Tuesday 30 June 2015

Fame Theatre Company: Little Red Riding Hood

Throughout my school years, I always did some kind of dance. It started with ballet, then when I realised I didn't really have a traditional ballerina body, I tried all types: jazz, hip-hop, street latin, ballroom, pole dancing, you name it! In high school, I still danced, I sang first soprano in the school choir, I played clarinet in the band, and if there was a theatre production happening, you better believe I was going to be in it! I've performed on stage and I've worked as stage crew and I just love live stage shows - there is something about the atmosphere and energy of them!

I was therefore super excited to be offered tickets to see the Fame Theatre Company's production of Little Red Riding Hood, showcasing the talents of the children who train there in performing arts and musical theatre.
In the tradition of Fame school holiday productions, the show has a large cast of singers, dancers and actors as well as colourful stage sets, costumes, music and dancers.
I have to say, I do have a soft spot for musical theatre, and I rather enjoyed the performance. There was humour pitched at the adults of the audience, and plenty of songs and dancing pitched at the younger members. There were plenty of pop culture references, and lots of repetition so that children could become familiar with songs and enjoy taking part in the toe tapping. My toddler companion was mesmerised and was clapping with lots of enthusiasm by the end. The big bad wolf and his weasel companion were one of the show highlights for me, although I was so impressed with the standard of all performers.
I was particularly excited to see that there were two volunteer AUSLAN translators on stage, and thought they did a marvellous job interpreting.

Perfectly timed to run during the June/July school holidays, Little Red Riding Hood is showing at the Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre, 102 Main St, Kangaroo Point from 30th June to 4 July. Performances are at 10am and 1pm daily, and tickets are $18.

http://www.fametheatre.com.au/THEATRE/

Disclaimer: I attended the show as a guest of Fame Theatre. All opinions expressed are my own.

Monday 29 June 2015

Recipe: Spicy papaya salad

To be honest, it's a bit cheeky to call this a recipe since it really is just throwing a whole bunch of things into a bowl and letting the flavours combine. I got so many comments about it when I served it at a dinner recently though, that I thought I better document it anyway! It's so colourful and delicious, and the spicy chilli dressing makes it a good winter option.

It reminds me of being in Thailand, where I ate so much of this salad - but every time I ordered it, I had to specify: extra chilli, no fish sauce, no shrimp, no meat, more peanuts please! With my version, at least I know there is nothing in it I wouldn't eat!

I started off wanting to make a green papaya salad, however, when I cut open my green-on-the-outside papaya, it was not so green anymore, but I decided to go with it anyway! It's a very flexible salad, I've given you the quantities I used, but feel free to change it up to your own tastes and add or remove things as you want (as I mentioned, the traditional version would include shrimp and fish sauce too).
Spicy Papaya Salad
printable link

Ingredients:
  • 1 green papaya, grated (yield, about 2 cups)
  • handful green beans, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
  • 1 large carrot, grates (about 1/4 cup)
  • punnet of cherry tomatoes, sliced into halves
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small red chilli, minced
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1 tsp raw sugar
  • salt to taste
  • Optional: roasted peanuts, finely sliced lettuce
Method:
  1. In a mortar and pestle, mix together the chilli and garlic before adding the lime juice, sugar and salt.
  2. In a large bowl, add the papaya, carrot, beans and cherry tomatoes. 
  3. Pour the garlic/chilli mixture over the top, and mix everything together. Cover tightly (so the smell of garlic doesn't permeate the fridge) and let it sit in the fridge while the flavours marinate.
  4. To serve, dish up and sprinkle with the peanuts.
Notes:
  • I had intended to mix lettuce into my salad but I completely forgot to add it. I don't think it lacked anything, but it would totally work in there too for a bit of extra crunch.
  • You could also substitute the lettuce for cabbage instead.
  • The dressing is quite spicy, but I like a little heat. You could easily leave the chilli out, or serve them at the end sprinkled on top as well.

I served it alongside burgers, to add some vegetables into a carb filled meal. It was a perfect accompaniment!

I have submitted this salad to the July 2015 No Croutons Required

Do you eat salads in winter?

Thursday 25 June 2015

Poultry in motion

Let me tell you the story about how we came to have chickens. See, we'd been thinking about getting a few backyard hens for ages, and then everything sort of fell into place: a chicken coop came up on our local freecycle page, it was a long weekend so Mr Fork could make coop repairs and build a chicken run, we had time to go to a farm and have a look around and see what was what. Despite not eating eggs myself, Mr Fork and Ellie do, and chickens are wonderful garden assistants and scrap eaters.

