Wouldn't it be Loverly

Dear Universe...

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Mon, 28 May 2012 11:52:00 +0000

Cos I don't think I say this enough, THANK YOU for these two amazing, noisy, inquisitive and absolutely bloody hilarious little boys.

My cup runneth over....truly.

x

Party planning: Little Lion's 1st Birthday and Naming Day

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Wed, 23 May 2012 23:45:00 +0000

This gorgeous piece is a balloon made from fingerprints

imprinted by the guests attending the event and is available here

I originally found it via Dannielle's boards on pinterest

If you've been around these parts for a while you may already know that in my life pre-children I was an event manager (as an aside, I teach the events course I once took myself now rather than working on events). I share this information because when you know this, you know just how excited I get about the idea of hosting a gathering.

For Little Lion's Birthday we'll also have a Naming Day ceremony for him which is kind of like a Christening without the religious aspect if you're not familiar with this type of thing. We have asked some special people to be his "Godparents" and are thrilled they've said yes.

I have decided to go with a balloon theme and am using my favourite colours du jour - aqua and orange. Our guest list with just family and close friends is over 50 people so it's going to be a fairly large gathering. I'm keen on doing a substantial morning tea with a large dessert component and a few savouries but most importantly, coffee! I'm inspired by this coffee cup (found at Amy Atlas) in particular:

I've started a board on pinterest but would LOVE to hear any suggestions about what has worked for you with children's parties where the majority of people in attendance are adults and of course, any ideas around balloons and the colour theme.

Seven Months

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 22 May 2012 22:08:00 +0000

I'm late on posting this one - Little Lion was 7 month's on Mother's Day.

Man, oh man, oh man....this baby is killing me with his cuteness.

He's a super dooper chatterbox and stops people with his shrieks. He's happier around others in general and not just Mr and me though still not that happy as to want to sit with too many people - he's more sociable from the comfort of my lap.

In the last month he's started sitting up on his own and is quite impressed with this development.

He's sleeping like crapola still but hey, if he slept he may just be the perfect baby and that wouldn't be fair would it? :)

I've had to pack away the last of the 00 clothing (some was a very big fit!) and I bawled my eyes out doing so - yep, I'm a huge sook.

I am so loving getting to know this little boy who doesn't eat fruit, adores his brother, loves the jolly jumper and who never, ever stops moving.

Happy 7 months baby boy!

Your Mama loves you sooooo much.

xxx

ps. Where the hell has the last 7 months gone?

Casa Be Loverly Recipes: Salt & pepper tofu with braised tomato & braised eggplant

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 22 May 2012 10:53:00 +0000

I know, I know, I know....I'm sharing a tofu recipe! Please don't click away, I promise this is yummy. I pinkie swear it's yummy.

I like tofu though, really. I love this dish so much that we cook it almost more often than any other. Bebito calls it, "Crunchy tofu fish" which I love and it's the one way I can ensure he will eat tomatoes.

My Mr and I LOVE Vietnamese food and when we spied Luke Nguyen cook this super simple crisp tofu cooked in tomato-pepper sauce on the teev we made sure it was on our menu the next week.

We have adapted the recipe and also combine it with a braised eggplant that Amy recommended to me that is from here.

It may seem like a bit of faffing about but I cook the tomato and eggplant in the morning and the tofu is prepped quickly and fried off at the last minute...though I rather sacrilegiously I'm sure....have fried it in the afternoon and put it in the oven to get super crispy of an evening and that works really well too.

A note about the tofu though - you have to get silken, you have to make sure it's well drained and dried off as well as you can and I've found cornflour by far the best at coating it. I personally like cooking in a small saucepan in small batches because the tofu cooks better that way too.

Tofu:
vegetable oil
500g silken tofu, drained and cut into 3cm cubes
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon Chinese 5 spice
2 tablespoons salt
150grams cornflour

Mix the pepper, salt, 5 spice and cornflour. Heat oil - around 6cm deep - in a saucepan - drop a teeny bit of the flour mix in, if it's hot enough it will sizzle nicely. Dust the tofu in the flour mix and fry for a few minutes, until it's all yummy and gold looking, then drain on some paper towel.

Tomatoes:

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon of paprika or minced chilli (whatever you prefer)

4 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped

half teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons fish sauce

3 spring onions, cut into 5cm lengths

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 sprigs of coriander

we also add: a handful of trimmed green beans and sometimes some cubed zucchini

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a wok or saucepan. Add the garlic, onion and chilli/paprika, stir frying until fragrant.

Add the tomatoes, salt, sugar and fish sauce plus the zucchini if adding. Stir and allow tomatoes to break down.

Add 100ml of water to the mix, bringing to the boil, then reduce to simmer and cook for 10 minutes. If adding the beans add them about 4 minutes from the end of the cooking time.

Add spring onions, pepper and coriander to serve.

Eggplant:

1 kg (about 3) eggplants

half cup vegetable oil

5 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon finely grated ginger

third cup light soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Cut eggplant in half lengthwise and then into thick wedges.

Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large saucepan, add eggplant and cook over high heat for 5 minutes until golden.

Add garlic and ginger, reduce heat to medium and sauté for 2 minutes until fragrant.

Add remaining ingredients and a cup of water and bring to the boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 40 minutes until delish and tender.

On turning 37...

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Thu, 17 May 2012 21:40:00 +0000

Earlier in the week it was my birthday. I don't know if it's just me (it never is is what I've learned on the interwebs) but I always use my birthday as a time to reflect on how true to myself I'm being. Am I happy with the life I'm creating that kind of thing.

This year, I feel like I'm in a bit of a holding pattern. Small babies make me feel that way. I mentioned to a friend the other day that at the moment I feel like my life is about everyone else in it.

I LOVE being a Mama but some days, the sheer overwhelming nature of it is paralysing. The reality is that making my kids happy is what having a good day relies upon. I love watching my boys learn, create, have fun. The reality though is that some days are about rocking, shushing, playing cars, cooking, feeding, changing 100 dirty nappies and not much more. Not all days are like that though, some days the sun shines and the boys sleep and are truly delightful company. Those are the easy days and the yucky days make me appreciate the best ones. Is this the life I imagined for myself 20 years ago....not in a pink fit! Do I love these boys more than I could possibly express, yes.

