We had some friends round for dinner and they brought us some wonderful
fruits (and vegies) of their labour!
Yum!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
In the Kitchen This Week
Monday
Random Recipe - Chinese Chicken Hotpot with steamed veg
from Donna Hay's No Time To Cook p96
Tuesday
Roasted Red Capsicum with buckwheat pasta from here
Wednesday
boys - eggs
adults - chilli con carne (we've been trying to have this for three weeks now, plans always keep changing. This week definitely!)
Thursday
GF pizza, no idea on toppings yet
Friday
Sweet potato and chickpea red curry with brown rice and steamed veg
Saturday
BBQ
Sunday
GF bean burritos
Random Recipe - Chinese Chicken Hotpot with steamed veg
from Donna Hay's No Time To Cook p96
Tuesday
Roasted Red Capsicum with buckwheat pasta from here
Wednesday
boys - eggs
adults - chilli con carne (we've been trying to have this for three weeks now, plans always keep changing. This week definitely!)
Thursday
GF pizza, no idea on toppings yet
Friday
Sweet potato and chickpea red curry with brown rice and steamed veg
Saturday
BBQ
Sunday
GF bean burritos
Friday, November 18, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
A New Experience
Baby Oliver is now 5 1/2 months. Oh, where does the time go? He is rolling like a fiend and doing all that pre-crawling stuff, getting up on his hands and knees, working his arms and legs but only going backwards! Adorable!
He's also started to show signs that he's ready to move from a diet of purely breastmilk to introducing solids. His head control is great, he's almost sitting independently and he's showing so much interest in our food and drink that it's hard to keep him from grabbing whatever is on my fork!
So now we're entering the world of solids! We're going to go down the road of baby-led solids, not bothering with purees and mash just giving him little tastes of the family food and some specifically steamed fingers of vegies. We'll still offer cereal (starting with iron-fortified organic rice cereal) for breakfast, just because I think cereal and a healthy breakfast is a good habit to get into early.
Baby-led solids has so many benefits but oh so much mess!
He's also started to show signs that he's ready to move from a diet of purely breastmilk to introducing solids. His head control is great, he's almost sitting independently and he's showing so much interest in our food and drink that it's hard to keep him from grabbing whatever is on my fork!
So now we're entering the world of solids! We're going to go down the road of baby-led solids, not bothering with purees and mash just giving him little tastes of the family food and some specifically steamed fingers of vegies. We'll still offer cereal (starting with iron-fortified organic rice cereal) for breakfast, just because I think cereal and a healthy breakfast is a good habit to get into early.
Baby-led solids has so many benefits but oh so much mess!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Another Adjustment
It seems like life has been all about adjustments lately.
Some big, some not so big.
One of the not so big ones is this:
For the first time in my life I'm not hanging out washing on a Hills Hoist.
It's brought up all sorts of dilemmas. Where do I start hanging? Should I start at one end and work my way down one line line and then the next? Or should I start at one end and peg on each line?
Oh, these are indeed the big issues!
Some big, some not so big.
One of the not so big ones is this:
For the first time in my life I'm not hanging out washing on a Hills Hoist.
It's brought up all sorts of dilemmas. Where do I start hanging? Should I start at one end and work my way down one line line and then the next? Or should I start at one end and peg on each line?
Oh, these are indeed the big issues!
Monday, November 14, 2011
In the Kitchen this Week
I'll post more about it soon but we're making the transition from a wheat-based diet to one that is wheat-free, attempting to be gluten free.
Monday:
Roasted pumpkin risotto
Tuesday:
Buckwheat pasta with bolognese sauce
Wednesday:
boys- eggs and toast
adults- chilli con carne (we didn't end up having it last week)
Thursday:
Pumpkin soup with cheesey muffins
Friday:
gluten-free pizza
Saturday:
BBQ
Sunday:
Random Recipe - Eggplant Parmigiana from Rose Elliot's Classic Vegetarian p74
Extras:
gluten-free bluberry muffins, gluten-free bread, chicken stock, muesli, yoghurt, ricotta
Monday:
Roasted pumpkin risotto
Tuesday:
Buckwheat pasta with bolognese sauce
Wednesday:
boys- eggs and toast
adults- chilli con carne (we didn't end up having it last week)
Thursday:
Pumpkin soup with cheesey muffins
Friday:
gluten-free pizza
Saturday:
BBQ
Sunday:
Random Recipe - Eggplant Parmigiana from Rose Elliot's Classic Vegetarian p74
Extras:
gluten-free bluberry muffins, gluten-free bread, chicken stock, muesli, yoghurt, ricotta
Friday, November 11, 2011
Rocket Pesto
We got a massive bunch of rocket in our F&V box recently and I knew the boys wouldn't like it as salad leaves too spicy Mummy! so I turned it into the yummiest pesto! With brazil nuts instead of pine nuts it wasn't exactly traditional, but what does that matter!
