Things to Cook: Afternoon Tea Fruit and Veg Smorgasbord

Golden Kiwi Fruit
Frozen Blueberries
Crunchy Mungbean shoots
Frozen Peas
Banana
Chopped Tomato

Things to Cook: Leek, Potato and Hidden Veg Soup

1tbs chopped leek
1 sml potato
1 cup homemade chicken stock (or 1/2 cup commercial stock and 1/2 cup water)
3 tbs chopped purple cabbage
1 tsp chopped parsley
1tbs mungbeans
a little salt
buttered toast for dipping

1. Fry the leek in a little oil till tender.
   
2. Add potato and chicken stock. Cook on medium heat until the potato is just soft.
3. Add cabbage and simmer gently for another minute.
   
4. Add everything else and blend into a smooth soup.
   
5. Serve with bread sticks for dipping.

Gwen has just started to enter the picky stage with her food and was very dubious of this brew at first. Eventually she bravely took a sample bite from the dipped bread after a lot of "yum, potato" sounds from me. She decided that she adored it and yumed it up.

Things to Cook: cheesy carrot pasta

1 cup cooked pasta spirals
1/2 carrot, grated then chopped finely
1 med tomato diced
1tbs finely chopped shallots
1/2 small clove garlic
1tbs chopped parsley
2 tbs finely chopped lettuce or fresh mungbean shoots
1 heaped teaspoon cream cheese
a little oil

1. In a saucepan fry the garlic in a little oil.
2. Add tomato, shallots and carrot, stirring constantly. cook until tomato has softened to form a sauce. you may need to add a little water to keep it moist.
3. Add parsley & cream cheese, mix through on low heat.
4. Add the precooked pasta and stir until coated.
5. Mix through the lettuce/mungbeans just before serving.

Eat with fingers or fork. Yum! A little creamed corn is a nice variation too. If the veges are too obvious for your fussy toddler then add a few more tomatoes to the mix to hide the veg in the sauce.

Things to cook: Spanish Omlette

Kipfler potatoes, peeled and chopped finely.
Sunflower/olive oil
fresh thyme
1 medium tomato, diced
fresh chives
eggs
baby spinach

1. Fry the potatoes on high until almost soft, use a little more oil than you think. the potatoes shouldn't stick to the pan but the shouldn't be swimming in oil either.
2. Add tomato and thyme. Cook on medium heat until the tomato softens
3. Add chives
4. the number of eggs depends on the amount of potato and how many people you'll be feeding. I used 5 eggs here. Whisk the eggs and add to the potatoes. Cook on a very low heat with the lid of the pan on. it will probably take 10 - 15 mins to cook through gently.
5. Add the spinach a few minutes before serving and replace the lid.
6. Slice and serve warm.
   

Things to Cook: the best pancakes ever

1/2 cup wholemeal flour
1/2 cup plain flour
2tbs puffed buckwheat
2tbs puffed amaranth
2tbs puffed millet
2tbs sesame seeds
2tbs almond meal
2tbs sugar
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
a handful of chopped fresh parsley (sans caterpillar, that went to the chooks)
enough water or milk to make it into a pancake batter

mix it all together and let it sit for about 10 mins.

heat up a pan, add a little sunflour oil and cook. flip over when a few bubbles break the surface on the edges. eat warm. serve with a couple of rashers of bacon. no other toppings required.

Things to do: Cooking Together

Having a not very hungry day? Sometimes cooking together is the perfect way to get them to eat.
Mini Banana, sesame, sultana & orange muffins

2 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
90g butter
1 banana
2 tbs sesame seeds
1 sml lunchbox pack of sultanas
1 orange

1. Cream the sugar and butter.
2. Add the flour, egg, milk
3. chop the banana and add to the mixer, or mash it in by hand
4. add the sultanas
   
5. grate the orange peel till you have two good pinches and add it.
6. add 1 tbs orange juice or more to taste
7. add more flour if necessary
   
8. spoon into a mini muffin tray and cook at 180 Celsius for about 10 mins, but keep an eye on them, they burn quickly.
   

Serve hot or cold. They freeze well.
Encourage lots of taste testing at all stages of the process. You can even mix with your bare hands if you go outside and have a hand washing station prepared, or even use this brew for a kind of play dough for awhile, experimenting with cookie cutters, rolling pins and colourful food like blueberries and strawberries to color it.