This sweet and sour plum recipe is truly delicious; serve with cream, ice-cream, yoghurt, or it would make a lovely addition to trifle, pavlova, on top of cake or with meringues
I thought I should also note that this isn’t something that I would make often for H. It contains both sugar and red wine – not very toddler friendly foods! The alcohol is however thoroughly cooked off. It is a desert that would be great served at a dinner party, possibly with the meringues mentioned above, and would satisfy the adults and children alike
Sweet and sour sugar plums
400g sugar plums (or other type of plum), halved and pitted
Combine sugar, vinegar, wine, water, spices, vanilla and zest in a pan over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, then simmer until reduced by half. Add plums; cover with a lid and cook over very low heat for about 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon transfer plums to a bowl. Return pan to medium heat and simmer for 5 or so minutes until the mixture is syrupy. Add syrup to plums, cover and refrigerate until chilled and ready to serve
This sweet and sour plum recipe is truly delicious; serve with cream, ice-cream, yoghurt, or it would make a lovely addition to trifle, pavlova, on top of cake or with meringues
I thought I should also note that this isn’t something that I would make often for H. It contains both sugar and red wine – not very toddler friendly foods! The alcohol is however thoroughly cooked off. It is a desert that would be great served at a dinner party, possibly with the meringues mentioned above, and would satisfy the adults and children alike
Sweet and sour sugar plums
400g sugar plums (or other type of plum), halved and pitted
Combine sugar, vinegar, wine, water, spices, vanilla and zest in a pan over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, then simmer until reduced by half. Add plums; cover with a lid and cook over very low heat for about 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon transfer plums to a bowl. Return pan to medium heat and simmer for 5 or so minutes until the mixture is syrupy. Add syrup to plums, cover and refrigerate until chilled and ready to serve
Drain lychees and add to a blender along with the watermelon, water and mint if using. Blend until smooth. (Depending on your type of blender you may have to strain the mixture with a fine sieve to remove any pulp). Pour into metal tray and freeze until partially set, about 3 hours. After 3 hours break up the ice that has formed with a fork and repeat this step every 30 minutes or so, for the next couple of hours until the granita has formed ice crystals
You could use any fruit in this recipe and if you like it a little sweeter add some sugar syrup to the mix.
Drain lychees and add to a blender along with the watermelon, water and mint if using. Blend until smooth. (Depending on your type of blender you may have to strain the mixture with a fine sieve to remove any pulp). Pour into metal tray and freeze until partially set, about 3 hours. After 3 hours break up the ice that has formed with a fork and repeat this step every 30 minutes or so, for the next couple of hours until the granita has formed ice crystals
You could use any fruit in this recipe and if you like it a little sweeter add some sugar syrup to the mix.
1 1/2 cups dried apple (or any dried fruit you like)
1/4 cup pepitas
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup maple syrup
Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees C (325 degrees F). Line a 20cm x 30cm slice tin with non-stick paper. Place the quinoa flakes, puffed amaranth, rice flour, coconut, sultanas, apple and pepitas in a large bowl and mix to combine. Whisk together the coconut oil, eggs and maple; add to the puffed amaranth mixture and stir until well combined
Spoon mixture into the prepared tin and use the back of the spoon to smooth the surface. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown and set. Cool in tin for 15 minutes, transfer to the fridge and chill until firm. Slice into squares and serve
Will keep in the fridge for a week. Or they freeze really well. Puffed amaranth is available from health food stores
Adapted from Donna Hay Magazine – Kids issue 11, 2014 Adapted from Donna Hay Magazine – Kids issue 11, 2014 Little Big H http://littlebigh.com/
I have a huge basil plant that was in need of a major prune, and this is the result. Homemade, deliciously raw, broccoli and basil pesto. Pesto it is a great way to get children who don’t like the look of vegetable to get a good serve. You can stir it through pasta, add a dollop to soups, spread over roast chicken, use as a dip for crackers or simply eat as is – like my little guy is doing the last picture! I also have a few other ideas so expect a few forthcoming post where I put it to good use…
Raw broccoli and basil pesto
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 medium sized broccoli, broken in to florets
1 cup of packed basil leaves
1 garlic clove
1 cup of grated pecorino or parmesan cheese (I used a bit of both as I was finishing off what I had in the fridge)
1/2 cup walnuts (you could use pine nuts, hazelnuts or slivered almonds)
juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper to taste (about half a teaspoon is good)
Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until it reaches a pesto consistency. If it is a little dry add some additional olive oil while the machine is running or you could add a couple of tablespoons of water
Place into sterilised jars and keep in the fridge for about a week. Alternatively freeze in ice cube trays and take a couple of cubes out when needed
I’m excited to show you a little of where I grew up and spent most weekends as a teenager. The beautiful beaches of Newcastle. My girlfriends and I would catch the train every weekend in to town and go to the beach. My family still live in Newcastle so I go back home often. I have a lot of great memories here that I will pass onto my little guy. He just loves the water and the ocean baths are perfect for little people, with shallow water that is super warm. These golden, super crunchy chickpeas are the perfect snack to take along.
