For us half term is almost over. There have been sleepovers at Nanny and Baa Baa’s, Lego bought, tantrums had and of course, pizza eaten. And so I find myself craving on behalf of my kids, green and good things. READ MORE
It’s Lawrence here again (17 months old now, and yes ‘it seems like only yesterday I was a baby’, but actually it was over a year ago; you adults come out with some crazily factually incorrect stuff). You may have seen my last takeover of Mummy’s blog, anyway, I’m back. She’s busy on her phone pretending to work when really I know she’s on facebook, looking up people she used to know but didn’t like well enough to stay proper friends with. Mothers are funny like that. If I don’t like someone I just throw a plastic brick at them. Or bite them. I like to be clear. READ MORE
I had dinner with a friend recently. She’s my Very Amusing Mum Pal. A VAMP if you will. We got to talking about our sons’ behaviour when eating out. Now the reason I love my VAMP is that she always says the things I want to. Not in an annoying ‘Oh I’m just one of those people who speaks my mind’ way, (which is just a euphemism for ‘I am really rude and have no filter’). Oh no, she says it like it is in a funny, observational fashion. In another life she’s have been a stand up comedian. As it is, her sons are just growing up with unrealistic expectations of how funny Mums are. Their future wives have their work cut out.
Anyway, I digress. Her observation was this, ‘Every time another parent comments in a slightly patronising manner that we’re just soooo lucky we can take the boys out for lunch and have a conversation with them and not rely on ipads/phones with apps/Nintendos/other Apple products, I want to shake them by the shoulders and shout WE SPENT YEARS SOCIALISING THESE CHILDREN. THEY DIDN’T COME LIKE THIS YOU KNOW – ABLE TO SIT AND COLOUR IN A HIPPO WHILST WE SHARE GARLIC BREAD. WE HAVE PUT IN HOURS AND HOURS OF HARD LABOUR. SNIPING AT THEM, TELLING THEM OFF IN HUSHED TONES, EATING AT GREAT SPEED IN ORDER TO LEAVE BEFORE A TANTRUM EVOLVES. THEY DON’T JUST COME LIKE THIS. WE JUST DIDN’T TAKE THE EASY WAY OUT.’
Can you see why I love her now? She’s always right about everything. But in an amusing way.
Onto the recipe! These fritters are great gobbled up as they are or with an array of dips. Or with some baked ham and eggs. Babies rather like them, though be careful how many they eat as halloumi is rather salty. Basically, they’re the most versatile fritter in the world. (Alert: over claim). And do feel free to substitute ingredients – like the jam or the cumin or even the veg. Halloumi is well worth getting hold of though as it’s a cheese that loves a frying pan.
Lots of recipes like this in my book, Recipes from a Normal Mum, out now… on Amazon, at Waterstones, WHSmith, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets.
Last January: Lemon & blueberry loaf, my Bake Off Cherry Bakewell inspired cupcakes, plus Sesame bread sticks
Two years ago: Love cupcakes, White chocolate, lemon and macadamia cake and a perfect wintery Roasted celeriac, carrot and parsnip soup.
Three years ago: Bake me not chocolate cake, Jelly and ice-cream meringue roulade, Good flapjack and Banana, butterscotch and fig traybake.
Four years ago: Treasure hunt ice-cream, Rhubarb and ginger chutney and Carrot cake.
Halloumi, courgette and carrot fritters
Makes about 16 though depends on how large you make them
Ingredients:
Grate the courgettes and leave them in a bowl for 10 minutes. In the meantime grate the carrot and the cheese and mix together in a bowl. Squeeze the grated courgettes over the sink to release as much excess water as you can, then stir into the other grated ingredients. Add the cumin, flour and baking powder and stir until the grated ingredients are thoroughly covered.
In a jug, mix together the jam (this is optional, please leave out if you prefer but it does lift the cheese a little), milk and eggs using a fork. Beat for a minute then pour over the grated ingredients and mix to combine thoroughly.
Heat the oil in a non stick frying pan over a medium heat and drop heaped tablespoons of the mixture into the hot oil about 3cm apart. I managed 3 fritters in my pan – any more and it would have been overcrowded and the fritters may have steamed each other rather than fried to create crispy edges. After a minute or so use a slice to lift the fritter and check it has crisped and browned on one side. If it has flip it and fry the other side. If it hasn’t then carry on frying it. Once crisp on both sides remove to a plate and carry on frying batches until all the mixture is used up. You may need a little more oil.
Notes:
You can keep these fritters warm in the oven as you wait for the rest to fry. Just put it on a low heat. You can also reheat these fritters from cold (keep them in the fridge if you can’t eat them all) in the oven or the microwave, though they do have a little less of the ‘crisp’ to them. They also freeze well, in between sheets of non stick baking parchment. You can bake them from frozen or indeed let them defrost overnight in the fridge and bake from chilled.
