turning three...

this past weekend we had a pirate birthday party with veggie squid and sausage treasure chests. we also had canon (meat)balls, but they never made it on camera... how I love that sometimes it is just more than okay to go all in on cake decoration. as the party was a pirate party, the cake was a treasure island... it was very well recieved! underneath all the decoration was a simple carrot cake, inspired by this recipe with a lemon and cream cheese frosting. I did make a few changes to the carrot muffins, I reduced the sugar to 150 g (75g muscovado sugar and 75g cane sugar), and finally I made one large cake rather than muffins (be aware that it needs a bit longer baking time in the owen)... the cake turned out perfect, moist and tasty... I really like this combination of cinnamon and muscovado sugar.

eating dinner....

one of our favorites, lasagna (with lots of veggies and salad on the side)

in the "middag" post over at "jeg er jonathan" Vigdis answers to a question on whether or not they adjust their dinnerplan for children... others replied to the post as well, and based on both their answers and experience from friends of mine with children, it is my impression that many families today prioritise to eat the same dinner... some with modifications and others without. they each find the key to how this works out the best for them... some cook primarily children friendly dishes, or at least dishes they know are accepted, others modify the seasoning or avoid certain ingredients, others again include the children in the desicion and planning of what is for dinner... and I'm sure there are many more ways out there. all with the purpose to eat a nice dinner together and have a good time...

this took me back to when I was a little girl... my parents weren't different from a lot of other parents at the time, we are talking the mid eighties, so it has been a while, but still... having dinner at my house would mean everybody eating together (no exception), eating what was served (i.e. taste and not liking it, wasn't really an option, neither was influencing the desicion on what we were having, unless I was helping cooking), finishing your plate (or at least a reasonable part of what was on there), not leaving the table before everyboy were done (I remember a few exceptions, but they really were the exceptions) and finally an overall focus on table manners... and I wonder how this framework for having dinner has changed...? I, for one, have given this quite a bit of thought*... of course I want our children to have good table manners, but what are good table manners to me (here you have probaly guessed they have changed a bit from the ones I experienced myself, guess I'm going for a bit more hippie happy version)? and what are good table manners today? an example of good table manners in my book is, among others, a child who tastes unknown food and then decides...

*a part of the story is that our oldest son was born with a serious stomach issue, and on top of having gone through a problematic first year, due to this, he is/was at risk of developing a troublesome relationship to foods/eating. fortunately he is now doing fine, crossing our fingers that everything continues this way...

thyme, parsley, chives, oregano...

one of the most amazing but also very simple pleasures I find, is when I'm able to use what is grown in the garden for our dinner... it both satisfies my preference for organic and local food, and at the same time I'm able to have great conversation about what we are eating and where it comes from with my 3-year old. today he was playing with his football while the herbs were cut, but was well aware what was going on and that they were to be used for our dinner. he is both curious and excited about herbs, and even though he only names chives and basil correctly, he willingly tastes and explores others.
today we had filet of tusk fish with a bit of olive oil, freshly ground pepper and dried salted ham on top, baked potato wedges, long-baked tomatoes with fresh herbs on top and finally a sour-creme dressing with a bit of garlic and lots of fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, chives and oregano).
a little time saving tip for the potato wedges is to wash/peel and cut the potatoes, mix them with olive oil and then store them in a covered bowl in the fridge, this way they can be prepared the night before or in the morning... all you need then is to add salt and/or preferred spice/herbs before they go in the owen.

pesto-veggie side dish

to me this is just about the best side dish for an improvised bbq night... this weekend the weather has been over the top here, so we have spent as much time as possible out in the small garden. we ended up improvising a bbq, and one dish I really would like to share with you is this super easy pesto-veggie side dish. it goes well with almost all meats and/or sausages, takes maybe 15 min. to prepare if you go for the easy version using a store-bought pesto, and therefore fits perfectly for an improvised bbq night.

basically it is a selection of veggies roughly cut, blanched, and while still steaming hot they are mixed with your favorite pesto. this time I used about four carrots, two leeks, a cauliflower and mixed with a store-bought pesto Genovese.

if you have time, or just happens to have homemade pesto available that will lift this dish even higher, but when time is a priority a good store-bought pesto is fine. the dish will be delicious with a great variation of vegetables, so the selection can be done based on what is in the fridge, what looks good together or maybe which veggies the children prefer... a little bonus is that it is a very children friendly dish to prepare, as the children can help both select, wash and cut the vegetables, the dish is done before they lose interest, and they get to bring a contribution to the bbq...

thoughts on baby-food...

with a baby in the house who seems to think milk is the o n l y way to go, my faith in myself cooking baby-food is put to the test... no matter what is on the spoon* his mouth remains closed! as I don't believe in forcing him in any way, we have now settled on a little compromise... I get to put a little porridge, puré or whatever I'm trying to serve him, on his upper lip, he will lick it and taste... and then he proceeds to grap a piece of fruit or vegetable and feed himself, alternatively smearing it all over... if I try to load the spoon and give it to him, he will turn it around and have the handle in his mouth in no time, but the end with food on it... not so much... however, looking on the bright side, he really likes baked potato wedges, and is almost able to eat one, even with no teeth...

*just to make sure that it wasn't something as simple as the spoon he didn't like, he has tested out several different shapes, materials and colors... need I say with no luck.

in the light of the challenges we're facing regarding baby-food, I've spent a long time wondering which would be the better way for us to go... 

- is he simply not quite ready for solids yet (despite him being now a bit more than seven months)?

- does he prefer to control what goes in his mouth?

- doesn't he like the texture of puré, mash or porridge, but prefers to chew even with no teeth?

- and of course the obvious for a slightly concerned mother as myself... would it be better to buy readymade baby-food, would he like this better? (fortunately this is easy to test out, so we did... with no success).

fortunately he seems curious and interested in what he is served, he investigates and occasionally chews on both fruit and vegetables served in pieces, and hopefully slowly he will learn that good things can also come on a spoon... 

in the meantime... 

I'm trying to keep my spirit up by cooking a varied selection of baby-foods, on occasion they are even served in my favorite little glass bowl and hoping that one day (before too long) his little mouth will open and he will enjoy what the spoon brings...

banana - blueberry morning...

part of todays breakfast

with two small children we are usually up at the very crack of dawn and today was no exception... in the weekends this means that we have extremely good time for having a nice slow breakfast, something we all enjoy. right now it is the season for Norwegian blueberries, and as we all were out picking (and eating) some last weekend, this morning called for banana - blueberry smoothies as part of our breakfast. I like to be able to, in such a simple way, to demonstrate to our three-year-old that the origin of food isn't the grocery store...
today  I used two frozen bananas, 100 g of blueberries (also from the freezer), a little vanilla and some natural yoghurt, gave everything a good blending, and it was done!
when I have very ripe bananas I won't get to use I cut them up in chunks and put them in the freezer, I find this a great way to reduce food waste and at the same time I often have bananas for smoothies at hand. as a bonus the smoothie is both creamy and ice-cold.