NEWCASTLE OCEAN BATHS, NEWCASTLE NSW
Fried Chickpeas with rosemary and lemon
250 gm dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in cold water; drained
Olive oil for frying
1/4 cup rosemary (loosely packed)
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon of sweet paprika
finely grated rind of a lemon, plus a few wedges to serve
Finely grated parmesan to serve
Generously cover chickpeas with water in a saucepan, bring to the boil over medium heat and cook until tender (about 50 minutes). Then drain and and spread on a tray lined with baking paper to dry (30 minutes or so, it will help prevent the chickpeas from splitting in the hot oil)
Heat 1 cm of oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, until just simmering. Add the chickpeas and cook stirring often until golden (about 5 minutes). Add the rosemary, and garlic and cook for a further minute. Add the lemon, stir, then strain through a metal sieve into a heatproof bowl. Sprinkle with the paprika and stir to combine. Generously season and top with the parmesan. Serve hot with a lemon wedge or they are equally delicious served cold
Keep in an airtight container once cooled completely
Adapted from Gourmet Traveller Magazine – Annual Cookbook 2014 Adapted from Gourmet Traveller Magazine – Annual Cookbook 2014 Little Big H http://littlebigh.com/
Tomatoes are easily H’s favourite food so I knew he would love this dish. I have found that by adding Big H’s favourite foods to new dishes he is more likely to try new things, and get used to new flavours more easily. This dish is easy to prepare and the coriander lime dressing is lovely and light. It would make a great accompaniment to your main meal
Tomatoes with a coriander lime dressing
A variety of tomatoes in different sizes and shapes
1/4 cup olive oil + a little oil coat tomatoes
1/4 cup of packed finely chopped coriander (cilantro)
1/2 teaspoon ginger (either paste or grate fresh ginger very finely)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Juice of half a lime
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
Place tomatoes in a baking dish or tray with a little olive oil; move the tray around to coat the tomatoes in the oil. Place in the oven under a hot grill (broiler) and cook for about 5-10 minutes. This will depend on the size of your tomatoes. I had a few really large tomatoes that I halved and quartered so they would cook evenly
Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. Add a little more lime juice or maple to adjust to your liking
To serve, place tomatoes on a serving dish and spoon over the dressing
We celebrated my babies 2nd Birthday on the weekend – can’t believe he is two already! H had a wonderful time with his cousins and everyone was super surprised when we cut into his Birthday cake. My original idea was to create a checkerboard cake out of the different colour layers, so it would also look like lego on the inside – but I got lazy and settled with a rainbow cake instead. Rainbow cakes are surprisingly easy to make, albeit a little time consuming! I have detailed the steps I took to make the cake along with how I made the eatable lego
(halve the mixture and make 3 layers at a time if it easier to manage, and you don’t have enough oven space for all 6 cakes)
4 1/2 cups self-raising flour
2 1/2 cups caster sugar
500g butter, melted
2 cups milk
8 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
food colouring in red, yellow and blue (see notes)
500g butter, softened (not melted)
4 cups (640g) icing sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
fondant in RED, YELLOW, GREEN and BLUE
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). If making 3 layers at a time, grease 3 cake tins; set aside. Place flour and sugar in a bowl and beat until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs one at a time. Alternate adding the flour and milk and while beating ending in the flour.
Using scales, divide the mixture into 3 bowls. If you don’t have scales use a cup to scoop out the mixture, cup at a time into the 3 bowl until it is divided evenly. Add the food colouring for the suitable layer and pour into the greased cake tins. Bake for approximately 30- 40 minutes or until cooked through. Test with a skewer or sharp knife. Cool slightly in the tin and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat steps to make the other 3 layers if necessary.
