Posts tagged vegies

How to avoid the sneering barista

August 12, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, Vegetarian · Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Where will you be this Sunday, will you be tucked up at home, savouring your children and some home-cooked treats, or will you be valiantly going forth and trying to deny that your ‘parent’ status has impacted on your café lifestyle?

Ah the joys of brunching out with children.

It goes something like this; stressful car trip, struggle to find a parking spot. Carry offspring to avoid stroller jam. Outdoor table so that tantrums blend into the traffic noise. Wedge kids into hard edged chairs. Mr Meat & Potatoes headbutts table (first of 7 times) and wails. Look around café and see it is half packed with family scenes just like yours and half packed with childless folk, who are hating us.

An unimpressed waitress finally appears to take order just as Miss Fruitarian screams “I WANT SMOKED SALMON”. Smile apologetically – you have no idea how your child learnt how to be so pretentious. Order raisin toast.

The service is slow, so the kids have played maracas with all the sugar sachets, sucked them, busted a few and put them back in the container before the food finally arrives. Inevitably the wee arrives then too.

Drag sugar covered-sticky child to the grotty bathroom. Child assures you “don’t worry, mummy, it’s just a little bit wet”. Fish out spare undies from bag (which also stocks baby-wipes, nappy bags, spare cars, books, crayons, notepads, water bottles and sultanas). Child then decides they actually need to poo. Settle in; try not to touch surfaces. Wait. Finally done. Dress, wash hands, back to find food is cold. Other child being restrained by partner who is grimacing but assures you they’re having a great time.

Eat cold food as partner goes straight to counter to pay – you don’t have time to wait for hungover waitress to get your bill. Back to car. Strap in. Drive home only to realise you left blankie behind.

Next time, do everyone a favour and just stay home. Make these healthy hashbrowns and avoid all those (other) wretched children.

Oven-baked, healthy hashbrowns.

Save yourself on Sunday mornings with home-made hashbrowns.

Oven-baked hash browns

The combination of onion and parsnip is absolutely delicious in this dish. Microwaving the whole vegies first speeds up the cooking time and gives a nice creamy texture.

1 potato
1 swede
1 sweet potato
1 parsnip
1 onion, peeled, grated
1 tsp parsley or chives, finely diced
Salt & black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for cooking

Preheat oven to 200C. Line a large oven tray with baking paper.

Soften the vegies individually by cooking them whole in the microwave. Try 3 minutes on high for the potato, 2 minutes for the swede, 2 minutes for the sweet potato and 1 minute for the parsnip. Allow to cool slightly. Peel off the skins and grate the soft insides. Transfer to a mixing bowl, mix through the onion, herbs, seasoning and olive oil. Use your hands to combine well.

Form thin patties. Place on the oven tray, drizzle with oil and cook for 25 minutes, turning once during cooking.

MAKES 8

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Try, try and very trying

August 9, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Fish, News, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Apparently repetition works really well with children. Perhaps that’s the reason why I have to stand there and say “put your shoes on” multiple times – and with increasing volume – every single time we need to get ready to leave the house. But does repetition really work with food? We are told, often, to offer the kids an ingredient 6-10 times and eventually they will try it.

You can read all about food repetition at the ABC online, Better Health VIC,  Westmead Hospital, School Canteens, Sixty second parent, Jackie French, PGR network, Australian bananas, Yoplait and Bubhub.

Zzzzzzzzzz. Sorry! Still with me? Yep, that’s right. 10 examples of people telling you how long to persevere in your quest to get the children eating their greens. Are they for real? Who, in their right minds, is masochistic enough to suffer the cruelties of dinner refusal 10 times?

When I hear “I don’t like it” for the first time, I will deal with it in an understanding way. I will revisit the recipe and adjust it in a way I think will be preferred the next time I cook it. The second time, I cross my fingers and if there is an outright refusal this time, then I’m done! Safe to say that that recipe will not get cooked again.

Try not to be too discouraged when this happens. While some recipes might not be right for your family, it doesn’t mean you have to skip an ingredient entirely. Switch to another recipe that smuggles the same target vegie and try that. Mushrooms might be rejected in a The best ever vegetarian lasagne but they might be devoured in Vegie slice.

