Kids in the Kitchen

We all know that cooking with kids is a great idea, a fun thing to do, a great bonding experience. Even educational. It may also be your version of hell.

If you're considering getting into the kitchen with your small one, if the guilt has finally gotten to you, coming to terms with the following facts will save your sanity.

1. It'll be messy.

There's no getting away from this. There will be mess. Even the simplest of recipes will make a mess. Flour on the floor. Batter in your kids hair, or yours. Sauce in places it couldn't possibly be. Mentally prepare yourself for a lot of mess. It's all part of the fun. Sorta.

2. It won't be perfect.

If you're a perfectionist, maybe you should just take your kids to the park instead. Biscuits will be oddly shaped. The cake will rise wonky. Something will burn.

3. It will be slow.

Especially with really young kids. Little hands don't work as fast, aren't as strong. Also, they get distracted pretty easily.

4. Your kid will eat all the ingredients before you've made anything.

My daughter eats the flour. The mixture. Any kind of dough. All spices. Butter is eaten in chunks. They will spend most of their time "Tasting".

5. They will get bored.

It's very possible, that after a little while they'll just lose interest and you'll be up to your elbows in chocolate cake, or un-iced sugar cookies. This can be a blessing in disguise.

Still wanna cook with your kids? Then take my advice....Or not.

1. Time it right.

Mid-morning, on the weekend, when you've been sufficiently coffee'd or tea'd into consciousness. You'll be less rushed, and there'll be plenty of time to create and eat your masterpiece.

2. Set the scene.

Clear off as much space as possible. You'll need it. Everyone washes their hands. Everyone dons an apron. Grab a stool for the short people, or if your knees can take it, set up at the kids table. (Move it into the kitchen if that saves the carpet.)

3.Read the recipe.

Make sure you've read the recipe numerous times, especially if you haven't made it before. Kids in the kitchen are totally distracting and it's easy to miss a step!

4. Let your kids actually do stuff.

Measure out the flour. Crack an egg. Stir things. Show them how, but try not to take over. Jump in when they need a bit of muscle, or if you're using electric beaters.

5. Let them taste everything.

Yes, even the flour. It's a great time to get them actually thinking about flavours. Is it salty? Is it sweet? Spicy? Dry or wet? Slimy or smooth?

6. Let them lick the bowl.

Licking the bowl is one of life's pleasures. I know there's hoo-ha about raw eggs etc, but I've never keeled over from ingesting cake batter, have you?

6. Even Chefs clean.

If they haven't already done a runner once the cake is in the oven, get them involved in the clean up. They can rinse stuff off in the sink, wash their hands, put the aprons away. Or just kick them out and do it yourself... you'll be needing a cup of tea by now.

7. Congratulate them on a job well done.

Bang on to anyone who will listen about how the small fry made the scones. They will beam with pride and it will all be worth it.

8. Smile Smugly.

You've earned it. File the memory away for those days when you feel like a totally crap mum who does nothing but yell.

Or is that just me?

Adventures with French Food, a Picture Book

Tadpole's yoghurt. In glass jars. I very nearly smuggled the empty jars back to Australia!

One of the best things about France is the food. Obviously. It can also be one of the worst, funniest, weird and amazing things about France.

Let me show you just a few things I encountered on our recent trip to our other "home".

First, we arrived just in time for Xmas which is celebrated on Xmas eve, with lots of food and wine, until midnight when you open your gifts.
Among other things, we had:

Oysters, almost the size of my hand.

Snail like creatures from the ocean...

Yep, I had one. Not bad really.

And then, after numerous other canapes...

The cheese platter, made fancy with figs and walnuts

And lastly,

Dessert, why just have one choice?

My mother in law decided that New Years should be a simpler affair,so she headed to Picard, a store that sells pre-prepared, frozen food, but not as we know it.

A few canapes to start...

All ready made, from the store.

And then just for me, because I once had them at my local bar and thought they weren't bad, they gave me these...

Snails, in all their garlic butter glory, from the freezer to the oven.

For your viewing pleasure. You're welcome.

 We had a few other pre -made and quite lovely canapes, then pulled out dessert, also from Picard.

Eclair anyone...?