Mr Fork is a bit of an impulsive person. So despite me, his country raised wife, saying that perhaps it was better to do some more research, get point-of-lay chickens, or perhaps do some more investigation into breeds and preferences, he insisted that everything would work out.

As soon as he saw them he was set on silkie bantams because they were just so cute and so much smaller than full sized hens. Of course, being the thrifty sort, he also said that he would like to get day old chicks as they were much cheaper than the older point of layers. Now I've never personally raised chickens myself, but I grew up in rural farm country, so I do know that day old chicks take a fair amount of work, especially cute fluffy little purebreeds and who in their right mind gets day old chicks in winter?! Being on maternity leave still, I also knew who would be doing the care and raising of these baby chicks should we get them...
Anyway, he'd said all of this in front of Ellie, so naturally, we came home with three of the teeeeeeeniest little silky bantams I have ever seen. I think they were literally only 7-10 days old. They were promptly christened Sarah, Vanessa and Jemima (thank you Peppa Pig for your chicken naming inspiration).
Vanessa
The chicks lived in a box in our sunroom, with a heat lamp, fresh food and chick pellets daily, a meticulously cleaned floor and oft-refreshed bedding and plenty of interaction from the loving humans around them. Despite that, over the course of a week and a bit, all three of the teeny babies didn't make it. I suspect they were not well to start with, but certainly their size and the weather didn't help.

As we have the setup, and Ellie has been so enthusiastic about having chickens, Mr Fork was not deterred, and promptly hastened out for replacements. Now, instead of delicate bantams, we have two Rhode Island Red/White cross, and two of what I suspect are Wyandotte or Australorp cross. These are not bantams, but full sized chickens, and probably about 5 or 6 weeks old now.
Ellis has named them Sarah (again), Jemima (again), Vanessa (again) and Neville, as that was also a Peppa Pig chicken name. Despite my suggestion that Neville was a boy's name and we (hopefully) have female chickens, she insisted. I compromised and Neville is now pronounced as Nev-ill-ay. I realise that this is not a particularly good name for an egg chicken (Never-lay anyone?). 

They will be living indoors with a heat lamp for some time more until they are bigger and hardy enough to relocate to their outdoor accommodation on a permanent basis (they do get supervised outdoor time at the moment too).
Any tips or tricks you can offer about raising tiny chickens and keeping them healthy and alive will be accepted with gratitude.

Tuesday 23 June 2015

Morning tea with Medela

Jimmy, Ellie and I recently went to morning tea with Medela at the Brisbane Pregnancy, Babies and Children's expo.

I've talked a bit about my breastfeeding journey with Jimmy here. He is now eight months old and we are still going strong. I recall him being five weeks old and not knowing how I could keep going. When we went to have his tongue and lip ties corrected, I remember the dentist asking me how long I intended to breastfeed him for, and without needing any thought, I answered with "as long as he wants to". It's been a hard journey though, and I still constantly wonder if I'm doing a good job, if he's latching correctly, if I have enough milk, if he's getting too much/not enough... and so on. And yet... look at him!
He is obviously healthy, and happy, and doing well.., and if I have to co-sleep and feed him every few hours around the clock to keep him that way, then so be it. I won't sugar coat it though, it is hard! I just keep telling myself he is only little for such a short time, and to enjoy being his happy place. When I do go back to work, I know that my Medela Swing pump will help me provide Jimmy with milk for when I can't be there to feed him directly.

Anyway, this morning tea was a lovely supportive experience. It really showed me that there are organisations out there who are passionate and informative and so enthusiastic about helping mothers to be educated and supported to feed their babies.
Katie James, a midwife/lactation consultant who works for Medela spoke about the latest statistics and research about 'normal' breastfeeding... and really emphasised that there is no such thing! Some information that I found interesting (my emphasis) was:
  • In Australia 96% of mothers choose to breastfeed their baby from birth. While this is a fantastic statistic, we see that rate drop dramatically in the first few months; in the second month full breastfeeding (this is where no other food or drink is fed to baby) rates have dropped to 57% and by 5 months under 30% are still fully breastfeeding.
  • The most common reason given for mother’s ceasing breastfeeding is the belief they do not have enough milk, often because their baby feeds frequently/more than other babies.
  • Jackie Kent and The Hartmann Lactation Research group in the University of WA looked at many mothers and infants from the ages of 1-6 months and found that there were great variations of normal! For example once a baby is growing well a breastfed baby may feed anywhere from 4-13 times in 24 hours, boys do eat more than girls, and yes it is very normal for babies to feed at night, with 2/3rds of all babies drinking 20% of their milk between 10pm and 4am!
There is a lovely downloadable infographic that explaining all the research here.

