The Ultimate Gluten free take-a-plate slice - Caramel Topped Brownie!

I must admit I am pretty proud of this creation. Perfect, just in time for all those take-a-plate outings you are bound to have coming up in the next month or so.
Fudgy, dense, moist brownie on the bottom, chewy buttery caramel in the middle topped with a soft real chocolate topping and oh so perfectly divine!

Even better - it is gluten free! For all those that gluten free is not an issue - simply replace the baking mix cup for cup with normal wheat cake flour and you will be fine, it works either way. 

Recipe:

For the brownie base:

Pre-heat your oven to 180 Deg C (350 F) and line a 30x20cm (8x12in) tin with non-stick baking paper.
Melt 155g (5 1/2 oz) of butter in a medium sized bowl.
Add to the butter 1C of sugar, 1/3C of Cocoa and 2 large eggs. Beat well to combine with a wooden spoon.
Fold in 1C of quality Gluten Free Baking mix (or if not gluten free, then 1C of normal baking flour)
Pour into the tin and spread out evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until just firm.

For the Caramel:

In a microwave proof glass bowl (or in a double boiler if you are very patient) combine 1 tin of sweetened condensed milk, 2 Tablespoons of golden syrup, 110g (4oz) butter and 1/3 C sugar. Microwave on high for 3 minutes, stir, cook a further 2 minutes and stir again. Continue to cooking for 1 minute intervals, stirring between each time. It takes approximately four minutes of this depending on your microwave. It needs to be a deep golden colour and when you place some caramel on a cold surface it will set sort of soft but chewy. Alternatively you can cook in a double boiler, stirring constantly until it reaches soft-firm ball stage (this takes ages, hence the microwave cheat)

 Don't panic - when it gets properly boiling the butter will separate from the caramel and it will look curdled - trust me it will come together in the end.

Once cooked to the chewiness you like, beat well with a handheld beater until it all comes together (about a minute) then pour on the brownie base. Sit this aside to cool and set.

For the Chocolate topping:

Melt 250g (8 1/2 oz) of 50% cocoa solids good quality chocolate with 50g (2oz) of unsalted butter - it takes about 1 minute in my microwave. stir well to melt any last pieces of chocolate and pour over the set caramel. Place in the fridge for about an hour to set the chocolate. Cut in to bars with a hot, dry knife. Store in a air tight container. Will keep at least a week - but it never lasts that long at our house!!!

EEeeepp Christmas is coming!

Dare I say it - Christmas isn't that far away! If you are anything like me, that is very exciting! If you are a bit of a grinch, feel free to book mark this page to read in early December :-)  I love Christmas and always have. It may have something to do with the fact that it is my birthday 2 days before Christmas as well, so it has always been my favourite time of the year.
This year I have decided that we needed a new kind of countdown to Christmas in our house - when they were little we had a tree that had little doors on it, and each day they could open a door and hang the little bell from it on the tree, this worked well with one toddler and one baby but as soon as they could argue about whose turn it was it kinda all fell over!
This year, I plan to have each envelope to have an activity or fun thing to do/look forward to for each day.

 

 

All the items were easily available - I did make the little envelopes, but I'm sure they would be easy to source. The frame is a cheap photo frame from Kmart, the butchers twine is from Spotlight, the 1-25 cards and the stick on decals are from The Stationary Warehouse and the little pegs are from Lincraft. I'm sure you could find these items in many other stores as well.

 

 

Ideas for the cards on the inside:

Help ice the Christmas cake

 

Make palmier hearts for after the candle light carol service tonight (a Christmas eve Tradition in our family)

Make some invites and plan a Christmas party (I have pre-invited the parents of this party, so they already have it booked in, so the fact that they get 4 days notice from the invites is ok)

Make a cinnamon ornaments wreath for the front hall way

Make the family and friends Christmas cards

Paint/stamp some brown paper to make our own Christmas paper

Make food presents for the Grandparents/Aunts/Uncles

Hide Rudolf's nose – ongoing until Christmas eve (a game where you hide a red ball in the house, and the first person to find it hides it somewhere else)

Reindeer cupcakes  or these

 

Make your own snow globes

Bake some rice krispie ornament treats

Write our own twinkling holiday sign

Make gingerbread houses

Put up the Christmas tree and decorate it

Make something to wear to the Santa parade

White choc marshmallow popcorn and a Christmas movie

 Host a Christmas party for our friends

Sock the neighbours

Flour fight! We don't get snow at this time of year, so why not get messy with flour?

Santa beards with shaving foam and take some photos!

