one for the weekend

Homemade pizza is a crowd pleaser around here and if you've never bothered to make your own dough here is a quick and easy recipe for you to try. Setting out the topping ingredients for everyone to top their own is fun and in my experience another great way to encourage children to eat vegetables. You'll notice in the photo there is no cheese on the table. I hand that over once the pizza makers have at least one vegetable on the base!

Pizza dough


Ingredients
4 cups white spelt flour
a pinch of salt
a pinch of raw sugar
1.5 cups warm water
2 teaspoons or 1 x 7 gram sachet dried yeast
1/4 cup olive oil

Method
In a small bowl mix water, sugar and yeast and set aside for a few minutes of until it looks foamy on the surface.

In a large bowl combine the flour and salt.

Make a well in the centre and pour in the yeast mixture and the oil. Using a spoon gently mix until just combined and then using your hands bring the dough together into a ball.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until smooth.

Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough in bowl and roll to coat in oil. Cover with a clean teatowel and put bowl in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes or until dough doubles in size.

Once risen punch dough down and turn back onto floured surface, knead lightly and break into balls about the size of a tennis ball or a bit bigger than a golf ball for smaller pizza makers. (When I write pizza maker I am referring to children not those machines you see on infomercials :)

The fun begins. Flour a clean surface for each pizza maker to work and give them their ball of dough to roll out with a rolling pin or if you don't have enough rolling pins a tall smooth drinking glass or bottle does the job.

Once the pizza maker is happy with their rolled out base, lightly oil a tray and place the base on and spoon on tomato puree. Let the topping begin.

Once topping placement is complete sprinkle with grated cheese and bake in a preheated oven 180C for around 10-12 minutes depending on the size and thickness of the dough.

Happy weekending. We're off to Melbourne for a city adventure. Hope you all fit in some relaxing time.

local happening

***THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED****

For those readers living local to the Mornington Peninsula, Aboriginal Elder Uncle Max Harrison is coming to Hummingbird Eco Retreat on the weekend of May 5th and 6th to facilitate a cleansing and reconciling with the land. My husband Pete worked with Uncle Max recording his story and photographing him on country to create this book.

Uncle Max is an Elder of the Yuin Nation on the far south coast of NSW. He was born by a sacred water hole and later chosen from his tribe to be taught by 5 Masters law/lore and healing, this teaching was continuous for 17 years. After seeing the marginalisation of his people and lack of acceptance of traditional teachings, he began what has become his life's work providing a way for others to understand Aboriginal culture. He encourages all people to embrace their spiritual growth while making grass roots changes in their immediate world. He is an engaging and heartfelt speaker within him is a wealth of experience, wisdom and authenticity.

Uncle Max has been consulted by governments on land rights issues and shared the podium at major events with spiritual leaders from around the world including the Dalai Lama. The weekend at Hummingbird Eco Retreat with Uncle Max has the blessing of Boonwurrung Elder Aunty Caroline Briggs.

Join us at 1.30pm on Saturday May 5th for acknowledgment to country, smoking ceremony and reconciling with the land. Followed by a sacred forest walk - seeing, feeling and hearing the land.
Pre-dinner cultural teachings.

Sunday May 6th join us for sunrise ceremony welcoming Grandfather Sun and then a closing ceremony.

Adults $120 Children (school years) $30
This price excludes meals and accommodation.

Hummingbird Eco Retreat is located at 183 Arthur's Seat Road Red Hill.
Bookings are essential: info@hummingbirdeco.com.au
03 5989 2504

fact or fiction

Cookbooks, newspapers, magazines, biographies, parenting books; non-fiction tends to fill my reading 'diet'. Last week though I had in my hands a book of fiction that had me reading it at the kitchen bench, in the car parked outside River's school gate and by torch light at night while Sol slept in bed next to me.

Melbourne author Peggy Frew's book House of Sticks is her first novel released late last year. I read a review of it when it was released and made a mental note to seek a copy out. It has taken me until now to secure a copy from the local library where it has been on a reserve waiting list for many months. And now I know why.

