Healthy Eating
These peppers are so gorgeous and filling! Served with a salad they make a delicious, easy and healthy light meal.
They are best cooked in the oven but if you, like me, don’t have one then it is possible to use a microwave as you will see from the video:
The ingredients:
Large red peppers
Onions, garlic, fresh tomatoes,
Oregano, salt and pepper
Risotto rice
At Jumble House we like our meals to be healthy AND tasty and, if you have been following our blog you will know that we also like food with a bit of a kick! Nothing bland!
I can’t see any point in eating food, healthy or not, if you don’t actually ENJOY it. Food needs to look good, smell good and taste good and what could be nicer and more tempting than colourful, crisp vegetables and plump, juice prawns!
Click on this link to be tempted!
This stir-fry is crammed full of colourful vegetables and great smelling spices and herbs. I’ve substituted Tamari Sauce for Soy sauce and lemon juice for Balsamic Vinegar to reduce the sugar content but feel free to experiment!
The ingredients
A large thinly sliced red onion. 2/3 cloves of garlic and about 3 teaspoons of chopped fresh ginger.
A large red pepper and some green vegetables. (Broccoli, Sugar Snap Peas, Mangetout)
Mushrooms
A carrot cut into thin strips. ( this adds the sweetness )
Prawns ( you can substitute cubed chicken or Quorn )
Spices: A pinch of Crushed Chillies and Cumin. I also like to add half a teaspoon of Chinese Spice.
Sauces: Tamari and Thai Fish Sauce. Lemon Juice plus 2 tablespoons of Marsala or Sherry.
To finish: A few broken cashew nuts and chopped Coriander Leaf. (Optional)
Method:
Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a wok. Heat.
Quickly fry the onion, garlic, spices and ginger for about 3 minutes.
Push to the sides of the wok and add the vegetables that need the most cooking. Cook on medium heat for another 3 minutes then push to the side and add more. Continue this process until all the vegetables are in the wok. ( I suggest adding the mushrooms last.). The vegetables should stay crisp so don’t overcook.
Mix together 1 tablespoon of Tamari Sauce, 1 tablespoon of Fish sauce and 2 tablespoon of sherry/Marsala or similar and add to the pan with the prawns. Cook until the prawns are cooked and a nice healthy pink (if using fresh ones) or heated through (frozen variety). Taste and add more spices/liquid as necessary.
Stir in a handful of cashews. Sprinkle with chopped coriander leaf and a teaspoon of sesame oil and serve with rice or noodles.
We cut sugar out this week because we wanted to get rid of our coughs and colds. BUT after reading this very open, informative and funny blog we will be looking at that sweet monster a little bit closer! We knew that bad bacteria find sugary foods very yummy but there’s a lot more to it than that!
There’s some great tasting recipes there too.
The Jumbles are a bit poorly. Coughs, sneezes,sore throats.
They have seen their GP and are taking the medicine but they are also trying to help themselves.
They believe that eating the right food helps. That a drink of Honey and lemon in hot water soothes a sore throats .
That sugary foods should be avoided because bad bacteria love sugar and so breed.
Of course it is very important that everyone seeks advice from their own GP before acting on advice from anywhere else.
The recipe for Maisie’s Clear Chicken broth is here. It is also very good with noodles.
To watch the complete video click on the link below:
Click on here to watch the video
Ingredients for soup or noodles in broth.
Two pieces of chicken on the bone cause Hines make good stock
One onion chopped fine
I can or peas or equivalent in frozen peas.
2 carrots ..better grated otherwise chop very fine.
1 clove of garlic.
Maisie also added a courgette but you could add o her greens like cabbage or spinach depending on taste.
Method
All you do is put everything in a pan with a stock cube and cover with water ..about two inches above the ingredients.
Bring to the boil then cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes till everything is tender and the chicken is cooked.
Remove the chicken and take out the ones. Chop into small pieces and put back.
Taste and season.
Serve on it’s own or use as a base for noodles.
Parental supervision is recommended for all cooking activities.
Join Maisie at Jumble House for another Fun cooking session. This time she is making a delicious vegetable soup which Alfie has named after his ‘Swamp Monster’!
Click on this link: Swamp Monster Soup
My very popular recipe. It can be made in a breadmaker if you must …….. but WHY? ?
After all, who can resist the feel of all that sticky gunge between the fingers and a kitchen transformed into a floury winter wonderland!
But with a little kneading that sticky gunge is miraculously transformed into a silky, elastic dough that is just heaven to squeeze and stretch into interesting creations.
Apart from the actual baking there's not much a child can't do when making bread. Use your own discretion. You know your child better than anyone.
Let them be creative. Let them adapt the recipe. Be prepared for a few strange outcomes …. it's better that they experiment … they will learn from failures. Just make sure that they see a failure as something positive and the start of a new product and not the end. This will probably be more difficult for you than them when faced with a floury kitchen! But then, that's important too. They need to learn how to clean up even if it takes twice as long!
Ingredients
Strong Flour. 500grams A mixture of wholemeal and Granary is good. The coarser the better. I like to add a little black Rye flour too.
Fresh yeast …. much more fun than the dried stuff in packets! (That doesn't erupt!)
One medium fresh juicy carrot. ( Definitely NOT a limp bendy one! )
Nuts! A small handful of walnut pieces or crushed hazlenuts or cashews or go mad and mix lots.
One teaspoon of runny honey or sugar.
Liquid … half and half water and milk.300 mls
VERY important …. 3 tablespoons of Virgin olive oil
2 level teaspoons of salt.
METHOD
Measure out the liquid . It should be tepid. Warm but not hot.
Crumble a cube or yeast into a mug. Add honey or sugar and cream together with a teaspoon.
Then pour on half the liquid. Stir then watch in fascination for about 15 mins. while bubbles began to surface.
If you can tear yourself away from the bubbly volcano this is the time to measure everything else into the largest bowl possible. (less mess).
At the point when the yeast threatens to spill over the top of the coffee mug pour it and the remaining liquid into the bowl.
Gunge lovers can then stick their (clean) hands straight in and get mixing. The more squeamish (adults) are allowed if necessary to initially draw the ingredients together with a spoon. Shame on you!!
Then turn out onto floury board or baking paper and knead and knead and knead till it's a soft and smooth as a baby's bottom!
Put back in the bowl. Cover with cling film and leave till double in size. About 60 – 90 minutes depending on how warm your kitchen is.
Then out it comes again for another good battering.
Then …. well the rest depends on imagination. Will it be a round cob or a pirate ship? A loaf or a teddy bear!
Whatever … place on a greased baking sheet and leave to rise again for about half an hour till its springy to the touch. At this point the oven needs to be turned on and preheated ( check own oven instructions for this and baking times).
The smell will be divine even if the outcome is not what was expected !
Creative Learning for Young Children 