G is for Gingerbread Cookies

Bear and Bee love to visit the public library.  We try to go once a week and it's always fun to discover new books that are destined to become lasting favourites.  While Bear has certain characters and subject matter that she prefers, Bee loves to browse the display shelves to see what is available.  And I am always on the lookout for books that we might be able to get cooking ideas from.

Last week Bee and I were both happy to find 'Maisy Makes Gingerbread' by Lucy Cousins.  The book is written and illustrated in typical Maisy style with bright colours and one thing happening on each page.

Bee's favourite page of the book.

After reading about Maisy making gingerbread and sharing with her friends for afternoon tea, we decided to make some of our own gingerbread to have to afternoon tea.

Gingerbread Cookies
Adapted from a recipe in Fun Food by acp books
Makes about 20

Ingredients
125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk
2 cups plain flour
3 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup golden syrup

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
2. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl, with an electric mixer, until pale and creamy.
3. Add egg yolk and mix well.
4. Sift flour, ginger and baking powder and add to bowl.
5. Heat syrup in a microwave for 20 seconds on high to make it runny.
6. Add syrup to bowl and and mix well to form a soft dough.
7. Tip dough onto a floured surface and knead gently.  Add a little more flour if the dough is too soft and sticky.
8. Roll dough out until 0.5cm thick approx.

9. Cut out shapes using floured cookie cutters.

10. Arrange on prepared baking trays and place in freezer for 5 minutes.  This will help stop the cookie puffing up too much.
11. Bake trays of cookies in oven for 10 minutes.

12. Cool on trays for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

These squeezy bottles are great for kids to use for icing.

13. When cookies have cooled, decorate with icing, sprinkles and small lollies.

For the icing, we beat 1 egg white with a whisk in a small bowl until frothy. Then we gradually added 1 1/2 cups of icing mixture, mixing well after each spoonful. Finally we stirred in a few drops of food colouring. 

C is for Cinderella's Tea Party

Princesses. Disney. Brothers Grimm. Cartoon or Fairy Tale. Traditional needing rescue or independent and saving the day. It doesn't matter what type of princess she is Bee and Bear love her. It is fair to say that my daughters love anything to do with princesses. Mind you they also love fairies, dinosaurs, barbie, bugs, cute animals, etc. etc. so they are probably no different to most other girls their age.  But they do especially love princesses.  Which is why I decided to surprise them with a Cinderella Tea Party.

Bee dressed as Princess Ariel.

Princess Ariel was invited and joined Princess Bear for the party.  First up we read the Cinderella story and talked about what food was mentioned.  From our version of the story we came up with breakfast (including the cups of tea), corn for the chickens and mice and a pumpkin for the carriage.

In honour of Cinderella and her carriage I made Pumpkin Cinnamon Doughnuts.  They were delicious and a nice change to plain Cinnamon Sugar doughnuts. Pink tea was served as the refreshment of course!

Normally I would get Bear and Bee to help me with these but today there were a surprise.  If you want your child to help they should be able to do steps 2 and 3 of making the doughnut batter and then step 9 to coat the doughnuts in the cinnamon sugar topping.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Doughnuts

Makes 10
Download printable recipe card here.

Ingredients
Doughnuts
1 1/2 cups plain (all purpose) flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten

Cinnamon Sugar Coating
3 tablespoons caster sugar
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions
1. Preheat doughnut machine.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre.
3. Whisk in the oil, pumpkin, milk and egg.  Mix until smooth.
4. Spoon into a piping bag.
5. Spray machine lightly with cooking oil spray.
6. Fill the bases of the doughnut rings by piping in half of the batter.
7. Cook for 6 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Meanwhile mix together the caster sugar and cinnamon on a large plate.
9. When doughnuts are cooked transfer to a plate and brush with melted butter. Gently coat with the cinnamon sugar topping.
10.  Repeat steps 5 to 9 with the remaining batter.

If you don't have a doughnut machine, these doughnuts can be baked in the oven.  Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius.  Grease a doughnut pan with melted butter. Pipe in the batter until two-thirds full and baked for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown.  Remove from the oven and add cinnamon sugar topping as per step 9 above.

Have you made any fairy tale inspired food lately?