I think the feed them 10 times advice is one of those myths like brushing your hair 100 times will make it shinier and using certain beauty products night and day for 3 months will make you more beautiful. NO ONE can keep up the commitment, so the myth is never really tested.

Anyhow, let’s save you all the trouble and just give you a recipe for this tuna pasta bake that gets devoured first time every time (and it cleverly disguises corn, zucchini and capsicum).

Tuna pasta bake recipe hiding corn, zucchini, carrot and capsicum

Aim for a hole in one with this tuna pasta bake recipe


Lulu’s favourite tuna pasta bake

Don’t skip the step of infusing the milk – it’s the crucial taste factor.

1 small brown onion, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
10 black peppercorns
Small bunch herbs of your choice (parsley, thyme, rosemary)
3 cups milk
250g dried wholemeal pasta spirals
60g unsalted butter
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Splash of white wine (optional)
425g can tuna in springwater, drained
125g can corn kernels, drained
1 zucchini, grated
1 carrot, peeled, grated
½ red capsicum, deseeded, finely diced
1 cup grated cheese
2 tbsp breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 180C.

Combine the onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, herbs and milk in a saucepan. Bring to the boil. Remove from heat immediately and leave to cool.

Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling water according to packet directions. Drain and set aside.

Pour the infused milk through a sieve into a jug (discard onion and herbs).

In a saucepan (non-stick is good), melt the butter over low-medium heat. Add the flour and use a wooden spoon to stir for 1 minute until bubbling. Gradually add the infused milk and keep stirring the whole time to avoid lumps. Bring to the boil and thicken until the sauce sticks to the spoon (about the consistency of custard). Remove from the heat and mix in the mustard and wine (if using).

In a large bowl, mix the pasta, tuna and vegies together with the sauce. Spoon into a baking dish and top with the cheese and breadcrumbs.

Bake for 25 minutes until bubbling and golden. Serve topped with parsley sprigs.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 4 KIDS

FOR THE ADULTS Kids can eat this on its own but adults like a nice leaf salad and – if you’re not carb-phobic – crusty bread (and white wine).

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Potato détente

August 2, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, News, Vegetarian, Vegie smuggling techniques · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

At the risk of trivialising and being flippant about the Anzac legend and the atrocities of World War I, dinner time at my house does on occasion have me contemplating the war strategies faced by the German leaders of the time. Just as things calm down on one front, another opens up and just as the French are learning to sit still and eat their peas, the Russians start screaming “I don’t want anything mushy”.

What I’m clumsily saying is that the food and vegetable fight is fought on two battlefronts at my house. There’s the flavour battle, which is one I’m winning, thanks to my ever-growing stockpile of smuggling recipes. But then there’s the texture war. While Corporal Meat-and-Potatoes refuses mush or any soft food, Lieutenant Fruitarian fights anything too chewy or requiring too much utensil work and I struggle to find a happy balance.

Unlike the mums on the homefront in 1914, I do have a few mod cons working to my advantage, the freezer being a particularly useful one. Whilst I refuse to cook two dinners in one night, I do have to make textural concessions. I can get them eating the same piece of protein (ok, yes, perhaps it is just sausages), but potatoes for Mr Meat-and-Potatoes are best served chopped into chunks, tossed in oil and baked for 25 minutes and Miss Fruitarian gets a serve of this mash.

To avoid daily inconvenience, make a huge quantity of this recipe. Freeze large spoonfuls on oven trays and when solid, transfer to freezer bags for easy storage.

End the war with a stockpile of mash in the freezer.

Vegie Mash

1 carrot, peeled, diced
1 swede, peeled, diced
4 potatoes, peeled, diced
1 zucchini, grated (peel first if your child is scared of green bits)
1 cup grated cheese
¼ cup milk
Olive oil
Salt & black pepper

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the carrot and swede and boil for 5 minutes. Add the potato and boil for 10-15 minutes more. Use a fork to test that the vegies are cooked enough to mash easily. Drain.

Meanwhile, place the zucchini in a microwave-proof dish, cover and zap on high for 1 minute. Drain any excess water.

Mash the carrot, swede and potato for as long as you need to get the texture your kids will enjoy. Stir in the cheese and zucchini – the cheese should melt nicely. Add the milk and olive oil as needed to get a nice creamy texture. Season to taste.