Family picnic under the Christmas tree and read the Christmas story under the tree

Toast some marshmallows

 

Do you have any family traditions you would like to share that I could add to this list??

 

 

Interesting Gifts for Adults

How hard is it to buy for that adult in your life that HAS EVERYTHING?! Here are some different ideas that won't just sit around and gather dust!

1. Gift cards. For some this may be too impersonal, but it is a great way to support local sales, rather than the big multi-national companies. Suggestions: Local Farmers market, local coffee roaster, restaurants.
2. Get creative. Make pillow cases with fabric that resembles their interests. Knit or crochet wash clothes for their kitchen or nice wool socks.
3. Give color coded towel sets. Using their favorite color or monogram each person’s towel. Make sure you buy quality, thick, large towels.
4. Events. Tickets to a play, concert, dance or sports event, yearly membership to a zoo, museum, children’s museum, science center.
5. Natural skincare. Find a local supplier of handcrafted items.
6. Food items. Homemade is coveted by many. Homemade jams, jellies, quick breads, cookies, candy and jerky are great. For the real food friends: Peanut Butter Bites, Sprouted Lentils in a jar, dehydrated fruits and veggies make a beautiful gift. Who wouldn’t love a jar of dehydrated chili peppers? An excellent coffee or wine is enjoyable if you don’t have time to spend in the kitchen, many times you can find local options.
7. Lessons. Often times people are interested in learning a musical instrument, dance or taking a photography, art or quilting class, but don’t splurge on themselves.   
8. Give a gift of love. Safe drinking water, animals, food, medical care, etc. for those in need around the world. Compassion, World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse are great organizations and have many gift options.
9. Service. A gift certificate for car-detailing, manicure & pedicure or a message. An AA membership.
10. Magazine subscriptions. There are many many choices - find one to fit with their interests.
11. Give time. Homemade gift certificates for a coffee date, game of checkers, babysitting or a walk through a park.
12. Joint activities. Give a cookbook and ingredients for a dinner. Set a date to cook together. This works for adults as well as children.
13. Give a family photo or family portrait session. Most grandparents just want an updated family photo, perhaps one from each family, or photography session over the holidays when all the extended family is together and a group photo can be captured. A calendar made with special photos of family members is wonderful as well.
14. Heirloom seed packs are great for the avid gardener or an essential oil starter kit for those interested in natural healing.  

 

Interesting gift ideas for toddlers

Following on from my last post, here are some ideas for gifts for toddlers. Toddlers have shorter attention spans and endless bounds of energy. Take advantage of these and tailor your choices to the individual child.

 

1. Puzzles. I’ve always been surprised at how early little ones understand puzzles and really enjoy them. Keep them simple - try wooden ones as they will withstand the not-quite-so-fine motor skills of a little one.
2. Books. It’s never too early for books. Did you know that reading to babies and toddlers changes the way their brains develop?
3. Photo Album. Little ones love looking at picture of family members and of themselves doing things or at special places. You could go on an adventure and take photos during the day and turn it into their very own story book.
4. Good Quality skincare or novelty soaps. Try and find locally made, handcrafted items. 
5. Pajamas. Kids love pajamas - mine will spend all day in them so days!
6.  Lessons and Classes. Swim lessons, dance, gymnastics are all great ideas and benefit little ones.
7. Sprinklers. Some good old fashion fun right there!
8. Bird Feeder and Seed. Having a bird feeder outside a winder is very entertaining for kids to watch and helps get them interested in wildlife.
9.  Memberships. Children’s Museums, the zoo  or family gyms are all wonderful.
10. Artwork Picture Frame. Displaying our children’s artwork is important and also very fun. But the fridge tends to get filled up and parents at times feel guilty for throwing anything away. 
11. Towel Set. My kids love their hooded towels - they have a variety of animals and princess ones.
12. Waterproof swimming bag. And maybe a trip to the pool or beach to go with it!
13. Math Counters in a small bucket/bag. Stack colors together,  make patterns, practice adding and subtracting.
14. Savings Account or Stocks. Setting money aside each birthday or holiday may not be very exciting for these little people right now, but when they turn 18 and realize the amazing start they have in life, it will be a huge blessing. You can give a small token gift that they can open and enjoy on their special day, but put the majority of the gift into a savings program.
15. Music. Kids love music! Some great kid-geared artists are: Raffi, Tom Chaplin, Sandra Boynton.
16. Sleeping Bag/portable bed. Having their own sleeping bag can make little ones pretty excited about sleepovers, trips or camping out family nights.
17. Piggy Bank and Coins. This may take some supervision, but all the little people I know absolutely love putting coins into their piggy banks!
18. Play Silk scarves. These can be used as capes for super heros, skirts, dresses, wraps to carry their baby dolls, over chairs and couches to make a fort, the possibilities are endless.

