Recipe: Anti nausea cookies with ginger

I have a good friend who loves to bake. I honestly think there is nothing that she cannot make in a kitchen. While I can cook well enough, she really knows her stuff and how things work together, so, when I wanted to create something to eat that would be relatively healthy but help to quell my nausea, I knew just who to turn to for help.

 

We started off knowing that I wanted cookies. There is a real cookie-palooza going on at the moment, everywhere I turn I see cookies being made and shared. Rightly so. Who doesn't love cookies? They're portable, delicious and very flexible and forgiving.

The brief was that they were to contain lots of ginger and be yummy and textural and just all around amazing. I think we succeeded pretty well actually, and so, I'm going to blog about it! 

Measurements are a bit funny because we wanted to make a small batch and sort of made it up as we went, but I assure you, the end result is delicious and more-ish. It was pretty apparent they were going to work when the raw dough itself was delicious (yay for vegan dough and eating it straight from the bowl!). Apparently that's an early marker of a good cookie!

 

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup coconut sugar
• 1 1/6 cup wholemeal flour (we used spelt but you could use regular too)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 tblsp coconut oil
• 1/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup pepitas
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1/3 cup dessicated coconut
• 2 tblsp grated fresh ginger
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 tsp bi carb soda

Method:

Preheat your (fan based) oven to 180C. Line your cookie trays.
 

I like a low fuss recipe and I don't think you could get less fussy than this one. It's pretty simple really. Add everything into a bowl and combine. You want the mixture to be sticky but not too wet. You may need to add a little more flour or water to get it to the right consistency.

When you're happy, roll the mixture into appropriately sized balls, flatten slightly and put onto your trays. I found it was easier to do this with wet hands. My balls were probably 2 inches or so across when flattened. They didn't spread very much which was surprising.

 

Bake 15 minutes (but check progress at 10 minutes).

I didn't count exactly, but I'd say the recipe probably made 20+ cookies, and I'd say they'd keep fresh for at least a week. They are a soft cookie, which is my preference, but not too soft.

 

 

Notes:

• The raw recipe will freeze beautifully if you wanted to multiply the batch and store some away. Just defrost the dough completely before cooking.
• Add as much ginger as you like. I personally think I'll add in some more next time.
• I don't think the spelt flour made that much of a difference to the recipe. At $7.49/kg versus $0.79/kg for regular whole meal flour, I would be ok using regular flour next time.
• You could mix up the nuts and the coconut. I think next time for added texture I will use a shredded coconut instead.
• They could definitely cope with more nuts and seeds added if you wanted some extra crunch when you bite in.

Do you have a favourite cookie recipe? I'd love to hear about it!

How does your garden grow? August 2014

It's been a while since my last garden update and I thought it was high time to talk about what's been happening in my garden lately.

Mr Fork decided on a whim that he didn't like how our lawn was looking/growing/feeling, so he decided to dig it all up and re-do it. In the picture below, you can see that he started with a small test patch of turf up near my veggie patch. It initially was the sole patch of nice grass in with the rest of the lawn to see how it would go, and then he decided to go ahead and dig up the rest of the yard based on the results.


Bare dirt with test turf patch

Well I suppose he was justified in thinking our grass was horrible - because underneath it, the ground was riddled with these horrible little creatures that I'm informed are lawn grubs. The hounds had great fun pouncing on them as they rose to the surface, and Ellie even got in on the action "helping" scoop them out and dispose of them. Ick.

Lawn grubs

Here is the back of Mr Fork almost finished laying the grass out in this section of the yard.

In progress

Yuki the hound quite appreciates the new lawn and loves lazing around on it. Both hounds seem very respectful of it actually and Mr Fork tells me they don't even poop on the new grass! You can also see a comparison shot of the line between new and old grass where it hasn't been replaced yet. Mr Fork has been lovingly watering 'his' grass daily, which I appreciate, as I've conned him into watering all my edible plants as well while he's at it.

It's a hard life being a hound

Speaking of edibles, here is what is in my veggie patch at the moment. I know it's late in the season for planting these, but I was assured I could grow them year round in Brisbane, so I tested out some bok choi (it's the one with pretty yellow flowers at the front) and some silver beet.

 

Bok choi, silver beet

Also spring onions, some dill and you can see the eggplants happily growing on the right side of the photo.

