Not rocket science...

Luckily both our kids like fruit.....but I have struggled a little getting Fraser to eat it while at school. He does have a "crunch and sip" time but his 1 piece of fruit would bounce back home in the lunch box each day.

He would then eat it right before bedtime...

So in an effort to create some more interesting lunchboxes and get the piece of fruit eaten during the day, I had a light bulb moment.

Take two pieces of fruit (most days it is 2 pieces of fruit and 1 vegetable). 
Cut into random bite size pieces. 
Place in a zip lock bag......or fancy little bento container.
Add to the lunch box.

......and just like that 2 pieces of fruit and 1 vegetable eaten a day. ( and still the piece of fruit before bed eaten too!!)

The psychology of cutting up bite size easy to eat pieces of food.

We are trying the more "bento" way of packing our lunchboxes...we just haven't quite managed to get the true lunch containers yet but none the less our lunch boxes are looking way more exciting this year.

Here is a great local to us company selling all things "Bento" if you are interested.

Summer Lunch

There really is no other way to spend a way tooooo hot summer day than eating freshly local caught crayfish cooked on the BBQ. {in the air conditioning}

Nothing better....

 I was on my feet all day today and there is nothing better than returning home to pasta being made.......

 and the next best thing seeing my man sharing his impressive creation with his mates for their regular get together....

Strawberries....

Heading back from the city today, I remembered to veer off the freeway and go in search of strawberries......

What I found was a little makeshift shed....

  a couple hard at work inside packing their freshly grown and  picked strawberries....

I have never seen so many strawberries in one place before...

and the aroma was so divine.......  

 Next time I pass I will definitely buy a larger amount.....

as this bowl full has been seriously depleted already......

How do you like your strawberries....

sugared,

with icecream,

or yoghurt?

Or just straight from the bowl?

Dumplings....

Growing up my worst nightmare was mum serving a casserole or stew for dinner!!!!
I just could not make that meat go down...or deal with the combination of all the ingredients....


Years later and cooking for a growing family and wanting to make the most of some cheaper cuts of meat....

I am making AND eating delicious Hearty Casseroles that all my family devour...

(mum would be so proud of me!!!!)

Tonight I found a recipe here for Dumplings.....

They were so simple and took no time at all....they were added in the last 10 mins of the casserole being finished......

Oh yum......excuse the messy pot....making a juicy meat and veg filled casserole is messy business.

Dumplings will definitely be featuring in this dish again.

Homemade Tomato Soup

We have a fine crop of a few varieties of tomatoes.....

Thanks to the hubbie who has tenderly cared for them we now are reaping the rewards....

So in order to beat the critters to our crop we picked the ripe ones and made........

Some Homemade Tomato Soup.........

using this recipe...

 

It was delicious and even the non soup eater in our family was convinced to have a taste and said he thought it was tasty....

Only problem there wasn't enough for us to eat again the following day.

Soup weather

 With the crazy wild weather we had yesterday......and the forecast for the next day or so being more of the same, it was  a great time to try the soup sample I was sent from Nuffnang.

I had already made my switch a couple of weeks ago from tuna and salad lunches to cuppa soups....

The new  Squeeze and Stir Heinz Soup are easy to prepare and very handy for having a stash in the drawer at work or carrying a supply in your handbag.....

Every one carries a supply of soup in their handbag right?????

Well Ok maybe the handiness doesn't mean a handbag stash.

 So it did hit the spot for a quick warm lunchtime alternative.....

Soup sachet and a cup of boiling water is all it takes.....

 So thumbs up from me and thanks to Nuffnang for sending me some to sample and 

share a product talk.

 

Tempting snacks

Do you ever find yourself standing at the pantry/larder and getting a little lot annoyed at the person who bought all the tempting and not so good for your health, foods into the house?.......

 

Only to realise that in fact that person was yourself!!!

 

Home for lunch today by myself and I will let you know that only a tiny piece of chocolate was consumed in the preparation of my semi - healthy lunch.

A Good Thing

Another version of banana bread......

Just had to make using the over ripe bananas sitting on my kitchen bench.

I used the recipe I found here......

but I can't call mine low fat !

I used whole milk and honey instead, cause that's what I had in the fridge.

My Not so low fat version....

2 Bananas mashed

125g margarine(melted)

2 eggs ,lightly beaten

2 tbsp milk

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp honey

1 cup of brown sugar

1 1/2 cups self raising flour

Mix together the bananas, margarine, eggs, milk, vanilla, honey and sugar. Sift in flour and gently combine. You don't want to over beat your mixture just make sure the flour is well mixed in. Now pour into a lined  loaf tin and bake in 160 degrees oven for about 45 mins or until top is brown and cake cooked through. Lift cake out of tin by the paper and cool on a cooling rack.

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The Good Thing:Making banana loaf with over ripe bananas......

The Good Thing For : All who partake!

Happiness

Happiness - Photo a Day

 

 

Happiness is finding yourself standing with the hubbie after church and realising that both kids have gone home with friends......

then remembering we have a voucher for the Indian restaurant....

 

going to that restaurant for a lunch for two....

and the food being delicious ......

 

 and then finding the bill came to $1 less the gift certificate value......

 

Today was a happy day.

(note: I love my kids but I will take an unexpected lunch date with my man in an instant!)

Rhubard Pear Bread

I love rhubarb and I quite like pear so when a friend shared the making of a

Rhubarb Pear Loaf I knew I had to give it a go......

The only way I have used rhubarb in the past is just how my nan did ...stewed and had with custard.

This bread or very moist cake  is so delicious and was so easy ...all in one bowl...just how we like it!

Original recipe found here.

