers, which does tend to be a bit fresh veg-challenged from time to time. But mentally scanning through all of the TV food celebrities, she would have to be the only one that I would happily serve without intimidation – I think her best quality is how down-to-earth and practical her food is. Kudos to her and her lusty ways.

For the starter, I’m thinking the unctuous, silky goodess of this soup would appeal to her, don’t you?

vegie smugglers pumpkin and lentil soup recipe

Pumpkin, corn and lentil soup

Then I’d give her a food cuddle with these mini-chicken pies…

I'd also pop a few steamed vegies on the side

And of course I’d have to finish off with chocolate…

Chocolate & beetroot brownie

Do you think she’d like it? What would you cook for her?

Comments (3) »

Apparently, life is all about ‘gratitude’

February 12, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, News, Sweets & treats · Tagged family, fruit, ideas, parenting, recipe, treats

Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight...

Gratitude seems to be the latest Facebook catch cry. I’m seeing it everywhere. How to cultivate it, how to acknowledge it, how to savour it and turn your gratitude into an endless patience and love.

As it turns out, I can’t be cynical about any of this, since I totally agree. I am always SO grateful and SO appreciate of my blessings that I’m always waiting somehow for them to come tumbling down. As I guess they will one day, although I hope I’ll be so busy being grateful for the minutiae that I won’t notice the wider catastrophes befalling me.

A couple of years back, when I was unhappy in my job and trying to find the courage to publish a silly little book about sneaking vegetables into children, I did what many women do and looked everywhere for omens and signs that I was choosing the right path rather than foolishly tossing away a well paid part-time job. I remember doing a psych test online, to determine my suitability to life as an entrepreneur. It told me that I wasn’t suited at all, because my strongest trait was ‘gratitude’, which I guess means I’m good at touchy-feely stuff, but not good at being a self-determined, small-business fascist. And perhaps they were right. I still struggle with being too self-effacing and embarrassed when it comes to pushing my business ‘out there’. But I refuse to submit to the theory that gratitude and success aren’t compatible.

It’s the simplest thing that has had my mind focusing back on gratitude (and joy) – the star stamp from the picture up top. As a girl I would do the whole ‘star light, star bright’ rhyme and WISH for a set of teachers stamps. I wished this wish OFTEN, hoping somehow Santa would hear and sort me out. But he never did. So this year when I was buying the kid’s school supplies I saw this stamp and bought it. And I can’t tell you how ridiculously HAPPY it makes me EVERY time.

With typical adult rationality I had to come up with a purpose for the purchase. Now instead of writing ‘PAID’ on the top of my bills, I stamp them. Oh, the joy of a paid electricity bill! And boy! What a time saver ;).

So what’s your joy? Where’s your gratitude? I’d love to know. It can be amazing how the simple things in life truly are often the best.

There's no simpler joy than a perfect pikelet.

Fruit Pikelets

1 cup self-raising flour
1 tbsp caster sugar
150ml milk (soy drink works well)
1 egg, lightly whisked
¼ cup sultanas
¼ cup shredded coconut
¼ cup dried apple, finely diced
Margarine, butter or canola oil cooking spray, to grease
Icing sugar and jam,
to serve

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar.

Combine the milk and egg and pour into the dry ingredients, whisking to remove any lumps.

You should now have a nice smooth batter. Add more milk if it is too thick. Stir through the sultanas, coconut and apple.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over low heat. Grease with either margarine, butter or canola oil spray. Add tablespoonful dollops to the pan. Cook until bubbles start to appear, ease a spatula under then flip. Cook on the other side for a minute or so until golden brown.

Serve the pikelets with a dusting of icing sugar and jam, on their own, or with butter and jam.

MAKES 24

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The parenting F word – frustration

February 5, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, News, Vegetarian · Tagged dinner, family, parenting, pasta, recipe, vegetables, vegetarian

The new VSHQ. A spot for everyone, even the papertoy monsters.

Recently I spent two days up a ladder turning my spare little gimp room into a family office. I lovingly tended every square centimetre with 3 coats of white paint to turn the dark dump into a THING OF BEAUTY that the whole family could share. Each of us had a spot. A desk. A pencil holder. One of those cool, Smiggle 6-colour pens. We all belonged.

The result was so gorgeous that I was quite in love with myself. I wanted to just go into this room and lay on the floor and lick it. It was deliciously schmick and we all moved in.

