Tag Archives: finger food

Cornmeal muffins

Posted on October 15, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

I was debating whether to call these cornbread muffins as the taste and texture is similar to cornbread, and then I thought perhaps spicy cornmeal or cornbread muffins. To avoid any confusion, as the recipe isn’t an authentic cornbread recipe nor are they very spicy, I’m going with the (perhaps boring but simple) cornmeal muffins.

If you don’t want to make muffins, you can pour the mixture into a square baking tin and then cut them into squares after they’re cooked. Or you could make a loaf and cut off slices.

The level of spice is very mild, so perfect for toddlers (the predominant flavour is cheese). But you can easily add more spice by increasing the cumin and coriander, and/or add some crushed dried chilli.

Eat them on their own as a snack or as an accompaniment to a main dish, they’re perfect for little and big fingers alike.

CORNMEAL MUFFINS

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Makes 12 small muffins

140g fine cornmeal
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (about 75g)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp vegetable oil
225ml Greek yogurt

Preheat the oven to 200C and grease your muffin tin with a little oil or cooking spray (or line your tin with paper cases to avoid washing the tin).

Mix the cornmeal, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cumin and coriander in a bowl. Add the grated cheese and mix well so the ingredients are combined evenly.

In another bowl or jug, mix the beaten egg, vegetable oil and yogurt together.

Mix the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients and stir quickly until just combined.

Pour into the prepared muffin tin and bake for 15 – 20mins until golden on top and cooked through when tested with a skewer.

Variations:

Add fresh chives or coriander to the batter
Add some crumbled cooked bacon to the batter

2 Comments

Posted in family, lunch, recipe, snack, toddler and tagged cheese, cornmeal, finger food, lunch, muffins, recipe, snack, toddler, vegetarian. Bookmark the permalink.

Soft butternut squash cakes

Posted on October 9, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

I’ve been more focused on toddler-friendly meals lately, natural since Nicholas is getting bigger, but I don’t want to stop experimenting with recipes that are also good for your smaller little ones.

These little vegetable cakes are very soft inside so great for babies without teeth. They are a simpler (and slightly quicker) version of my Butternut Squash and Chickpea Cakes, which are easily adapted to feed the whole family.

I made some medium and small-sized ones, but because of their softness the small ones (about 4cm in diameter) are easier for small fingers to hold and also easier to flip over when you’re cooking them.

If you’re making these for toddlers you can add some seasoning and also some spice (I used a teaspoon each of paprika and cumin for a warming spicy flavour). If you’re introducing a little spice to your munchkin, start with 1/2 teaspoon each of spices.

Use your preferred method of cooking the butternut squash, remembering that the quicker you cook it, the more nutrients remain. For toddlers you can leave the peel on as it will get chopped up in the food processor when you combine it with the other ingredients.

This recipe makes a large batch of cakes – perfect to have in the freezer for days you don’t feel like cooking.

SOFT BUTTERNUT SQUASH CAKES

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Makes about 40 mini cakes (or 26 medium cakes)
Freezable

Approx. 400g cooked butternut squash
1 medium courgette (zucchini), coursely grated
1 400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup plain flour
Drizzle of olive oil or cooking spray

For toddler version also:
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper

Put the butternut squash into a food processor and blend until smooth. If you’ve left the skin on, check that it’s broken up into small pieces.

Add the grated courgette, chickpeas, egg yolk and flour. Blend until combined (the mixture will be quite runny almost like a pancake mixture).

If making for a toddler, add the paprika, cumin and season to taste.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a med-low heat, spray with cooking spray or use a drizzle of olive oil.

Drop small spoonfuls of mixture into the pan (don’t overcrowd the pan to make turning them easier), flipping them after a few minutes when they’re golden brown and cooking the other side. Repeat with the remaining mixture.

Leave to cool a little (they’ll firm up a bit as they get cooler). Serve with yogurt to dip them into.

Variations:

Use sweet potato instead of butternut squash
For toddlers, try some different spices such as ground coriander
Add some fresh coriander to the mixture

What other soft foods do you like to make for your little ones, especially when they don’t yet have teeth?

13 Comments

Posted in baby, dinner, lunch, recipe, snack, toddler and tagged baby-led weaning, butternut squash, finger food, freezable, vegetarian. Bookmark the permalink.

Blueberry pancakes (sugar-free)

Posted on October 1, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

Hubby and I are following the Dukan diet to lose the spare tyres that have appeared over the years helped by us loving food and really not liking exercise. So far it’s working well and hasn’t been too hard to follow (you have foods you can eat, and you can eat as much as you like of them, and foods you can’t eat). You also have to eat oatbran and it’s easier to eat this in the morning (it also keeps your tummy full until lunchtime). I make Dukan’s galettes which always smell divine because of the cinnamon and vanilla I put in, but they taste very similar to cardboard!

Nicholas sees us eating our galettes and, of course, wants some too. For the moment he doesn’t realise that his galettes are usually banana pikelets or apple pikelets. My stocks in the freezer of these were running low so I thought I’d try a new flavour – blueberry.

I’m calling these pancakes, probably mini pancakes are a better description, because I left the blueberries whole and therefore made them thicker to surround the berries. Whether you call them pancakes, mini pancakes, pikelets, drop scones or dropped scones, make them, they’re yummy!

BLUEBERRY PANCAKES

Prep time: 5-10 mins
Cook time: 10-15 mins
Makes about 10 mini pancakes
Freezable

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
100g blueberries
1 tbsp honey
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
Small piece of butter, melted, to grease the pan

Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon into a medium- sized bowl.

Add the honey and egg then gradually pour in the milk mixing until you have a fairly thick batter (you might not need to use all the milk).

Gently mix in the blueberries.

Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and brush with melted butter. Use a tablespoon to drop spoonfuls of mixture into the pan. Cook in batches, turning when bubbles appear on the surface (1-2 mins). Cook the other side until golden brown (about 1 min). Lift out and cover with a clean tea towel to keep warm.

Variations:

Use nutmeg or ginger instead of cinnamon
Add vanilla essence for more sweetness

Tip: Wipe your pan clean with a piece of paper towel after each batch and then brush with some more melted butter.

Wholemeal wheat thins

Posted on September 27, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

One of the food blogs I religiously read is Smitten Kitchen. I love Deb’s laid-back approach to family cooking and the wonderful creations that come out of her small New York kitchen. I particularly love her homemade versions of snacks you might secretly buy at the supermarket checkout.

Her whole wheat goldfish crackers have been on my list of recipes to try for a while, but when her homemade wheat thins popped into my inbox I was running to the kitchen immediately!

With a food processor you can make these mini crackers super fast (if you don’t have one, follow Deb’s instructions to mix the dough by hand). Most of your preparation time will be rolling and cutting. If you’re a bit short of time, only roll out half of the mixture and keep the rest of the dough in the fridge to make the next day (or even freeze the remaining dough). You don’t need to make the dotted pattern on each cracker, but it does look cute!

I adapted Deb’s recipe slightly. I replaced the sugar with honey. I know, I have this thing against sugar when making things for Nicholas. Actually there’s very little sugar in the original recipe, but I still prefer substituting something a bit more natural and less refined. Honey’s also sweeter so you can use less, and after using it for a while now, I actually prefer its richer more mellow flavour to the harsher stronger taste of refined sugar. Anyway, enough of my honey rant!

As Deb says, you can use white flour and the result will be a lighter texture. I also can’t wait to try these again adding some onion or garlic powder, or some dried herbs. You could also make them cheesy.

I cut my thins smaller, mainly for Nicholas’ tiny hands but also so I wouldn’t feel guilty if a couple of them just happened to find their way into my mouth 😉

WHOLEMEAL WHEAT THINS

Prep time: 15-20 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Makes about 130
Keep in an airtight container for a week
Freezable (both the cooked thins and the uncooked dough)

1 1/4 cups (155 grams) wholemeal plain flour
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
Additional salt for topping (optional)
1/4 tsp paprika
4 tbsp (55 grams) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup (60ml) cold water

Heat the oven to 200C and line an oven tray with baking paper.

Put the flour, honey, 1/2 tsp salt, paprika and butter into a food processor. Blend the mixture until it’s combined and the butter is evenly disbursed.

With the motor running, slowly pour in the cold water and blend until the mixture comes together into a ball.

Take the dough out of the processor and divide it in half. Roll out one half of the dough as thin as you can (rolling the dough out over a piece of cling film makes sure it doesn’t stick to your bench and be generous with the flour on your rolling pin). The thinner you can roll it, the crisper your thins will be.

Cut rectangles about 2.5cm by 2cm using a knife, a pastry wheel or even a pizza cutter. Place them close together on your prepared tray and use a skewer or toothpick to poke some dots into each one (I poked three dots from top to bottom on both sides and two dots in the middle). Sprinkle with extra salt, if using.

Bake for 7 – 10 mins until golden brown and crisp (keep a close eye on them as they cook quickly).

Variations:

add onion or garlic powder to the mixture
add some dried herbs (thyme, sage, rosemary, etc.) to the mixture
add some grated cheddar or parmesan to the mixture
use white plain flour for a lighter texture

Tip: if your thins start getting soft, pop them back into the oven to crisp up for a couple of minutes.

4 Comments

Posted in family, recipe, snack, toddler and tagged family, finger food, recipe, Smitten Kitchen, snack, sugar-free, toddler, vegetarian, wheat thins, wholemeal. Bookmark the permalink.

Fish fingers with wedges and mushy peas

Posted on September 25, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

After a week of cupcakes, it’s definitely time to return to healthier meals!

Nicholas has been at the stage where he wants to eat what we’re eating for a while now. Most of the time that’s fine, and it makes my job easier only having to prepare one meal each time instead of two. But sometimes he doesn’t like what we eat or I want him to eat a more balanced meal than we’re having.

I’ve started taking more care in how I present food to him, trying to include different colours of foods, making cute patterns, building towers of food (cheese works well!) or just putting it on colourful plates. This has really worked and has stopped him throwing tantrums when he wants to eat our dinner instead of his own.

Giving him a few different choices on the same plate also works. His developing independence means he’s happier when he’s choosing what goes into his mouth. It means meal times are longer as he decides what he should try next, but everyone is more relaxed.

My fish fingers and wedges are baked rather than fried to be healthier. The fish takes only a few minutes to cook so the breadcrumbs don’t turn that brown; you could add some turmeric to the breadcrumbs for a more golden colour.

FISH FINGERS WITH WEDGES AND MUSHY PEAS

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 25-30 mins
Makes 1 toddler serving

1 medium potato, unpeeled
Drizzle of olive oil or cooking spray
1/2 skinless fillet of white fish (haddock, cod, plaice, etc.)
3-4 tbsp plain flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
3-4 tbsp breadcrumbs
4 tbsp frozen peas
Small sprig of mint, finely chopped
Small piece of butter
Salt and pepper (optional)

Heat the oven to 200C and line an oven tray with foil.

Scrub the potato clean and pat it dry. Without peeling it, cut it into wedge shapes. Put them into a small saucepan of cold water and bring to the boil. Boil for about 5 mins until they start getting softer.

Either drizzle a little olive oil on the lined oven tray or spray with cooking spray. Place the partly cooked wedges on the tray, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper if using. Cook for about 20 -25 mins, turning them about halfway through, until crisp and brown on the outside.

Put your frozen peas into a small microwave-safe bowl and add 1/2 tsp water and the chopped mint. Cover and cook on medium for 1 min. Stir and cook for another 30 secs on medium. Drain any excess water, add a little butter and roughly mash for a fork. Cover and keep warm.

Cut the fish into thin strips, checking for any bones. Lightly season if you wish.

Prepare your three bowls for coating the fish: one bowl with flour, one with the beaten egg and the other with the breadcrumbs. Dip the fish strips into the flour shaking off the excess, then dip into the egg and let the excess drip off before dipping into the breadcrumbs to coat.

Put the fish onto the same oven tray as the cooking wedges. The fish fingers will only take a few minutes to cook, but the time will depend on the size you cut them. Take one out after 3 or 4 mins to check, remembering they will keep cooking for a little bit after you take them out of the oven.

Once the fish fingers and wedges are cooked, serve them with the mushy peas and some creme fraiche or yogurt for dipping (or ketchup if you really have to!).

Variations:

add some grated parmesan to the breadcrumbs for a cheesy coating
add a pinch of turmeric to the breadcrumbs for a more golden colour

Tip: to make your own breadcrumbs from leftover bread look at my previous tip.

1 Comment

Posted in dinner, lunch, recipe, toddler and tagged breadcrumbs, dinner, finger food, fish fingers, lunch, mushy peas, recipe, toddler, wedges. Bookmark the permalink.

Spinach muffins

Posted on September 14, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

Yes, you read correctly, spinach muffins. And they’re sweet. I’ll let you have a minute to get your head around that.

…

Still can’t imagine what they’d taste like? Don’t worry, neither could I when I came across the recipe by Weelicious. I’m still on my mission to get more vegetables into Nicholas, so I thought I’d continue my attack from a sweet angle too.

