Blast off

The Rooster has been tearing the numbers off his countdown book one day at a time. While patiently waiting for number 18 to arrive, he has been browsing our very old birthday cake book for inspiration for his cake. He was teetering between a racing car, a dump truck or a race track number 8, until he spotted this book at the library. I have no idea how he knew it was a birthday cake book, but he snatched it off the shelf and found exactly what he was looking for.

Each morning our Rooster makes a rocket with his Lego while he waits for the morning to arrive. This cake was right in his universe. It was the one he was waiting to discover.
He knew something special was waiting for him downstairs this morning. He snuck down and found his Rocket ready for take off.
We like to recycle our cakes and get a few uses for our cake making efforts. The cupcakes, 30 moon and stars, were for preschool with instructions that the rocket could not be cut. The rocket will make its maiden voyage on Sunday at the Rooster's party.

Reading the introduction to our latest cake book, it talks of children not remembering what they were given for each birthday or who came to the party, but the cake. It seems that the highlight is the cake. I can remember many of the efforts of my mother from that very first train covered WW birthday cake book. I wonder which cakes will hold fast in the Rooster's memory?

Tomato Relish

I have had way to many tomatoes left over from our fruit and vege co-op. 2 kilos just begging to be used in something more interesting than a cheese and tomoto sandwich. Here is my solution.

1 kilo of tomatoes
1 apple peeled, cored and chopped
375ml white vinegar
250 grams of sugar
2 onions
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon of salt
Half a dessert spoon of mustard powder
Half a dessert spoon of curry powder

Put all ingredients into a big pot.
Mix half tablespoon cornflour and a quarter of cup of vinegar into a paste and add to the pot.
Bring to the boil. Simmer on low for about 1 and a half hours.
Stir to stop mixture from sticking.

A magical Monday meal

Not usually one to blog food but tonight's dinner was too noteworthy to let pass. At 6.20 we had the littlies fed but were yet to think of something for ourselves. We had a huge pumpkin from our fruit and vege co-op just begging to be used for pumpkin soup.

So while the kids thrashed out their last bit of energy before winding down for bed, I peeled and chopped and roasted the pumpkin and a few onions all ready to be blitzed into soup. Stuck to the fridge was a recipe for olive and basil bread that I wrote down from someones blog. Apologies to that blogger for not crediting her. I was browsing blog land late one night and stumbled across it and jotted it down never thinking I would ever get around to trying it. So, if you recognise this recipe as posted elsewhere let me know.

Anyway, I threw that together taking all of 5 minutes and it was delicious. Saying that, Tools came down, saw it and asked had I made a cake too. He had some serious ground to make up considering I had whipped up an almost gourmet dinner in under 30 minutes and it was his suggestion that we shoot it and blog it.

Olive and Basil Bread.

1 cup of chopped olives

1 bunch of chopped basil

add this to

1 cup of wholemeal self-raising flour and

3 quarters of a cup of parmesan

also add

4 eggs

40 grams of butter

Cook in oven for 40 mins

Served fresh from the oven, it was perfect with the soup as it held together really well. I live in hope that my picky eating children will try it tomorrow for lunch. Wishful thinking.

Nearly One

Missy is one on Saturday. A Valentine baby. She will always be special on that overly commercial, overly sentimental day even if she never gets a card or a single red rose from some spotty boy during her adolescence.

Tomorrow she is at childcare and having her first hip hip hooray experience (I am feeling a pang just knowing I will be missing it) and I have just finished putting this together.

I showed Tools my creation, as he has made all over the Rooster's cakes in previous years (I tell you, he is the man when it comes to icing. Stay tuned for what he will come up with on the weekend) and was a pleased as punch when he said it was a basket of flowers, just as I intended.

I remember choosing this cake for my 10th birthday after pouring over the AWW Birthday Cake book . It's a lovely coincidence that Missy will celebrate her first with this cake.