Little Lion is a woeful sleeper. We have tried all manner of sleep training but none of it has worked. I've let him cry...oh man have I let him cry....and it has broken my heart in a gazillion pieces to hear those tears but I kept in mind that the tears would be helping him be better rested and allow me to have some time with Bebito as well as get some sleep myself. Nothing has worked. I HATE it. Mr and I are at a loss with what to try with him. We have come to the conclusion that there is probably no solution apart from time.

I have no idea what the next year holds in store. I have some ideas about how I'd like things to play out but for the first time ever I'm really not trying to control it all. I'm just going to sit back and see what happens.

In the meantime, these are the things I'm looking forward to in the next year:

- having a haircut. In a real salon, without a small child with me
- going to a movie with my husband and heaven forbid, out for dinner in a nice restaurant
- drinking more champagne
- reading more books
- putting more effort in to my little shop

Am I happy? I have moments of sheer joy but I think maybe happy isn't a constant state. Am I on the "right" path for me...you betcha! And I am determined to make it all work as best I can. Here's to being 37.

The Me Pledge: Draw

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Wed, 16 May 2012 23:32:00 +0000

My lovely pal Bianca has started a new series of posts called, "The Me Pledge" where she is setting a weekly challenge to find some time to do something just for well, "me". I love this idea and am playing along.

This week's challenge was to get outside and draw something. Bebito and I head out to the backyard every day whilst Little Lion sleeps, sometimes it's only for 5 minutes but on Tuesday we had some glorious weather so we spent most of the day outside.

Whilst he played on his swing set I grabbed my new notebook and pencil and sketched one of our agave plants in the backyard. I've never been a great illustrator but I have always enjoyed it and this was super good fun. It was really easy to just sit on my comfy chair and tune out Bebito's ramblings (seriously the kid is never, ever, ever, quiet!) as he was at the other end of the backyard, jumping and stomping and twirling. And because I had a task to focus on it was even easier to tune him out (excellent Mama-ing there no?).

Here's my picture anyway;

I'm no artiste but I'm kinda proud of my effort. :)

Such good fun!

Much love,
Cat.

ps. I'm also over at Bianca's today with a letter to her lovely girls in her It Takes A Village series. If you haven't read Lucy and Cate's advice so far you absolutely should too! Bianca, Lucy and Cate are three of my favourite people in the world, let alone the blog world.

Cheers!

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:30:00 +0000

This is my dream birthday lunch - a bottle of Veuve and the world's best fries. Want to share some with me today?

xxxx

Moments in Mama-hood: Why thank you for your dumb arse advice....

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 15 May 2012 04:35:00 +0000

There's a lot of stupid shit being said in the media at the moment about the role of mum's...for the most part, I'm avoiding it cos I just know it will infuriate me. My 2 cents worth is that most people do the best job they can. That doesn't make them perfect, it means they're human and that's about the most important thing to show children - humanity in all it's imperfections. Life is full of light and shade, the yin and the yang - all of that. To paint one style of parenting as the ideal is ridiculous, it doesn't take into account the individual nature of parents and their children.

I'm surrounded by advice, "no baby ever died from crying" (oh that's a great way to look at it isn't it!), "he's too reliant on you" (he's a baby!! of COURSE he relies on his Mama), "you should give him a dash of brandy in some cow's milk in a bottle" (he won't take a bottle! the rest of that I will ignore as ridiculous for my 7 month old), "sleep him on his tummy" (really???), "you should still wrap him" (sigh!), "you shouldn't pick him up when he's crying" (babies communicate via crying), "you need to make him eat more solids" (how exactly does one force a baby to eat more solids), "Bebito's not toilet trained because he's naughty" (ummm that's just all kinds of wrong and attributing malice where none exists!)....the list goes on, truly. Sometimes I wonder if I have, "Please share your advice and opinions on my parenting style" tattooed across my forehead.

Some of this advice is well meant but nearly all of it is unasked for. There are people who will wonder if their advice is in that list when they read it but the big difference is that I ask for their advice as I respect their views and am trying to muddle my way through these early years with my boys.

I've been struggling under the weight of a baby who I can't leave with anyone....the only times I have he's screamed for hours on end and that isn't worth the time away from him in my opinion. What I need instead of all that advice is well, some empathy and understanding....and maybe, just maybe you know they could actually get in and help instead of criticising from the sidelines.

It takes a village to raise a child "they" say but man, the village should sometimes shut the hell up if it doesn't have anything of value to say!

Rant over!

Casa be Loverly Recipes: Eggplant and fennel caponata

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:34:00 +0000

This is one of my favourite recipes and I can't believe I've never blogged it! I love the acidity and sweetness balanced with the fennel and the eggplant and could eat a HUGE amount (truth be told I usually do eat a huge amount!). It's a Sicilian dish by origin and is usually served as a dip but I first tried it on my first trip to Italy some years ago at a gorgeous little restaurant in Rome with pasta and that idea has stuck with me ever since. I love the idea of dip as a pasta sauce and that is what you can see in the pic above as I served it with some ricotta agnolotti. It's great on bruschetta for lunch and it keeps well in the fridge for a few days too so is perfect healthy and quick lunch fare.

Like most of the recipes I blog it's a dish that can be prepared in advance and pulled together at the last minute.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sultanas (you're supposed to use raisins but we always have sultanas in the house and close enough is good enough I reckon)
2 large eggplants, diced (some people like them peeled but not me! some people also like to salt them first but personally, I can't be bothered!)
half a large bulb of fennel or one small one, diced or sliced, as per your preference
1 and a half teaspoons salt
olive oil
2 onions, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced/chopped finely
3 tomatoes, diced (some people like to deseed them, not me, too much fuss!) - or one tin of crushed tomatoes
good handful of pine nuts
1/4 cup sugar (it seems a lot but you kinda need it to balance out the acidity)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped black olives (I prefer kalamata personally)
2 teaspoons capers, chopped (I like them chopped but you don't have to
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Method:

Soak sultanas in a small bowl, just covering with water and drain after 15 minutes - you don't have to do this but it does make them a bit plumper and yummier
If you're keen on salting the eggplant, do so for half an hour, rinse and drain, then pat dry with paper towel
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in a fry pan and saute eggplant until well brown. It takes about 10 minutes. When done, place the eggplant in a bowl.
Heat another tablespoon of oil, saute the onion for a few minutes, then add the garlic and fennel, cooking for about 5 minutes, until soft-ish.
Add the tomatoes and saute for a few minutes til it looks all lovely and soft and they've made nice friends. Then put in the same dish with the eggplant
Add the pine nuts to the frypan and toast, moving them about until lightly golden - add to the rest of the mixture in the bowl
Place sugar and vinegar in fry pan, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then add sultanas, olives and capers, heating through briefly. Add the eggplant mix from the bowl.
Stir all together and let fry for a minute or so, adding parsley at the last minute.