Oh, and these...

Because one is not enough.

After New Years, we headed to Marseille, stopping on the way in Lyon, the Food Capital of the food capital. We arrived late but in need of dinner, so my in laws went out for a walk to the local Carrefour (the biggest supermarket I've ever seen) to bring back a microwave meal or some thing.
We expected a microwave meal each, and prayed for wine.

We got this:

A moveable feast.

They came back to the tiny hotel room with bread, saucisson (which my father in law had to hack at with the cheap hotel knives), crackers (for Mr Frog, trying not to eat too much bread) sliced meats, numerous fresh/frozen meals (some of the best I've ever tasted), cheese and a demi bottle of wine.

 This turned out to be one of my favourite meals.

A half bottle of wine, just enough for the pisshead Aussies, and lovely.

Miniature cheese - a single serve on the left, and the tube on the right held about five of the little cheeses in front. And they were YUM!

We only had time for one good meal in Lyon, and we weren't dissapointed.

Entree... "French" onion soup and some fabulous salad I can't remember. The lovely staff got sme fries for Tadpole from the restaurant across the lane.

We stayed in a lovely apartement in Marseille, not far from anything, close to the beach and a short car ride to my brother and sister in laws place.

While peaking through the cupboards, I found this:

250ml of dry white wine, especially for cooking, in a tetra pack. GENIUS!

We happened to be in France in time for Epiphany, also known as Galette Season. A frangipane tart that is traditonally baked with a porcelain favour inside. Whoever finds it in their slice is crowned (literally with a paper crown) the king or queen. De-lish, and fun.

Galette in Marseille. My mother in law was queen, this time.

 My brother and sister in laws treated us to an amazing meal at their place.

Fresh Foie Gras, forget how it's made, it was divine, and so was the very sweet wine that went with it. (Very similar to Noble One)

Homemade lasagne, done the right way, cooked for hours and served with good bread and salad.

Dessert. My brother in law made me a little one, knowing I'm not big on dessert.

 And then with tea or coffee after dinner, these little bikkies, very similar to biscotti.

I ate A LOT of these.

Yep, we were spoiled!

We somehow managed a night out on our own. Mr frog and his Clochette out for dinner. Crazy. I'd had my heart set on having a Bouillabaisse in Marseille, but it turns out that not only are they expensive (50 euros), they're massive.
I, am not. So, I had fish soup instead, and not only was it delicious, but it came out like this:

Make your own soup, adding all the ingredints to taste.

Our next stop was the mountains. Merlette to be exact. Unforunately I didn't get any decent pictures of the beautiful Fondue,or the adorable restaurant we had it in, but I did get a shot of this:

Me and Tadpole enjoying a Vin Chaud (mulled wine) and a rusk on top of the mountain.

Now let's talk about tea. Actually, let's start with the coffee in France. It's bad. Really bad. I don't know how they can stuff it up so badly being so close to Italy, but there you go. So, I drank alot of tea instead.No probs there... unless you ask for milk, which sometimes results in this:

In lieu of tiny UHT milk containers, they gave me hot milk to put my tea bag in. Seriously.

Also, some people like to drink their tea or coffee in a bowl, of which their were many in our mountain chalet.

Giving it a go, French Style.

On our last night in the mountains, the rest of the family went out for fondue, and we stayed in. With Tadpole in bed,I made us this very basic meal. Potatoes and frankfurts. Mr Frog would never eat frankfurts here, but in France he makes an exception. And those little potato cubes are straight from the freezer, and something Mr Frog misses. Weirdo.

You can even buy pre diced potatoes.

One last thing from our mountain adventures...

A little something to warm you up...

Oh, and this.

My first snow man.

On the way back to Paris, I needed a little snack. Mr Frog got me these. They were good.

I really just love the packet!

When we got back to Paris, the grandparents went off to a party for a couple of nights, so we invited our friends over for dinner. The meal was a disaster. (Don't try cooking a casserole you usually make in the oven on the stove,in a kitchen that's not yours, with meat of poor quality). However, the company and the drinks were not.

A bottle of Champagne, complete with fancy seal.

Cosmopolitans made is an empty "Pollen" jar. Yes, Pollen.