I have lost count of the amount of times I’ve heard intelligent, caring, perfectly competent parents state that they just can’t bring themselves to let their kids help in the kitchen due to the mess, time, possible wastage, etc.
Well I’m afraid I can’t smile sweetly anymore. (Maybe it’s the pregnancy hormones?) Sorry to be blunt, but how on earth do these folks expect their sons/daughters to fend for themselves upon leaving home without such a basic skill? You wouldn’t send them out into the world without other essential skills, like say, breathing, so why is it a badge of honour to proclaim your anal retentiveness is a barrier to allowing the kids to learn another basic life skill?
This isn’t just about preparing kids to fend for themselves. If it were, we’d just teach children 10 basic, super healthy dishes and be done with it. This is about expanding tastes, helping fussy eaters embrace food (for what a little one prepares them seem to be so much more likely to eat) and simply wallowing in the joy that is Good Food.
I do get it, I know they like to spread ingredients about. I know they tend to suggest adding more of pretty much everything, especially when they’re 3, because let’s face it, more is more when barely out of nappies. I know they often suggest odd combinations with such a look of expectation and wonder that it’s hard to say no to cocoa scrambled eggs. There is a way around all this though.
For me it’s about age appropriate helping. When the boys were under two they mostly put the vegetables on the chopping board, we talked about colours, textures and they always had their own spoon, a little bowl and two tablespoons of flour with some form of spice to mix up. They didn’t actually contribute very much to the process of cooking dinner, but they thought they did, and that’s what matters.
They moved on to cracking eggs (and yes, we did sometimes find a bit of shell in our food but hey ho, I’ve eaten worse), stirring, peeling, cutting, layering, marinading – pretty much anything that doesn’t involve heat at the moment. They are interested in food, they like choosing fruit and vegetables at the shops, they especially enjoy making salad dressing potions and washing up, (at the moment), is similarly exciting.
Here are my tips for happy kids and parents in the kitchen and a gratuitous shot of my sons in their new Organix #NoJunk aprons.
Kids do love making fairy cakes and biscuits, granted, but watching their joy at feeding the whole family an evening meal that’s lingered over, discussed and praised is a joy to behold. These little fritters are a great recipe that can be meddled with, whatever your age and are perfect as a snack or starter. Don’t like or have courgettes? Use onion, squash, parsnip, aubergine of whatever takes your fancy instead. Similarly these can be spiced up with chilli, cumin, chives, coriander or whatever else you have in your cupboard.
NB: Photography by Minal Photography.
One year ago: Lemon animal biscuits and Oatmeal & fudge cookies and 5 ways with the humble Victoria sponge
Two years ago: Octonauts cupcakes and Walnut, fudge and fleur de sel biscuits
Three years ago: Mutter paneer and Hot cross biscotti
Ingredients:
Makes 7 – 8
Stir the flour, baking powder, egg, milk, black pepper and garlic to a thick paste. Add the carrot, courgette and cheddar, stir well and set aside for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile heat the oil in a large frying pan on a low heat. Transfer a heaped tablespoon of the mixture into the pan, then repeat until you have four spoonfuls gently frying, well spaced.
After 2 minutes use a slice to flip and fry each fritter on the other side for 2 more minutes. (You can squash the fritters gently to speed the process up at this point.) Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen roll, then repeat with the rest of the mixture. Serve warm as finger food with or without dips.
NB: These keep in the fridge for 3 days, well wrapped. Re-heat in a preheated oven at 180C/gas mark 4 for 5 minutes before serving. If you fancy making these for breakfast weigh out the flour and baking powder in one bowl and the grated ingredients in another (refrigerated) the night before. Then you’re only 10 minutes away from these moreish little morsels.
NB: This was written in support of Organix #NoJunk challenge. Why don’t you sign up and share your #NoJunk recipes?
Always having something to say is a much underrated quality. Pregnant silences embarrass me, I’ve always felt the need to fill air time.
Years ago I had a stonker of a first date with a man who went on to become my boyfriend. I couldn’t work out what it was about the date that was going so well, apart from 3 large bucket type glasses of red, until just before the end when said datee declared that he always made sure he had 3 subjects prepared before a date. They needed to be non controversial, but interesting enough to engage another human being in conversation. Hence he never endured an awkward silence when looking for a girl to love.
It’s a really good job I’m not dating these days. I only have a few pet subjects and they’re almost all yawn inducing. I’m good at chatting about cake. I’m pretty good with baby/child anecdotes. Oh and I can dramatise my birth stories to fit the audience in an appropriate way. For first time Mums I play down the pain and drama, for those who have been there and have the scars to prove it I ham it up. I can verge on comedic.
Outside of these subjects, I’m done for. So, did I ever tell you my tale about a carrot and almond cake?