You can eat it warm, room temp or straight from the fridge too!

YUM!

I'm also playing along with Stacey for Meatless Monday :)

Giveaway winner: I LOVE paper

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:32:00 +0000

Soooo....I was a bit busy last night with Heston Blumenthal and my lovely husband and I didn't draw the winner of my giveaway. Give me a rap over the knuckles!

The winner is:

Kylie from Octavia & Vicky who was commenter number 3!

Kylie and I go way back and I once freaked her out by stalking her at a Mathilda's Market!

Congrats Kylie!

Thanks to everyone who entered and shared their love of all things stationery.

Top 100 Children's Book List

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Thu, 10 May 2012 23:51:00 +0000

I love a good list and I especially love a good book list. I'm always introduced to new things to read and when I spied this list of the Top 100 Children's Books of All-time I was left very inspired. As with any list it's subjective but this one immediately struck me as a quality list.

We have a lot of children's books but of the top 10, we only have four of them so there is much work for us to do.

Here are the top 10:

Certainly an apt list given the passing of the wondrous Maurice Sendak this week. We love that book and have been reading it to Bebito since he was a teeny tiny bubba not even able to sit.

Are you a book list fan? What's your favourite children's book? At the moment Bebito is super keen on:

Much love,

Changing times

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Thu, 10 May 2012 01:36:00 +0000

Image: Balancing Act Notepad

I think it's taken me almost 7 months to get my head around being Mama to two small people. I feel ridiculous admitting that. I am a fake it til you make it type in that I go through the motions until the rest of it catches up. Not that I sugar coat how I feel about things, just that I don't dwell on the negative or pity myself too long. Self pity isn't helpful in any way for longer than the time it takes me to work out a way forward.

It has though - taken me that long to even work out a way to feel like I'm doing a half decent job. And I'm mildly ashamed of myself to be honest.

Since reading through the Parent Manifesto and writing our own set of "rules" things have changed around here. We've also sought some expert help with the things that have been concerning us about Bebito (I'll share more about this another time). In particular the focus on finding silly in our day and in spending time together as a family. It's helped us focus on what's actually important to us. How it took us this long to get that I don't know but heck, as long as we got there right?

Bebito will soon be starting his journey in to kindy and school (here in South Australia children don't start kindy until they're 4) and things will change a lot for us all. I feel in a way that our days as they are at the moment are numbered and that we will look back at this time as fairly uncomplicated and I'm determined to eke every moment of joy from them as possible.

There are also some (minor) complications with both Bebito's and Little Lion's health and I'm doubly reminded of how precious they are...how much I've learned from being their Mama, how blessed I am. How fleeting a period of time they are small, how things can change so quickly, how important it is I appreciate and squeeze them at every opportunity so that they never ever doubt how loved they are.

I'm so incredibly busy keeping up with the boys and with my sewing (which is great!) and I've just had to let some things go....so the floors are a bit dusty and don't look at the piles of washing in various states of tidiness that are becoming decorative features in our room....I just can't keep on top of it all, it's not possible if I'm going to get any sleep.

Little Lion is still waking a lot at night - at least 3 times and I think I'm now accustomed to it. I don't know why the universe gifted me two shitty sleepers but self pity, again, isn't helpful. I have tried all manner of things now but none of it has helped in any real way. It's not my fault, I don't blame myself (anymore) and wishing it were different just makes me resentful. Acceptance, that's the word for it.

The elusive balance I once sought, it's kind of happening but in a much different way than I thought I would settle on.

And now, just as I feel like we have some of this stuff sorted....I need to decide what on earth I'm going to do about paid work. Oh hello Mr Spanner-in-the-works, nice to see you again.

Le craft with le kids: Dinosaur hunter kit

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Wed, 09 May 2012 09:55:00 +0000

I've mentioned before that I'm aiming to make or buy handmade gifts forever more and as much as possible, I'm getting the assistance of my small people in the making of the gifts too. This project didn't quite fit the bill but it certainly got our creative juices flowing.

When we got an invitation to our dear friends' son's Dinosaur themed party I knew immediately I wanted to put together a bit of a special palaeontology kit for him.

I had intentions of making dinosaur bones myself out of air dry clay (and I will do one for Bebito this way in a few months I think) but when I popped over to Spotlight to grab the clay I spied a sweet little wooden model T-Rex and thought that would be perfect for my bones.

I bought a plastic dish and some little digging tools - a few different size paint brushes and a tiny spade from a gardening kit.

We have had some very, very past it's used by date, quinoa which I used as the "dirt" and Bebito and I buried the bones in the tub.

I wanted to get a little helmet or a special torch but couldn't find any I liked that weren't cheap and nasty or cost a small fortune so instead I just kept the kit simple and added in a "dinosaur egg" and a game of dinosaur snap (that's another post).

What Bebito liked: getting involved in making a present for his friend. Playing in "the dirt". Learning more about dinosaurs. He has of course, requested his own kit which I will leave for winter time as I think it'll make a good indoor activity.

What I liked: Thinking about different ways to make the kit. The learning with Bebito through first lot of chatter about dinosaur species and then a bit of research together, including (another) trip to The Museum. My friend also said that the gift recipient has enjoyed the gift very much already. Music to my ears!

Much love,

Casa Be Loverly Recipes: Dhal with Vegetables and Garlic Naan

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:53:00 +0000

A few weeks back I posted a pic of the super yummy dhal I made loaded up with veg. I LOVE dhal and in fact, all Indian food floats my boat but I especially love the vegetable curry genre. A few people expressed an interest in the recipe.

