Sweet Soup!

Due to their sweet tooth (probably inherited from me) both my boys were not overly enamoured with veg purées at the start of weaning hence the quick move to finger foods and self feeding. Soup was always the best way to get the veggies in. They both like it served with chunky bread or pitta. They are also known for dipping the occasional rice cake into their soup. I tried out a new soup this morning. I am usually a recipe follower but this is one I can lay claim to as my own concoction! It is deliciously sweet and creamy but easily made dairy free by using almond milk. Both my boys gobbled it up and I had thirds seconds. Enjoy ;)

Parsnip, Leek and Apple Soup

500g Parsnips

1 onion

1 large leek

1 apple

1 tbsp olive oil

500-700g vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

Sprinkling of thyme (fresh preferably, dried will do)

Pepper

60ml milk/almond milk

1. Prepare the vegetables – Parsnips peeled and chunked, Onion peeled and diced, Leek washed, trimmed and sliced, Apple peeled, cored and diced.
2. Sauté the onion and leek in a tablespoon of olive oil until soft, stirring regularly to avoid browning.
3. Add the parsnips, apple, vegetable stock, thyme, pepper and bay leaf.
4. Bring to the boil then turn down the heat to simmer. Leave for 15 mins or until the parsnips are soft.
5. Remove from the heat. Add the milk and purée.
6. If you want to be a fancy pants you could add some of the lighter sliced leeks as a garnish!
7. Serve with some crispy wholemeal bread. Delicious! 

(Adults could add salt and pepper to theirs according to tastes) 

Listography - Top 5 Cook Books

The theme for Listography this week is the top 5 cook books. In our house, the sign of a good cook book is one that you struggle to read because the pages are stuck together or there are stains on most pages. Here is my top 5 . . .

1. My Daddy Cooks - yes I talk about it a lot! I love this book so much. I got a signed copy from Nick when I met him at Cybermummy last year and it was well worth it. I cook from it several times a week.

2. Jamie's 30 minute meals - this is where it all started for me. A year ago, I couldn't cook at all. Short of heating things up in the oven or stirring in a sauce, I was pretty much useless! I got this book for Christmas and decided to Jamie Oliverise my kitchen. I bought lots of new utensils using the list from this book and cluttered up my worktops with spices and condiments. It worked and now I cook most of my meals from scratch, not a ready made pizza in sight!

3. Jamie's Ministry of Food - I love this book. For a person like me who is nervous about opening a cookbook because I have so little knowledge this book is the answer. No complicated recipes, good hearty, family food. 

4. Nigella's How To Be A Domestic Goddess - This was one of the very first baking books I bought. I have always been better at baking than cooking and this book was right up my street. My favourite recipe from this book is and always will be her chocolate brownies. It's like eating heaven from a spoon!

5. Netmums Recipes - I am kind of breaking the rules here as this is not a book but I couldn't not include it as it is my 'go to' place when I want to know how to cook something. It's where I have found my Beef Stew and Dumplings, Chinese 5 spice with honey salmon and my lentil and ham hock soup recipe but to name a few. This site is great as it's recipes are posted up by busy, skint mums like me who are looking for ways to feed their family healthy and tasty meals for as little money and time as they can. You can go to the search facility and type in an ingredient, let's say salmon for example. It will then bring up all the member's recipes they have with salmon in it. There is also notes at the bottom where users review the recipe or add a variation to the recipe.

This post is linking up to Kate Takes 5's Listography linky

Choccie Biccie Cake

There wasn't much left of this batch
to photograph!

It was our annual family get-to-gether with the in-laws yesterday and I had been baking for the occasion. I baked some shortbread and chocolate biscuit cake, both of which went down well. I can't take the credit for the recipes as I am very much a recipe follower and not a recipe writer!

Both recipes are really easy but I thought I'd share the biscuit cake. Some would call this Tiffin Cake but I omit the raisins so it's more of a biscuit cake than a traditional Tiffin. I was given this recipe by my Step Dad but I believe is was originally his Mum's recipe, who is a very good baker indeed. It takes less than 5 mins to prepare and requires no actual cooking so is great for baking with the kids.

Here's what you need . . .

Ingredients
200g of unsalted butter, diced
250g (approx) crushed digestive biscuits
100g brown sugar (or muscavado)
3 tablespoons of Golden Syrup
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 large bar of chocolate (I use Galaxy but just use whatever kind you prefer)
Optional: you can add dried fruit (100g) if you wish

Here's How . . .

• Crush the digestives by putting them in a sandwich bag and crushing them with your hands or rolling pin.
• Add the crushed biscuits, sugar, butter, Golden Syrup and cocoa powder to a large mixing bowl. 
• Using a spoon or I actually prefer my using my hands, mix all the ingredients together until the form together and the sugar and butter are creamed. You should be able to roll the mixture into a large ball. 
• Melt the bar of chocolate. You can do this in the microwave but I prefer to melt in on the hob by putting it in a glass bowl which I place on top of a pot of simmering water.
• Spoon your Tiffin mixture into a square baking tin (about 23cm) and flatten it down with a spoon.
• Pour over the melted chocolate and smooth over to cover the Tiffin. 
• Place the tin in fridge, preferably over night but for at least 4 hours to allow the mixture to set. 
• Using a sharp knife, cut into squares, as big or as little as you like!

Variations: Sometimes I use the Tiffin mixture and roll it into little truffle sized balls. I cover them in vermicelli and let them set in the fridge. These are to die for!

Enjoy :-)