One week later I discovered that Miss Fruitarian had decided to show Mr Meat & Potatoes the joy of splatter painting. In the new office. She had procured a toothbrush from god-knows-where, dug out her full palette of watercolours and GONE FOR IT on her desk. And since it is HER desk, she didn’t feel the need for any kind of time-wasting preparation materials such as protective newspaper.

I am of course, piecing events together in a CSI fashion, but it seems apparent to me that mid-way through her masterpiece she had second thoughts. So the ~~blood~~ paint trail changed from a fine spray to dollops across the carpet as she made a quick getaway to the back deck. And across the back deck, to the table, where the splatter-fest continued. But at some point, clean up was required, so the large water container was emptied over the railing. Which was possibly a good idea, except that below at that point, was the path, so the now browny-green water was splattered over the railing, down the side of the house and all over the stone pathway.

Now I wouldn’t have discovered this so soon if we hadn’t decided to eat outside that night. Which of course we had to do because all of the dining table chairs were being used to hold up the lounge room cubby, which was full of every single stuffed toy from the two bedrooms upstairs. Plus most of the plastics from my kitchen. Apparently the toys were whipping up dinner.

And did I mention that later that same day, Miss F went on to ‘create’ a kangaroo made from tissues, wading and reused bits of fluff from her end-of-year ‘Cats’ dance costume? Again, in the newly refurbished office.

By the end of the day I was ready to kill. My best friend and I did paper, scissors, rock to work out who got the enviable task of dishes and cleaning the entire kitchen and who was going to be in charge of getting the kids washed, teeth brushed and into bed. I won and spent a delightfully quiet half hour cleaning up all of the breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes….ahhhhhh bliss…

Did you read the Huffington post article about parenting recently? Summed it up nicely, the dichotomy between overwhelming parental love and the tedium and hell of the every day. There is SO much work and slavery and boredom in being a mum that it really does grind you down. I can totally see how various pressure points compete and healthy food gets shoved further down the list in favour of sleep, silence and compliance.

The trick is though, to realise when food is actually the answer to the other problem areas as well. Well fed children, full of nutrients tend to behave better. They have full tummies, steady sugar levels and enough (but not too much) energy. They will play without crashing but sleep well at night. They get sick less often too. So perhaps it’s the times when you’re in your parenting lows that you need to stop, focus and rethink things, find the motivation to take on the food battles and get some healthy food into your little lovelies and see what difference it makes.

But trust me, they still make mess, regardless. It appears no amount of vitamins can stop that – sorry.

Here’s a nutritious dinner that is quick to cook and sneaks in heaps of vegies – even cannellini beans.

Get through to the end of the day, no worries.

Quick pasta bake

250g pasta (shell or penne is good)
1 cup broccoli florets
400g can chopped tomatoes
400ml bottle tomato pasta sauce
400g can cannellini beans, rinsed, drained
½ red capsicum, seeded, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled, grated
125g can corn kernels, drained
Handful of basil or parsley, finely chopped
2 cups grated cheese (cheddar/mozzarella mix is good)

Preheat oven to 200°C. Cook the pasta according to packet directions. Drain and set aside.

Place the broccoli in a microwave-proof dish with a drizzle of water, cover and zap on high for 1 minute or until just tender. Feel free to blitz the broccoli with a stick blender if your kids will pick out bits.

In a large bowl, mix together the pasta and all of the vegies, sauce, beans and herbs. Season with black pepper to taste. Mix through half the cheese. Spoon the pasta mixture into an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20–25 minutes or until golden.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 3 KIDS
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You might also like to try….
Baked tuna and tomato rice
Lulu’s favourite Tuna pasta bake

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Because I’m a sucker for advertising, let’s all eat lamb this Australia Day

January 25, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, News, Red meat · Tagged celebrations, feeding the family, lamb, recipe, vegetables

Well yes, I DO swat my blow-flys with this, actually.

Perhaps I’m an overly simple person, but I never mind advertising when it’s funny. And I think the ongoing Sam Kekovich campaign has been consistently good. Although I suspect this year might be jumping the shark – there’s really no justifiable reason to resurrect Barbie Girl (or Melissa Tkautz) under any circumstance. Having said that though, I will admit that the video is pretty good fun. The whole campaign has been amazingly successful over the years at making our national day and lamb synonymous. Well done advertising gurus.