This is the recipe I use and I just add whatever veg are seasonal at the time.

I especially love dhal because it's cheap and freezes well and it suits my need to cook dinner in the morning as it can sit around all day. It's also a great one pot dish which means minimal cleaning up which is a big win in my book too!

We don't usually have it with rice but instead garlic naan which I'm still on the hunt for the best recipe for though the one below isn't too bad.

Dhal with vegetables
300 grams of lentils
1 tablespoon of butter
1 finely chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, crushed

Spice mix:
(it's super fab if you can go to the trouble or roasting and grinding your own spices as it does make a lot of difference but if not, no drama, it's still yummy!)
1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

400g tin of chopped tomatoes
750ml of vegetable stock
2 carrots, chopped
half a small cauliflower, cut into the florets but use the stems too
2 really good handfuls of green beans, trimmed and cut into around 4cm lengths
a good handful of mushies, chopped
3 tablespoons of cream
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh coriander

Method:

Rinse lentils under cold water until it runs clear and drain well.
Melt butter in a saucepan on medium heat, cooking onion and garlic for a few minutes until soft and transluscent.
Stir in speices and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly until you can smell the spices.
Add lentils, tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
Stir in the carrots, cauli and any other "hard" veggies you're using in and cook for 5 minutes, add mushies, cook for 5 minutes, add green beans and cook for another 5 minutes OR until the lentils are tender.
Season to taste and add the cream in. Sprinkle on coriander to serve.

Naan
1 teaspoon dried yeast
1 teaspoon caster sugar
50g butter
1 and 3/4 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons plain yoghurt
1 clove of garlic crushed

Method:

Combine yeast and sugar in a bowl with half a cup of warm (not too hot) water and allow to sit for 5 minutes until it bubbles on top.
Melt the butter.
Sift flour and salt in a bowl.
Add yeast mix and yoghurt and mix together with butter. Stir to form a dough and then knead until smooth - around 5 minutes.
Then allow dough to prove in a greased bowl for about 90 minutes until it's doubled in size.
Turn out on to floured surface and knead again for around 5 minutes until smooth.
Divide into 4 and roll out into an oval shape.
Use your fingers to make little dents in the naan and rub the garlic in to the dough.
Grill under a medium grill for around 2 to 3 minutes on each side until golden.

SUPER dooper yummy business this.

Happy eating!

Giveaway: I LOVE paper

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Mon, 07 May 2012 00:43:00 +0000

Hello lovelies,

I have been blogging now for three years....cue the trumpets!

And to celebrate this little milestone I'm doing a giveaway....cue the trumpets again!

The giveaway consists is a celebration of stationery, especially paper and includes this gorgeous book with loads of really simple ideas about things to create using paper! I LOVE it.

And five cards of your choice from my new card range

BUT there's a catch....you have to promise to use at least one of the new cards to take part in Claire's handwriting challenge. I'll even put a stamp on an envelope for you! Cross your heart and hope to die ok?

To enter, please comment below, telling me your favourite piece of stationery!

The finer points: open only to Australian residents for postage purposes, the winner will be drawn at random on Friday evening, the 11th of May. Please make sure there's a way for me to contact you if you win. :) If you're super keen, tweet the link to the comp and enter again by leaving a comment telling me you've tweeted.

Much love,

ps. I have a giveaway over on my Facebook page too if that's the way you roll! Check it out here

Disconnected connectedness

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Fri, 04 May 2012 00:52:00 +0000

Image: The Jane Studio

A few months ago we unplugged our home telephone. We don't use it anyway and it just rang at annoying hours like when we were trying to get our children to sleep and normally had annoying people at the end of it. So we disconnected it.

I've been thinking about this for a while now as a metaphor for my life. I have spent a great deal of my life feeling disconnected from some part of myself. The inner dialogue I have has always beaten myself up over it....but maybe, just maybe there's a good reason for this disconnect.

Maybe, I'm disconnected from parts of life so that I can surge my energy into the things that need my attention most. At the moment it's my children. Having a baby in the house can be all consuming, especially a baby who struggles to sleep. Bebito has been really, really, really challenging of late and I have needed to focus on the needs of these two little men in my life who I love more than I thought rationally possible.

My struggle is to keep some of the power going in to other parts of my life....my marriage suffers, my friends suffer, hell, I suffer. It's nothing new and heck, I'm hardly an orphan in feeling this way but I refuse to let myself feel guilty anymore.

There are days when I feel stress like acid flowing through my veins. This is not what I vowed for for myself this year. I'm striving for simplicity.

I've thought about this blog long and hard and have carefully considered whether I have the capacity to continue to be plugged in to it anymore. I just can't give it up though.....you, out there, you're a connection for me and your care has helped me in ways I could never have imagined when I started this blog over three years ago now. This connection is one I need to keep open....like cleverer women than me have said, "blogging is cheaper than therapy."

I'm a small voice here, living in reality a small life. I'm living my life in a state of disconnection and connection....like one of those old school switchboard operators. Care to join me for the ride as I figure it all out?

Much love,

Virtual Book Tour: The Parent Manifesto

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 21:30:00 +0000

I'm honoured to be part of a virtual book tour for the truly lovely Jodie of Parent Wellbeing for her new book, "The Parent Manifesto." I met Jodie late last year and she is a warm and genuine and after trawling about on her website and blog I have an enormous amount of respect for her work. Jodie's tagline is, "worry less and enjoy parenting more" - advice I need to remember on a daily basis!

Jodie's book is like a self-help book for parents. That may not seem an immediately encouraging thing to say but I mean it in the most positive light possible. It is practical, easy to read (so many parenting books aren't!!) and takes a step-by-step approach to developing a "manifesto" that is unique to each individual family. I had so, so, so many moments of nodding furiously in agreement (am I the only one who does that?) or where the points raised gave me clarity around issues that have been milling about in my head.

