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Halloween tasting plate

Posted on October 30, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

Although Halloween has never been important to me, and apart from one Halloween top I bought for Nicholas last year which amazingly still fits him (having gone from a chubby baby to a slimmer toddler), I’ve had no urge to dress Nicholas up or celebrate in any way. I figure the day he asks for a costume will come very quickly so I plan on taking it easy till then!

But, as you’ve noticed, Halloween has been a great creative inspiration to me, at a time when I was feeling quite bored with cooking for the family. I’m sure you have those ups and downs too, times when you’re inspired to make new dishes and then those other times when you’d quite happily stay out of the kitchen for the unforseen future.

One of the blogs I love reading for food inspiration is Meet the Dubiens. Jill makes the cutest bento boxes for her kids and can turn what could be a boring sandwich into something I can imagine must bring enormous smiles to their faces. No matter what age, who wouldn’t smile opening a lunch box to see this?

I wanted to make Nicholas a fun and healthy lunch. There are some amazing food ideas for Halloween on the Internet, but a lot of them involve decorating sweet things with even more sugary things (not food I want Nicholas to be eating as part of his regular diet). It took me a while to decide what to create, but the effort was definitely worth it. As soon as Nicholas saw the plate, he started oohing and aahing. He looked at everything in detail, growling at the pancake ghost, laughing at the cheese bat and kissing the banana ghosts (obviously not as scary as pancake ghosts!) before deciding what to taste first (the sultanas).

HALLOWEEN TASTING PLATE

Ghost pancakes (sugar-free)

I used my sugar-free apple pikelet recipe, using half wholemeal and half plain self-raising flour. I poured the batter into a lightly oiled stainless steel cookie cutter, and added sultanas for eyes and a mouth just before flipping to cook the other side.

Ghost bananas

These came straight from Jill at Meet the Dubiens. Cut a banana in half and press in chocolate drops for eyes and a mouth.

Black grape spiders

An adaptation of the olive spiders I used to decorate my spider web soup, just cut two black grapes in half. Use a half for each body and slice the other halves into legs.

Bat sandwich

I used a bat-shaped cookie cutter for the bread and cheese, and an edible black ink pen to draw the bat faces (I need more practice!). I also used some small star cutters on the leftover cheese.

Bat droppings

Fun food doesn’t have to be complicated. Sultanas in a bat cupcake case are much more fun if you call them bat droppings!

 

Why not try creating a fun tasting plate for your little ones? I’d love to see your efforts. And your little ones’ smiles!

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Spider web carrot and lentil soup

Posted on October 24, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

Growing up in Australia, I never remember doing anything for Halloween and it still surprises me how much of a deal it has become here in the UK. But it is a great excuse to let your imagination run free and add some fun to your meals, something that Nicholas is appreciating more and more.

I saw the idea for the olive spiders on Pinterest quite a while ago and loved how simple yet effective they are (I so adore Pinterest for getting the creative juices flowing!). And where there are spiders, there has to be spider webs, and ‘drawing’ a yogurt web on a bowl of soup is super easy.

I was originally thinking of making a butternut squash soup I regularly make in the colder months, but then I came across the lovely Blue’s recipe for a wonderfully thick and lightly spiced carrot and red lentil soup. It’s the perfect soup to continue my ‘crusade’ to add some spice to Nicholas’ palate!

I usually use homemade stock for soups, but if you use the freshest ingredients, you can actually get away with just using water instead of stock (add a bit more seasoning though).

SPIDER WEB CARROT AND LENTIL SOUP

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Makes 4 servings

1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
A pinch of chilli flakes
600g carrots, washed but not peeled, coarsely grated
1 onion, roughly chopped
140g red lentils
1 litre hot vegetable or chicken stock
125ml milk
Salt and pepper
Plain yoghurt to serve
Black kalamata olives to decorate

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the cumin, coriander and chilli flakes. After a minute or so, when you can smell the spices, add the chopped onion and carrot. Season to taste. Stir and let fry gently for a couple of minutes.

Add the hot stock, lentils and milk. Bring almost to the boil then drop the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the lentils are tender and cooked. Check if you need to add more seasoning.

Puree the soup until smooth.