So here’s my lamb contribution – a lamb sausage roll, which is two, top aussie concepts all rolled up into one gorgeous fabulous pastry covered piece of yum. And it sneaks a whole bunch of hidden healthy vegetables into the kids, too.

Happy Australia day to all of you top Aussies out there.

A sausage roll that Sam Kekovich would approve of.

Lamb sausage rolls

3 sheets frozen puff pastry
1 egg, whisked, for sticking and glazing
Sesame seeds

Filling
500g lamb mince
1 red onion, very
finely diced
2 tbsp pine nuts
1 carrots, peeled, grated
¼ red capsicum, seeded, finely diced
1 cup English spinach, shredded
¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp sumac
1 tsp ground cumin
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
¼ cup dried breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Separate out your puff pastry sheets. Score down the middle with a knife and snap into two long rectangles. Leave to thaw.

In a large bowl, combine all the filling ingredients. Use your hands to mix it all well.

Divide the mixture evenly between the six rectangles of pastry (roll the mix into sausage shapes to keep it firm). Roll one edge of the pastry over the mixture. Brush the other side with the egg, pull it over the top and press down to seal. Place on the tray, with the join at the bottom.

Brush the tops with egg, sprinkle over the sesame seeds and bake for 25 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Cut into thirds and serve with salad.

MAKES 18

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Other lamb recipes…
Lamb & feta meatballs
Lamb & bean rissoles
Shepherd’s pie
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Controversy and packing a (lunchbox) punch

January 19, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, News, Sweets & treats · Tagged brunch, feeding the family, fruit, lunchbox, recipe, treats

Awwwww. Mr Meat & Potatoes shows off the new shoes.

I’ve got a small case of writers block. It’s two weeks since my last ~~confession~~ post and I’ve got a new lunchbox planner to bang on about and yet… the words don’t want to come.

So I’m digging through my emergency ideas arsenal. It’s full of word combinations that are guaranteed to at least get you all started, even if I stay relatively quiet. Usually the phrase ‘fat kids’ gets the juices flowing. As does ‘cling wrap’ and yesterday on facebook I discovered that using both ‘wiggles’ and ‘creepy’ in a sentence together gets quite a big response.

Similarly the phrase ‘healthy lunchbox’ is enough to glaze over the eyes of even the keenest adults, which is why I’m going to launch the new planner with words like ‘variety’, ‘tasty”, ‘easy recipes’, and ‘seasonal yumminess’… And with that, I declare the Term 1 planner launched (cue champagne smash).

Keeping with tradition, here’s a free preview recipe. Previously you’ve enjoyed a beetroot sandwich spread and the cheese puffs (still my favourite all time recipe) so today I’m going sweet, with these carrot, muesli and banana muffins. Fulfilling all of the criteria for a good planner recipe, they’re seasonal, quick to make, store well, freeze well and the kids will happily eat them.

In case you’re not familiar with them, the e-book planners have a weekly recipe and menu plan to keep you inspired throughout the term. Other recipes include corn relish, classic corned beef, a pesto pasta salad and chocolate chip biscuits and all for just $4.95. You can view some pages on my sample page or just click here to buy one now.

My kids will hoover this, will yours?

Carrot & muesli muffins

1 1⁄2 cups self-raising flour
1⁄4 cup brown sugar
1 carrot, grated
1 cup muesli
1⁄4 cup grapeseed oil
1 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 overripe banana, mashed

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease/line a 12-hole muffin tray.

Sift flour into a large bowl. Mix in the sugar, carrot and muesli.

In another bowl, whisk together the oil, milk, egg and banana. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until just combined.

Divide out into muffin tray. Bake for 25 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean.

MAKES 12.

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Turning fruit-bowl slop into dessert-bowl mmmmmmm

January 4, 2012 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, Sweets & treats · Tagged breakfast, brunch, celebrations, feeding the family, fruit, recipe

A few bit of fruit that have seen better days....

How was your Christmas, did you overindulge? I did. There’s just so much to tempt me, so much that’s ‘special’ and delicious to eat. In fact the days are barely long enough to fit in all of the eating. There are the breakfasts, brunches, lunches, afternoon teas, early drinkies, dinner, dessert and supper. It’s hardcore, trying to find the time to sleep when you’re so busy shoving good tasting stuff down your gob all day.