In stepping through the activities ourselves, Mr and I developed our own family manifesto and I thought I'd share it with you here. Specifically, the manifesto is meant as a series of envisioning statements that declare how we would like to parent. I have found that even though we intrinsically have the same values Mr and I sometimes disagree on how we deliver our discipline in particular. It's been great to discuss our views and develop our manifesto together.

The book recommends to come up with between three and seven statements. Here's what we have developed so far, though it is still a work in progress:

We accept, love and support one another as the individuals that we are.
We show love for each other every day. We do this by telling each other we love each other every morning and night and giving "proper" hugs.
We spend time together as a family doing something fun at least once a week.
We treat each other as we want to be treated; with kindness, respect, affection and forgiveness.
We learn from each other and improve every day.
We nurture authenticity, creativity and learning within each other and ourselves.
We are grateful for all that we have, especially each other.

My background in business planning means that having a "vision" really appeals to me...and like any "organisation" we will regularly revisit this vision for our family. I wish we had had access to this book before we became parents. Sure, it's all hypothetical in those days but it would really have assisted with developing a shared vision of family life.

I'm going to make an "artwork" and post our manifesto in our dining room where we spend a lot of time together as a family and it will become a set of guiding principles for us.

I really encourage you to take a look at the other lovely bloggers have taken part in the book tour so far:
Laney at Crash Test Mummy
Caz at Mojito Mother
Ms Glow of Where's my Glow?

Kellie of Three Li'l Princesses
Nathalie of Easy Peasy Kids (who by the way is possibly the loveliest lady that ever walked the earth, truly!)
Larissa of My Pigeon Pairand tomorrow Justin of Happy Families

That everyone has a different out take from Jodie's book is testament to it's broad and practical appeal.

If any of this resonates with you, Jodie is running a free webinar tomorrow night entitled "Parenting Enemy #1: Everyone Else Knows Best (or do they?)" for more details click here.

Thanks to Jodie for asking me to be part of the book tour. If you're interested in learning more about Jodie pop on over to her blog or website where you can also buy copies of the book.

Much love,

Le craft with le kids: m&m's paint

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:10:00 +0000

I thought I'd start a "new" series of posts about crafting with small people.

Let me say a few things at the outset:

- I'm in no way a child educator
- I'm actually not a naturally gifted crafter so only do things with Bebito that aren't too much of a stress on either of us ie. they're simple things
- I'm not at all keen on mess and have had to teach myself to let go of what happens on the journey
- I have also had to teach myself to let go of the finished product - sometimes we do a task that I want to create something at the end of it but Bebito isn't at all keen on following something through to it's end
- I follow his interests - ie. he LOVES to paint so we do a variety of different painting types
- I try to do a new task every week - it keeps things interesting for both of us
- I also try to do the task as part of our one-on-one time so that he has my undivided attention

I found this task on a blog (gosh knows if I can remember which one!) here is the link to the post it linked to though.

What: make your own paint using m&m's

How: sort the m&m's by colour - Bebito found this fun to do and we counted how many of each colour too & of COURSE we had to try a few. I used plastic cups to put the m&m's in (mess factor = low that way) and then added just enough water to cover the m&m's.

What I liked about it: Quick, easy, educational, not messy and a great indoors activity for when the weather isn't right for outdoor painting. I also liked that the colours were a bit more pastel than the usual painting we do.

What he liked about it: Quickly organised - ie. he didn't have to wait for hours to get in to the task - he's not that patient!

Cons: the paint is a bit umm, sticky and don't let it dry outside or umm, ants will attack. I also use paintings done by Bebito for wrapping paper and the stick factor isn't so great for that.

I got in on the act too...you can see I'm not much of an illustrator no? :)

If you give this a go I'd love to know what you think!

xxx

Casa be loverly recipes: Cream cheese peanut butter swirl brownies

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 06:06:00 +0000

I had a hankering for peanut butter and chocolate ice cream yesterday but sadly, as I'm sticking to a super tight grocery budget wasn't going to buy any and I don't have an ice cream maker and am yet to master making ice cream by hand.

Sooo....I looked to my inspiration file and found this interesting recipe courtesy of the inspirational Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Mr River Cottage)....I have a great Donna Hay raspberry brownie recipe and the Mr is never keen when I try a new recipe but this one is something ELSE!

You make two layers - one being the brownie base and it looks like it won't be enough when you make it but it is.

Here's the recipe as adapted by me...

For the brownie layer
200g dark cooking chocolate, at least 70%, finely chopped
120g unsalted butter, diced, plus a little more for greasing the tin
120g brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
120g plain flour, sifted
¼ tsp salt

For the peanut butter layer
380g cream cheese, room temperature
227g jar of smooth peanut butter (I had crunchy in the cupboard)
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g caster sugar
2 eggs
3 tbsp double cream
3 tbsp plain flour, sifted

Heat the oven to 170C. Lightly grease a 22cm x 22cm x 5cm brownie tin and line with baking paper.
Stir the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water until smooth, then set aside to cool. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar and eggs until very light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and chocolate mixture, then gently fold in the flour and salt until just combined. Spread the batter in the tin, though keep back about six tablespoonfuls for later.

Next, make the peanut butter layer of the brownie. Beat together the cream cheese, peanut butter and vanilla until very smooth. Gradually add the sugar, beating until it is well blended, light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the cream. Gently fold in the flour. Spread the peanut batter over the brownie layer and dot the top with spoonfuls of the reserved chocolate mixture.

Using a wooden skewer or a thin knife, swirl the spoonfuls of chocolate batter through the peanut butter layer, so it makes a pattern on the top of the brownies. Bake for about 35 minutes, until the edges of the peanut butter layer are puffed up and centre is set. Cool in the tin on a rack and cut when completely cold.

Seriously delicious stuff and a small piece goes a super long way so it's not that bad, surely? :) :)

xxx

A day in the life...

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 04:49:00 +0000

2.08pm yesterday

A few weeks back the gorgeous Amelia asked "What do you do every day?" over at her blog. Amelia's pregnant with her second little ray of sunshine and I remember worrying about all that is playing on her mind not quite so long ago myself!