To serve, use a spoon to make a spiral of yogurt on top of each bowl of soup (or use a piping bag if you want to be more precise). Then make more yogurt lines starting in the centre and lightly dragging them to the edge to create a web-like pattern.

Decorate with olive spiders by using half an olive for the body and slices of the other olive half for legs.

How are you letting your creativity shine for Halloween?

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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

 

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Vegetable Korma

Posted on October 3, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

I’ve talked before about not being very adventurous with spice in Nicholas’ food, but I’ve been trying to extend his tastebuds by adding different spicy flavours. Last week we went to our local pub for dinner and chose a mild chicken curry off their good children’s menu. When I tasted it I was surprised by the level of spiciness (closer to medium than mild), so was very curious to see Nicholas’ reaction. He loved it! Here’s to more spice then.

You can find some interesting and easy Indian-inspired baby and toddler recipes on the Homemade Baby Food Recipes site. My vegetable korma is a very slight adaptation of one they say you can give babies from 7 or 8 months (please use your discretion and your expert knowledge of your baby to decide when to introduce some aromatic spices to their food, and it’s always best to only introduce one new spice or food at a time).

This has a mild level of spiciness, more warming than hot, so perfect for even young tastebuds. Next time I’ll double the quantities of spice (so 1/4 tsp of each) and add some chopped or crushed garlic at the start for some more oomph.

You can really use any vegetables you have on hand for this korma. Sweet potato, green beans, bell peppers (capsicum), mushrooms and broccoli would all work well. Don’t worry too much about measuring exact quantities; trust your instinct to add more or less of each vegetable. It takes a bit more time, but cutting the vegetables into quite small pieces means they cook quicker and keep more of their nutrients.

Toddlers can eat the korma as is with some rice. For babies, blend the vegetables after it’s cooked or, if your munchkin is fine with some lumps, roughly mash it with a fork or potato masher.

VEGETABLE KORMA

Prep time: 10-15 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Makes 3-4 toddler portions
Freezable

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 cup cauliflower, chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup peas
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
1 tbsp unsweetened dessicated coconut
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 cup water
1/8 tsp (or a large pinch) ground ginger
1/8 tsp (or a large pinch) cumin
1/8 tsp (or a large pinch) turmeric
1/8 tsp (or a large pinch) ground coriander
Salt to taste (optional)

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook for a few minutes until the onion is translucent and the carrot is starting to become softer.

Add the tomato puree and spices. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously.

Add the remaining vegetables, coconut and water (and salt, if using). Stir, turn up the heat to medium-high and bring it to the boil.

Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until all the vegetables are cooked.

If serving to a baby, either blend the mixture until a smooth puree, or roughly mash with a fork or potato masher for a lumpier puree.

For a toddler, serve with cooked rice.

Variations:

  • Use different vegetables such as sweet potato, broccoli, bell peppers (capsicum), green beans or mushrooms.
  • Add chopped or crushed garlic to the onion and carrot.
  • Add grated fresh ginger to the onion and carrot.
  • Add a spoonful of coconut cream at the end.

Have you introduced spice to your little one’s food? Do they like it?

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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.

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Spinach lasagne

Posted on September 12, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

Nicholas is a big meat eater (not surprising if you know his parents!). He usually happily shares his food when asked, but if it happens to be some meat he’s particularly enjoying, then he’s more likely to shovel everything into his mouth as quickly as possible then gesture with his hands it’s all gone (what a shame!).

During our holidays it was easy to feed him meat, but less easy to get him to eat a good amount of vegetables. And with the nice weather at the weekend, we had two days of barbecues at friends’ with Nicholas happily devouring hamburgers and chorizo sausages. Vegetables? Not interested mummy, more MEAT.

So my objective for this week was to get as many vegies in him as possible!

My vegetarian lasagne is just a simplified lasagne that’s not too time-consuming to prepare or cook. Looking for a dish small enough to fit just one sheet of lasagna, I had the brainwave of using a loaf tin and mine was the perfect size. Any ovenproof dish would be fine though.

I used spinach, yellow pepper (capsicum), mushrooms and onion in my vegetable layer to pack in lots of nutrients (and don’t you just love the bright yellow and green colours?). You can use pretty much whatever vegetables you like or have on hand.