Cake in a Mug

Ever wish you had some cake in the cupboard for a quick snack?

You know in the evening when you really shouldn't be eating......

Here's something quick and really delicious just for those times....

5 Minute Chocolate Cake in A Mug

You'll need.....

4 tablespoons cake flour

4 tablespoons of sugar

2 tablespoons of cocoa

1 egg

3 tablespoons of milk

3 tablespoons of oil

3 tablespoons of chocolate drops ( optional)

1 Very large Mug

here's what you do...

Add dry ingredients to the mug, and mix well.

Crack an egg and add it to your mug.

Be sure to mix it well to avoid and pockets of flour in the corners/

Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

Add the chocolate drops if you've got them, and a splash of vanilla essence too!!

Pop your mug into the microwave and zap for 3 minutes   1.5 minutes on max power.

Wait until the cake stops rising and sets in the mug.

If necessary, run a knife around the sides of the mug, and tip the still warm cake out of the mug and onto a saucer.......or eat straight from the mug with a spoon.!!!

 

Meg and a school friend made these for afternoon tea yesterday....and finished eating them for desert!

A Helping Hand

Something lovely happened this evening just as I was beginning to prepare the dinner.

My little 6 year old guy jumped up from watching a movie and asked if he could help me with dinner!

Now I am not actually the most patient at this time of the night. A time of the night when all things seem to collide and happen at once. It is also the evening that the Mr has to be back out the door straight after eating.....so the help was not really the thing I needed or wanted.

But ....

I have read enough parenting articles and also being a teacher in my former life, to know  that I should encourage all help, as 
a) it may increase the likely hood of having him eat dinner without any fuss 
and
b)also a great chance to teach him a whole bunch of skills...

All that aside I still would rather have got on and done it my own self!

But his offer to help was different tonight....

He actually wanted to peel,chop, dice and anything else I could allow him to do......

It was actually a pleasure to have him help and be so eager to learn how to do  some "grown up" cooking tasks.....

I really must invest in some kiddie safe knives to make the job a little safer for him....

We were putting together ....

                      Creamy Chicken and Tomato Stew Recipe

found here

So I am thankful for the helpful moment together and we created a pretty yummy dinner as a bonus.

First Fruits

The best part of growing your own vegies is the last days deciding whether or not they are ready for picking.

We have a fine crop of carrots and tomatoes in one of our raised beds....

there has been much discussion over when is a carrot ready for picking?

I was sure that you had to wait for them to push their way to the surface and when the orange top came through you picked..... we did debate, as someone in the family was a little less patient....

But finally they are beginning to be ready for harvest...one by one...bunch by bunch....and yes they are busting through the surface.......

Honeyed carrots are delicious when they are straight from the garden.

Sweetness

I made these super simple and super sweet 

Caramel Cups....

Some for now....

Some for lunches...

Some for a work morning tea....

Maybe another for now!!!

I took my instructions from the very cute Bella...check out her spot here.

Yet more baking

These school holidays I feel like I have done so much baking...which means there is lots being eaten.....hmmmm good for everyone but me!!!

Lemon Coconut Squares ...

These are always a winner and never last very long at all. 

Recipe here 
(originally found in The Women's Weekly Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits) 

Raspberry Coconut Slice

Base:

90g butter

1/2 cup castor sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup self raising flour

2/3 cup plain flour

1/2 cup raspberry jam

Topping:

2 eggs

1/3 cup castor sugar

2 cups of coconut

Base: Cream butter, sugar and egg until smooth and creamy, stir in sifted flours in two batches. Spread mixture evenly over base of well greased lamington tin. Spread evenly with jam, then with Topping. Bake in moderate oven 40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in the tin , cut when cold.

Topping: Beat eggs lightly with fork, beat in sugar , then coconut.

( recipe found in Women's Weekly  The Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits)

Then tonight for dinner...

Chicken Balls  

recipe found here.

These were so tasty and a great way to use chicken mince - of which I struggle to do yummy things with.

My Creative Space

My creative space this week has been in the kitchen.....

The Briefs...

Pink Cupcakes wit pink icing and decorations....

{Meg's Year 7 Class party}

Something savoury with no allergy causing ingredients

{Fraser's Year 1 Class party}

Vegemite and cheese scrolls

Desert for our big girls end of term dinner.....

Sticky date pudding...

We are almost there....bring on the school holidays I say!!!!

More creative spaces here.

What more???

What good is a pasta maker if you can't share the goodness?

Following church this morning we headed home to make preparations for a extended family birthday pasta lunch....I know birthdays seem to go for days around here...

Oh the flour trail that comes with making your own pasta....

The birthday boy really excelled at feeding 13 people  spaghetti, meatballs and garlic bread all made from scratch.....MMMMMM

My contribution was a simple chocolate cake......

and a dose of the mid winter sun to bathe in......

Happy Birthday

Does the middle day of the middle month mean that it is half way through the year????

Well it may well be but it also means that my hubbie / their dad is having a birthday today.

Although it was a work day for him we still  celebrated with gifts and food .

We are lucky to have such a multi- talented, clever, strong, wise , handsome and one in a million guy looking after us as a family......

He also is the biggest kid when it comes to gifts......

this year we bought him a pasta maker!!!

So it was a family affair to get dinner on the table tonight......

("my turn")

("no my turn")

("once more for my turn")

Lucky it needed to go through so many times so everyone had a turn!

The kids had it down pat by the end and we had enough spaghetti to feed an entire nation......

but boy it did taste good.....

I may like to bake goodies....but this guy is the master of the real stuff that needs to go on the table......I love that he is so determined to get things right and make it taste just superb.