One thing about the morning that I particularly enjoyed was hearing about how Medela is charitably contributing towards supporting Bangladeshi mothers to breastfeed for longer. There is a high morbidity and mortality rate in the country due mainly to early cessation of breastmilk feeding and the introduction of infant formula combined with poor sanitation. Medela Australia have donated pumps and have a volunteer on the ground working to educate families and employers about breastfeeding, expressing, cup feeding and providing so much more ongoing support. Due to limited maternity leave, mothers in Bangladesh often return to work once their babies are two months old, and with up to 14 hours a day, 6 days a week.

I feel privileged that I have had eight uninterrupted months at home with Jimmy, and so much help and assistance to breastfeed him. I am proud that I have provided for my baby and nourished him so well. Of course, any way a mother chooses to feed her child is fabulous, but for me and this baby, this is what works for us.

Thanks to Medela, I have a $50 Medela voucher to giveaway to one lucky With A Fork reader. To enter, leave a comment below telling me the most valuable advice you would give to a new mother.
Entries open Tuesday 23 June 2015 and close Tuesday 30 June 2015 at 7.00pm AEST. Entry is open to Australian residents only. Prize will be delivered by Medela, With A Fork takes no responsibility for prize delivery. If I do not hear back from the winner within two days of notification, the prize will be redrawn. ONE entry per person please. This competition is in no way endorsed, promoted or administered by Facebook. 

Good luck!

Wednesday 17 June 2015

A bit Hippy haircare and nappy balm

In addition to the sweet Winter Warrior skincare essentials from A bit Hippy I recently posted about, they were kind enough to give me a few extra samples to try as well.

I was particularly interested in the samples of Ditching' the Itching' Scalp Loving Shampoo and Say No to Silicon Scalp Loving Conditioner. With some natural shampoos and conditioners I find that the shampoo isn't foamy and I need miles of conditioner to make my hair soft. Not with these babies! My hair was left lovely and clean, with no itchy, flaky bits. Again, I'm really impressed that I can use these products on everyone in the house so there is no need to clutter up the shower with specialty products for each person.
Jimmy obligingly needs a couple of nappy changes daily, so I've also had a chance to use the Happy in my Nappy rash balm. I don't always use cream on him, but because he's been sick recently he's needed a bit of extra protection in the nappy area. His irritated red skin has disappeared and he's back to being smooth as a babies proverbial there! I do have a few tiny little annoyance with the cream though. Maybe because it's been so cold, and the cream is just packed full of natural oils, but I found it quite hard and needed to really dig it out of the container to use. It probably wouldn't be a problem in warmer months, but this did make spreading it a bit painful. Also, it contains zinc, which means I can't use it with my cloth nappies. Otherwise, I really loved it for use with disposable nappies

Disclaimer: Thanks to A bit Hippy for providing these gorgeous natural products for editorial consideration!

Monday 15 June 2015

How to nurture your child's inner artist

This post is brought to you by Nuffnang and Crayola.

Now that I have both an infant and a toddler, I am constantly looking for ways to entertain Ellie so that I can tend to Jimmy without distractions. There's only so much reading we can do, and I'm guilty of putting on a Disney movie more often than I'd like to admit (I know all the words to Frozen, not to mention Nemo, Despicable Me, Monsters Inc and Shrek!) but I also like to let Ellie bust out her inner creative as often as possible too. One thing Ellie loves to do right now is to draw (look at her first recognisable drawing here!).