On a good parenting day, serve this with fish fillets baked in lemon juice and herbs. On a bad day, add drained canned tuna. On a terrible day, serve with an enticing dollop of tomato sauce and peas.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 4 KIDS AS A SIDE DISH

FREEZING & DEFROSTING INSTRUCTIONS
Scoop separate portions onto an oven tray, cover with a large freezer bag and freeze for a couple of hours. Once frozen, snap them off the tray and store in a freezer bag back in the freezer. Squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible. Use within 1 month. Reheat in the microwave, stirring every minute until steaming hot.

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I could have eaten Kermit…

July 21, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Food experiences, Red meat · Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

G’day. I’ve been out in the bush. Super tops out there in the real Australia. Lots of drivin’, visitin’ stuff and good wholesome country fare…

Well actually the driving bit is true, about 1000 kms which in a country this size is nothing, but with two kids under 6 in the back it can be a challenge. I didn’t quite reach the stage of needing to place a wooden spoon on the dashboard, but it did get close. The travelling CDs I’d made worked quite well at keeping them entertained. I’ve been training the kid’s ears at the same time as I’ve been training their pallettes. They like everything from Steve Aoki to the Beach Boys. Although most of the time is spent clarifying song lyrics. “No mate, he’s actually singing ‘message in a bottle’, not ‘message in a bottom’ and, no, Johnny Cash walks the line, not a lion.

And visiting stuff, well lordy, did we what! We rode bikes at a zoo, saw model trains, visited massive adventure playgrounds and slipped into quite a few wineries for mummy and daddy’s sanity. And we spent a full day at a farm field day, learning about straw bale houses, composting, fencing systems and butchering entire animals. It was GREAT! Super-good fun for us city slickers.

But the good wholesome country fare… well, some good, some great, some bad. But SO much meat. Out and about it’s all meat with chips, or meat with potatoes, or meat with pastry. Obviously my little Mr Meat and Potatoes was pretty thrilled with the whole arrangement, but me? I would have killed for something green to munch on.

Perhaps getting roadside kiosks and bakeries to love lettuce is asking too much, but what about next time they whip up a meat and bread option, they try these little rissoles? Just so that we can sneak a few vitamins in while we’re devouring half a sheep.

Rissoles with yummy stuff smuggled inside!

Come home to these when you realise the grass isn\’t always greener.


Spicy lamb & bean rissoles

1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, diced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 cloves garlic, crushed
2 slices multigrain bread
400g can four bean mix, rinsed, drained
1 carrot, peeled, roughly chopped
500g lamb mince
1 egg
2 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying

To serve
Flatbread or burger buns
Cream cheese
Tomato chutney
Cucumber, sliced
Lettuce

Dig out the big food processor to make this recipe quick and easy.

Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes until softened. Add the cumin, coriander and garlic and fry another minute. Set aside.

Blitz the bread in the food processor into breadcrumbs. Remove and set aside.

Add the four bean mix and carrot to the food processor and whizz well. Add the onion mixture and lamb and blitz. Add the egg and breadcrumbs and blitz further until combined.

Use wet hands to form 5-6cm rissoles (warning – remove the processor blade before you handle the mixture!). Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook the rissoles for 4-5 minutes each side until cooked through.

Spread flatbread with cream cheese and chutney. Top with rissoles, cucumber and lettuce.

MAKES 16 RISSOLES

Toddler Recipes: What (and how) to feed fussy eaters

Advice on how to get your toddler eating a wide variety of vegetables with 26 clever recipes that smuggle the healthy ingredients in.

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What the kids eat in…. Japan (part 1)

July 9, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Ham/pork, What the kids eat in... · Tagged , , , , ,

Let’s trawl the recipes of the world to come up with some new ideas about how to get vegetables into our children. Known as “Japanese pizza”, the basic okonomiyake is a delicious cabbage pancake. It’s a great lunch option – healthier than a toasted ham sandwich and as quick to make.

Okonomiyaki recipe

Sneak cabbage and carrot in with this super-quick dish.