Anyway, I promised her that I'd share a post that is a "day in the life" of us. There's no such thing as a typical day around here but we tend to stick close to home on Monday's so that's the reason I chose yesterday to take note of. There is a rough rhythm to most of our days though: I tend to get jobs, including cooking, done early in the morning. My boys have both been trained now to entertain themselves at this time of day and I do almost anything in my power to make that awful time between 4.30pm & 6pm easier on me, including not cooking at that time of day. I also try to stagger the cleaning (apart from the darn floors!) through the week, doing a job a day - Monday I scrub the bathroom and then surface clean it at other times during the week as needed. If we go out it tends to be first thing in the morning and we have a meal from the freezer or in the late afternoon before dinner time.

Let me say at the outset that I'm trying to get Little Lion in to a routine and he has NEVER EVER slept this much during the day as he did yesterday.

So, here goes....my day yesterday...kinda!

0100 Feed and resettle baby
0140 Baby cries, go give him a cuddle until he sleeps and hope like heck he sleeps properly
0215 Baby cries again, more cuddling until he sleeps
0240 Poke husband in ribs to get him to stop snoring
0300 Check twitter feed to see if there are any other poor souls up half the night, no one I "know" well
0330 Drift back to half sleep
0340 Baby cries, wants a feed, feed, cuddle, resettle
0410 Bebito screams out, tuck him back in, soothe him, leave
0510 Baby wakes, poke husband to get him to do nappy change
0515 Baby has leaked through and husband "foofing" too much and clearly wishes to get help, lug myself out of bed and assist by changing sheets etc
0520 Bebito wakes, go in, tell him to stay in bed, give him some books
0530 Feed baby, cuddle
0615 Settle baby to sleep
0620 Tell Bebito he's allowed to get out of bed, read with him in bed
0640 Iron husband's shirt, start getting breakfasts ready, nag husband to put dirty clothes in laundry and empty dishwasher
0700 Beckon all for breakfast, beg husband for coffee
Text friend to check on welfare of sick child
0705 Set timer for Bebito's meal (he's allowed 30 minutes for each meal) remind self not to nag him to eat and remind him that he's a big boy and doesn't require assistance to eat his weetbix and that when timer goes off breakfast is done.
Wolf down some toast with tahini & honey for myself whilst feeding the baby his muesli.
Beg husband again for coffee
Nag husband again re dishwasher and dirty clothes
Inhale coffee
0740 Dress Bebito, dress self, dress baby
0755 Make beds, check emails at the same time
0800 Say goodbyes to Mr
0810 Leave baby in play gym & Bebito in his room to play on their own so can take care of dishwasher, dirty clothes (see previous entries) and breakfast dishes
0820 Start preparing dinner - for tonight and tomorrow night on this occasion as both will be based on roast pumpkin
0845 Feed baby and settle him to bed
0905 Make dinner gift for pregnant friend and self, prepping similar ingredients for dinner the next night
0915 Open sandpit and play outside with Bebito, take a few snaps on instagram
0930 Morning tea of toast with vegemite for Bebito (given he had 4 mouthfuls of breakfast)
0940 Hear baby waking on monitor, go in and resettle him
0950 Finish prepping meals with Bebito's help, text Mr and a friend who needs a bit of love
  Sweep floors in kitchen and meals area.
1015 Baby wakes - play time in his room with Bebito
Nag Bebito about going to the toilet (he's still not toilet trained and that is a whole other post!) for the 80th time that day
1100 Prepare lunches for all, remind Bebito that "Whatever" and "Blah blah blah" are not appropriate ways he should be responding to requests from his Mama!
Deal with tantrum over not going to visit anyone or having anyone come to visit us despite having been out all day the day prior
1110 Remind Bebito that he has half an hour, must eat by himself etc etc etc
Wolf down own lunch whilst baby plays
Feed baby his lunch
Remind self not to nag Bebito about his lunch and sitting down to eat (x 1000)
1145 Clean up lunch dishes and start dishwasher
  Sweep floors in kitchen and meals area.
1200 Ring Mum to see how her x-rays went and chat
1215 Feed baby whilst Bebito plays in his room, text another friend to see how she is as she's been sick
1240 Get baby ready for bed and settle him to sleep, remind Bebito to stay OUT of baby's room whilst he's being settled
1300 Get Bebito settled down for a rest on the couch with some books - check work emails and do some facebooking for craft account.
Sweep floors in kitchen and meals area.
1310 Remind Bebito it's rest time!
1325 Sit next to Bebito to ensure he rests with some craft of my own to do - check twitter, have a bit of a chat, text friend re lace doilies and other random things
1340 Resettle baby as he's stirring
1400 Get out play dough and drawing box for Bebito and play with these - do own craft whilst he's crafting
1430 Baby wakes, read some books with him whilst Bebito plays and do some drawing with Bebito
1445 Afternoon tea for self and Bebito
  Sweep floors in kitchen and meals area.
1500 Get out musical instruments and have a bit of a play
1530 Feed baby whilst Bebito draws (still! a minor miracle!) remind Bebito that his apple is still sitting around waiting to be eaten
Deal with another leaky nappy from baby and change him from top to bottom, soaking clothes
Read books to both boys
1600 Sit on floor with grumpy baby and try to entertain him - doesn't work so put him in the Baby Bjorn hoping that will help him sleep...wander around house and yard hoping that will lull him to sleep...it doesn't...he keeps getting cranky
1625 Bebito announces he's hungry, organise his dinner of pie which has pumpkin in it and is always a borderline sell for him but he doesn't complain....remind him of his time limit and remind self not to nag....try to get baby to sleep whilst supervising dinner time.
1645 Text husband to see which train he'll be on as Bebito has started asking - know that I won't get an answer in a hurry as he is always busy at work but be grateful that Bebito doesn't really understand time so answer, "in an hour" to his question
1700 Deal with tantrum over not being allowed to eat jelly and baby who is screeching and whining cos he's overtired
1710 Shower time for Bebito whilst baby plays in his swing - this keeps him fairly happy as it is playing music for him
1730 Bath time for baby whilst Bebito watches tv
1755 Feed baby
1800 Mr walks in the door, Bebito gets all hyped up, baby stops feeding cos he too loves his Dada and wants cuddles
1810 Peel potatoes for mash whilst Mr gives boys cuddles
1815 Say goodnight to Bebito, try to get baby to feed but he's not super hungry as the tiny feed before means the edge has come off. Get quietly annoyed at his whining as I'm trying to watch Grand Designs Revisited (yes, I'm a lovely Mama aren't I?)
1830 Pack up goodies for Mr to drop to pregnant friend, including prepared pie, books and clothes, remind him of the address
1835 Continue to try to feed crotchety baby
1845 Baby finally feeds until he settles about 20 minutes later
1910 Shower (things have been easier in the mornings since I shower at night time now) and clean bathroom
1930 Make mashed potato and sit down to eat with Mr, convincing him to watch The Block
1940 Remind Mr that fancy new teat to attempt bottle feeding baby with arrived today and needs sterilising along with bottles and milk needing to be prepared for dream feed...nag him about dishes though there aren't many and I know they won't be done til morning if at all
Sweep floors in kitchen and meals area (again, yes!)
2020 Do some crafting, tweeting and watching of tv - know that 4 Corners and Australian Story docos look great but decide to watch The Voice cos I can't pay attention to serious TV this evening
2100 Baby wakes, cuddle him to resettle
Remind husband about milk etc again
Twitter chat
2205 Baby wakes, is hungry, cuddle screamy baby as husband didn't get milk etc ready and know that he will refuse bottle for certain as 1. he's too screamy and 2. he's not been near me and wants a feed
2215 Feed baby as he won't take bottle (quelle surprise!)
2230 Go to bed until woken at 0100 by baby