However, as parents with toddlers can probably attest, my house is also littered with evidence of her growing attachment to adding artistic flair to everything! See some examples below:

Spot probably didn't have as much fun as Ellie did - 
Her couch - 
Biro, and assorted food stains too, on my dining chairs -
Marker which I noticed too late to remove so now permanently on my dining table - 
There are also drawings on my ugg boots, the shelves in her playroom, several of my quilt covers, uncountable items of clothing, and at one stage, Toby our white dog sported some lovely pink highlights throughout his fur. It doesn't matter if I give her markers, pencils, crayons... she finds a way to transfer art to something she shouldn't. It's very hard to be too cross with her when discovery goes something like this:
Me: Ellie, did you do this?
Ellie: Yes, I did
M: Why did you do it?
E: I was drawing and I was naughty. Mama, can you please clean it off now?
I love that my toddler still believes I can fix everything for her, but I am getting tired of trying to remove drawings from lots of things in my house. I was therefore over the moon when Crayola offered to send me some of their Color Wonder products. Whoever came up with the concept obviously was a parent with a toddler I'm thinking! The markers have a special non-toxic ink in them that only appears when used on the Color Wonder paper. Hurrah! That's right, it doesn't show up because it's clear on skin, furniture, carpets and regular paper.
Ellie was super excited to receive a Disney Frozen pack. Each pack comes with 5 different coloured markers in colours to suit and 18 pages to colour in. When you use the marker on the special paper, the colours appear on the page. It's a bit hard to explain, so I took a little video of her doing her colouring in thing to demonstrate - probably best not to have the volume up too loud as it ends with her doing a triumphant  "There!" exclamation.
She really wanted me to put up the video where she is colouring AND singing Frozen's "Let it Go" at the same time, but I don't think the Internet is ready for that just yet!

I have to say, this is one of my favourite products at the moment, so much so that I've hidden all of her regular pens away for awhile. I love that I can sit her down to do colouring, and the fact that she's being quiet doesn't mean trouble and random colouring, just that she is really getting into the moment! If you have an indiscriminately artistic child and you need a pack of these, you can find stockists via the Crayola website.

Do you have an artist at your house? Let me know in the comments where your little artist has created somewhere they shouldn't!

Disclosure: I received two packs of Crayola Color Wonder via Nuffnang to review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own and I received no payment for this review.

Tuesday 9 June 2015

A bit Hippy - Winter Warrior Skincare

I talk a lot about food on this blog. Mr Fork and I may live on a tiny suburban block, but I'm a country girl at heart. I love to be sustainable and eco friendly (read a bit more about it all here). I especially love to grow my own food - it's healthy, it's cheap and I like knowing what I put on my plate. I feel that eating and sourcing local ingredients where possible is so important, both for the environment and for the local economy. I like knowing that I'm a bit self sufficient, growing vegetables and making my own bread, but I'm also ok buying kitchen staples from the grocery store too. It's about taking small steps to do what you can isn't it?


I'm not into labels, not really. I'm a vegetarian who eats vegan at home. I'm married to the biggest carnivore I know. Why label it?

Living an eco friendly and sustainable lifestyle is more than food just though. It's caring about the ingredients in other things too. Like skincare. Did you know that our skin is our largest organ and absorbs up to 60% of what we put on it? Yeah. So you'd want to be using stuff without any nasties if you can right?

Coming into winter, my skin can get dehydrated and just plain freak out (I'm looking at you, big chin pimple!), so sometimes a bit more love is needed to help maintain that summer glow.
When the team at A bit Hippy, asked if they could send me some winter warrior saviours, I jumped at the chance. A bit Hippy is a natural skincare company in Burleigh Heads. So, they're local AND they are 100% pure and natural, plant based, vegan friendly and totally affordable. Shut the front door!!

Let's talk about Rosehip oil shall we? I love the stuff. It's like a miracle oil that helps with pigmentation, dry skin, scarring, stretch marks... the list goes on. I'm also picky about the sort I use, because it can oxidise and lose effectiveness if it's exposed to air. I was super chuffed to see that A bit Hippy's Rosehip with Benefits is packed into an airless and lightless pump to keep it fresh. There's also some Vitamin C (that's the 'benefit') in the mix to help new cell turnover. It's a lovely strong yellow colour and has a fresh smell so I know it's been treated and stored correctly. I've been using it morning and night after cleansing (and before moisturiser in the morning) and I have to say I'm feeling moisturised and maybe even a little bit less pigmented (pregnancy is awful to your skin I have to say!). While I had some problems getting the pump to work at first, once it got going, I had no other issues.
I also tried the Soothing and Improving moisturiser. Usually I have a couple of moisturisers on the go at any one time, but since giving this one a try, I haven't been reaching for anything else. There is plenty of liquorice root extract, aloe vera and almond oil so it's super soothing and a great texture for keeping that dry and scaly winter skin at bay without feeling greasy or taking forever to soak in. My skin just drank it up. I also tried a little on Jimmy as his skin was a bit dry after the pox/HFM incidents and it worked really well on him too. I'm big on products that are multiple use and for multiple people!
And just as a little aside, how cute is this delivery box? There were also some seriously sweet badges included which miss Ellie has claimed for decorating her daycare bag.