Okonomiyake

4 tbsp self-raising flour
3 tbsp water
1 egg
¼ cup diced ham (optional)
½ cup grated Chinese cabbage, finely shredded
¼ cup peeled, grated carrot
1 spring onion, finely sliced
Canola oil cooking spray

Mayonnaise, to serve
BBQ sauce, to serve

Put the flour in a bowl, add the water and stir well to remove any lumps. Add the egg and mix well. Stir in the ham (if using), cabbage, carrot and spring onion.

Heat a small non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray. Add the amount of mixture you want to get the pancake size you desire. Keep pancake 1cm-thick or less (otherwise it will be soggy in the middle).

Cook 3-4 minutes each side until golden. Place on a plate. Cover with a thin layer of mayonnaise and a swirl of BBQ sauce. Serve immediately.

SERVES 1 ADULT OR 2 KIDS

MAKE IT PRETTY by cooking the mixture in silicone egg rings which come in a variety of shapes.

This recipe is from my Kitchen Collection cookbook!

This recipe is from my Kitchen Collection cookbook!

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The best way to smuggle… spinach

June 29, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, The best way to smuggle..., Vegetarian · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

In just the same way that a vegie, is a veggie, is a vege – you can get chard, silverbeet and the true English spinach and they can generally be interchangeable in most recipes. All are in season during the winter months and contain huge amounts of vitamins C, K, iron and nearly every mineral known to man.

So which spinach to use? Generally any of them can be used in recipes (except for salads, where the light English or baby spinach leaves are best), they’ll just need different preparations.

Frozen spinach just needs to be thawed (the microwave works ok for this) and the excess moisture squeezed out. The thick leaves of fresh chard and silverbeet need to be dunked in boiling water for a minute or two then drained and chopped. English spinach can just be chopped and chucked in.

For this recipe, I like to buy a bunch of fresh silverbeet and do the blanching thing. It does add 10 minutes to your prep time, but gives a really fantastic flavour that the kids will love. If the green flecks are going to cause grief for you, use a blender and pulp the spinach and it will hide in the recipe more easily.

I find though, that the amount of cheese in this bechamel-free lasagne overcomes any vegetable obstacles.

The best-ever vegetarian lasagna

This meal hides spinach, carrot, mushrooms and broccoli and I'm not exaggerating when I say that it IS the best ever!

The best-ever vegetarian lasagne

Ingredients
Cooking spray

Tomato sauce
800g can chopped tomatoes
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ cup sliced black olives (optional)
2 cups finely diced vegies (try broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms and carrot)
2 tsp dried Italian herbs
Salt & black pepper

Spinach layer
250g grated mozzarella
300g cottage cheese
150g other cheese of your choice (crumbled feta, grated cheddar, grated parmesan)
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 egg, lightly whisked
1 bunch silverbeet, blanched and chopped or a frozen 200g box of spinach, thawed, with the excess liquid squeezed out

500g box instant lasagne sheets
Handful grated cheese, for topping

Preheat oven to 180C. Spray a 5-litre lasagne dish with cooking spray.
For the tomato sauce, place all the ingredients in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the initial crunch is taken out of the vegies and onion. Everything gets baked later, so avoid overcooking at this stage.

For the spinach layer, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Use your hands to get everything mixed through well.

Now you’re ready to begin layering. This is the order: enough tomato sauce to cover the bottom of the dish, then pasta (break sheets to cover entire layer), half the spinach, pasta, half the remaining tomato sauce, pasta, rest of the spinach, pasta, rest of the tomato sauce. Did you keep up?

Top with a little more grated cheese and bake for 45 minutes or until golden and YUM.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 4 KIDS

FREEZING & DEFROSTING
Wrap slices of lasagne in two layers of plastic wrap. Freeze on oven trays to maintain its shape and then transfer to freezer bags. Stores well for 3 months. Reheat by thawing in the fridge for 24-36 hours before microwaving until steaming hot throughout.

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Tired parents and stuffing vegetables into vuvuzela

June 21, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, News, Vegetarian · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

World cup fever has gripped the household and since we’re not sipping mint tea in Morocco or frappes in the Greek Isles, the hours are proving challenging. First game starts at 9.30pm and goes through till morning. Shame the kids aren’t joining in the fun, but keeping strictly to their sun-up to sun-down regime, Australian time.