I remember my first attempts as a uni student making lasagne… not great. I didn’t understand the concept of the dry pasta sheets needing moisture to soften and cook. I thought the edges I didn’t cover with sauce would get nice and crunchy. Well they did, but they were also raw! It’s not rocket science, just make sure when you’re spooning the sauce over the pasta that the sheet is completely covered.

SPINACH LASAGNA

Prep time: 30-35 mins
Cook time: 20-25 mins
Makes 4 toddler servings (or 2 toddler servings & 1 adult serving)
Freezable

1/2 onion, diced
100g mushrooms, chopped
1 small yellow pepper (capsicum), diced
75g fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1 tsp olive oil
50g butter
2 tbsp plain flour
2 cups milk
A pinch of salt (optional)
A pinch of nutmeg
3 uncooked lasagna sheets
100g mozzarella di bufala (or any fresh mozzarella)
A handful of grated parmesan

Heat your oven to 220C.

In a medium frying pan, heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2-3 mins.

Add the mushrooms and pepper. Cover the pan and turn the heat down a little to med-low. Cook until the onion is transparent and the vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally.

Add the spinach and stir until it just starts to wilt. Take the pan off the heat.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a med-low heat. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon for 1 minute (this cooks the flour to avoid having a raw flour taste in your sauce).

Add about 1/4 cup of the milk to the flour paste and use a whisk to stir to get rid of any lumps immediately. Turn the heat up to medium and gradually whisk in the rest of the milk. Keep whisking until the sauce thickens to a runny custard consistency (not too thick), making sure it doesn’t boil.

Take the white sauce off the heat and add a pinch of salt (if using) and a good pinch of nutmeg. Mix and taste, adding more salt and/or nutmeg if necessary.

In a loaf tin, big enough to hold one lasagna sheet, spoon a few tablespoons of sauce into the bottom (just enough to cover it). Place a sheet of lasagna on top. Cover with half of the vegetable ‘sauce’ and then about one third of the remaining white sauce (making sure the pasta sheet is completely covered). Pull apart one third of the mozzarella into chunks with your fingers and sprinkle it over.

Add another layer of pasta, vegetables, white sauce and mozzarella.

Finish with the third sheet of pasta, top with the last of the white sauce, the remaining mozzarella and sprinkle over the parmesan.

Cook for 20-25 mins until the top is lovely and golden and the pasta is cooked (a knife or skewer will easily pierce through from the top to the bottom). If the top is getting too golden, cover with foil and continue cooking.

Variations:

  • use any combination of vegetables in the vegetable sauce
  • add long slices of lightly fried courgette (zucchini) or aubergine (egg plant) under your vegetable sauce
  • use dollops of ricotta instead of the mozzarella

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Ricotta and spinach pasta sauce

Posted on August 20, 2012 by TheGingerbreadMum

I love a quick pasta sauce for Nicholas. If I have ricotta in the fridge, I’ll add a tablespoon or two to cooked pasta and mix it together with a sprinkling of nutmeg; it’s a meal ready in a few minutes.

My favourite addition to this basic ricotta pasta sauce is spinach. Spinach is packed with almost every vitamin and nutrient we need, so it’s the perfect vegetable to add to our munchkins’ meals.

I wilt the spinach by pouring over boiling water (see my Super Easy and Fast Creamy Spinach Pasta Sauce for some photos of the process), but you can wilt it quickly in a frying pan if you prefer.

RICOTTA AND SPINACH PASTA SAUCE

Prep time: 5-10 mins (depending on how long it takes for your kettle to boil!)
Cook time: 0 mins 🙂
Makes 1 toddler serving

1 large handful of fresh spinach
1 tbsp ricotta
A pinch of nutmeg
A pinch of salt and pepper (optional)

Fill your kettle with water and turn it on. Put the spinach in a colander.

Holding the colander over the sink, pour over half the boiling water. Use a wooden spoon to push down the spinach to drain it. Pour over the rest of the boiling water and again drain the spinach as much as you can.

Chop the spinach and put it in a small bowl. Add the ricotta and nutmeg (and salt and pepper, if using) and mix.

Stir through cooked pasta.

Variations:

  • If you have more time, put the cooked pasta and sauce into an ovenproof bowl, sprinkle with parmesan and bake at 180C for approximately 10 mins until golden brown

Other uses:

  • serve over rice
  • use as a crepe filling

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