How would a day in your life look? Like mine or vastly different? When I worked full-time I don't think I had any inkling my days would look like this within a few years.

Much love,

Six months

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 04:34:00 +0000

Dear Little Lion,

You're six months old today. I can't quite believe it! The days and months seem to have flown by in a way and in others I remember your kicks in my belly as if it were yesterday.

You're an increasingly vocal little man. You're louder than your big brother by a country mile and I suspect will rival your Dada for title of "World's Noisiest Man" one day. You also never ever sit still, your legs in particular move all the time. Even in your sleep you thrash about a lot.

You are either a very happy or very grumpy chappy and can change between the two very quickly indeed.

You're starting to enjoy food now and have really taken to carrot and sweet potato in particular. You haven't been too keen on apple as yet, making a funny "screwed up" face with every mouthful.

This week you've had your first cold and you've been totally miserable, sleeping even less than normal which is saying quite something.

You blatantly prefer me over everyone else and are happy to be with other people for only a short time before you cry big tears and want me to pick you up again.

Your eyes are still blue and I'm wondering if just maybe you have picked up the recessive gene and will keep them.

You're really starting to respond to books now and sit up straight to absorb each page. You are keen on Mem Fox's, "Time for Bed" in particular.

You are a super dooper cute little man...I know this because even old men grin at you when we take you places.

Happy six months little man...I look forward to seeing what the next six months holds for you!

Love,
Mama.

Reflections at 3am

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:25:00 +0000

So the sleep thing just isn't happening around here though last night with 5 wake up's between both my boys (Bebito is sick in particular) was better than most as I got a couple of chunks of sleep. I've been tired before but this is a new level. I didn't even know that was possible!

Even when Little Lion is quick to settle back to sleep at night I find it hard to get back to sleep. There's a special type of thought and worry that plays on my mind at 3am in particular.

I often think of my Mum in these moments...how she coped with two small children born only 10 months apart, essentially on her own, under the age of 20. I feel quite the wuss in comparison.

The thing that plagues me most is the sense of not having space in my life to be, well, "me". It's this reason I put off having children to my mid-30s. I am fiercely independent. I love quiet. I dream of a space of my own...a pretty chair, a foot stool, a soft throw rug, a window and well, time to sit and "be".

I love my boys with all my heart but I worry that being their Mama is consuming every part of me. I am certainly not a good wife, only a passable friend and a somewhat attentive daughter.

Like every new thing in life it has taken us all a while to adjust to having a baby again. Getting to know each other has taken us almost 6 months. What I've learned about him is that he is happiest with me. He would have been a perfect baby for a full on attachment parent rather than the one he has who kind of navigates her way straight through the middle of a number of parenting strategies.

The thing that helps me get back to sleep at night is knowing that the sun will rise, tomorrow is another day, another chance to get things closer to "right". Knowing that I am doing th best I can do to love and live and being the best version of myself I can be. Knowing that I will look back at this time when both my boys are bigger and wish that things were solved with a cuddle, a book, a feed, stomping in some puddles, a boogie around the lounge room.

At 3am on Wednesday, I reflected on how I sat in mum's lounge room after her birthday lunch, talking with her and my brother, I understood that one day I would be having "grown up" conversations with my boys and the foundations we are setting in place now are so important for them. I just hope like hell they like me as much in 30 years as I like my Mum now. Somehow it makes the sacrifices I am making now seem part of the bigger picture. I want to raise wonderful boys who become wonderful men. It is my job to do this but it is also my job to show them a bit of balance, that their Mama is a person in her own right too and I must find a way to do that.

In the meantime I must apologise for the angst, the complaints about a lack of sleep and all the "woe is me" around these parts. Now, back to the crying baby and flu-y Bebito I go...today isn't the day I'll be being asserting my independence but one day, and soon.

Home made Easter

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:55:00 +0000

This Easter I'm doing home made gifts. As I think I've said previously I've committed to making my own or buying handmade gifts for everyone this year.

I like to involve Bebito in the making as much as possible too so yesterday we got baking!

We made Bourke Street Bakery chocolate and cherry biscuits

Some mini apple, orange and cinnamon hot-cross buns covered with orange blossom syrup as I found over at just.b

I also have a batch of garam masala chocolate gingerbread chilling in the fridge to be made tonight.

We then did up a batch of labels and cards using the fabulous new range of Easter printables available at mooo.com - I let Bebito do them which means that I sacrifice in terms of "look" sometimes but it's about him having fun no? :)

I am using the tops of egg cartons to package up my gifts and will instagram a pic when I've done one up nicely.

Lastly, I raided the supplies so Bebito could make a little carrot to put in his Easter "nest" that we make every year (a family tradition) for Easter bunny to leave some treats - I think Easter bunny will be leaving him some textas this year and some teeny little Haigh's dark chocolate eggs and maybe, just maybe, a new book.

