Working double time at meal time

As Miss grew into a 'big girl', I knew I would need something more than my under developed imagination to entertain, enthuse and educate her.

Meal time gives me Miss and Master's undivided attention, and, having fond memories of my "three wise monkeys" placemat as a child, I thought this might be a good place to start.

I found a huge variety of placemats on offer although I usually prefer the appropriately aged, 'educational' option. Still, there were many to choose from. I ordered Little Wigwam's "Alphabet" placement. Miss found the bright colours immediately attractive, then happily recognised and excitedly named a number of the illustrations from the outset.

courtesy of Little Wigwam

Who is it for?

The suggested age range is three years plus, but I beg to differ. Miss and I have had many discussions about the illustrations. We have talked about the animals, the noises they make and where we might find them in real life. We have talked about the colours, the shapes and what the "real life" size of the illustrated characters might be. We progressed to letter sounds ("D" is for the d-d-duck illustration, d-d-dog, d-d-dinosaur) and in recent months Miss has been visually identifying letters. Miss is still not three.

Will it last?

Yes... But like anything that is well used, well loved, it will show the signs. Exhibit A, belonging to my Miss:

Note: this is entirely my own opinion and I have not received payment of any kind to recommend or positively comment on this product or the supplier, (Little Wigwams).

Recipies: Mama's last minute meals

The clock strikes 5 and there is no plan for dinner! What do you do?

It happens to all of us, (I like to think), and it happened to me this week. I also had a copious amount of onions in the fridge and I wanted to use them. Here are a few nutritious, quick, easy last minute things I have learnt to cook on such a day...

Mama's mixed bean surprise

1 tin of kidney beans
1 tin of mixed beans
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
Warm in a medium sized pot and pour over cooked pasta, rice, noodles, cous cous...
Optional: mix with cooked minced meat
Time to table: under 20 minutes

Omelette surprise

Make your standard omelette and add grated left over veggies (grating veggies ensures the fasted possible cooking time), top with cheese.
Time to table: under 10 minutes

Baked potato topped with....

I bake potatoes in advance to freeze wrapped in aluminium foil, ready to be put into the oven to thaw. Alternatively, you could use smaller new potatoes that cook faster.

Prepare and put your toppings into child-friendly bowls for Miss/Master to pick their own while the potatoes are cooking. Suggested toppings: cheese, corn, tuna, peppers, baked beans, hummus, shredded ham or other cold meat, grated carrot, coleslaw, chopped olives, mushrooms and so on...
Time to table: under 30 minutes

Med-veg with egg

1 medium onion
1 medium yellow pepper
2 medium courgettes
400g chopped tomatoes
5 olives
3 eggs
Handful of cheddar cheese
Fry roughly chopped onion, pepper, courgettes in a little olive oil until soft (under 10 minutes). Add tomatoes, olives and simmer until most of the liquid has gone (8 minutes). Make a couple of holes in the mixture and crack an egg into each hole, top with cheese, pop under the grill for about 5 minutes (until egg is cooked to taste).
Optional: add chopped chorizo, herbs
Time to table: under 30 minutes

In case you did not guess, it was the "Med-veg with egg" that I cooked up this week. And what did Miss think of it...? "I like the spoon!!!"