Spring onion, dill, eggplant

Not pictured yet, but very exciting for me, is that Mr Fork has promised me a new raised garden bed. Since he's digging up all the lawn anyway, I figured there was no harm in asking and he was quite pleased to oblige, as he says it will give him somewhere to toss all the (de-lawn-grubbed) old turf and dirt that won't fit into the compost bin. Construction will apparently start shortly I'm assured.

 

Not an edible, but rather spectacular looking is this grass plant in our front yard. I've fought hard to keep it as it's in a bit of an awkward position but I think it's beautiful. It's growing what I assume will be a flower of some sort? It started off as a small lump of grass in the heart of the plant and is ever so slowly pushing up above the plant on top of the spear part. The yellow section is growing longer and the spear part is growing higher but no other progress is being made. This is the first time in the four (five?) years we've lived here that the plant has done this, so I'm not sure what to expect of the finished product.

Flower?

How does your garden grow? Have you made any changes for the beginning of Spring?

Review: Franjo's Kitchen - Belly Bump Biscuits

I'm not sure how I came across Franjo's Kitchen, I think I was trawling through Instagram and they were tagged in something I was looking at. I started following their account, and I was hooked - biscuits designed in a collaboration between a cook and a naturopath, both of whom are mothers?

And they're vegan, gluten free, nutritious and healthy? And especially designed with new mums in mind? Well sign me up, stat!

They recently had a promotion where purchasing a month of their lactation biscuits (available in two delicious sounding flavours) would score you free postage, but on investigation, Attila might or might not be here within the biscuit shelf life, and I didn't want to buy them and not use them for their intended purpose. Besides, I knew if I had them, I would eat them, and then Ellie would also want some, and we mightn't be able to stop.

So I continued stalking their page, and I was given a little heads up about a new product designed for pregnant mamas - Belly Bump Biscuits.  These are a limited run at the moment, to test the product out, and I was lucky enough to get my hot little (pregnant) hands on a pack.

Six months in and I'm still a bit nauseous so frankly, anything that Attila will tolerate, I will eat. Even better if it's full of good things to boot - like fibre, omega 3, iron, calcium, b vitamins and zinc. Wrapped up with a bunch of other organic ingredients, and some ginger to help combat nausea, and they're a winner in my book!

They did take a while to get to me - I ordered on a Wednesday night, and they didn't arrive until a week later, and if I'm honest, postage was a bit steep - $11.95 for a single pack of biscuits sent from Melbourne to Brisbane. Having said that, they were packaged beautifully in their bag, then in a box, surrounded by packing beans, then in a courier bag so there was no chance of any biscuits breaking enroute. Still, a week? And only ordering one bag (at $13.95 a bag) isn't very cost efficient. I worked out I had 14 biscuits in my 250g bag, and at a cost per biscuit of $1.85 (including the postage) it's a bit pricey.

Having said that though, they were yummy and filling and everything that I could want in a snack. I had to restrain myself from eating them all in one go... but it was tough. They're deliciously soft and chewy, sort of cakey and just the right amount of sweetness and flavour to be delicious. There is plenty of texture from the coconut and pepitas, and the ginger is just the right amount. I'm sold and so is Attila I think.

I definitely want to try some of their tanker topper biscuits for when Attila is born - the fig and almond variety sound amazing.

** In the interest of full disclosure, I purchased the Belly Bump Biscuits as any other customer would. This is not a paid review, but I like the product, the company and their ethos and I really wanted to share. All opinions are my own.

What's in my kitchen, August 2014

In my kitchen is... 

Undersized pumpkins that didn't realise pumpkin season was over and continued to grow on the vine that sprang from compost . Unfortunately, the poor vine couldn't cope with the change to winter temperatures and withered away. I picked the pumpkins before allowing Mr Fork to mow over the shrivelled and brown vine. I'm going to dry them out and experiment with them, but I'm not holding out much hope for their taste really.

In my kitchen is... 

An overflowing bucket of citrus. I planted my own citrus trees last year but they are failing to thrive as the grasshoppers love them. Not so my neighbour's trees, which are visible from my front yard and mock me with the loads of fruit growing on them. If I thought I had lots of citrus last month, this month is a veritable bounty! My neighbour kindly (and gratefully he says) shared some of the bounty so this bucket is full of local, organic oranges, mandarins, lemons and limes. All of them are sweet, juicy and delicious indeed! None of them made it into any baked goods this month as we pretty much devoured them in their whole state. I still have a freezer full of zest and juice from last month so we will be well supplied with vitamin C!

