Wednesday 23 May 2012

How sick is sick?

So my dear daughter has been to the "Sick Bay" at school both days this week - wait for it - with a runny nose.

I find it funny that the school has to officially inform you of that also via a note.

I think the sick bay is very exciting for my little one. The first visit was pretty full on, she had a massive fall and took the skin off her nose, arms and legs so had to have a lot of attention. Since then I have received many notes from a "knock on the playground" to "hurt mouth on tap".

Anyway....

I did noticed she was sniffly over the weekend but didn't think too much of it. This child never gets sick! I love it! I'm not sure if it is her diet and general lifestyle but I can count on one hand how many times she has been ill.

But after I picked her up yesterday I noticed the sniffles now included sneezing.

So I packed her off to bed with a heap of Vick's on the chest and back and her vapouriser puffing away.

This morning when I was up doing my 5.30am feed with the baby out walks the daughter. I asked how she was feeling she said her nose was still blocked and follow that by a very chunky sneeze.

Gross!

So I put the baby down for a sleep, wrapped the little one in blankets, gave her some medicine, put the cartoons on and decided she wasn't going to go to school today and jumped back into bed myself.

I get woken up about an hour later to hear my daughter and husband discussing school and why she wasn't going.

My daughter was telling him I wasn't letting her because she was sick but she really wanted to go and then my husband saying your fine go get ready!

Finally my hubby comes in and say's "she really isn't that sick and she should be going to school".

This made me just so annoyed.

Firstly because she is in Prep not Year 12 - she wont miss much today!

Secondly because she is actually not well and is clearly spreading germs around the place.

Thirdly because I don't want any kids let alone mine going to school spreading these germs to everyone they come in contact with.

I'm sure the other parents and the teacher would appreciate her not being there.

Oh that felt nice :)

So yes my daughter is playing happily in every room of the house today, she is not bed bound. But at least I can keep giving her a dose of medicine to keep on top of it and fill her full of veggie soup.

Then maybe she will only be sick for a couple days instead of leaving her and it getting so much worse and ending up to need to have a week off school.

God knows mummy cant handle that!

I don't know how sick you have to be to not go to school or work for that matter, but I know I don't want any illness around for too long!

Monday 21 May 2012

Why can’t I get paid to be a stay at home mum?


I have decided that I’m loving this staying at home mum thing!

I love being able to spend quality time with my baby.

I love being able to drop off & pick up my daughter from school every day.

I love being able to cook during the day and come up with new and exciting meals for the family.

And I love that weekends are actually enjoyed and not a mad rush to only get ready for the next working week ahead.

I honestly don’t know how I’m going to get it all done when I go back to work.

I was talking to a friend about this the other day and we both can’t even understand how we have been doing the jobs we were doing in the first place. Now our work seems very empty and very much something we don’t even like doing.

We also talked about how if we could do our dream job what would it be.

Mine was catering.

Only problem is we need to make mortgage repayments and I have 2 children that need to have school & childcare fee’s paid for. But it was nice to sit and talk about our dreams and what we would love to be really doing.

 It did make me a little bit sad that the one thing women are expected to do is bear children but you’re not aloud to stay home and raise them and actually be paid a wage for that.

But I also like to give my kids all the things I never had as a child. And that cost’s money!

So back to full time work I will go.

Anyways....
The weather in Melbourne is defiantly changing to that bitter cold that hits your bones and makes you want to cry. And even as cold as it is, my daughter still insists on having a cold dessert after dinner. I can’t think of anything worse. 

I don’t really like the idea of filling her full of sugar either just before bed time. So I remembered that not that long ago we were watching one of my favourite cooks – Janella Purcell and she had some great kids desserts that were more natural and a lot less sugar.

This one is an adaptation of one she did. You can use a range of flavors for this; I used Akta Vite as it has some good things in it as well as tasting very chocolaty. I’m sure some Cocoa Powder mixed down with a little water would do the same.

These are a winner in my house. My daughter does love Rice & Soy milk though, not sure about all kids?

Rice/Soy  Milk Choc Pops

250mls of Rice Milk or Soy
1-2Tbs of Akta Vite
A tray of plastic ice block makers (I picked mine up from the $2 shop)
  
Pour milk into a bowl and add your Akta Vite and stir well. Then just pour into your moulds.
Of course there was one lid missing!
Freeze overnight and your all ready. 

If you have any trouble getting them out just run the mould under some hot water, they will pop out in a second.

Friday 18 May 2012

I need a holiday..STAT!


I know I should not be complaining about needing a holiday as I’m currently on maternity leave.

But being a mum is REALLY HARD WORK! 