This post is getting a bit long, so I'll talk about the other goodies in a separate post. 

Disclaimer: Thanks to A bit Hippy for providing these gorgeous natural products for editorial consideration!

Friday 5 June 2015

How does your garden grow, June 2015

With the change in season it's high time I did another update about how my garden is progressing I think. I'm linking this one into the Garden Share Collective for the first time.

With a seven month old (seven months already!) in the house who is an extremely needy infant, I haven't had time for serious gardening, so it's really been mostly maintenance and coaxing what is already in the ground along.

I've had galangal show itself again, which is exciting. Last time I had green shoots, nothing really happened below the surface so I have high hopes this time.
The sweet potato continues to produce lots of leaves but only small tubers which seem to be full of holes. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong there, but the leaves are at least a tasty addition to soups and casseroles. It's making flowers which is something I've not noticed it doing much before. It was an experimental plant in a little used section of the garden but I hate to put effort into helping it grow and then not getting results.
I threw in a couple of bokchoy seeds I'd saved from last years plants, and they've finally come up and started to look tasty. Technically I could start eating them now, but I'd like them to be a bit bigger before I use them I think.

Snow peas aren't doing so well, but there are a few stubborn peas coming and some green climbers going up the support, so if it's producing, it can stay for now.

What am I planting

Not a lot to be honest. I've put in some carrots and some new shallots as the old ones were looking a bit tired.
What I am harvesting

My eggplants are still producing prolifically. It's a bit of a hassle actually as they've taken over that garden bed completely. I'd love to dig them out and get some more variety in there, but it's such a shame when they're on a roll, so they get to stay for now
I've got to get the basil picked and preserved, likely into pesto form for use later. My passionfruit vine is finally (finally!) kicking into gear. I've got at least 30 fruit out there, likely more if I can conquer my grasshopper fear and do a proper search. I'm just waiting for them to ripen and shrivel up for maximum sweetness.
A lonely little lime. The only fruit that I have managed to coax from any of my citrus actually. This one was a survivor, managing to thrive despite leaf miner infestations and several attacks on the tree by the hoards of rampant grasshoppers in my garden. Go you good lime! I'm in desperate need of help from these grasshoppers though - both the little fellows and the giant scary looking ones. Here's my sad looking lemon tree trying to come good.
Plenty of parsley there for the picking. I've always had problems with parsley but this one won't quit. I can't complain, fresh parsley makes most meals delicious. I think this garden bed was well seeded with horse manure and dynamic lifter and it's paying off now.

On my to do list
  • Research keeping chickens. I'd love to get a small chicken coop going but I'm unsure if I could make it work logistically on our small block, and with the dogs. Additionally, Mr Fork is rather fond of his grass and can't decide whether he wants lush greenery or friendly little cluckers more. I'm leaning toward a small moveable coop, suitable for housing 2-3 small bantam style chickens, and allowing them free range of the yard... but I need to research more and look into different coop styles
  • Plant the rosemary sprigs that I've had sitting on my windowsill for quite some time now. I often have bad luck with rosemary, so I'm loathe to plant it, but it can't keep living in a jar and give me the amounts I want it to... so into the garden it must go!
  • Attack weeds with gusto while they've slowed down, and then mulch, mulch, mulch!
How grows your garden?

Wednesday 3 June 2015

What's in my kitchen... June 2015

And the year is just flying by. It's officially Winter now. WINTER! How on earth? I mean, it feels like just yesterday that it was Summer and I was complaining bitterly about having a nursling who wanted to be constantly attached in the middle of the heat. Now it's starting to get cold and I have a curious infant I have to encourage to feed for longer so I can steal some snuggles and warmth! Haha. I'm loving the change in seasons and everything it brings though - mornings are cooler and the sun rises later, so everyone sleeps a little longer (hurrah!). We've added some more blankets to the bed, so it's really hard to get out of it in the mornings. When I do get out though, that sole cup of coffee I allow myself tastes all the better for being hot when the house is just so cold. Winter vegetables are coming into season, so there are lots of lovely pumpkins, green leafy spinach type things and potatoes making an appearance in our meals.

In my kitchen is...

