A Quick Take from home ...

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Last week Joey began crawling forward and he took a few steps behind his smiley faced push-along walker (all in the same week).

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Let toddlers learn to walk barefoot ... it makes a huge difference as they learn to grip their toes to the floor to gain their balance (without the restriction of shoes and socks).

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The Spirit of Christmas - begin by talking with your family now about the true meaning of giving.  Let them each choose to give to or do something special for just one family member each.

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Choose carefully what or who you will be committed to, rather than being burdened by overcommitment.  Learn to say No.

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When the sun shines ... go outside (especially in the North, where the winters are harsh!)

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Give five hugs a day!

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Celebrate the gift of life - this Saturday Joey turns ONE!

Pumpkin Soup

Autumn is the time for beginning to prepare hearty comfort food to keep warm and satisfied during cooler days.

Pumpkin Soup

1kg pumpkin (butternut or squash)
1 large onion
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic (chopped finely)
3-4 cups of homemade chicken stock (low sodium), or alternatively use 2 teaspoons of powdered chicken stock and 1 teaspoon of green herb stock granules (if available) mixed with 3-4 cups of water
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
A dash of curry powder

Cut pumpkin into evenly shaped pieces.  Drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven at 375 C until tender.  Do not overcook.  Cool a little, then remove the skin from the pumpkin.  Saute the onion (in a medium sized soup pot) until translucent and add the garlic and roasted pumpkin.  Cover the pumpkin/onion mixture completely with the chicken stock.  Simmer gently for 20 minutes. When cool blend with a hand held stick-blender.  To serve: Reheat gently and add 1/4 cup of cream before serving.

Note: When sauteing the onion add 3 or 4 rashes of finely chopped bacon (without too much fat or rind) to give the soup added flavour.

Host a Light Party ... an alternative to Halloween

Today many parents are looking for a positive alternative to Halloween.  It is often not safe going out on the streets after dusk where children can encounter some scary costumes, sinister looking house decorations and silly pranksters spoiling the fun.

It is the one time of year that goes against what we teach our children about good behaviour and staying safe.  We have them knocking on the doors of complete strangers (even with parents standing in the background), accepting truck loads of candies (many of unknown origin) and witnessing the poor behaviour of some teens and adults running wild.

Why not consider an alternative and host a Night of Light Party at your home, local church, school hall or public venue.

• Encourage children to come as their favourite real life hero (nothing sinister or evil looking - keep it positive)
• Give prizes for the best dressed
• Have plenty of games
• Maybe some singing or dancing
• Healthy snack food and drinks
• Allow them to take home a treat bag from the 'Light Box' at the end of the night

Theme Ideas

• Dress up as a famous real life hero (astronaut, nurse, discoverer, scientist, preacher, president, king, queen, actor, actress, singer etc)
• Dress up as a famous sportsperson and do sporting events
• Carnival Theme (with bouncy castle, lots of balls, a slide etc)
• Concert (with items from the children)
• Creative Dress Parade
• Games Night
• Music and Dance party competition

Entertainment Ideas

• Bouncy castle
• Face painting, dress up (have some fun costumes available for children who are without)
• Animal balloons and clowning
• Storytelling/Drama (contact your local theatrical group)
• Puppets
• Mainly Music session (email me for the details)
• Mime or circus artists (interacting with the children throughout the event)

Let this be an alternative Halloween to remember!

Louise Cake recipe

Here's an easy "kiwi" favourite; a thin layer of shortcake topped with your favourite berry jam and coconut meringue:

Louise Cake (slice)
125 g butter
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs (separate yolks from whites)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups flour
1/2 cup raspberry jam (or any other berry)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 C.
2. Cream the butter and first measure of sugar (1/3 cup) together.
3. Separate the eggs and add only the yolks to your creamed butter mixture. Save the whites for the meringue.
4. Sift together the flour and baking powder, add to butter mixture and mix well.  Press into a sponge roll pan (I use a non stick glass oblong pyrex baking dish).  Put your dish into the refrigerator for 10 minutes (this helps to set the mixture a little before the next step).  Spread the uncooked base with your favourite berry jam.
5. Beat the egg whites until stiff, add sugar and salt and continue beating until it goes glossy.  Fold in the coconut. Spread gently on top of the jam/cake base.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until the meringue topping is golden.  
7. Wait until the slice is quite cool before cutting into squares.