Anyway, needless to say, I’m feeling a little worse for wear now. I made the mistake of looking in the mirror. In profile my tummy is sticking out further than my boobs, which is a BAD SIGN. So I’m thinking detox and healthier foods. But to be honest, I suffer a bit of emotional trauma if I go from feast to famine too quickly. Far better for me to ease out of the festivities slowly.

Which is perhaps why I found myself in the kitchen this morning dreaming of fruit compotes. They’re perfect; the right mix of fruit freshness with a naughty sweet treat edge. And justifiable at this time of year, when stone fruit is so abundant. I do that thing in the supermarket where I just buy four peaches and four nectarines and four plums and four apricots (for my family of four). But of course I get home and they’re all too hard to eat. And the next day we check eagerly and find them still like rocks. And the next. Finally we forget about them, and after a particularly hot day I find myself with an expensive fruit bowl soup of wrinkly skins and too-soft bits that are starting to mold together.

So really with this dish, I’m not avoiding detox, I’m just being a frugal homemaker, ensuring that I just don’t waste anything. Of course, I wouldn’t serve this on icecream (noooooo, never), just a bowl of vanilla yoghurt is a better choice.

vegie smugglers peach and apricot compote

And abracadabra! Fruit divinity awaits you.

Peach & Apricot compote

2 peaches
3 apricots
¼ cup brown sugar
Juice of 1 orange
8cm lemon peeling
1 cinnamon stick

Cut a cross into the bottoms of the fruit. Pop in a heatproof bowl and pour boiling water over the top. After a minute or so, remove them and peel off the skins. Chop roughly (I like a non-uniform texture).

Place all of the ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. After 5 minutes or so, turn off the heat and leave everything to stew together for a bit.

Serve warm or cold over yoghurt, pancakes, French toast (or icecream). And if you have it, a little drizzle of lime juice on top makes this really zingy and delicious.

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Thank you (and an essential summer salad)

December 18, 2011 · Filed under All recipes, News, Vegetarian · Tagged feeding the family, recipe, vegetables

Well, what a year! Thanks to all of you who’ve tuned into my blog, to those who’ve taken the time to comment on posts and contribute to the (sometimes feisty) Facebook ‘discussions’. Thanks too, to those of you who’ve bought cookbooks and e-books over the past year. The growth of my micro-publishing business has been really exciting and I want you to all know how much I appreciate your support.

I really love doing what I’m doing and I hope that comes across to you. Most of all I really hope that the recipes and (often very silly) craft sheets have made parenting just a tiny bit easier for you this year. That’s always my primary aim. This parenting malarky is SO hard, and I love the thought that my recipes are helping you make healthier families and that the craft stuff is giving you the tools to find creative time with your kids.

But it’s tiring, isn’t it, this life thing! Along with blogging, my regular illustration work and odd days of magazine design freelancing, this year I’ve moved house, published a new book and my hubby has started a business (Temple & Webster – yes, I HAVE to keep flogging it, sorry). I’ve continued to pour SO much energy into my gorgeous little Miss Fruitarian and Mr Meat & Potatoes. For some strange reason, I had thought that by this age, caring for them would have become easier, but I realise now that the parenting never eases, just reshapes as their needs grow and change.

So from my family to yours, I wish you a really happy holiday season. I do hope you manage to find some time for stillness to reflect and enjoy your situations, and to find the gratitude and love that we are each blessed with.

As you can tell from my sentimental waffle, I’m losing it a bit! Time to take a blogging break. I’m aiming to be back in 3 weeks or so. I’ll still be popping by Facebook (I do love our stoushes on there!) and the shop is open throughout Summer.

And as my final gift for the year, here’s my take on the modern Australian classic noodle salad – my kids both LOVE this dish and I figure a few fatty noodles are ok when so much fresh, raw goodness is being inhaled. See you next year…

Simple & delicious & perfect for this summer.

Crispy noodle salad

1 cucumber
4 cups Chinese cabbage, finely shredded
1 carrot, peeled, grated
6 spring onions,
thinly sliced
100g packet crispy noodles

Sauce
¼ cup white vinegar
3 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp grapeseed oil
Drizzle of sesame oil

Halve your cucumber lengthwise, scoop the seeds out with a teaspoon and slice into half-moons. Place in a salad bowl. Mix in the cabbage, carrot, spring onion and noodles.

Place all the sauce ingredients in a bowl or glass jar and whisk or shake until well combined. Pour over the salad and stir through.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS