In our kitchen # 3

Today was another easy day for kai.  I find that, on the days that Grant is away, it makes life a whole lot easier if I make extra to reduce the amount of time in the kitchen.

Breakfast - Our self proclaimed 'bacon boy' was thrilled this morning to see the bacon sizzling in the pan; as was Gus actually who made up a impromptu bacon song (is there something matter with them???). So obviously we had bacon for breakfast, as well as a pumpkin, broccoli and leek frittata.

Lunch - Well, lunch was breakfast as we all had the frittata again.  Gus' kindergarten lunchbox always comes home empty, seemingly regardless of whatever I put in it (and he's so honest that he tells me when he throws food in the bin - like if I try to slip in fresh fruit!).

Dinner - Steak, mashed kumara and pumpkin with broccoli and cauliflower.  Smiling faces all round with no sign of rash or sore puku (belly's).

Boys are both now in bed - one sleeping soundly (I think Gus was asleep pretty much as soon as I left the room), while Felix is coughing away in his sleep. Poor pepi.

In our kitchen # 2

Following on from yesterdays post, here is the menu of the day.  Its an easy day kai-wise, which is a good thing because we had another trip to the doctors with Felix this morning.  I can't wait for the winter to be over so we can send these persistent coughs, colds and viruses to boot!

Breakfast - scrambled eggs.  We use 9 eggs just for breakfast, can you imagine how many it'll be when the boys hit their teenage years? It scares me to think about it.

Lunch  - yesterdays leftovers for lunch today. Nice and easy!

Dinner - beef korma with cauliflower rice and loaded with heaps of extra vegetables. Here is the recipe we use for the korma, and I'll simply substitute the chicken for beef.

I also made Chocolate Espresso Fudge Brownies this morning for a teacher meeting at Felix's Steiner Cottage tomorrow night; however, I don't rate my chances of getting this delectable treat out of the house. There will be protest!

In our kitchen

There have been a few times recently where I've been on the receiving end of that look that tells me that people think we're weird when I explain that we avoid eating refined sugar and grains - What, don't all Kiwi kids eat Weet-bix for breakfast?

So I thought I'd share a few of our meals to demonstrate that we're not strange, that we eat real food and that we don't go hungry by not eating sugar and wheat products.

Breakfast - scrambled eggs with leftover mashed carrot, parsnip and kumara fried in butter.  No arguments about breakfast here!

Lunch - cauliflower quiche from Petite Kitchen. I will also add a tin of tuna to get those Omega 3's in. Gus is at kindy today so his lunch is a little different (yoghurt, a buckwheat sandwich (which is still a grain but it is gluten free - a compromise), date truffles and carrot sticks) but he will have the quiche for afternoon tea.

Picture and recipe from Petite Kitchen

Dinner - garlic beef burgers also from Petite Kitchen. YUM!

Picture and recipe from Petite Kitchen

See, its just real food and delicious too! Xo

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'A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, for 2013'

Gus - you are such a strong boy Gus.  Pulling your own body weight up the chain is such a feat! 

Felix - Time for your medicine Felix, "Not my eyes!" Poor bubba had conjunctivitis last weekend and, like most kids, he got sick of the ointment pretty quickly.

Food to enjoy!

At the moment it feels as though if I'm not racing around chasing my tail, I'm studying, and when I'm doing neither of those things I'm in the kitchen cooking, cleaning or baking. And still, I decided to take on another project - the water kefir (pictured above). Kefir is a probiotic culture similar to kombucha - Nourished Kitchen have a great little article here on it which convinced me to give it a go.  Both of the boys have benefited from store-brought powdered probiotics over the past year but lately we've found the cost of them to be prohibitive, so I thought I'd give this a go.  See the fizz in the bottle? Our first batch is ready to be refrigerated and will be ready to drink tomorrow.  The grains multiply incredibly quickly so if you'd like some grains please let me know.


Photo of Rustic Cauliflower Quiche from Petite Kitchen

With the efforts we take to ensure that our family eats fresh, nutritious, ethically grown and homemade food, one of life's biggest disappointments is when you have a recipe fail - either a complete flop or just not meeting your expectations.  I have especially found this to be the case since we started following a Paleo diet, as too often the recipes just seem to be lacking in some way. I don't know what it is exactly, but for me they are just missing something.  Its not that we have exotic meals; quite the contrary actually as most days it is simply eggs and leftover vegetables for breakfast, something similar for lunch, and meat and vegetables for dinner.  However, if I am going to make a cake, biscuits or something a little special for dinner then it needs to taste good!  And just when I thought all was lost, a thoughtful friend sent me the link to Petite Kitchen, saying she thought it looked like something I'd like.  She was so right!


Photo of Chocolate Date Truffles from Petite Kitchen

It is fair to say that I have become just a little infatuated with Eleanor Ozich's blog Petite Kitchen. In the last month since I started obsessing over her recipes, I have made the Boiled Orange Chocolate Cake not once or twice but three times (we've had guests to be fair).  We've also had the Raw Lemon and Coconut Truffles, the Garlic and Pumpkin Tart, the Apple and Cinnamon Coconut Flour Cake, the Honey Nut Banana Cake, the Garlic and Beef Burgers, the Chocolate Date Truffles, the Fancy Meatloaf and the Cauliflower Quiche - twice. Each recipe has tasted incredibly delicious and I can't wait each week for Eleanor's new recipes. She is so incredibly incredible that she now has a regular spot in the Viva magazine of The NZ Herald.  All I can say (or perhaps our stomachs can say) is thank goodness for Eleanor! Xo

Life as a student

Wow, I don't really know why I am writing this when I have readings awaiting my attention and a final sleeve to knit on my cardigan (that's it pictured above), but....

Well, you know how you always think that life is so busy and that there is never enough time to do all the things that you need to do, let alone do the things that you want to do - those things that help to keep you a little bit more on the saner side of life.  Well now it feels like there's just no time for anything! What on earth was I doing thinking that I'd manage to have the time to study when I barely managed this caper beforehand.

My first assignment has been submitted and it was with many butterflies in my stomach that I sent it away.  The proof will be in the pudding, as they say.  The never-ending readings are what I find overwhelming as there is just sooooo much to read and absorb - some of it is really dry (and I a little boring) but most of it is really interesting. Its all about time. And all the while my head is ticking away as I jot down notes from the readings while making mental notes of groceries to buy and things to do.

I am coping, I wouldn't say managing as I still have to get into the swing of things a bit better, but I do always feel like there are things that are being forgotten or left behind - a feeling I am unfamiliar with.  I am one of those odd people who very rarely lose or forget things and yet in the last week alone I have left Felix's hat at childcare twice, his lunchbox on another day, left his rain jacket at home this morning, Gus' entire backpack at home on Monday, and my hat and drink bottle at the gym on Friday - all in one week.  Lucky I haven't forgotten a child or left the iron on (not that I iron)! Its all a day in the life I suppose. Xo

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'A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, for 2013'

Gus - having a great time with his cousins on the Ferris wheel at the Petone Winter Carnival.

Felix - looking through gunk-filled eyes at his big brother and cousin who were Tom-fooling around in another basket above him.  Felix's older cousin took good care of our wee poppet, who loved every minute of his ride on the Ferris wheel.