Sweet Song of the Supermarket-Till Siren

There is something to be said for Sweetie Pies. Do they ever lose their gooey, magical charm? My long-pondered verdict? Nope. Never. Never, ever, ever!

Just look at my own sweetie-pie in this photo. The sheer delight painted in sticky marshmallowy smiles all over her face says it all: Sweetie Pies rock. Big time! Layla has inherited her Grampi's sweet tooth, but with a twist of sophistication: she turns her nose up at the usual kids' confectionary fare of rainbow jelly-tots, jelly beans and jelly-babies --- opting instead for Lindt dark chocolate, Marcel's English Toffee frozen yoghurt and halva ice-cream! (And, with great culinary flair, she prefers crabstick salad, kalamata olives and camembert to burgers and hot dogs! Is there a mini-Nigella lurking inside that sweetie pie of mine?)

Anyway - back to the Sweetie Pie phenomenon. After witnessing Layla's ooh-and-aah-accompanied decimation of said Sweetie Pie, I've been toying with the idea of creating a series of Sweetie Pie desserts and tea-time confections. Each time, however, the glamorously humble Sweetie Pie triumphs, making each idea of mine utterly obsolete. I give up! (*happy sigh*)

So next time you're at the till, waiting to pay, simply succumb to the goo and glory of that Sweetie Pie that has your name written all over it! I know I will. (Big thanks to my little gastronaut for reminding me that it's the tiny pleasures in life that fill that secret pocket of joy in your heart! That pocket of joy from which spring smiles at strangers, random acts of kindness, stopping to smell a wildflower growing on the pavement -- and picking it to put in your hair or give to someone who needs a dose of compassion and hope! Hmmm... Just had an even better idea: keep a few Sweetie Pies in your bag or car, and hand out at happy random!)

Au revoir, all x

Vitamin Veg!

Yebo. The ol' battle between nutrition and child has arrived at my front door -- but thankfully with very little vengeance or veggie venom!

However... Vitamins exist for a reason. And that reason is unavoidably critical to the well-being and general health of my child. Hence, my frantic Googling of child-luring veggie recipes tonight!! Before, Layla was a regular muncher of cherry tomatoes, avo, cucumber, (raw!) aubergines and ... kalamata olives. (She once threw open the fridge door, age 22 months, requesting olives for breakfast. 12 olives later, and she was as ready for the day as I am after my first cuppa! Another time, at the same age, she sat on the kitchen counter while I shimmied up a summer salad, and - snacking on avo - announced, in no uncertain terms and with great culinary flair, 'Fantastic!' The first time I'd ever heard her use this um... fantastic descriptor!)

Supper tonight, vitamin/fibre-boosted and elegantly yummy: oodles of garlic turned soft and golden in olive oil, then - softly boiled cauliflower is added and 'smooshed' (i.e. unless you have a blender/whizzer) till smooth. Add milk, Ina Paarman's potato seasoning (Layla's seasoning of choice) and some grated cheddar. Reduce till creamy. Add pasta or noodles! Layla gobbled it up with relentless and gullible enthusiasm! Yeeeeeha! Another vitaminny victory!

Butter Fingers!

AT LONG BLERRY LAST I am  back in the swing of things after two very painful, exhausting months (which I will not be writing about, so sigh with relief! Only calorie-rich joy will find its way into today's blog post!)

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Layla (with a wee bit of help from moi) made her very first birthday cake yesterday: and discovered the chocolatey bliss of spatula and bowl-licking! Because of the endless curiosity of the Toddler Chef, I opted for Ina Paarman's chocolate cake mix to cut down on our frustration levels. Because? Ok. Picture this: Layla sitting on the kitchen counter within lightning-fast reach of a thousand different ingredients (eggs, milk, vanilla essence, sugar, flower, cocoa, oil, butter...) and being told: 'No, don't touch! No, don't spill it!' And for me and my hating-to-perpetually-say-no parenting approach, I thought: the less ingredients, the better!


What was extremely lekker about using Ina Paarman's mix, besides the minimalism of ingredients, was that I only used a whisk and one mixing bowl! The only additional ingredients were 3 eggs, oil and a cup of hot, black coffee. Lusciously easy! (Saying that, the Ina Paarman's chocolate icing mix was a little more elbow-greasy and messy. The mix comes in a triangular sachet (complete with handy little icing nozzle) --- and then, you need to empty icing powder into a bowl with the butter. I should never have been so lazy to haul the electric beater out... Combining the butter and icing with a wooden spoon --- naggingly impatient toddler asking, 'Is it ready yet, my mama?' at least once every 15 seconds --- did not make for an easy icing experience! Oh yes - and then, you need to spoon the mixture back into the triangular sachet, snip off the tip to the size you want your icing to come out, and then squeeeeeeeze!)
Perhaps the most trying part of it was explaining to Layla - over and over and over and over and over - that we had to wait for Grampa to get home from work before we could tuck into his birthday cake. (*sigh*)

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Anyway - the cake was delicious and moist --- but not nearly as delicious and magnificent as watching Layla sitting on the counter next to Grampa's cake (resplendent in a thousand Smarties), candles aglow, singing 'Happy Birthday' to him!