A is for Aprons on my friends

On my bedside table at the moment is The Smallest Things: Thoughts on Making a Happy Family by Angela Mollard.  This book has been responsible for many a late night reading and as a consequence a few days where I have been less of a morning person than usual - not that I am much of a morning person at the best of times.  More of a wake at a reasonable hour and go to bed at a reasonable hour kind of person which hasn't actually happened since having children.

Anyway back to the book at fault.  The Smallest Things is a fantastic read.  Mollard writes columns for many of our weekend newspapers around Australia and has also appeared on television.  I have thoroughly enjoyed her honest, heart felt and uncomprising style of writing in her columns and likewise in this book. Not all of 'The Smallest Things" makes for a cheerful read, even though the title may suggest it would, but I won't give away too much here.

The chapter titled Sponge Cakes and Spoon-Licking is all about children and food (and where the title of this post comes from).  Mollard covers everything from cooking shows to fussy eaters to why we need to eat meals as a family but not in front of the television.

My favourite quote from this chapter -

"Crucially, if we're to restore a respect and appreciation for good, nourishing food then we need to get kids making their own meals." 

My thoughts exactly!

There's much more covered in this book than food but that's for another blog. I would encourage you to get your hands on a copy of this book.  With school holidays coming up you may even find some time to read it at a reasonable hour.

Enjoy your break if you get one.

PS. If you are interested in buying a copy of this book to read you can click on my affliliate link below.  

 

Book Review - Mealtime by Elizabeth Verdick

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We have always maintained a routine for our family dinners.  More often than not, the whole family has dinner together every night.  As Bear and Bee are getting older and starting to express their independence there has been some challenges to this dinner routine.  Hubby and I try to expect the same things every night - everyone sits at the table (no getting up and down off the chair), try at least one bite, keep the food on the plate etc but it can be difficult when we are feeling tired or only one of us is present.

Mealtime by Elizabeth Verdick is a wonderful board book that reinforces these expectations and can be read with babies, toddlers and young children.  Through colourful illustrations and familar settings children are shown that not only are meals about eating healthy they're also about good hygiene, using your manners, helping out and trying new foods.

The simple text used in the story make it easily understandable for young children and there are extra mealtime tips for parents and caregivers on the back pages.

Definitely one to add to the collection, if you have or care for young children as many families experience mealtime issues at some stage.

If you would like to purchase a copy of this book please visit my Fishpond Affiliate space by clicking on the image above.

E is for Eating A Rainbow Every Day

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I must confess that Bee and Bear don't eat as healthily as I would like them too. I guess that is true of a lot of 3 year olds. But so far, no matter what I try, they are very picky about what they will eat. Actually it's more to do with what they'll eat mixed together ie they'll eat spaghetti on one side of the plate and meatballs on the other but not spaghetti and meatballs mixed together. But that's another post.

One of the areas I have resolved to work on is the variety of fruits and vegetables both Bear and Bee will eat and how many serves they eat every day. This is something that I believe we will have some success with. Bee favours vegetables and Bear favours fruits and while they eat a reasonable variety I need to work on them trying new types. Especially on alternatives for their favourites such as strawberries which are out of season here and thus more expensive than say stone fruit.

To help us out we borrowed Eating the Rainbow by Rena D. Grossman from the library today.

If you would like to purchase a copy of this book, please visit my Fishpond Affiliate space by clicking on this image.

 
This is a simple board book giving examples of fruits and vegetables that fit each colour of the rainbow. I plan to use this as a springboard for discussion on what fruits and vegetables we could try and for identifying any Bee and Bear don't recognise. Already Bee has started looking at the pictures and naming the ones she does know.

Bee's favourite page - Pink!

I have also taken inspiration from a number of sites found on the net and on Pinterest. I have pinned some activities and recipes I would like to try. So far my favourites are

Eating a Rainbow - Two fun activities for kids from toddlerapproved.com

Eat your Rainbow from inner child food

Eat a Rainbow Salad from sweet potato chronicles

I am also going to create a rainbow reward chart for Bear and Bee to use to keep track of their progress. They are keen on stickers so hopefully this will be enough of an incentive. I will post a link to a printable version of the chart when it is ready.

Do you encourage your child to eat a rainbow everyday? What has worked?