I’ve made two batches of these now, modifying the original recipe both times. Honestly, they’re a strange taste sensation and I certainly won’t be waking up any time soon thinking ‘Mmmm, I fancy a spinach muffin.’ But I made them for Nicholas not me.

Reading the numerous comments for the original recipe, many people who’ve made them say you can’t taste the spinach and that they taste like plain vanilla muffins. For me the spinach taste is strong, and its metallic flavour in combination with the vanilla is probably what confuses my taste buds. But I made them for Nicholas not me.

The original recipe has applesauce and sugar. I replaced the sugar with honey to be healthier (I honestly can’t see the point in packing a muffin with spinach goodness if you then add sugar, sorry). I also left out the salt, as just reading that in the ingredient list made my taste buds apprehensive, and again why add it to your munchkin’s food if you probably don’t need to (after tasting them I think adding the salt would make the clash between sweet and savoury too much).

For my second batch I also left out the baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) as I really don’t like the taste of it in muffins. It didn’t affect the texture and the taste was better. Yes, for me, but I made them for Nicholas not me!

Nicholas has eaten them but without gusto, however he hasn’t been completely well this week. We’re going to the joint first birthday party of Nicholas’ best friend at the weekend. It’s a party with all the babies from his antenatal group, so I will go armed with my spinach muffins and see how they go down with a pack of one-year-olds.

SPINACH MUFFINS

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Makes 12 small muffins
Freezable

1 cup fresh spinach, packed tightly
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (apple puree)
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
Extra vegetable oil, for greasing muffin tin

Preheat oven to 175C and grease your muffin tin with a little vegetable oil.

Put the spinach, applesauce, egg, vanilla, honey and vegetable oil in a food processor, and puree until the spinach has broken up into small pieces and the mixture has combined.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a medium-sized bowl.

Pour the spinach mixture into a large bowl and carefully fold in the flour mixture, mixing just enough to combine the ingredients (mixing too much will make your muffins heavy).

Divide your mixture evenly between the 12 muffin holes.

Bake for 12-15 mins until a skewer comes out clean.

5 Comments

Posted in breakfast, recipe, snack, toddler and tagged applesauce, breakfast, dairy-free, finger food, freezable, freeze, muffins, recipe, snack, spinach, sugar-free, toddler, vegetarian, Weelicious. Bookmark the permalink.

Banana and butternut squash loaf

Posted on September 6, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

One of the last things I did before running out the door before our holidays (amazingly the first time I wasn’t running like a lunatic due to being so late) was to throw the remaining (very ripe) bananas in the freezer. It gave me a (silly) sense of pride to know we weren’t wasting them. It’s the little things after all!

While we were away I came across an unusual recipe for banana bread from Simon Rimmer with the added ingredient of butternut squash. I’m always looking for different ways to use up bananas and this recipe definitely piqued my interest.

I made some changes to the original recipe. I reduced the sugar and used chopped walnuts instead of pecans. I also reduced the amount of nuts as hubby isn’t a huge fan and it seemed an excessive amount also for me too. The original recipe is topped with a cream cheese icing which would work wonderfully, but I wanted to keep my loaf dairy-free and simple so just drizzled the cooked loaf with honey. It also means I feel no guilt eating it for breakfast 😉

The end result is a lovely dense and very moist cake with a subtle taste of banana. If anyone guessed this cake has a vegetable ingredient, I’m certain they’d never guess butternut squash. Another way to sneak some veg into your children’s diets perhaps? And if you have any pureed butternut squash in the freezer leftover from your munchkin’s earlier weaning days, I can’t think of a better way to use it.

BANANA AND BUTTERNUT SQUASH LOAF

Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 50-60 mins
Makes 1 loaf
Freezable

120g sugar
1 egg
150ml vegetable oil
2 bananas, mashed
225g butternut squash, cooked and mashed
275g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
50g walnut pieces
drizzle of honey to serve

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a loaf tin with baking paper.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg and vegetable oil. Fold in the mashed banana and butternut squash.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Fold this dry flour mixture into the wet banana mixture. Stir through the walnuts.

Pour into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 50-60 minutes until golden brown on top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool.

Drizzle honey over the top of the loaf before serving.

Variations:

add sultanas or raisins for added sweetness
omit the walnuts if putting into a child’s lunchbox

Tip: If you have the time, it’s much better to peel your bananas before freezing them, as peeling a frozen or defrosted banana takes some skill. Just peel, throw in a ziploc bag and freeze.

3 Comments