In my kitchen is... 

A whole lot of eggplant and tomato pasta sauces and stews, courtesy of a host of eggplants that ripened at once, fresh from the garden. Those babies were just asking to be turned into delicious 'meaty' stews and sauces, and who am I to deny them?

These were all toddler (and Attila!) approved and made for some good leftovers as well, on the nights I didn't feel like cooking. They are also very freezer friendly meals so a win all around.

In my kitchen is... 

A not-so-secret stash of protein bars. These are from the Coles Simply less range, and I make sure to keep them handy for moments where I simply can't wait to eat something more substantial or it's an inappropriate time to have a meal but I need to eat before I gnaw my own arm off (I blame pregnancy hormones). I generally have one in my handbag, one in my laptop bag and one in the car at any one time... and I'm just super impressed that these are vegan friendly and contain ingredients that I can recognise!! I've only found two flavours so far - Date, Sesame and Chia or Fruit, Oat and Quinoa, but they are both yummy.

In my kitchen is... 

Daiso dried mango. My aunt put me onto this stuff and I should never have started. It's delicious, more-ish and um... the baby wants it. Daiso is fabulous - everything is $2.80 and half of the things there I didn't know I needed until I saw them.

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?

K is for Keeping it Real

There are a lot of comparisons to be made when you have children, especially when you start to compare the specifics. I sometimes think that mamas are our own worst enemies with this. We like to talk about our children, and inevitably the talk often turns to whose baby is doing what and when (read more about why I threw development milestones out the window here). Sure, some babies sleep like little angels right from the beginning. Some get into a great routine first thing. Some slot right into your life easily. Some toilet train like a dream. And then, some don't. No two babies are going to be exactly the same, just the way that no two adults are going to be the same.

Sure, Ellie is generally a great child, but she's definitely not great all the time. I had some friends around for afternoon tea a few weeks ago, and they were there when Ellie woke from her midday nap. She was in a clingy, screaming, totally age appropriate mood… and they had never seen her like that. They commented that she was usually so good and all I can say is that, yes, it takes a lot of effort to help her appear that way. If I know we are going somewhere, I can prepare as much as possible. I can try to align sleep times, make sure she is fed, changed and has plenty of snacks and entertainment packed for distractions. The public, prepared Ellie is very different from the everyday at home Ellie. And that's ok, but it was just a shock to people who hadn't seen her that way.

 

And that is exactly what I'm talking about. I think that as parents, we need to keep it real and support each other. Absolutely, brag if your child does something marvellous, but share the daily grind stuff too. If one was to only focus on what gets posted on social media, it could make us feel a little inadequate and like we aren't doing a good job (or is that just me?!). I don't always have time to do daily craft activities, whip up gourmet treats, create intellectual stimulation, clean the house and socialise constantly while having everyone look impeccably groomed. Yes, I do go out in public with dirty hair and no makeup, wearing (shock!) a tracksuit.

The types of blogs and pages I follow are the ones that share the parenting journey warts and all. There are several reasons for this:
 

• It makes me feel like what I'm doing is ok
• If I'm having a bad day, it helps to feel that I'm not alone
• I don't like to read about how everything is perfect all the time, because how will I know how to handle it when things go wrong otherwise?

The types of stories I share on my blog hopefully reflect that my life isn't perfect – and I don't want it to be! Let's normalise what having a family is like and keep it real!

Do you have a favourite blogger who manages to make you laugh and feel like you're handling things ok? I'd love to hear about them!

Recipe: Celery and mushroom soup

A friend recently gave me a bunch of celery, which reminded me that I'd seen a recipe for celery soup floating around and that it sounded delicious. Of course, I couldn't find that recipe again but I thought gosh, how hard could it be to wing a soup creation? So I did, and now I'm sharing it with you all.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of celery chopped, leaves removed (save those leaves to use for making stock if you're keen).
2 large onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large potato, peeled and cut into chunks
200g button mushrooms, sliced
6 cups of good vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

Method:

1. Start with some olive oil in your soup pot. Add the garlic and onion and sauté until fragrant. 
2. Add the celery, potato and mushrooms and stir for another 2 minutes or so.