Caring for small children full time can be curiously isolating work (I say curiously because despite being surrounded by other mothers and their children it is isolating from one's self that isn't defined by being a mother) and for the past week, Bonnie the central character in House of Sticks became my companion on the motherhood line of duty. Frew succeeds in creating a captivating tale out of the ordinary happenings of family life and for me the key to that success was in the engaging characters particularly Bonnie, a stay at home mum who has put on hold being a musician to raise her young family, twin five year olds Louie and Edie and baby girl Jess.

The love between Bonnie and her partner Pete is tested by the demands of raising young children without support from extended family and by the presence of Pete's old mate Doug whose life is defined by hard times and Pete feels obliged to extend the hand of friendship and take him on to work in his business making furniture. Bonnie's frustration simmers away as Doug takes advantage of Pete's generosity sauntering in and out of their home and Pete's backyard workshop eating their food and some days not turning up to work. Doug has an unnerving edge to him that leaves you guessing which way his actions will turn the story.

Frew writes of a fraught relationship between Bonnie and her mother Suzanne. A reluctant grandmother, Suzanne squeezes in an hour each week between her work commitments and playing bridge to spend with her daughter and grandchildren at the local pool. When Bonnie is pushed to dig deep and call on her mother for  extra help with the children she does so with trepidation. Will Suzanne come to the party?

The other relationship Frew captures eloquently is the bond between mothers shown through Bonnie and her friend Mel. They share their woes grabbing snatches of conversation when dropping their children at kinder, or over coffee and babycinos at the local cafe and via text message. Mel is the friend that every mother feels blessed to have on her side.

Frew's observations and descriptions of the subtle details of the tensions and joys of family life connected me instantly to these characters and their story. I cared about what happened to them and read each page holding hope that all would work out well for each of them. Even Doug.

I am yet to meet a mother of small children who has not felt the relentlessness of parenting and domestic tasks weigh heavily on their spirit at times, it seems to be part of the job description and I'm still working out if or how that can be different. Until I come up with that answer I find solace in reading the stories of other women's lives be they fact or fiction.

Read a review here of House of Sticks and an interview with Peggy Frew here.

Happy wednesday to you all.

vegetarian cooking

My friend Anthea who is a wonderful vegetarian wholefood mama introduced me to the vegetarian splendour to be found on veggienumnum. The photography and recipes on this blog will inspire the most bored homecooks into the kitchen to create memorable meat free meals.

Another vegetarian wholefood mama who I have been a fan of since my university days when I listened to her talk food on Melbourne's famed independent radio station RRR, is muesli maker and cookbook author (among many other talents) Flip Shelton. I wrote about Flip's book Veg In here and for this post Flip has kindly agreed to share one of her recipes from Veg In. Those of you with backyard veggie gardens may have an abundance of eggplants, and if you haven't a garden you'll find them in ready supply at your local market or vegie shop put them to good use in Flip's 'Cheat's Vegetarian Moussaka'.

Flip's recipe is made in four serves in ramekins. I made mine in a large rectangular baking dish. Below is the recipe as per Flip's book, my version in the photo includes a few roughly chopped capsicums I happened to have in the fridge and to the top I poured over the white sauce then dotted it with semi-dried tomatoes I also just happened to have then sprinkled the grated parmesan over. I increased the garlic because we are a 'one clove is never enough' kind of family and because I was making it for grown ups only I was generous with the chilli. This dish is so warming and delicious it almost makes me look forward to winter. Almost.

Flip Shelton's Cheat's Vegetarian Moussaka
Ingredients
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, grated or finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)
2 eggplants (approx 400grams) diced
1 zucchini (200 grams), diced
6 button mushrooms (150 grams), cut into quarters
400 gram can diced tomatoes, drained
several sprigs fresh parsley or oregano (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
salt and pepper, freshly ground
20 grams parmesan cheese grated

Basic white sauce
30 grams butter
30 grams (1/3 cup) plain flour
500ml (2 cups) milk
salt and pepper, freshly ground

Preheat oven to 180C. Warm oil in a heavy-based saucepan before adding onion, garlic and chilli flakes (if using) and saute for about 5 minutes.

Add eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, tinned tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes or until veggies have softened.

White sauce
Over a medium heat, melt butter in small saucepan and heat until foaming.

Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly, until mixture is smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Simmer 5-10 minutes, stirring constantly until sauce thickens.

To assemble
Divide vegetable mix into ramekins.

Add a thick layer of white sauce but don't fill ramekins to the very top as mixture can bubble over.

Sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.


For even more veggie inspiration these places are well worth a click:
My New Roots
Green Kitchen Stories and
The Vegie Belly 

And finally, if you're tired of recipes and reading go view the art of vegetables at Marvelous Kiddo

Happy meatless Monday.

siblings

This morning Sol sat on the kitchen bench mixing shredded coconut, flour, oats and sugar in a bowl as I melted butter to add to the batch of Anzac biscuits we were making. It was a first for Sol and I, baking without River who was at school. For me it felt like we were doing something special together without River and I felt something akin to guilt like I didn't want to be doing anything with Sol that River would be disappointed about missing out on, and at the same time pleasure that Sol and I were having time together as River and I shared when River was Sol's age. The experience made me reflective about the complexity and simplicity of the bond between siblings.

In the car on the way home from school after dropping River off, Sol asked "Mummy, where's River?"

"At school" I replied.

"Oh. I miss him," he said.

From the moment Sol was born when River was almost three and a half years old I have marvelled at the shape the bond between them takes. I had such a close bond with my own younger brother I want the same for River and Sol and have been conscious from the start of nurturing the bond they share. Pete and I were mindful when Sol arrived to include River in everything to do with his new baby brother, mindful of the words we chose, words that encouraged River to accept Sol as his baby brother rather than resent him or feel threatened by him. And that continues today.

I sometimes think it helps that I am a first born like River and Peter is a second child and the youngest like Sol, they each have a parent that understands where they fit in the family. I'm mindful as River and Sol grow of giving them appropriate responsibilities and involving them equally in contributing to being part of the family, not to overload River with responsibilities and not to baby Sol just because he is the youngest. Even when he's 40 he will still be the youngest!

I also notice in Sol the way he completely idolises River and look back at my relationship with my 'baby' brother and think 'my brother looked up to me like that too and wow I was mean to him sometimes!'

Of course as close as River and Sol are they have their times when they try and out do each other to get Pete and my attention, and times when they squabble and snatch over belongings but I feel like their foundation for friendship is strong.

River said to me recently, "I hope Sol never loses his chubbiness. It's so cute." I love those moments.

I regularly count my blessings twice for having River and Sol in my life.

Sisters and brothers are not always born of the same parents. I'm thankful for those siblings too; such as my cosmic and courageous sister-in-law who I am truly lucky to like and love, and those friends who between us the love is deep, the laughter raucous and the tears free to fall.

Happy weekending.

take stock

The weather is cooling. It is time to make stock. If you haven't done this before, after you do you'll wonder why you haven't. Read any wholefoods cookbook and there will be a section dedicated to the healing and nourishing power of homemade bone stock.

Wholefood chef Jude Blereau writes about stock in her excellent book Wholefood for Children:


"Bone stocks have been used by just about all traditional cultures for nourishment and healing - Dr Alfred Vogel, one of the early organic, wholefood and natural food advocates, describes their use in Europe for healing; in New York, chicken soup is known as Jewish penicillin (chicken fat contains palmitoleic acid - a powerful immune-boosting monosaturated fat); and throughout Asia, fish stock is believed to be the restorer of chi (life force), and is also a rich source of iodine."


Stock is nutrient dense and very easy to digest. One of the most nutritionally beneficial qualities of bone stock is gelatin. Gelatin is a natural anti-inflammatory and soothing to the digestive tract, it also assists in maintaining healthy joints.

The basic foundation of bone stock involves bones and water, plus chopped onion, carrot, celery and herbs of your choice such as parsley, thyme, bay leaf and whole black peppercorns. Adding a splash of vinegar or wine (I mean splash!) to the pot draws the nutrients out of the bones during the slow cooking process.

This is how I make my chicken stock:

2 organic chicken carcasses (and yes it does make a difference whether they are organic or not)
1 medium brown onion chopped
1 large carrot chopped
2 sticks celery with leaves chopped
4 whole black peppercorns
1-2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
filtered water

Place all ingredients in a large heavy based pot and cover with water. Bring to the boil and then lower heat to a simmer and cook for 6-12 hours. The longer the better. You will need to add more water during the cooking process.

Once your stock is made and cooled you can freeze it in one cup portions to have on hand for soups, casseroles, risotto or as a healing, cleansing broth to drink on its own with some seasoning. Drinking a warm cup of this is an instant pick me up.

To make vegetable stock omit bones and to give stock more depth of flavour use fresh or dried mushrooms such as shitake and reduce the cooking time to 1 or 2 hours.

Do you have a variation on this stock recipe? What do you like to create with homemade stock?

the divided heart - art and motherhood

Four years ago when River was two, with the sun was shining on us in Byron Bay our home away from home where we spend our winters, I was at my limit of being a patient mummy. Yearning for a moment of contemplation that was nowhere in sight I put River in the car and drove to Mullumbimby. River fell asleep on the way. I parked the car under a tall, sprawling limbed tree and stretched myself out across the front bench seat of our station wagon and took a nap too.

On waking we left the car in the shade and wandered into town for no particular reason. The bookshop seemed a good place to start our meandering. As River made his way to the display of children's books I scanned the covers of the latest non-fiction titles and staring back at me from the top shelf was my balm for that difficult day: Rachel Power's book The Divided Heart - Art and Motherhood. Bound between two beautifully designed covers Rachel shares the honest words of 26 Australian women who are  mothers and artists, whose stories I and many others could easily relate to. The interviews capture so well the feeling of mothers loving their children so deeply and simultaneously yearning for space of heart, head and hands to delve into their art form.

Finding this book made everything ok again that day. Not because a vast stretch of time became mine to ponder and write, no. Because reading the book transported me into the hearts and homes of artists whose work I had long admired and introduced me to ones I hadn't heard of, and because whether your art form is photography, painting, composing music or being at home creating a garden or a meal, all mothers have yearnings beyond caring for their children and it is heartening to read others experiences.

Many of you may already know and love this book, but I wasn't blogging in 2008 when it was first published and it is too good so I had to share it now.

Rachel also blogs about 'art, motherhood and everything in between' at The Rachel Papers. You can buy The Divided Heart on her blog. Seek it out.

oh kale

I once had a job in a steak house. True. In fact, that's where my hospitality 'career' began. I tended the salad and dessert bar slicing and dicing salad vegetables, concocting dressings and preparing desserts many of which were covered in lashings of hot chocolate sauce. It was here that I first touched kale. Each morning when the salad bar was set up with crushed ice, once the salad bowls were positioned in the ice kale was used as decoration to cover the ice. I was 18 years young and had no idea kale could be eaten!

Thankfully I made that delicious discovery in my mid twenties and have had a love affair with this deep green and/or purple, nutrient packed member of the cabbage family ever since.

One of my favorite ways to eat kale is as soup. I am a big fan of green soups, to me they're a bit like the cool weather version of having a green smoothie (minus the fruit), and another great way to present green veggies to children.

My kale soup recipe varies depending on what I have on hand but always starts with melting a knob of butter, dicing an onion and frying it gently in the butter with as many chopped cloves of garlic I think the family can handle (the more the better) and then in goes a chopped head of broccoli, a diced zucchini or two, the chopped bunch of kale leaves, any herbs looking to go in parsley, basil or coriander and then cover with the homemade stock I hopefully have in supply. If not, I cover with filtered water and season with Bragg's All Purpose Seasoning. Bring to boil and then simmer until all vegetables are soft, then puree or mash if you prefer it a little more textured. If I'm not keeping the soup strictly green I add in diced potatoes or a head of cauliflower.

I came across this recipe for kale and quinoa cakes on Joy the Baker (if you can't bear to read about or eat quinoa again there are plenty of distractions involving unbelievable amounts of sugar and butter to be found on this beauty of a cooking blog, such as this Best Chocolate Bundt Cake ever).

Keeping things simple, roughly chop kale leaves, lightly saute garlic in butter or olive oil add the kale and cook for a few minutes then squeeze over some lemon juice.

These kale chips are a super tasty, if pricey, way to get your greens. Or follow this recipe and make your own.

Have you cooked with kale? What are your favorite ways?

the art of independent play...

Having River home for two weeks of school holidays I've noticed each time he comes up to me in the kitchen or while I'm at the computer and asks, "Mum can you play with me?" My typical response is, "When I've finished {insert domestic task}", or "Why don't you play with (brother) Sol?" Most times River replies, "I want to play with you". Flattering perhaps. Fun to play sometimes. A tad frustrating when said tasks are mounting up, or creative writing rhythm flowing.

Is the art of children playing by themselves disappearing? Is it something that happens naturally or is it something to be taught? My husband Pete thinks us modern day folk who live the 'nuclear family' way have it all wrong, that children living in community, living in villages have each other to play with and the domestic 'load' is shared amongst the adults rather than falling to one person. True perhaps. But at this moment in my family life I think the art of independent play is both a natural occurrence and one that is taught (read encouraged).

There are a few ways I encourage independent play, the one I have most fun with is when the boys have gone to sleep I set up something for them to wake up to. That might be building a town out of their wooden blocks, setting up their toy cars, placing their teddy bears on a blanket for a breakfast picnic. I love telling them that fairies did it while they were sleeping, of course with River turning six in a couple of months he tells me "I know you did it mum". He still enjoys the fun of it though. I like doing this in the morning because it is a fun way to start the day and most times (as long as they both don't want the same car/teddy/book/crayon), it initiates them playing while I get the day started.

This article by American mum Shelly who has worked in Montessori schools and as a nanny, includes inspiring ideas for encouraging independent play - love the title: 'How to get time for yourself - Set your kids up for independent play'. 

What play is happening in your house? Best tips for keeping everyone entertained? 

Happy weekend to all. Hope there's sunshine in your heart wherever you are.

my new loves

The sun is sparkling on the bay here in Sorrento and I have a whole two hours to myself out of the house. Deep breath. I wish I could magic up a whole two hours flying solo time for every mother reading this, it is such a joy to have uninterrupted thoughts. And then return home to my two favourite little professional interrupters :)

I had planned a post about play for yesterday but the day was swallowed up by unpacking, washing, entertaining little people, helping big people with computer questions. You get the picture.

So here I am at Daisy's cafe the newest cafe kid on the block here in main street Sorrento. I like it for its WiFi, good coffee, music and unpretentiousness. And I just thought I'd share a few of my new favorite blogs to visit, new to me perhaps not to you. Sometimes while I am supposed to be writing blog posts I spend time reading blogs. Research I tell myself. Here are the results of my latest 'research':

The Beetle Shack is the colourful, stylish creation of Emily, who in just one year of blogging (happy birthday to The Beetle Shack) has put together a space that for me is well, sunny! Visiting Emily's blog is like visiting a friend and when you leave you feel a bit brighter. Even if my house is messy and I'm in my pyjamas at 11am and the boys are squabbling over who the fishing rod belongs to I can look at the pretty, well-designed and written space at The Beetle Shack and feel better. As much as I love that looking at a blog can do that, I am still slowly coming to terms with for me the slight weirdness I feel about the voyueristic nature of the internet and relationships born of it. I guess in someways it is the modern day pen pal with pictures. Slight digression. Back to the blogs.

Jodi who pens Che and Fidel is a yoga teacher and reading her blog I feel 'yoga calm' coming off the page.

Look at this gorgeous honey bee post on Tea with Lucy

And lastly for now (my free time is almost over. oh so quick), it is not a blog created by a mama it is the result of another area of my research. As my man Pete is a photographer and not so much a fan of looking at blogs or websites (he'd rather be surfing or fishing) I love photography and looking at blogs so I do that task for him and the one recently soaking up my attention is the lovely work of Sydney photographer Tim Coulson.

What are your latest faves? Love to see more photographers work.