1 bunch (2 firmly packed cups) rocket
1/2 cupbrazil nuts
1 cup olive oil
120g parmesan cheese
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Whiz everything up in a blender of food processor until it reaches your desired chunkiness!
Enjoy as dip, salad dressing, a sandwich spread, stirred through pasta. Your imagination is the limit!
1 bunch (2 firmly packed cups) rocket
1/2 cupbrazil nuts
1 cup olive oil
120g parmesan cheese
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
Whiz everything up in a blender of food processor until it reaches your desired chunkiness!
Enjoy as dip, salad dressing, a sandwich spread, stirred through pasta. Your imagination is the limit!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Back to Menu Planning!
not that I ever stopped, but back to sharing it with everyone!
Happening in the kitchen this week is:
Monday:
Broccoli casserole with steamed veg
Tuesday:
Zucchini slice with salad
Wednesday:
Boys - eggs and veg
Grown ups - chilli con carne
Thursday:
BBQ
Friday:
Mushroom risotto
Saturday:
Chickpea casserole (requested by Archie, no idea what I'll actually make though)
Sunday:
no idea yet!
Extras:
Bread, yoghurt, chicken stock, beef stock
Happening in the kitchen this week is:
Monday:
Broccoli casserole with steamed veg
Tuesday:
Zucchini slice with salad
Wednesday:
Boys - eggs and veg
Grown ups - chilli con carne
Thursday:
BBQ
Friday:
Mushroom risotto
Saturday:
Chickpea casserole (requested by Archie, no idea what I'll actually make though)
Sunday:
no idea yet!
Extras:
Bread, yoghurt, chicken stock, beef stock
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Organic Homemade Ricotta
The day before its 'sell by' date the organic milk at our local grocery gets reduced to a ridiculously cheap price. Being the food hoarder that I am I buy every bottle that is reduced (sometimes three or four 2l bottles) and use it straight away for cooking or freeze it to use later.
Making ricotta is a great way to use up a large quantity of milk to give a different product that is so versatile. A sweet dip for fruit when mixed with honey, a topping on pizza, a filling in filo pastries, the uses are endless!
Here's my recipe using just milk and vinegar. Too easy!
2l organic, non-homogenised milk
3 tbls white vinegar or lemon juice
Heat milk slowly to 97C or just below boiling point if you don't have a jam thermometer.
Remover from heat and stir through vinegar or lemon juice.
Sit, without stirring for 15 minutes
Strain through a muslin cloth for 30 minutes or until it's as firm as you desire.
I don't salt my ricotta as I like to have the option to use it for sweet or savoury.
Making ricotta is a great way to use up a large quantity of milk to give a different product that is so versatile. A sweet dip for fruit when mixed with honey, a topping on pizza, a filling in filo pastries, the uses are endless!
Here's my recipe using just milk and vinegar. Too easy!
2l organic, non-homogenised milk
3 tbls white vinegar or lemon juice
Heat milk slowly to 97C or just below boiling point if you don't have a jam thermometer.
Remover from heat and stir through vinegar or lemon juice.
Sit, without stirring for 15 minutes
Strain through a muslin cloth for 30 minutes or until it's as firm as you desire.
I don't salt my ricotta as I like to have the option to use it for sweet or savoury.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Around our Suburban Garden
One of the biggest adjustments we've had to make after the move back to suburbia is giving up the dream of growing the majority of our own food. Even though we are renting a great house with the perfect backyard for us, it's still not the same, you know?
Anyway, we're doing what we can. There were already not one, but three (!!!) lemon trees so that is a bonus! There is a tank so we can water when there hasn't been rain for a while and there are a few garden beds that we are planting out in between the existing ornamentals.
We're planning pots, pots and more pots!
Anyway, we're doing what we can. There were already not one, but three (!!!) lemon trees so that is a bonus! There is a tank so we can water when there hasn't been rain for a while and there are a few garden beds that we are planting out in between the existing ornamentals.
A capsicum seedling among the ornamentals
Potted carrots, hopefully growing straight!
We're planning pots, pots and more pots!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Baby-Led Attachment After A Caesar Is Possible!!!
There is a lot of negativity within the health community about breastfeeding after c-sections. While I understand the generalities of why there is this negativity (ie baby removed from mum immediately after birth, baby and mum missing out on many important hormones, scar pain, immobility from anesthesia, recovering from all the drugs for mum and baby just to name a few) I wanted to write a positive post about breastfeeding after a c-section.