Getting the right atmosphere for the fun though is proving much easier with it occurring to us that we have our very own vuvuzela here at home in the guise of a 3 year-old boy who manages to make incessant noise without the use of many words (except poo, poo-head and idiot). The noise starts up right from the tweet of the earliest birds. The occasional lull is just long enough for a sigh of relief before the blasting starts up once more all the way till bedtime.

Lucky he’s cute and lucky he’s funny. And looking on the bright side, we’ve got a little African souvenir without needing our passports.

Our parenting regime has slackened somewhat in our sleep-deprived state and dinnner-time has shifted to the rug in front of the TV. On the menu? These little bean and vegetable balls are fun to eat, get popped straight into the mouth and don’t make too much mess.

Vegie dots

Bring silence to the noisiest vuvuzela with this vegie dot recipe


Vegie dots

400g can four-bean mix, rinsed, drained
1 cup mashed potato or pumpkin (or a mix of the two)
1 carrot, peeled, grated
1 zucchini, grated
2 spring onions, finely diced
Sprinkle of garlic granules or 1 clove garlic, crushed
1 egg, lightly whisked
½ tsp dried Italian herbs (optional)
Salt & black pepper
Dry wholemeal breadcrumbs
Canola oil cooking spray

Preheat oven to 200C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.

Place the four-bean mix in a mixing bowl and mash using a fork or masher. Add all the remaining ingredients except for the breadcrumbs and cooking spray and mix thoroughly (hands work best for this job).

Roll bite-sized portions into balls, toss in the breadcrumbs until coated evenly and place on the baking tray.

Spray balls lightly with cooking spray and bake for 15 minutes. Remove tray, gently roll balls over, lightly spray again and return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes until golden.

Place a bowl of your desired dip in the centre of a plate (tzatziki, hummus or even tomato sauce), surround with the vegie dots, crudites, breadsticks and cheese.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS AS A SIDE DISH.

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Taste and nutrition the two most important cooking factors for ‘mom’

June 17, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, News, Red meat · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Deep in the internet’s bowels you can find statistics to back up just about any argument or theory. Babycenter.com has collected a bizarre range of survey results on a huge range of parenting subjects. Access them here. There’s facts about everything from brands of breast pumps to life insurance policies, but of course it’s the nutrition and food topics that pique my interest.

One survey asked 4000 moms to rate the importance of several factors when cooking for their families. The two most important factors were taste and nutrition. Yay! Congratulations to all of you mums who don’t want to compromise on flavour, even when faced with fussy feeders.

Another interesting result was that 51% of mothers were prepared to cook two dinners each night just to keep the peace. I understand how this situation evolves, but I just refuse to do it! I try to make all my recipes healthy and packed with vegetables, so we feel good about feeding them to the kids but with the addition of a couple of ingredients, the adults can enjoy a delicious meal too.

A good example is these lamb meatballs – the feta makes them very more-ish and they can be adapted to suit everyone. Plus, they cook in the oven, avoiding a big revolting mess, because cleaning up more than I have to is also something I refuse to do.

Lastly from the surveys, 39% of mothers find going online to be the most peaceful part of their day…

Lamb and feta meatballs

Don\’t cook two dinners, these lamb & feta meatballs will please everyone.

Lamb & feta meatballs with pasta salad

Both the cooked meatballs and salad can be kept in the fridge for up to two days

Meatballs
500g lamb mince
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 egg, whisked
2 tbsp chopped parsley, basil or oregano
100g feta, crumbled
1 carrot, peeled, grated
1 small zucchini, grated
Canola oil cooking spray

Pasta salad
200g wholemeal pasta spirals
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 vine tomato, finely diced (or ½ punnet cherry tomatoes, halved)
½ cup basil leaves, chopped (optional but recommended)

Preheat oven to 200C. Line a large oven tray with baking paper.

For the meatballs, combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Use your hands to mix well, then roll into bite-sized balls and place on an oven tray. Spray meatballs lightly with cooking spray and bake for 10 minutes. Use tongs to carefully turn over, spray with more cooking spray and bake for another 5-10 minutes until cooked through.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling water according to packet directions, then drain. While still warm, toss through the remaining ingredients.
Serve the pasta in bowls, topped with meatballs. Sprinkle with basil leaves.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

FOR THE ADULTS Add extra ingredients to the pasta salad. Try olives, chopped anchovies, spinach leaves, toasted pine nuts and dried chilli.