Porridge! Now that it's officially winter, there is no shame in admitting that one of my favourite winter breakfasts is the humble oat porridge. Since I'm still on maternity leave, I like to make it the old fashioned and slightly longer way, with proper rolled oats (not the express type) on the stove top instead of in the microwave. I like mine made on just plain water, so I use a mix of 1:2 oats/water ratio. That gets put onto the stove and stirred until the water is absorbed and the consistency is thick and hearty looking. I then divide that into three - a larger bowl for me, a medium bowl for Ellie and a tiny bowl for Jimmy (wow, that sounds a little Goldilocks like now that I've written it). Mr Fork is not a breakfast person and just has a coffee before work before you think I'm mean and not sharing...
Jimmy has his plain. Ellie and I vary our toppings, but she tends towards plain honey and shredded coconut on hers. I like to mix it up. Some of my favourite toppings at the moment include:
  • Frozen raspberries, shredded coconut and maple syrup
  • Shredded coconut and passionfruit jam
  • Almonds and blueberries
  • Mayvers chocolate superfood spread
  • Stewed fruits and cinnamon (the leftover apples from my flower tarts were perfect!)
  • Coconut or almond milk for a little bit of extra decadence
In my kitchen is...

Mayvers spreads. I can't believe I've not mentioned these before, but since I brought it up with the porridge, I better elaborate. I think all of these spreads by Mayvers are awesome-sauce. I love the super spreads (I have two because they've been on sale when I grocery shopped recently). I've also tried a few of the tahini varieties and the peanut butters. I'm especially chuffed that they are a bit different - instead of plain peanut butter (which they also do), there is a peanut and coconut version as well as a peanut and cacao variety too. I'm munching my way through them all, knowing that they are all-natural pure foods, and I'm supporting an Australian business at the same time. Winner, winner!
In my kitchen is...

A lonely lime. I know that I've been showing off a lot of citrus recently, but this one is special as it is the only lime that I have managed to coax from my own lime tree. This one is a survivor, managing to thrive despite leaf miner infestations and several attacks on the tree by the hoards of rampant grasshoppers in my garden. Go you good lime! I think it will be my only citrus this year.
In my kitchen is...

Passionfruit jam. That bowl of passionfruit from last month was cooked up and turned into jars and jars of passionfruit jam. It turned out absolutely delicious, and I've been eating it on bread, cooked into muffins and drizzled over the top of my morning porridge. Ellie was thoroughly interested in the whole jam making process and couldn't wait to try the end result. Her verdict? "Yummy, except I don't like the seeds". Yes, I think she has missed the point slightly! Luckily I think it's great.
In my kitchen is...

Chocolate, choc chip banana cake. Have I ever shared on here that I loathe bananas? Well I do. The smell and taste of them is just not my cup of tea. Despite that, my children both love them, so I suck it up and buy them. At this stage I even help Jimmy to eat them as left to his own devices he just squishes them into everything and gets frustrated that not much makes it into his mouth. I had two bananas that were beyond eating but perfect for baking, and so, when I came across a recipe that did everything in a bowl with a mixer, it was a winner (since I didn't want to use my hands).
Sorry for the terrible picture, but a certain toddler insisted she needed a piece "right now mama please" so I didn't get time to take in situ photos.

I omitted Katie's suggestion to ice it and just left it plain. This is not a vegan recipe, but since I wasn't eating it, I didn't modify it and used real butter and eggs in it. Mr Fork tried a small piece and informs me it is delicious and fudgey. It made a pretty big cake, especially for someone who doesn't eat bananas. I gave half of it to a friend as a swap for some vegetable seedlings and magazines she dropped over while I was quarantined. Of the remaining half, I froze half of it for future-Ellie's morning tea requirements, and cut the remaining quarter into small pieces for when Ellie demands a snack. Since it is very low in sugar and nasty things, Jimmy has also been allowed to gum on a small piece, to his delight.

In my kitchen is...

(or was!) Planet Food coconut chips. These were an impulse buy as they were on sale at my local Coles. While they say on the packet that they are suitable for vegetarians, I can't see anything in the ingredient list (Coconut, Preservative (220)) that makes it non-vegan friendly either. These are delicious and more-ish. Not too sweet and with a lovely crisp texture. I'm lucky I only bought one packet for I could easily eat these continually if given the chance. I ate the entire packet as an afternoon snack one day. Yum!
I am linking this post in with Fig Jam and Lime Cordial's monthly In My Kitchen event. Go have a peek through other kitchens around the globe!

What's in your kitchen this month?

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