Knowing that I would be having a third c-section and having done Baby-led attachment with Archie, prepared me to use the same approach after Oliver's birth. It really is the most effective way to get breastfeeding off to the right start and makes every feed after that so much more relaxed. Along with lots and lots of skin to skin time, co-sleeping and true demand feeding it helps really establish proper attachment for those important first feeds. Not to mention wonderful bonding time for mum and babe, getting all those great hormones flowing, so important after a c-section birth!
Here is a video of a baby doing the "breast crawl" when only a few minutes old. It is truly amazing how a wee baby, perceived to be so helpless, can find their way to their mother's milk.
It can be hard in the hospital environment to stand up for your baby and what is best for them. For Oliver's first breast crawl we had a midwife standing over us wanting to get her hands in there and "help" him. We had to say quite a few times that "No thankyou, he's fine. He'll get there." And he did, without any interfering hands. In saying that though, the hospital were very supportive of my desire for lots of skin-to-skin time. In fact, because we both had trouble keeping our temperature stable after surgery it was actively encouraged (not that I needed encouragement!) so the first two days after his birth we spent almost every waking moment in bed, skin-to-skin!
As with a natural birth, the key to having a positive c-section is preparation and confidence. Know what you want, discuss it throughout your pregnancy with your doctor or midwife, firmly but gently stand your ground on the important issues. After all, you only get one chance at giving your wee babe the best arrival you can!
Knowing that I would be having a third c-section and having done Baby-led attachment with Archie, prepared me to use the same approach after Oliver's birth. It really is the most effective way to get breastfeeding off to the right start and makes every feed after that so much more relaxed. Along with lots and lots of skin to skin time, co-sleeping and true demand feeding it helps really establish proper attachment for those important first feeds. Not to mention wonderful bonding time for mum and babe, getting all those great hormones flowing, so important after a c-section birth!
Oliver, a few hours old, enjoying skin-to-skin time
after another breast crawl.
Here is a video of a baby doing the "breast crawl" when only a few minutes old. It is truly amazing how a wee baby, perceived to be so helpless, can find their way to their mother's milk.
It can be hard in the hospital environment to stand up for your baby and what is best for them. For Oliver's first breast crawl we had a midwife standing over us wanting to get her hands in there and "help" him. We had to say quite a few times that "No thankyou, he's fine. He'll get there." And he did, without any interfering hands. In saying that though, the hospital were very supportive of my desire for lots of skin-to-skin time. In fact, because we both had trouble keeping our temperature stable after surgery it was actively encouraged (not that I needed encouragement!) so the first two days after his birth we spent almost every waking moment in bed, skin-to-skin!
As with a natural birth, the key to having a positive c-section is preparation and confidence. Know what you want, discuss it throughout your pregnancy with your doctor or midwife, firmly but gently stand your ground on the important issues. After all, you only get one chance at giving your wee babe the best arrival you can!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Making a Sheepish Return to the Blog World
Well, it's been a while! Sorry, but life has been full!
After a couple of months staying with my parents we're now in our own place and back to regular programming. We are adjusting to life back in the 'big smoke', adjusting to life in suburbia where going for a walk means counting buses instead of cows, adjusting to having a normal sized backyard, adjusting to town water!!!
But there are positives, lots of positives. More time with extended family (the boys are loving having Nan and Pop over for dinner!), being able to walk down to the shops to get that forgotten little something as opposed to getting everyone in (and out, and then back in) the car.
The boys are continuing to grow and develop at ridiculous rates. Elliot absolutely loves his new kindy and is making lots of lovely new friends. Archie hasn't taken the adjustment as smoothly as Elliot has. I suppose that happens when you're 2! Oliver is now 5 months, and just a delight. Feeding like a champ, sleeping well and doing all the lovely things a 5 month old should do.
I'm really looking forward to getting back into the blog world!
Much love,
Vic xx
After a couple of months staying with my parents we're now in our own place and back to regular programming. We are adjusting to life back in the 'big smoke', adjusting to life in suburbia where going for a walk means counting buses instead of cows, adjusting to having a normal sized backyard, adjusting to town water!!!
But there are positives, lots of positives. More time with extended family (the boys are loving having Nan and Pop over for dinner!), being able to walk down to the shops to get that forgotten little something as opposed to getting everyone in (and out, and then back in) the car.
The boys are continuing to grow and develop at ridiculous rates. Elliot absolutely loves his new kindy and is making lots of lovely new friends. Archie hasn't taken the adjustment as smoothly as Elliot has. I suppose that happens when you're 2! Oliver is now 5 months, and just a delight. Feeding like a champ, sleeping well and doing all the lovely things a 5 month old should do.
I'm really looking forward to getting back into the blog world!
Much love,
Vic xx
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