I seriously take my hat off to all mums and especially mum’s who have more than 2 children. I don’t not know how you do it. A lady at my daughter’s school has 6..yes 6 children. Her eldest is in year 12 and her youngest in Prep with my daughter. She is always happy, smiling, on time to school, no grey hair and is as skinny as a rake. She sickens me and inspires me every day!

So what’s been so hard for me…well

The last few days have been increasingly challenging with my 5 month old as he is teething and nothing is making him happy. 

And my daughter has more things on than anyone I know (such a social butterfly). She has also decided that making it as hard as possible in the mornings is highly entertaining.

I don’t like negotiating with her.  So there is no “if you get dressed I will give you a dollar for the tuck shop”. I just say “if you don’t get dressed you go to school in your PJ’s” and walk away. Problem is with 2 minutes before the bell is about to go she is walking around the house in her underwear. We did manage to get dressed today and across to school, but she wasn’t looking her best – hair was everywhere and I’m pretty sure she didn’t brush her teeth. She did manage to put on some of my perfume.

But I try not to let this stuff get me down. As I know the finish line is in sight and so is that glass of wine.

I also know that it’s all just a phase and it will pass.

So with the stress levels slowly building I just feel like I need a holiday or even just a getaway.

Oh wait a minute…I am about to have a getaway.

My 2 beautiful friends from Adelaide are coming next weekend and we are going down the Peninsula for a night. We are going to soak in the Hot Springs, dine out, and enjoy some wine and each other.

Superdooper fantastic…that will get me through!

I have been fortunate enough this year to do a trip home to Adelaide by myself and now this trip by myself because my dear hubby loves having some time alone with the kids. He is very supportive in all the things I want to do. I am very lucky!

I also think he knows how much I wanted to go away with my family to Bali this year but I can’t due to finances. So me sneaking off for a few nights here and there is his way of saying “this year is going to be tough but enjoy what we can afford”

For those of you who know me, I pretty much go up to Bali every year or so. Sometimes just on girl’s trips, sometimes with the family. I love this place so much and I know not many people do but I find it relaxing and enjoyable and oh so cheap!  The main thing I love about the place is the food. I could eat noodles and rice every day of my life. I have tried to recreate some of the dishes I have had over there. I have even gone into Bali supermarkets and bought some really random packets of spices and sauces. But they are never really the same.

So I have pre warned my hubby I will no doubt be a grump this coming October when I know all my family is away in Bali having a great time. But I will try and live through the month and maybe cook a lot of Bali inspired dishes instead of being there.

Like this one.

My “cheats” Mie Goreng.

Now depending on how many you’re feeding depends on how many packs of noodles you will need. I use 2 packets to feed 2 adults and 1 child in the recipe below. Just adjust your veg etc to how many your feeding.

The reason this is a cheats meal is because the packets of noodles already have a lot of the sauces and spices in them. Which you will need to use.

2 packets of Mi Goreng Noodles
500g Chicken Thighs
½ Onion
½ Carrot
1 Cup of Peas
1 bunch of Asian Greens – I used Pak Choy
1-2Tsb Oil
1Tsb Fish Sauce
1Tsb Soy (I use light soy)
1-2Tsb Kecup Manis
2 Cloves of Garlic - micro plane
1 Thumb size piece of Ginger - micro plane
3 Eggs (or one for each person)
Fried Shallots – optional

OK first thing I do is boil up the noodles are per packet instructions. Drain and then add a little oil to the noodles so they don’t stick and set aside.

Then cut up all your veg and chicken so it’s ready to go. Once we start it’s a really quick meal. 

In a wok add your 1Tsb of oil and fry off your chicken, once cooked remove to a plate.

Wipe out the wok and let’s get going again!

Add in the oil from the packets of noodles, then your onion, garlic and ginger and fry off. Keep a low – medium flame so it doesn’t burn.

Then add in all your veg, give it a toss.

Then add in the rest of the noodle packet spices (if you done want/like chilli omit that) along with your soy, fish sauce and Kecup manis. 

Now add in the chicken and your noodles and cook through till everything is hot. Turn off and pop on a lid while you fry your eggs. I cook my eggs both side but keep some goo to the middle.

Serve into bowls, top with your egg and fried shallots. You can also add a slice of lemon if you like.

This is a really tasty meal, packed with veg and great for mid week.

Hope you enjoy!

Thursday 17 May 2012

Comfort food, but on the lighter side.


As you know we only have really one “Red Meat” meal a week over at our place. It’s funny how my husband hasn’t even really noticed, or hasn’t complained about it. Maybe it’s because the food replacing the “Red Meat” is just so tasty and satisfying!?

I do like a nice slow cooked bit of lamb with veg. It really is that gorgeous winter comfort food that just makes the family happy and the house all warm and fuzzy. And I really love how that one cook up can do a few different meals. I tend to make a pie the night after or use do up a few lunches for the main man.