Place softened butter in a bowl and using an electric mixer, beat for approximately 5 minutes or until creamy. Add icing sugar and vanilla and beat for a further 10 minutes until light and fluffy
Cut the tops of all the cakes. Place your purple layer on the plate you will serve it on and spread a good layer of the icing over the layer. (you can see from my pictures I didn’t use a huge amount of icing in-between each layer) Repeat with all the layers. Then spread a VERY thin layer over the entire cake (called the crumb layer). Fridge the cake now to set all the crumbs in this layer. Once cold the icing will set hard. This makes it a lot easier to ice and prevents you getting crumbs in your icing. Remove from the fridge and add the remaining icing and smooth using a large knife.
Roll out the fondant to a thickness of about 12mm (half and inch). Then using a sharp knife cut it into rectangles about 30mm x 15mm (1 1/4 inch by just over 1/2 inch). With the off cuts roll it out so it is a couple of millimetres thick and using a round 7mm plunger cutter (available from baking shops) cut the 6 circle and place on top of the rectangles as you go. Use a little water to moisten the top if they aren’t sticking. The lego will stick to the cake icing no problems.
If making the cake a day or two ahead of time, keep in the refrigerator unit the day. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Please note an Australian cup is based on a 250ml cup.
Food colouring for the cake layers: AmeriColor works really well to get the intense colours. I used colours: 106 Electric Blue, 107 Lemon Yellow, 119 Red Red. If buying small bottles I would recommend buying a larger bottle of the red as you will use the most of this colour.
Cake colour mixes: Red layer: just pure red. Orange layer: Yellow and Red. Yellow layer: pure yellow. Green layer: Yellow and Blue. Blue layer: Pure blue. Purple layer: Red and Blue – I used to much of both colours and it was too dark.
Little Big H http://littlebigh.com/
* I have altered the recipe slightly from when I first posted it, to make it easier for people to halve the recipe
A big thanks to my sister for being my photographer on the day – Kerry Franks Photography
Words cannot express what you mean to me. You are my world. From the moment you came into my life I was totally smitten and love you more and more with each day. I’m so proud of you.
This evening you feel asleep on my chest, I know they say its a bad habit to get into, but it is these moments that are so special and that I will remember forever. Your infectious laugh, you are the funniest and happiest person I know, you make me laugh a hundred times a day. You have the most gorgeous smile and dimples that everyone comments on. You are so friendly and everyone knows you in our neighbourhood. You wave and say hi at the barber, the shop assistants and the bus drivers everyday when we go for a walk, you can’t help but make those around you happy – even strangers.
Thank you for choosing me to be your mummy. I hope you have a wonderful birthday baby.
Lots of love mummy xxoxoxoxoxoxoxo x infinity 🙂
ps: with any luck this blog will still around when you are older and you can browse through and see some of the things we got up to when you were just a little guy.
These yummy little balls were inspired after a recent attempt at Jamie Oliver’s no bake vegan slice. It turned out to be a winner and really satisfied that afternoon chocolate craving (mine of course not Little Big H’s!). They are raw no bake balls suitable for toddlers (although they do contain lot of nuts, so if you haven’t given your little one nuts before, then this recipe isn’t for you). They have a delicious chewy centre with a chocolate chia coating
170 g medjool dates
90 g cashew nuts
50 g walnuts
2 tbls cocoa nibs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
3 tbls maple syrup
50 g dates
1 tbls coconut oil
3 heaped tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbls maple syrup
2 tbls chia seeds
2 tbls water
Soak chia seeds in a bowl with 8 tbsp of water and set aside for later. Place all the ball ingredients in a food processor and blend until combined and sticking together. If you find the mixture too dry add a few drops of water (don’t add to much though or it will be too sticky to roll into balls). Roll into balls. I used a tablespoon to roughly measure
Now place all the chocolate coating ingredients in the processor with the socked chia seeds and blend until smooth. You want the mixture to be able to coat the balls quite thickly but if the mixture is too thick add another tablespoon of water. Line a tray with baking paper. Scoop out mixture in to a small bowl. Drop a ball in and roll it around to coat it well. Place on the baking paper and fridge or freeze when complete
My recommendation is to fridge them initially so the outer coating sets, then you can pile then into a container and freeze for a few months. There is no need to defrost – eat them straight out of the freezer
Sweet and sour sugar plums 
Raw broccoli and basil pesto 
Tomatoes with a coriander lime dressing 