 

Gift Ideas For Children

So it has been quite some time since my last blog post. 14 weeks of feeling like sleeping and spewing kind of puts one off writing (or doing anything for that matter!). We are now 20 weeks into a third healthy pregnancy and feel very blessed for this.

Many parents spend this time of year working out what they will be getting for their children at Christmas, and working out a budget to suit. Below are so low/no plastic, high positive memory ideas for both Christmas and Birthday ideas:

1. Memberships. Zoo, science museum, children’s museum, etc. These are particularly great for family gifts! Many young families want to enjoy day outings, but affording them can be a challenge, so give them the gift of a yearly membership.
2. Subscriptions. Kids enjoy getting things in the mail. Why not encourage their reading by getting them a magazine subscription for something they are interested in!
3. Events. Movie tickets, tickets to a play, concert or sports event are really exciting! Having an event to look forward to makes the rest of life more enjoyable.
4. Activities. Mini golf, bowling, skating rink. These are so much fun! And a big part of the fun is going together. Children love spending time with the adults in their lives, they want to see you enjoying your time as well as enjoying them.
5. Classes. Music, dance, riding, drawing, classes are a great way to encourage children in their interests and let them know that you pay attention to them and what they enjoy.
6. Recipe and Ingredients. Kids love cooking with their parents. Baking something special or cooking dinner is an ideal time to spend together and learn life skills. Print out a recipe, purchase all the ingredients and set a date for cooking together. Or do a cookie in a jar gift.
7. Crafting Date. Our daughter loves making crafts. I do to, I really do enjoy the creative aspect. But I rarely take time out to do it with her. These crafting dates mean the world to our creative little girl. Keep a basket of craft supplies and get out a book for inspiration.
8. Arts and Craft supplies. If your craft box is running low, stock up a little on things you need. Add in something fun the kids haven’t used before. A gift of art and craft supplies often brings on the imagination and kids can’t wait to get to work!
9. Coupons. An envelope of coupons that they can “spend” at any time: I’ll do one chore- no questions asked, movie and popcorn night, you pick the movie!, 1:1 game of cards or basketball (whatever the child’s interest is in), sit and read a book with me, Stay up 1/2 hour past bedtime
10. Restaurant Gift Card. Dinner, ice cream, coffee, cupcake- whatever suits their fancy! Give them the freedom of inviting whoever they wish: it may be mom or dad, it may be a grandparent, aunt or even teacher that they would like to spend more time with.
11. Dress Up Clothes. These do need to be limited, but  2 dresses and couple play scarves can get hours and hours of play!
12. Calendar. Many children like to know what is going on, what day it is, how many days until ____. They can write down their own classes, appointments, play dates, etc. And if they ask you, send them to their calendar so they can get used to being in control of their own schedule. You can even schedule “spontaneous days”, so they know that something different will happen that day. Trust me, it will help them enjoy the spontaneous outings!
13. Books. We get a lot of books from the library, but there are some that I just can’t find there, or it takes us longer to read through.
14. Clothes. When kids only have a certain amount of clothes, they often enjoy getting clothes. Make it a point to get something that fits their style. That may mean western clothes, super-hero, fancy dresses, etc.
15. Snacks. If your child is a foodie, they will love this! Some homemade granola or cookies made just for them, is a special treat!
16. Outdoor Supplies. If you are an outdoorsy family, giving kids their own fishing tackle or gardening equipment can be a big deal. It’s also something that gets left on the shelf in the garage, so you always know right where to find it.
17. Telling Time. The average child these days doesn’t know how to read analog, or finds it takes too long to think about it, so they search for a digital watch. Getting them a cool watch makes them want to be able to tell time on it.
18. Games and Puzzles. Games and puzzles are great activities for when kids have to be indoors. It’s a good practice to have individual quiet times during the day, and having a puzzle to sit and work on by themselves helps brain development and problem solving skills.

 

 

 

Dana's no-fail Orange and Cinnamon Fudge

I am a self professed pretty-good-baker and equally-good-cook. But I have a secret shame, despite the many amazing things I can bake - I can't make fudge... There, I said it.
I do, however, have an amazing no fail fudge recipe that is perfect for this time of year. It is done over a low heat (or a microwave if you like) and is a simple one that kids can help with. It makes great gifts for friends or teachers.

