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Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

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mad hatters tea party
A Mad Hatter’s Tea Party was the perfect birthday party theme for my little bookworm. B turned nine last week and at the weekend we hosted a Book Party for her family and friends, with crazy food and fun activities. The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party was such fun to plan and prepare, with the kids excited about sharing the mad ideas with their friends.

All the invitations were little books, illustrated by B, with the story inside telling the tale of how all the guests were invited to a party. Everyone came dressed as a favourite book character – I was Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother, although sadly no photos of that incarnation remain. I do have lots of photos of what we made and what we ate though, so here’s our round up of how we hosted a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. [Read more…]

Kids in the kitchen: customised soup

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kids vegetable soup
Inviting kids in to the kitchen is about lots of things: developing a relationship with food, seeing how meals are prepared and learning lots of important skills. This recipe for vegetable soup is delicious and healthy but it also gives children a chance to build their confidence in cooking because they are the ones who decide which ingredients to use. It encourages them to use their own taste buds and try out making a recipe of their very own.

Customised soup recipe

The great thing about this vegetable soup recipe is [Read more…]

Snowman ice cream

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What’s the best thing to eat when you want a fun treat on a winter’s day? An ice cream snowman of course!

 

This article is one of our easy Christmas recipes for children and part of our Christmas activities and crafts for children.

 

Inspired by a photo on Pinterest that was originally featured on foodcreate, we used a simplified version of an ice cream snowman so the children could all make their own. This was our pudding on Christmas day and the children loved making and eating them. Here’s how to make one:


ice cream snowman

How to make an ice cream snowman

Two or three scoops of vanilla ice cream make a snowman body – and if you run your ice cream scoop under water first you’ll find it a lot easier to get the ice cream off your spoon in a great snowball shape.

Chocolate Matchsticks are just right for stick arms.

Tiny chocolate chips are perfect for eyes, mouths and buttons and easy for little fingers to pop in place. And an orange jelly bean is just thing for a carrot nose.

And that’s your ice cream snowman finished and ready to eat – cool!

 

 

Let’s make this winter the year when we delight in the cold and the dark.

Gather your children, get cosy, and make memories and connections together.

I’ll show you how with this guide to a cosy and connected winter:

…. CLICK HERE FOR YOUR GUIDE ….

 

What kids learn when baking

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kids cooking
The girls wanted to bake this weekend and I said sure – so long as they did it all themselves. There was a split second pause, as they weighed up whether I really meant all by themselves, and then a rush to choose which recipe they wanted to try.

We have a lovely little recipe book called 30 Easy Things to Cook and Eat which has great clear instructions, lots of pictures and a good selection of both sweet and savoury beginner recipes. (It’d make a great Christmas present and is available through our Amazon store.) They chose the chocolate crunch cake and while I discretely watched in the background, set about preparing, making and baking, just the two of them. It got me thinking about just how perfect cooking is as a fun learning activity as so many skills are involved.

What kids learn when baking

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Eat some numbers: Fruit cocktail maths

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IMG_7344

Maths activities for preschoolers work best when they are fun (of course!) and practical – using real objects the children can feel, rather than abstract numbers on a worksheet.

Try this fruit cocktail maths activity for some tasty number practice.

How to make a counting cocktail [Read more…]

Meringue recipe

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how to make meringue

This meringue recipe makes the perfect party dessert and as they’re so easy to make it’s a great recipe for the children to try out for themselves. It also calls for a little showmanship and daring, much to the kids’ delight.

I won’t make any attempt to pass them off as being a healthy option though as they are of course very sugary, but serving them with a pile of fresh fruit balances things out a little. This recipe makes mini meringues, which is a better child-sized portion. Not that I care about easing my conscience too much – they were for my birthday party after all!

Here’s how to make our Mini Meringue Recipe

To make 12 white and 12 pink mini meringues you will need 2 egg whites, 100g caster sugar and two drops of pink food colouring

cooking with children

Preheat your oven to 110C / 225 f / Gas 1/4 and then place your egg whites in a large bowl.

Let the children crack their own eggs – go on! If you have any stray pieces of egg shell it’s easiest to use another piece of shell to scoop them out as like seems to attract like. You only need the egg whites for this recipe. To separate them you can strain the egg through your fingers, keeping hold of the yolk. An easier way with children is to crack your egg on to a saucer or plate, then use an egg cup to enclose the yolk. Then you can pour off the rest of the egg white into your bowl.

meringues

Use a whisk to beat the eggs until they form thick, white peaks. This is great fun for the children as the eggs totally transform in colour and texture as you beat in the air- science in action. When the egg whites are stiff enough you can hold the bowl upturned over your (or their) head and the eggs will stay in the bowl – ta-daa!  Then whisk in the sugar, adding it little by little.

meringue recipe

Line a baking tray with a sheet of greaseproof paper and use teaspoons to place 12 blobs of the meringue mixture on to the tray. Add a couple of drops of food colouring to the remaining mixture and very gently stir the colour through. Use teaspoons again to make 12 blobs of pink meringue on the tray.

Bake for 40 minutes, then turn off the oven. Leave the meringues inside the oven for another 5 minutes if you like yours to have a delicious chewy centre, for another 20 if you prefer them to be crisp.
how to make meringue

You can serve them as they are or sandwhich one white and one pink meringue together with some whipped cream. Serve with fresh berries and other chopped fruit. Just right for birthday or summer party.

You can find more recipes here.

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