The following day, after a slight miscommunication and an act of love at the last minute, we had lunch with the same friends. These are the place settings.

This is what I dream of in my own home... the perfect place setting.

I mean seriously, can you even believe it?

Meanwhile, our friends entire house looks like Versailles. Incredibly beautiful. And lunch was to die for. On our last visit they tried to kill me with lunch. This time I was prepared. Lunch on a weekend or special occasion in France is a LONG affair. Entree, main, salad, cheese, dessert, and then a little something with coffee or digestif.

This was just one of the little cakes we could choose.

The amazing thing? It wasn't sickly sweet. Wonderful.

On our last night in Paris, we went into the city for dinner, to a place in the Marais, called JaJa. They only use seasonal produce and the menu was small and divine. This is the entree we had to have.

Foie Gras with roasted macadamias and grapefruit foam.

Mr Frog and I both had rabbit for our main, but had to swap plates early on, due to the fact that Mr Frog couldn't get the meat off his portion of rabbit, whereas I had the breast. (Just proves the philosophy of the restaurant... they use the entire rabbit.) The wine warranted a photo of it's own. Mr Frog adored it!

Another please!

 And so, this concludes your visual food journey. If you got this far, thanks for sticking around!

Bon appetit!


M.C

Lemon Cordial is for Vodka, Lime and Soda

It's been forever since I posted, but it's not my fault.

I've been drowning in Lemons!

So, I made Lemon Cordial, which turned out not just sweet but wonderfully zingy. Then, I made Lemon curd, which is now my favourite thing to have on crumpets.

They didn't have time to get a fancy make over, I've only got one jar left!
I've also been making cards...

 ...finding things to add to the compost...

...Mr Frog has harvested our first veg, Lettuce and Spinach...

...and, we've been generally enjoying the garden Mr Frog has become so obsessed with...

Mind my bra hanging on the line.

Meanwhile, I've been going mad on Pinterest for Tadpoles 1st Birthday, and hunting for supplies. The invites are in the middle of being made, and I am slowly talking myself down from the extravaganza in my head to something more achievable without giving myself a stroke.

What have you been up to?

Got any lemons?

Lemonade is for Wimps

So, remember how I have a lemon tree?

Remember how I made Preserved Lemons?

Well, at the same time, I made this...

 

This is Limoncello.

After a month or so like this...

...this Bad Boy gave birth to these...

 Retro babies...

 Pretty little retro babies.

And that chilled little dude in front minus a little bit....?

He's mine. And had I not felt compelled to do a taste test (actually, I made Mr Frog taste it first) to make sure I wasn't going to poison anyone, my little guy would be full.

But not for long!

Oh, and the preserved lemons...?

I haven't been game to open them!

MC

Old Mother Hubbard

Unlike the old lady, my cupboard isn't bare. Actually, it wasn't even a cupboard, it was a book case.

When Mr Frog was doing the house hunting, I told him what was important to me... gas stove, cupboard space, dining room, 3rd bedroom etc. And while the poor love certainly did his best, and found us a lovely place to call home, the kitchen, is well.... Shit.

No cupboard space. Oh there are cupboards, but very few and they're super small. And most importantly, there is NO PANTRY. I had a tiny little one in my last place and was so looking forward to having a nice normal sized one where I could enjoy buying in bulk.

It wasn't to be.

Until we headed to IKEA and bought a pantry, made all fancy by having part glass doors.

Behold, the stocking of the pantry.

All of this... plus I'm sure there are a few things hiding on the floor... (that's the old book case in the middle of the kitchen)

... went in here. All the pretty things went up the top, and the rest down below. No, I don't have matching cannisters, or Tupperware. What I do have are matching labels, and I was quite happy to find that they make it all look pretty.

Mr Frog went crook at me for taking a photo with crap all over the bin. However, I'm a real person, I have a baby, a life, and I was way too excited about my pantry to notice!

Small things make me happy. 

An organised pantry. A styled bookcase. (Yes I feel a bit naff saying "styled" but why not put a bit of love into the ordinary?) And room for my bargain buys out in the laundry on the old pantry bookcase.

Are you organised? Or do you throw things in and close the door real quick?

MC