Ingredients:
1 can condensed milk
600g chocolate chips or buttons or chopped chocolate (about 3 cups)
8 drops of orange oil or 1/4 teaspoon of orange essence
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

Line a 20x20cm tin (or similar) with tin foil.
Melt the chocolate with the condensed milk over a low heat stirring constantly. Or microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in between.
Once all the chocolate is melted add the orange flavour and the cinnamon and stir until smooth.
Pour into the tin and leave to set in the fridge.

Notes: 1) You can buy orange oil in kitchen speciality shops.
            2) You can replace the orange flavour and cinnamon with 1 teaspoon of vanilla and
                1/2 cup chopped nuts.
           3) Use this recipe to pour in to cookie cutters that have been wrapped in foil so it
               doesn't run out the bottom. Let the kids decorate the tops with lollies or silver balls.
               Once set remove the foil from the bottom and wrap in cellophane to give as gifts to
               teachers.

How to travel with kids and stay (semi) sane

image source http://www.kidspot.com.au

Christmas and the holidays usually involves some kind of travel for the family. Be it a decent length drive or a massive long haul flight, there are a few things that can help the journey go a little more smoothly. A little planning and thinking ahead can make a huge difference in the overall experience!

1) Plan your journey.
Try and work it around your families best times of day, ie when kids are most likely to sleep! Some families I know dress their kiddies in their PJ's, feed them up, bundle them in the car and take turns at driving through the night. I only recommend this if you can both manage to get a sleep during the day first. Flights that go over tea breaks or late afternoon are probably the worst, try and go for early morning if you can. For long haul flights, you are likely to be in the plane at all times of day, make the most of stop overs as a chance to run the children ragged in hope you can get them tired.

2) Pre-pack the car the night before.
If this means buying a few spare toothbrushes, just do it :-) have a small list of genuine last minute items blu-tacked to the inside of the door or to the steering wheel of the car so it doesn't get forgotten.

3) Put together some entertainment packs for each kid.
Small shoe boxes work well. Visit the local $2 shop and get a few new things specific to each kids likes and abilities. If you have a portable DVD player or laptop/tablet stock up on movies that the kids will enjoy and pack them too. Books are great and some kids like to colour or draw while driving.

4) Pack snacks, and LOTS of them.
You will be amazed at just how much contained children can eat! Try little things that you can ration to make them last longer - chippies, chopped fruit, grapes, small sticks of cheese, marshmallows (or other lollies that little kids won't choke on while you aren't looking). A little bottle of water each popped in the freezer the night before will help keep it cool, watch the rules on international flight with liquids however. You cannot take foreign food into a country, but you can eat it on the plane before you land. Give the kids a lolly-pop to suck on take off and landing, or feed a little one their milk to encourage their ear pressure to stabilise. The may have sore ears for a day or so after landing, so give them some grace.

5) Leave with plenty of time.
We all know how amazing kids are at making us late, allow an extra hour to get to the airport, that way when you have to head back home for the favourite soft toy that they now suddenly cant live without, you can and still have time for the toilet stop you will also inevitably have to make on the way to the plane. When driving, plan to stop every hour or so, unless the kids have miraculously all fallen asleep. Stop, have a play at a playground, run along the beach, feed the ducks, have a treat at the local cafe, have a picnic lunch, play a quick family game of sardines or something similar, take some photos and jump back in the car.

6) Get a mascot.
Consider buying a soft toy to make the journey an adventure for, get the kids to take photos of or with the toy and collate a scrap book of its adventures.

7) Dress like a team.
As corny and very nineteen eighties that this sounds, dressing the family alike or at least in very bright colours makes finding a running toddler in a busy airport, or cafe, or park so much easier. Others will work out that you belong together and are more likely to say "he went thattaway". Taking a family picture on your mobile device before you leave is also a handy trick for the old "have you seen this kid..?" Juuuust in case. Not that we plan on loosing a kid!

8) Get a carrier.
Find some way of carrying the younger ones around the airport/stopovers. A baby carrier for a baby or an umbrella style pushchair that will fit in the overhead luggage for a toddler is a lifesaver for the long stop overs in large airports.

9) Thank people for their patience.
Consider putting together a little thank you card and a cookie/candy for the neighbouring rows in the plane, get the kids to give them out pre-flight or mid-air Thanking the people for understanding how it is to fly with littlies so far from home.

10) RELAX!
Accept that sometimes, kids will be kids and that hot, hungry, tired, disrupted kids will likely play up, and maybe cry, and maybe forget how to use a toilet, and maybe even get travel sick. You know what? Its OK! It's only for a short while (36hours long haul may seem like forever, but its really only a day and a half, some of us laboured longer than that, you can do it!). Make use of offers for help from the flight team. And take lots of deep breaths! Laugh off the small stuff and try, try, try to enjoy the trip the best you can.