But I do always feel a bit heavy and slow after a slow cooked meal, so I wanted to try a few different meals that could fall under our winter comfort food.

So today this recipe is one I have now done on many mid week nights. The first time I cooked it I couldn’t believe just how good it was, so I just kept going night after night making it.

The family loved it so I thought this is going to be a permanent on the winter menu. It is also light enough that it can go all year round if you really wanted too.

So this amazing dish is a combination of chicken, chickpeas, garlic, and ginger in a beautiful “Moroccan” sauce with peas (if you like) and a zesty hit of lemon.

It is basically a one pot wonder (I cook the chicken separate), and we love a one pot right? 

While the dish looks a bit heavy and chunky it is surprisingly not. I think it is the hit of lemon at the end and I also put a dollop of Greek yogurt on top which cuts through the sauce.

I have served it with Organic Brown Rice, but last night I used some left over pre cooked couscous and quinoa. I just mixed the 2 together and added in a huge bunch of mint and parsley that had been finely cut up.

And it was amazing!

I have one other dish on my HIGH rotation at the moment – but will save that for a later time.

One word though to get you through to my next blog; Dumplings!

So I hope you give this a go and enjoy it as much as we are.

Chicken & Chickpea “The one pot wonder of winter”

500g Organic Chicken Thighs
1 Onion
1 Big Clove of Garlic
1 Thumb size piece of Ginger
1 x 400g Can of Organic Chickpeas (drained & rinsed)
1 x 400g Can of Organic diced Tomato’s
1Tbs Turmeric
1Tbs Cumin
1 Cup of Stock – Chicken or Veg
½ Cup of Organic Frozen Peas
Zest and juice of ½ a Lemon
S&P to your liking
2Tsb Oil – I use Rice Bran Oil

To a deep pan add your oil. Have on a medium flame; we don’t want anything to burn!
Dice up your chicken and add to the pan and brown off, once done remove to a plate.
Give your pan a good wipe out with some paper towel and add another Tablespoon of oil (still on a medium flame).
Slice up your onion to a medium dice add to your pan and sauté, once soft add in your garlic and ginger.
Now add in your spices and cook off for a minute or two – if the pan is getting too dry add a little of your stock.
Now toss the chicken back in and add your chickpeas, can tomato’s and stock.
Simmer this for about 20 minutes or till Chicken is cooked all the way through.
*If your sauce is reducing too much just add some more stock. You can make this as soupy as you like really! 
Once Chicken is cooked add in your peas and keep on a low heat just till they have reheated in the pan. Now zest your lemon over the top and add in the juice.

You’re ready to serve!


Enjoy with rice, couscous or even some small pasta. Add a big dollop of yogurt and away you go!

Let me know what you think? Or what you added to make it even more delicious.

**Oops - forgot to tell you this serves 4 mains. I sometimes even have enough leftover for a lunch the next day**

Tuesday 15 May 2012

It’s not anal it’s just being organised


On Sundays I try my hardest to get things organised for the week ahead.

I try to make up a batch of muffins or banana bread. I chop up all the bits and pieces for the schools “brain food” and boil up ½ a dozen eggs and pop in the fridge.

 I sit down my daughter and see if there was anything last week I made her for lunch that she would eat again. I have a couple wins during the week, so that makes me happy!

To my disgust though the dear little thing turns to me and says “You know I would love Dora pasta everyday”. OMG I am going to cry….

This can of Dora pasta she speaks of is a BIG sometimes food in our house. It taste terrible, it looks terrible, and I can’t even bring myself to look at the label to see what’s in it. 

You know what I mean right? There are a few things you just turn a blind eye to because you know it makes your kids ridiculously happy! For me this is one of them. So I tell her that’s really food just for home and not school lunch, she kind of believes me and moves on...Phew!

So one other thing I try and get done is a cook up on staples for the week also.

I cook up some rice, quinoa and even a bag of pasta. I then just portion it out to meal sizes and store in those wonderful little zip lock bags. I chuck a few in the fridge and a few in the freezer and away I go.

Since being home on maternity leave it seems the most mental part of my day is around dinner time.
The baby is at his peak of crazy and my daughter is hanging out of the cupboards looking for cans of Dora pasta to eat. So I started cooking dinner earlier in the day, which has worked out really well. I can feed the little ones a bit earlier than dad and I and get them off ready for bed without too much fuss. The problem is when I go back to work in 6 months I won’t be able to do this wonderful cook during the day thing. So last week I trialed cooking at the time I would be getting home – it was interesting that’s for sure.

