I have in my ‘possession’ a 3 year old vegetable rejecter. Lawrence is not a fan of anything green, unless it’s a lollipop. Then he will just about tolerate it, but would much prefer the red or range lolly variety. 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?
We are back from our first family holiday abroad and we survived it all. You see I’ve been rather phobic about taking the kids abroad until now so we’ve just holidayed in jolly old Suffolk and it was fabulous. Lots of fish and chips (and sssh… onion rings) on the beach and building sandcastles against the bracing wind. Me with a ski jacket on and blue fingers, Mr Bell in a T shirt looking well, manly in a sandy kind of way. Evenings were spent watching TV, drinking red wine, inhaling local cheese and reading trashy novels once the good telly wore out.
But we bit the bullet. We went to Ibiza for a week. Don’t laugh. Most of my friends found this vaguely amusing; the island of partying with two little tearaway tagalongs more interested in inflatable boats and digging for buried treasure. And it was fine… I managed to survive a holiday outside the UK with kids. We are okay despite a 2am wake up alarm to get us to the airport on time. We are okay despite my youngest son being very very blonde and slightly hating the sun. We are all fine and dandy even though we walked on the wild side and brushed our teeth in local water. And the best thing ever was that the kids ate everything. What a relief. They’re usually pretty adventurous but I have heard horror stories from friends about culinary adventurers turning into screaming neophobes once they set foot on foreign soil.
Of course this was obvious to the rest of you. But not to me. Anyway, a quick recipe tonight as I need to search for a bargain last minute deal for August. Know anywhere good with a water slide?
This recipe was posted on my facebook page in note form after a few people took an interest in the picture of it. Here it is properly.
One year ago: Choc dipped ice-cream cones and Sweetie covered ice-cream wafers and Razzamatazz ribs and Thoroughly British banana and custard cupcakes
Two years ago: Banana and custard melts and Thomas fairy cakes
Leek, asparagus and courgette risotto
Ingredients:
– 1 onion, chopped finely
– 1 tbsp butter
– 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
– 1 chicken/veg stock cube
– 150g risotto rice
– 500mls boiling water
– 1 leek, chopped and rinsed if grainy
– 1 chopped courgette
– 6 asparagus spears, chopped into 6 pieces each
– Black pepper to taste
– Grated cheese to taste
Fry the onion in 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp rapeseed oil in a large saucepan. Fry on a low heat until very soft then crumble the stock cube over the top and fry off. Add the risotto rice and fry for 1 more minute. Then add boiling water in 50ml dribbles at a time and stir until 400mls are absorbed. When this water has been absorbed and the rice is swelling and looking creamy, add the leek, chopped courgette and the asparagus. Stir in and add the remaining 100mls of hot water a bit at a time – keep checking the rice for bite. It should have a little bite but also creaminess to the risotto. Season with black pepper and stir through a handful of grated cheese. Eat whilst browsing the internet for sunny holidays.
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.
I left London 5 years ago and still I find it hard to go back. Like seeing an old flame who still slightly tugs at your heart strings, when I visit it hurts a bit. It was my choice to leave, but the love affair wasn’t really over when I did. I still need closure. Maybe we need to have a big argument?
Worst of all I feel like an imposter. I am slower and fatter now, my clothes are from big out of town supermarkets and my internal London A to Z is sketchy through the mists of time. I still stand on the right, but I don’t run up the escalator stairs in an inpatient rush to save time and get fit. I was the poster girl for Busy.
One habit I have lost since the big move Up North is scanning every food item before I throw it in my basket. (Basket? Who am I trying to kid? It’s trolley world up here with two small boys who hoover up a packet of cereal a week between them.) I used to religiously check for fat content, calories and carbs; I’m not sure what eating plan I thought I was following. The paranoid one perhaps? Here is a delicious dish that would have suited me right down to my busy London ground when I lived there, for it is ready in 20 minutes flat. I would never have eaten it though, too many carbs, too much butter, probably too many calories…
One year ago: Obviously good flapjack and Joyful banana, butterscotch and fig traybake
Two years ago: Light and sweet carrot cake and Rhubarb and ginger chutney
Lemony salmon, courgette and pea pasta
Enough for 2 or just increase pasta and veggie content to make enough for 4
Ingredients:
Right, before anyone forgets their manners and comments on this post that they need exact quantities and this is a waste of time of a recipe, my advice is… live a little on the wild side and use your hands to measure things. It’s liberating. Plus this was an experimental supper that went very well so I didn’t weigh stuff out. Sometimes I like to live my cooking life by the seat of my pants.
Call this Holly’s 2o minute meal pasta if you like… time yourself, it’s easy and moreish. Boil the kettle then pop the pasta on to boil in a large pan of just boiled water with a pinch of salt. Meanwhile melt the butter in a frying pan and add the courgette, peas and the zest and juice of the lemon. Fry on a lowish heat until the courgettes have sucked up all that buttery lemony goodness and the peas look soft and cooked through. About 5 minutes. Then add the salmon, stir and take off the heat. When the pasta has boiled drain it and throw into the frying pan of lemony goodness. Then stir well to coat the pasta and to let the residual heat cook through the smoked salmon. Pop in serving dishes, add the parmesan and black pepper and enjoy. DON’T think about the carbs or the butter. This way madness lies.
Holly Bell 