Early morning

I'm a bit of an early riser.
This attribute (if that's the right word) has stood me in good stead throughout my years of parenthood. When the babies woke up early I have always been...on the whole... pretty happy to get up with them. This has worked well for my husband too - he isn't an early riser!
My daughter is at an age where she regularly sleeps through the night but she and I usually have a quality hour or two together early on in the day before the male members of the family stagger down to throw some cereal in a bowl and start their day.
This morning, after many, many hot, hot days...it was cool in our kitchen. The oven could be switched on without me feeling as though I was in a sauna whilst wearing too many clothes!
I pulled out an old reciepe given to me by a wonderful friend who really introduced me to cooking and how much fun it could be. She brought this cake to Playgroup one day and everyone loved it. The following week she brough copies of the recipe for all of us in the group - she was just that kind of girl - sharing the baking love.
It's super easy and super effective.

Apple Cake

125g Butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup SR flour
2 granny smith apples, peeled and sliced
cinnamon to sprinkle

Blend tog melted butter, sugar, eggs and flour.
Place in prepared cake tin and cover with sliced apples
Sprinkle cinnamon on top
Cook in mod oven for about 40 mns
Serve with dusted icing sugar, cram or just plain.
If you are feeding teenage boys - watch it go!

So if you find yourself up early, with or without a helper, you could try baking a cake. You end up feeling like you've acheived quite a bit ...and it's only 7:30 in the morning!

Dad food

As it happens, for no particlar reason, in our house I do most of the cooking.
Well, actually, the main reason is that I really love to cook and my husband doesn't. He does other stuff, lots of other stuff including going out to work every day to support the six of us.
However, he doesn't cook - much.
 He does have his specialities though and one of these is jelly! Something my children love to eat. I am weird and I don't like jelly, something about the texture turns me off. So I never "cook' jelly. I also never buy it but somehow there are always a couple of packets in the pantry. Just in case....Dad decides to cook.
The other day I come down into the kitchen and jelly making was in full swing and a very happy 5 year old girl was getting the lowdown on how the whole jelly preparation thing unfolds.

The hot and cold water combo, the crystals dissolving and most importantly, the stirring...and the licking of the spoon.

Each time the jelly making happens I try to pretty it up, do it my way by making them use a nice bowl but really I need to let it go. Because this is Dad's cooking time and according to our children jelly tastes so much better in an old yellow plastic bowl, preferably with ice-cream added.
 That's dessert done. Who says the man can't cook??

Megan

Cooking for more

We are a family of six but quite often our well worn dining table tends to look like this.

A table set for eight, not six.
 So, I need to provide food for eight, not six. Now don't get me wrong, I actually love this about my life. Back in my single days I would have run a thousand miles from the idea of cooking for more than ...well...one person. Even then, even if it was only me, I would be more inclined to buy my dinner rather than make my dinner.
Now, however, my life contains a lot more people and quite often these beautiful people in my life ask friends, girlfriends, others over for dinner.
 If this is done at the last minute I spend large amounts of time gazing into the fridge and working out how I can "bulk up" my preplanned meal.
This delicious looking concoction (and I am being sarcastic) was a combination of vegetable korma (the orginal meal), leftover refried beans and leftover quinoa and sweet potato soup! I put it all together then made it go even further by adding one of my very favourite pantry staples - evaporated milk.

I could do a whole post on how much I love cans of evaporated milk but suffice to say that when I presented this stew/curry on a bed of rice. (Have I mentioned how much I love my rice cooker?) I got an extremly positive response from even the fussiest eaters.
So even though those single days meant less work in the kitchen I wouldn't swap that crowded table for anything.

Megan xx