One thing that seemed to be just a huge time saver was having these pre cooked rice, quinoa or pasta ready to go. As a lot of you know we only have 1 red meat meal a week (which is usually on the weekend) so fish, seafood and chicken and veg don’t take all that long to whip up. So while it was pretty mental, it didn’t take me as long as I thought it would. But there was still a few mid week wines had to get me through.

So if getting a few things cooked up on a Sunday helps overall, why not!

Some people think it’s anal but I think it’s just being organised………………….right?

Sunday 13 May 2012

Just a little less meat please….


So as a few of you may know, I am trying really hard to have the family eat more lean.

I won’t say healthy because I know that will get me into trouble along the way!

About a year ago I thought we were eating too much red meat, which I know my dear hubby would disagree with, but we were.

So I have been making a conscious effort to only have 1 red meat meal a week and a lot more fish or chicken and veg based meals. 

So with the above in mind meals have changed a bit in my house and I have fallen in love with Spinach and Feta Pie all over again. I ate this a lot in my younger single days, also maybe because my best friend is Greek and her mum made the best Spanikopita.

I have tried and tested a few variations of my beloved pie and hope you give it a go and enjoy it too. Please keep in mind this is a small pie to feed my little family of 3. You get 4 slices out of this one, but if your wanting a bigger one (which I have done also) simply double the recipe.

Spinach & Feta Pie
160g of Spinach
1 packet of Feta
½ tbs Dill
1 Egg
1 large clove of Garlic
Handful of Pine nuts
Zest of ½ a Lemon
Packet of Antonio Filo Pastry (fresh filo is the best!)
50g Butter
Pepper

In a pan wilt the Spinach (I micro plane the garlic into the pan at the same time). Once done allow to cool. While it’s cooling toast the handful of pine nut, once done set aside off the heat.

Once spinach is cool squeeze out any excess liquid and put in a mixing bowl. To the spinach add the packet of feta (break up in the pack before opening), pine nuts, dill, egg, lemon zest and pepper to taste. Mix all these together well, if you can leave some of the feta a bit chunky. Now set aside and let’s start with the filo.

My good friend Jamie Oliver taught me this tops trick for working with filo and being able to move it around with ease. So you will need to pull off a big piece of baking paper, scrunch it up and run it under the tap! Squeeze out the excess water and you will have a pliable piece of paper. Lay that on your work bench.



Melt down your butter and get a wet towel to keep your filo damp (to be honest I don’t cover my filo anymore, this part you can do pretty quickly).

Lay 2 sheets of filo side by side on your baking paper, make sure they overlap in the middle, if you’re doing a small pie this will overlap a fair bit. Then cover that in melted butter. Repeat this for about 6 layers.

Once done grab the filo sheets by the baking paper and slide into whatever pie dish you are using. Make sure it’s all pushed into the dish then scoop in your filling. You then just fold all the excess pastry that’s hanging over the edges over the top and cover that with butter also.

Put into a 180 oven for 20 minutes. If golden brown it is done, if not give it another 5 minutes. 

Now then fun part, I always flip my pie over and cook for another 5 minutes so the base is brown and crunchy like the top. You don’t have to do this either, but if you want to its easy. Just turn the pie out like you would a cake onto a plate, then use the baking paper turn back into the pie dish upside down. Simple hey!!!

To serve this I usually make a rocket salad, but now in the cooler months I do some roasted veg…yum!


Wednesday 9 May 2012

If I only get 5 minutes a week, I’ll take it

Does it seem that there is not that many times during the week now that we get just a few minutes to sit back, relax and reflect on our lives? Whatever our lives might be.

For me I’m a mum of 2 and a wife. I’m currently on a year’s maternity leave (that only has 6 months left mind you)…and that’s my life! That’s what I want to sit back and reflect on.

But usually it’s more about the washing, the cleaning, the crying baby, the big sister who doesn’t like her little brother, its hubby not having enough time with me or enough time for himself..And so on and so on.

I try not to get down about any of those things and just get on with it. Usually a glass of wine at the finish line always helps too.

But something strange happened yesterday. I had just got back from taking the kids for a walk and thought it wasn’t too cold to sit outside for awhile. I thought a fire would be nice. We have a great little fire pit and my daughter just loves when we light it up. So with a little help from hubby we got this thing alight.

So there I was sitting back by the roaring fire, relaxed (glass of red in hand) and just watching my little family - reflecting.

Silence came over me.

I was thinking how wonderful and intelligent my kids are.

How great my husband is.

And that I was happy.

This was the first time in a long time that I have been able to do this. It made me a little sad, but life is busy, I’m busy and maybe we just have to take these moments when we can. And for me I’ll take it!

Because sure enough just when I realized I was having this moment I was told I missed the somersault on the trampoline which caused an outburst of tears. And that was it – it was over!