B is for Best Ever Birthday Recipes

As I mentioned in my previous post, Bear and Bee have a birthday in November so I decided we would try out some recipes from the Best Ever Birthday book.  Bear picked the Raspberry Jellies and Bee wanted to try the Rainbow Star biscuits.

Raspberry Jellies

The Raspberry jellies are very simple.  Make up the raspberry flavoured jelly according to the directions on the packet.  Place a few fresh raspberries in the bottom of each plastic cup or small bowl and top with the jelly liquid.  Place in the fridge to set for 3-4 hours.  Top each jelly cup with a spoonful of whipped cream and some more raspberries.  Ours however did not have berries or cream, as Bear decided against this at the last minute.

Count (and recount) the plastic cups and get the utensils ready.

Pour the jelly crystals into a bowl.

Add in the cold water (I had already added the hot water)

Mix well.

I poured the jelly into two small jugs so Bee and Bear could fill the cups themselves.

Rainbow Star Biscuits

For the Rainbow star biscuits we made biscuit dough by beating 100g softened butter with ½ cup icing sugar until pale and fluffy.  Then we added 1 egg and mixed until well combined.  We then folded in 1 ½ cups of plain flour until a smooth dough formed.  The dough was then shaped into a disc, wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in the fridge for 1 hour.

Once the dough was firm enough, it was rolled out on the floured bench and we used star cutters and circle cutters to make the shapes.  The original recipe used two different sized star cutters but my star cutters are all the same size. 

We cut star shapes out of the dough and put these onto the trays lined with baking paper.  Then we used a circle cutter to cut out circle from the centre of each star.  The cut out circles were placed on the trays too.

Then we put 1 sugar free fruit drop in the centre of each star and a Smartie on each circle.  The biscuits were baked at 180^oC for about 8 minutes or until golden.  You will need to leave them on the tray to cool to make sure the lolly centres are set.  I think they look really cool don’t you?

Here’s a great post from Nicole at Planning with Kids on an old school party favourite – Honey Joys.  What is your go to party food?

B is for Best Ever Birthday Book Review

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I was lucky enough recently, to win a copy of the new book by Louise Fulton Keats,    

What a wonderful idea for a children's party cookbook.  The first part of the book contains a story of a young girl, her little brother, their dog and their grandma trying to decide what type of birthday party the girl should have to make it the best birthday ever- fairy, dinosaur, space, circus, picnic or little chefs.  The rhyming text is fun to read a loud and takes the reader on a journey through each of the birthday themes .  The illustrations are a great combination of drawings and photographs and add to the cheerfulness of the story.

The second part of the book contains recipes for each of the birthday themes. Ranging from chocolate meteoroids for the space party to chicken Waldorf sandwiches for the picnic party the recipes are suitable for children and provide some alternatives to the standard party food as well as some regular favourites.  There is also a party cake or cupcakes suggestion for each theme.

I would definitely recommend getting this book if your child would like to help you plan their next birthday party.  Bear and Bee were both entranced by the story and keen to look through the recipes and choose something for their upcoming 3rd birthday.  We aren't having a big party this year - I think we will go with one every 2 years.  But grandma and grandad are coming to visit so we still have some guests to prepare party food for. Bear has chosen the Raspberry jellies and Bee wants to make the Star biscuits.  Keep a watch out for my next post on these two recipes.

And a great big happy birthday to my two princesses.

What party food does your child like to help make?

If you would like to purchase a copy of this book you can visit my Fishpond Affiliate space by clicking on the link below.

I is for Incy Wincy Spiders

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Bear and Bee have always enjoyed the Incy Wincy Spider rhyme and look so cute trying to get their fingers to do the spider movements. 


I absolutely love the version by Kate Toms in her bright and colourful board book of the same name.  The illustrations are super cute and the rhyming text is lots of fun to read out loud.  We have other books by Kate and they are equally as good (Bear loves the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Bee’s favourite is Old MacDonald had a Farm).

After reading the book this week I decided we should extend it a little further and make spiders.  I settled on Spider drinks and Chocolate Spider treats (a double dose of sugar!). 

The Spider Drinks are very easy.  

Place a scoop of vanilla icecream in a tall glass and then pour on your favourite soft drink.  We chose raspberry for the pinkness but lime or orange would be equally as good. 

Oops! Too much softdrink too quick.