One year ago: Lemon animal biscuits and Oatmeal & fudge cookies and 5 ways with the humble Victoria sponge
Two years ago: Octonauts cupcakes and Walnut, fudge and fleur de sel biscuits
Three years ago: Mutter paneer and Hot cross biscotti
Carrot & almond layer cake
Makes 1 very large three layered cake
Ingredients:
For the cake:
For the icing:
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4 and grease and line 3 x 20cm cake tins. Beat the brown sugar and oil together until well combined, then add the eggs and mix well. Add the carrot, raisins, almonds and orange blossom water and stir. Stir in the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and nutmeg until completely combined and split evenly between the 3 tins. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the cakes are well risen, golden and a skewer comes out of the centre of the cake clean. Cool on a wire rack until completely cool.
Make the icing by beating the 80g soft butter with the icing sugar until very light and airy looking, like mousse flecked with air. This takes about 7 minutes in a stand mixer, longer with a handheld or wooden spoon. Then add the tinned caramel, it’s available in large supermarkets, or you could make your own. Mix well and then spread a third onto each cake and then layer together. Use the icing pens to draw a pretty pattern on the top then serve.
After ‘how do you ice the perfect cupcake?’ the next most popular question I get asked is ‘how do you stay so slim?’ which always makes me laugh as I am no skinny girl at all. I’m a very curvy size 14 in fact. I love food and hate having to restrict myself but every so often when I’ve been reaching for the biscuit tin that little too often or finishing off the boys tea before eating my own (such a bad habit.) I spend some time watching what I eat. I measure oil rather than flamboyantly drizzling it in the pan, I bake rather than fry and I try not to have that glass of wine when offered. This recipe is one that’s very useful to have up your sleeve for when the jeans feel a little too tight but you don’t want to compromise on flavour.
Comments gratefully received. And there’s a video too!
One year ago: Octonauts cupcakes and Walnut, fudge and Fleur de Sel cookies
Two years ago: Mutter paneer and Hot cross biscotti
Healthier fish & chips
Ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 200ºC, 180ºC fan, gas 6. Pour the oil into a large roasting tray and place in the oven for 5 minutes to heat. Carefully place the carrots and parsnips into the hot roasting tray with the crushed garlic, and mix together with a spoon until all are coated. Cook for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix together the parsley and breadcrumbs. Then place the flour, egg, and the breadcrumb mix in separate dishes. Firstly dip the fish fillets in the flour, then the egg and finally the breadcrumb mix. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Place the breaded fish fillets on the tray.
Remove the carrots and parsnips from the oven, turn with a spatula, then place the courgette batons on top. Return the vegetables to the oven with tray of fish, and cook together for 20 minutes. The veg and fish will be ready at the same time. Serve the fish fillets with roasted vegetable chips and tartare sauce.
Look, I know there is nothing but nothing more boring than women talking about their weight. Brace yourselves.
I’ve done it again. I’ve overdone it. I’ve been eating whatever I like, as if I’m one of those people blessed with a high metabolism. Nothing fits. Woe is me. The only person who can sort it out is my mouth, by keeping it more shut than open. I’ve taken to quizzing skinny friends as to their secrets. I even quizzed one friend as we got into the back of a cab after a particularly calorific night out including steak and twice cooked chips drenched in salt. There may have been some Prosecco involved too. And gin.
The friend in question doesn’t eat breakfast but does eat pretty healthily and not in sparrow like servings. She’s veggie too. Is this the secret? I have another thin friend who lives abroad who swears by steamed veg covered in veggie gravy and one square of dark chocolate a day. The trouble with me is I’ve never been able to stop at one square. I’m an all or nothing kind of a person.
So here is a soup that is going to be part of my campaign to get back into my jeans. I don’t know that it’s slimming. But carrots and lentils can’t be what leads to a gastric bypass. Can they?
Comments, as always, welcomed. Especially from thin people with The Secret.
One year ago: Baileys chocolate fridge cake truffles and Experimental banana loaf
Two years ago: Cherry, white choc and apricot biscuits and Reeses’ inspired chocolate and peanut tart andSesame, quinoa and carrot salad
Carrot and lentil soup
This is easy. Heat the oil in a very large saucepan. Fry the cumin seeds in the oil for about 30 seconds, they should be sizzling and pop a little. Then add the grated carrots and let them fry a little too. After 5 minutes or so add the veggie stock and the harissa and bring to the boil. Add the red lentils and let them simmer away in the soup for about 30 minutes. Use a blender or stick blender to whizz up to a smooth consistency and then serve with something wholesome like wholemeal pitta toasted and stuffed with houmous. Or wholemeal tortilla brushed with garlic butter and toasted. Hang on, butter wasn’t a part of this campaign. Sorry.
Fresh coriander is very nice on the top of the soup too.
Holly Bell 