 

real-healthy-families

Like this recipe? Check out my cookbooks to find a bunch more meals that your family will love.

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The best way to smuggle… mushrooms (is with a bit of bacon)

June 9, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Ham/pork, The best way to smuggle... · Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

So you’ve got a bag of soggy things in the crisper that used to be mushrooms…and you’re keen to get them into the kids because you know that they’re full of anti-oxidants and minerals including selenium (which fights free radicals and is being studied for its anti-cancer properties), but strangely enough, the kids won’t have a bar of them raw or even fried in a tonne of butter. Hmmm, try this magic vegetable slice, which is actually a fantastic ruse to hide pretty much ANY vegie that is clogging up the fridge.

Vegetable slice

Mushrooms?? What mushrooms!!!

Vegetable slice

Canola oil cooking spray
250g bacon, diced
1½ cups diced mushrooms
4 spring onions, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 zucchini, chopped into chunks
1 carrot, peeled, chopped into chunks
½ cup deseeded, chopped red capsicum
Handful of green beans, sliced finely
½ cup self-raising flour
4 eggs, lightly whisked
1 cup grated cheese
Salt & black pepper

Preheat oven to 180C. Spray a lamington tray with cooking spray and line with baking paper.

Heat a small non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes until partly cooked. Add the spring onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for another minute. Don’t overcook the bacon (it bakes later). Place mixture in a large mixing bowl.

Use a stick blender to blitz the zucchini, carrot, capsicum and beans. As always, don’t blitz to a pulp. If you prefer, chop or grate to have control over the texture. Add to the bacon mixture.

Sift the flour over the top and mix through. Add the eggs and cheese and combine. Season. Pour mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until set and golden.

Cut into squares. This is delicious with salad and crusty bread.

SERVES 2 ADULTS & 2 KIDS

THE NEXT DAY Serve cold strips of this wrapped in flatbread. Add any leftover meat and extra salad ingredients. Secure the rolled-up wrap with foil.

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“This dinner is so bad, even Jesus wouldn’t eat it”

May 27, 2010 · Filed under All recipes, Fish · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Recently a friend’s facebook status included her daughter’s critique of her cooking. “Mum, this dinner is so bad even Jesus wouldn’t eat it”.

There’s nothing quite like the straightforward criticism of a child to discourage your valiant efforts at feeding the family. Being demoralised by preschoolers sucks.

My poor kids are subjected to a fair share of kitchen experiments. Usually it’s pretty obvious if a dish is a winner, but sometimes when things are being picked at in a ‘so-so’ way, I have to put myself out there and pry for truth in the name of research. Miss Fruitarian is now a big school girl and conscious of not hurting my feelings too much but without Jesus on her side her criticism is generally straightforward. Last week I’d made fishballs in a curry sauce. “What do you think of it?” I asked tentatively.
“Oh mum, you’ve done great. Great cooking!”.

Good girl, I’m thinking, but of course she wasn’t finished. “But I just don’t like the flavour of the red stuff or the feel of the lumpy things”. Scratch that one off the list then.

Try not to be discouraged when your kids reject stuff. It is entirely irksome to have to throw good food away. Try to be Zen about it and maintain optimism that you’re one meal closer to one they’ll love! Here’s a recipe that endured a couple of rejections, but this version was a total winner.

Even Jesus would love to munch on these

Even Jesus would love to munch on these


Tuna, rice & zucchini puffs

Canola oil cooking spray
250g packet microwaveable brown or white rice
4 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp finely chopped dill or basil
1 cup grated cheese
1 large (or 2 small) zucchini, grated
2 spring onions, finely sliced
Black pepper
185g can tuna in olive oil (drained)

Preheat oven to 180C. Spray a 12-hole muffin pan with cooking spray and line with paper cases.

Cook the rice according to packet directions, then set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. Add the remaining ingredients (including rice) and mix until combined. Divide evenly between the muffin cases and bake for 25 minutes until golden.

Serve immediately or reheat the next day, topped with chives.

MAKES 12

Comments (18) »

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