Enjoy!

My top TEN things to be thankful for ...

10.  Harvest-time
A little or a lot, then autumn is a great time to be thankful for the bounty of goods our gardens produce (whether we grow our own or buy produce from a local Farmers' market).  This year we harvested at least 40 lbs of tomatoes, several feeds of green beans, and a large sack of potatoes (enough to keep our family of three going throughout the winter).

9.  Places to play and times to Celebrate
Yesterday, my husband, son and I celebrated Canada's Thanksgiving Day with a 4 kilogram organic grain feed chicken; wonderfully creamy mashed potato, roasted pumpkin, sweet juicy peas and a delicious gravy.  Dessert was a fresh peach walnut crusted pie with a crumble topping served with Balkan yoghurt.

We invited an old friend to join us.  My husband, and friend took our son to the local park for a swing, which our son loves.  While the men were away I went outside for an hour to tidy up my garden, and add a further six tulip bulbs to my tulip patch.

Vegetables for our Thanksgiving Dinner had be prepped the day before - the dessert made 2 days ahead of time, so all I had to do was cook the chicken (which took almost 4 hours).  In the morning I had cooked the potatoes, mashed and creamed them, put them into a baking dish ready for heating at dinner time.  That left the peas and gravy to make.  I had also carved the chicken ahead of time (and this morning put the leftovers in the freezer as there was plenty to go around at dinner time).

8.   Electricity
With the onset of winter I am grateful the city provide electricity that keeps our house warm.  Without heating we would not survive in this landscape.

7.  A roof over our heads
We have a wonderfully steeped Normandy roof, that allows the snow to slide right off during winter, so there is no need for us to worry about banks of snow building up there!

6.  Transport
The bus stops right outside our door, and I have a car to go grocery shopping, visit friends and take my son to activities with other children.

5.  Friends
Who keep in contact, offer encouragement and do practical things to help each other in life.

4.  Family connections
We enjoy keeping in touch with family overseas (as far away as New Zealand) via SKYPE.  My son loves talking with his Grandma and Grandad and seeing them on video.

3.  My 11 month old son
He is growing fast and is a joy and a delight.

2.  My husband
Who works so hard to keep the bills paid, keep a roof over our heads, and accomplishes extra things like publishing a book, travelling and giving public talks.

1.  My Relationship with Jesus
One who cares about my life, understands everything I encounter in life and offers HOPE!

A penny for your thoughts ...

The Bible reminds us to fix our thoughts on what is ...

True NOBLE Just pure
LOVELY, of good report

if there is any VIRTUE, and if there is anything Praiseworthy

then MEDITATE on these things!

Go to http://www.biblegateway.com to read more from the New Testament book of Philippians Chapter 4 verse 8)

Cereal Cookie (for babies)

Babies who are eating their solid foods well for breakfast, lunch and dinner will most likely require extra fuelling during the day with nutritional snacks and a healthy drink of milk or water.

My 10.5 month old really enjoys this soft cookie made with baby cereal (plain or flavoured), fruit puree (apple, apricot, banana or pear) and the yolk of an egg.

Serve it together with a drink of milk in their favourite sippy cup for morning tea:


Cereal Cookie

125ml (1/2 cup) butter
125 ml (1/2 cup) fruit puree (eg mashed banana; or stewed apple, apricot, pear, prunes or dates ... you could even try a pureed vegetable like zuchinni)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg yolks (beaten), for babies under 1 year old or 1 egg
150 ml (2/3 cup) white or wholewheat flour
150 ml (2/3 cup) baby cereal (oatmeal, wheat or mixed grain - plain or with fruit added)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons of cocoa powder (optional - gives it a nice rich flavour)

Preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius (375oF).
Line 2 cookie sheets with baking paper.
Cream the butter and sugar, then sitr in fruit puree.
Gradually add the vanilla and beaten egg (or egg yolks).
Mix the dry ingredients together in another bowl.
Carefully add the dry ingredients to the wet.
Drop heaped teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 minutes.