Can't wait any longer!

These drinks can easily be dressed up for a Halloween party with some lolly snakes or raspberry liquorice straps draped over the sides of the glasses.

The Chocolate Spiders don’t require much more work. 

1 pkt (100g) of fried noodles (we use the Chang’s brand)

2 tablespoons peanut butter

200g dark cooking chocolate (or milk chocolate if you prefer)

Line a patty cake tray or muffin tray with paper cases.  The number you need will depend on how big you make the spiders.

Place the peanut butter and broken up chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave on high for about 30 seconds or until the chocolate is melted.  Mix well.

Waiting for mum to melt the chocolate and peanut butter in microwave

Stir in the fried noodles.  Try to be gentle when doing this so you don’t break up the noodles too much.

Place spoonfuls of the chocolate noodle mix into the paper cases.

Place in the refrigerator for a few minutes to set.

What is your favourite food treat for Halloween?

If you would like to purchase a copy of this book, checkout my Fishpond Affiliate space by clicking on the image below.
 

A is for Allergy-free cooking

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While Bear and Bee are yet to show any signs of food allergies I am careful about what they eat.  Bee has a sensitivity to salt.  If she eats it on too many foods ie. hot chips, salted peanuts, potato chips etc in a short space of time she gets a red rash on her face and her eczema is exacerbated and it reappears on her legs and tummy. 


In an effort to come up with new dishes that Bear and Bee will actually try I found this book by the Australian Women's Weekly Allergy-free cooking for kids in our local public library and it includes lots of great recipes that are gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free. I think it is important for children to not only try as many foods as possible but also to try variations of those foods.  Flour made from brown rice, polenta and ground nuts are examples of alternative ingredients used in place of regular ones.

The Allergy-free cooking for kids book is full of delicious and interesting recipes. I can't wait to try them.  These are the ones on my to try list so far -

Hoisin and barbecue chicken rolls (dairy free)
Cranberry chewies made with almonds and dried cranberries (gluten free)
Coconut custard tarts (gluten free)
Polenta-coated chicken (gluten free)
Pizza pinwheels made using potatoes, potato flour and brown rice flour (gluten free)

Raspberry cheesecake slice (gluten free)
Fruity macaroons (dairy free)

Follow my blog and find out which ones Bee and Bear cook and (hopefully) enjoy eating.

If you are interested in this book, you might like to purchase it through my Fishpond Affiliate space.

H is for Honey Biscuits

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Honey Biscuits by Meredith Hooper is a wonderful picture book for children.  After seeing this book used in a cooking segment on a children’s television program I knew I wanted to use it with Bear and Bee. 

 

 In the story, a young boy named Ben is helping his Gran make Honey biscuits.  As they add each ingredient to the mixing bowl, Gran explains where it comes from.  I believe knowing where their food comes from (not just the supermarket) is very important for children.  Which is why we have a vegie garden and when cooking I add in little bits of information like milk comes from a cow etc. 

When we cooked the Honey Biscuits we followed along with the story.  As I read out each page and what Ben and his Gran were doing, I got Bear and Bee to do the same things.  Initially I thought it would be too much for them and they would lose interest in the book and/or the cooking as we usually just concentrate on the cooking.  However they surprised me and loved being able to copy what Ben was doing in the story.

Following along with the story Honey Biscuits.

The ingredients for Honey Biscuits from this book are:

120g softened butter

120g sugar

1 large tablespoon honey

1 egg yolk

1 level teaspoon cinnamon

180g self-raising flour

1 tablespoon sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon combined on a plate

And here’s what you need to do:

Beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl until they are creamy

Mix in the honey and then the egg yolk.

Add the cinnamon and the flour and mix into a soft dough. You may need to add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky.  It will need to be a little sticky for the next step.

Shape teaspoonful pieces of the dough into balls and roll in the extra sugar and cinnamon mix.

Place on to a greased or lined baking tray and cook in an oven heated to 175^oC for 12 to 15 minutes until they are golden brown.

Allow biscuits to cool a little before transferring them to a rack.

These biscuits are delicious and they will fill your house with a lovely smell while cooking too!

What is your favourite recipe from a children’s book to cook ?

If you are interested in purchasing this book, you might like to click on the image below.  It will take you to my Fishpond Affiliate space.