Gingerbread houses the preschooler way

 



This weekend is the begining of all things Christmas in our house! It is very much my favourite time of the year, and children make it so much more fun!
Todays antics included making gingerbread houses with the kids. Considering they are only-just-three and not-quite-five, they did very well, Miss 3's responce was "this is my most funnest day I'b ebba had!" Below is the recipes we used and a few pictures of the process. Be brave and give it a go, its easier than it looks, you will be surprised at your kids skill and if it all turns to pies, you have a fantastic tasty mess to eat for dessert!
I make one every year and display it on the counter top until Christmas, when the kids are allowed to demolish it, this year they wanted their own.

For the gingerbread:

• 6 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons mixed spice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 190g butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup dark molasses/treacle/golden syrup - they all work, just give different colour of dough
• 1 Tbsp water 

Using an electric mixer (or by hand if you want a workout), beat on medium speed the butter and brown sugar until fluffy and well blended.
Beat in the eggs, molasses/treacle/syrup and water until well combined.
Add in the spices, salt and baking powder, if you are missing a spice, make it anyway, no one will ever know. 
Beat half of the flour into the butter mixture until well blended and smooth. Stir in the remaining flour. Knead (mix with your hands on the benchtop) until well blended. If the dough is too soft, add a little more flour, it should be a quite stiff dough.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, or pop it in a plastic bag and refrigerate at least two hours, preferably overnight. You can make it up to 3 days ahead of time. Let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes before rolling out. (We skipped this bit today and it worked just fine!)

 
Cutting Out:

For a template you can either find one online or do what we did and make one up! The walls of ours are about 12cm square. You can make a template out of cardboard box to check the measurements are right. This batch of dough makes a lot, there was enough to make 3 small houses or one large house.

Preheat oven to 180C, with the oven rack in the middle. Have several flat trays ready, preferably ones that you know will not warp in the oven heat.

Divide the dough in four. Spread baking paper on a large flat surface for rolling. Dust the paper lightly with flour. Working with one portion of the dough at a time, use a rolling pin (or a glass bottle) to roll out the dough to an even thickness of about 5-8mm - about the thickness of a pencil. Add a little flour to the surface of the dough, and check for sticking as you roll it out. If it sticks to either your rolling pin or the rolling surface, dust with more flour. If the rolled out dough is very soft, you may want to freeze it for an hour before cutting out the patterns.

Rub a little flour over the surface of the dough. Place the pattern pieces on the dough, as many pattern pieces as will fit on the dough. Use a small sharp knife to cut out the pattern pieces from the dough, wiping the knife surface clean frequently. Depending on how soft the dough is, you may need to use scissors to cut the baking paper. If you are not using paper, you may need to use a large metal spatula to transfer the dough pieces to a greased tray. Space the pieces on the tray 2cm apart from each other. If dough pieces stretch during the transfer process, just push them back into shape.

We used small cookie cutters to make windows and filled with a
barley sugar which melts into a window

You can cut out a door and window(s) at this point, or you can wait until after baking, soon after the pieces have come out of the oven while the walls are still warm.

Bake in a 180°c oven until the edges are just beginning to darken, 15-18 minutes for the large pieces, 6-8 minutes for the small pieces. Rotate the trays half way through the baking for more even browning. Remove the trays to racks to cool, about 15 minutes.

While the pieces are still slightly warm, lay the pattern pieces over them and use a large straight chef's knife to trim off any parts of the pieces that have through cooking spread beyond the pattern.

Remove pieces to cool directly on racks to cool completely.

For the glue to hold it all together you use Royal Icing:

Beat 1 large egg white with 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice and 1c icing sugar for 5 minutes. Add a further 1 and 2/3c icing sugar and beat well.
Spoon this into ziplock bags and store as is in the fridge for up to a week. To use simply snip the corner off the bag and squeeze out.

Assembly:

This part is really where the adult help is important. Put a strip of icing on the left and right sides of each of the four walls. Assemble the house on a flat surface, arranging all four walls in quick sucession. These need a few minutes to start setting before you attempt to put the roof on. Don't rush this stage. I left both the houses for 10 minutes before letting the girls loose on them, it might be better to make the dough one day and mum/dad to assemble the houses once the kids are in bed then allow them to decorate them the next day, the white icing sets like concrete after about 24 hours!
 

 My preschooler's abilities to use a piping bag amazed me. Let them loose with a bag of icing, a bowl of lollies and their imagination.