   
   
   
   
3. Add the stock and simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. Take the soup off the heat and blend, either using a stick blender, or in batches in a regular blender. 
5. Return to the stove for a further 5-10 minutes to allow the starch in the potato to thicken then season to taste. 

This was delicious served with a drizzle of truffle oil over the top. So yummy, and also toddler approved! Yes, thanks to the mushrooms it isn't the prettiest colour, but the taste more than makes up for it I promise.

Serves 4 generously, with leftovers.

Variations:

• To make it extra fancy, you could add some white wine to deglaze the pot after sautéing the onion and garlic - just saute a little longer to burn off the alcohol.
• Mr Fork actually tried this and said it was tasty, but added some dukkah to the top of his instead of the truffle oil. Hey, if the man eats vegetables it's a win!
• Celery and apples are also a nice combination. You could sub out the mushrooms and add two green apples which have been peeled, cored and chopped for a different flavour variant.

Have you made any soup lately? Please share if you have, it's perfect for the chilly nights we've been having lately!

Moving from the cot to a big girl room

With Attila scheduled to make an appearance in the next few months (eek!), Mr Fork and I felt that it was time to transition Ellie over to a big girl room. Everything we've read indicates that you should make it a fun process and let them be involved so that they feel excited. Recommendations are that you should also do it early enough so that the toddler doesn't feel like they are being 'kicked out' or 'replaced' by a new baby. Fair enough. I'm pretty sure going from one child to two is going to be hard enough without dealing with a resentful toddler on top of it too.

Our first step was to clear out the spare room, which was to become Ellie's room. I'm sad to be losing this space, as not only does it serve as the guest room, but it is also the receptacle of all the things that don't have a proper home in our house, as well as the place where I put all the laundry to be folded. It looks like I'm going to have to be a lot more clean and organised in future! Here are some before shots. As you can see, we had a queen size bed in the room and a bookshelf with lots of things in the room before. It looks really cramped but was decent enough and comfy for a spare room.

 

The bed has been dismantled to live in Mr Fork's man cave, and we are still looking for a home for the bookcase - Mr Fork thinks we should bite the bullets and become adults. By this he means we should purchase a filing cabinet and I should stop flinging random bits of paper where ever they fit and put them in a logical order somewhere. Hmm.

Anyway, after some initial debate, we decided on a king single size bed for Ellie. Our logic was, it will last her longer as we are sure she will be tall, and it is comfortable for either Mr Fork or I to lie in with her on the occasions she wants company (very often right now). We were conservative with the bed frame but bought the best mattress in our budget because well... a good mattress is gold right?

The bed was accessorised with the softest sheets from Kmart - Ellie picked them with a little encouragement from Mr Fork (he thinks girls should have lots of pink.... sigh). At $16, they were an absolute bargain, and they're soft, warm and made from a tshirt sort of material. She has a Sheraton quilt cover which I think is really cute (Mr Fork thinks it isn't girly enough), with stripes on one side and rocket ships and stars that glow in the dark on the other - how cool is that!! I think from the picture it's really obvious I'm not one of those people who iron sheets and covers... don't judge if that's your thing.

Pink sheet, and the two sides of her quilt cover

We've moved her bookshelf into her new room, as well as an old wooden TV cabinet which she can use to store her favourite toys in - Ellie loves to open and shut cupboards and hide things away. The big pillows which are against the wall usually live in our lounge room, but during naps and at night time they get laid on the ground to guard against falls from the bed (none so far thank goodness).

I'm still looking for the ideal rug to put in her room so it's a bit more comfy to play on the ground in there.

The artwork is a print from a children's book that her grandmother gave her when she was born. It sits in a frame and used to hang over her change table, but still looks really grown up in her room.

The print close up

I love her room so far. It's bright and cheerful and not too childish nor too adult. We haven't had the smoothest transition though. Although Ellie loves that she has a big girl bed to herself and she can stand at the windows and have a view out two directions, she hasn't been well lately (thank you daycare!), so that is contributing to the changeover. Most nights she'll go to sleep happily with a story, but several hours later will wake up disoriented. Sometimes we can get her back to sleep, sometimes nothing but moving into bed and snuggling up with mama and Attila (and daddy) will do.

What does your child's bedroom look like? Any must have gadgets or features?