All in all it was both fun and yummy.

Have you made anything fab this Easter? What are your Easter traditions? Whatever they are, I hope you have a wonderful and safe Easter with your nearest and dearest....and that you get some Haigh's chocolates along the way.

Much love,

Please don't swear at my kids & other things I hate...

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 21:38:00 +0000

Warning: Ranty post ahead.....

At the outset, let me say that I have a well, difficult, relationship with a number of people in my family and my in-laws too. The way I see the world is vastly different to them. It's why I've always valued my friendships beyond measure and I'm really close to my Mum and Grandma so I don't mind that much. I have my people is what I'm saying.

Yesterday we had a visit from my Dad. That relationship is one of the most difficult I have and there are times when I've gone years without speaking to him and not felt an iota of guilt over it. I was brought up in a fairly typically European way in that I was taught to respect the older generation by way of their experiences in life earning them some stripes. As a 36 year old woman however, I have come to a point of being polite to my elders but in a lot of cases seeing their way of viewing the world as complete bollocks...no disrespect intended but I'm a "grown up" now too and am free to accept or reject their views.

I found myself explaining to my Dad that Bebito will be starting pre-entry at kindy as of July and how that will be a struggle because I will need to juggle paid work, caring for a baby and kindy drop off and pick up ie. for the first time I'll have to really rely on other people to assist. I WAS NOT asking for his assistance and will never do so even though he has the capacity. I was just explaining that it'll be a change for us all.

In the next few sentences, he said to Bebito, "Stop being an idiot. I will hit you with a wooden spoon if you don't f*cking listen to what I'm telling you to do." SUPREMELY uncool! Until now I've let a lot of what he says to Bebito slide as he doesn't see much of us or we him but I couldn't let this one go. I politely explained that "we don't speak like that to anyone in our house and we certainly don't do wooden spoons as a form of punishment." I think his jaw dropped to the ground. In his defence, my in-laws aren't much different in the way they speak to their grandchildren. They speak to everyone like that for that matter, not just the children so I guess it's a form of equity BUT I won't have it for my kids. It's bad enough they speak to Mr and I like that in my opinion.

To a lot of people these things wouldn't matter but to me, this is a real sign of disrespect. Though I am not at all religious and have an uncertain ideas about a "god" I absolutely believe the tenet, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." I will not have people threaten my children with violence or swear at them. They are not things we do as parents and nor will anyone else. These will not be people I entrust to care for my children, not even for half an hour. These are the same people who would freak out if the children spoke to them in the same way. I really think the behaviour you want from children needs to be modelled.

The other thing that's been getting on my goat of late is the sheer number of people who have opinions on Bebito not having been to childcare. We are going through a challenging time with him with listening being an optional requirement apparently. Ruth and I have been conversing about this of late and her post from Monday about her little man rang true for me too. Bebito has been sat out of swimming lessons for pushing other children and for not listening to the instructor...tantrums are quick...tears of the crocodile variety plentiful....wilfulness abounds. In a way I respect it because it means he's testing what he's able to get away with and he's trying to navigate his way through life as he learns to think for himself but in another I wish life were just that little bit easier. People around me are saying he's behaving like this because he doesn't go to preschool or childcare. I call that bullshit personally as I know from our play with other children his age that they can be exactly the same even if they do go to childcare. Apparently he's not socialised. Also complete bullshit cos he's the most naturally sociable little boy and is great at sharing, is incredibly friendly (if anything overly so) and loves company. He's just, well, three and a half and sometimes three and a half year olds are a bit overly emotional, more than occasionally cranky and really quite wilful.

I'm confident with the way we are raising our children...solid boundaries are there and we concentrate on being "happy" rather than right in our parenting style by picking our battles. We try to ensure that the boys have a balance in their life in every way. We are trying to teach them kindness, gratitude, imagination, positivity and to really live with love at the centre of their lives. This is what we want them to know as they grow into men.

I know I shouldn't care what other people say but it really still bugs the life out of me that people can obnoxiously present their views and ways on our way of doing things or disrespect our children.

Rant over.

Recipe Tuesday: Best ever food processor carrot cake

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:47:00 +0000

I am a fan of cake!

I am especially a fan of cake when there is a nod to healthiness and find a recipe that is super easy and lacking in dishes.

I have adapted this from a Jamie Oliver recipe that you can find in his "Cook" book (which is one of my favourites of his). I've adapted it to be a lazier version and I hold the frosting unless it's for a special occasion cos man, I do love frosting!

Ingredients:
1 and 1/4 cups unsalted butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar, softened up (ie. not all clumpy which brown sugar can be)
5 large free-range (I think that's important for flavour) eggs, separated
zest and juice of one orange (lemon works too)
1 and a 1/2 cups SR flour, sifted
1 slightly heaped teaspoon baking powder
1 cup ground almonds (or if you're buying yours whole which is cheaper you can add them whole at the relevant time in the recipe - I add a tad over a cup to ensure there is enough once ground)
1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon
a pinch of ground cloves
a pinch of grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
pinch of sea salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Grease (I spray) a 20cm square cake pan.

Whizz up your egg whites in the food processor with a pinch of salt until they form stiff-ish peaks...honestly, it doesn't have to be too perfect, the cake is quite forgiving unlike say, a meringue! Set aside the whites but work quickly on the rest of the recipe so as not to lose a lot of the air out of the egg whites. I also find that the cutting blade on my food processor does a good enough job of whizzing the egg whites for this recipe but if you want to use the beating blade feel free.

Beat butter and sugar together in the food processor until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolks in one at a time and then add juice and zest of your orange. When mixed add the flour, baking powder, spices and almonds and blend well-ish. Add the chopped carrots too and pulse until all ingredients are chopped and mixed really well.

Add the whizzed up egg whites gently.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin and cook until golden on top and risen. It is quite a moist cake so when you test with a skewer (and this is Jamie's tip) - insert for 5 seconds and if it comes out clean it's cooked, if not then put back in the oven.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin and then invert on to a cooling rack. If you want to ice it wait until completely cool.

This cake freezes really well too (without the icing) and goes a long way.

Seriously delicious stuff!