MADELEINES

I think these little French cakes are so elegant. They're perfect if you want to quickly knock something up for guests, or if you're just craving something sweet. They're ideal for parents on the go, and they're simple enough to put together that kids could join in too!

Fun fact: the reason they have one side shaped like a shell is because they're originally from Brittany in France, which is famous for its seafood. 

Ingredients:

2 eggs

100g sugar

100g all purpose flour

100g butter (melted)

3/4 tsp baking powder

1tsp lemon juice OR vanilla extract

Method:

- Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F/gas 6

- Brush melted butter on your madeleine pan, and dust with flour. Tap off excess

- Whisk together eggs and sugar until frothy

- Mix in flour and baking powder, followed by the melted butter and vanilla extract/lemon juice. 

- If you have time, leave the mixture to rest for 20 mins, but not absolutely essential

- Bake in oven for 10 mins

- Cool (and dust with icing sugar if you want)

BABY FOOD RECIPE: BROCCOLI!

Making your own home-made baby food is so cheap and easy, and you know exactly what's in it! This is a recipe for babies who have just begun mashed food - around six months! 

- Peel/chop potatoes, and boil until soft. You can throw a peeled garlic clove into the water with the potatoes for more flavor. 

- Chop the little fronds off the head of the broccoli: 

- Boil the broccoli bits for just a couple of minutes and drain (if you prefer, you can leave the tiny broccoli pieces raw for extra texture/nutrition).

- Mix together with the mash. 

It's great to make batches of baby food. I store it in individual microwave-safe containers, and put them in the freezer. So when it's time for her to eat, I just defrost and reheat one of them.

AVOCADO LOVE

I LOVE food! Tasting and cooking new and different things is one of my favorite things, so having a fussy eating child would be a bit of a nightmare for me! 

From the word go, I've been determined to try and encourage my daughter to enjoy lots of different foods. And so far it's working! People are amazed - she'll eat absolutely anything! 

The first solid food that she had was mashed avocado. You can mash it on its own, or mix it in with the baby rice. She went through phases of liking it and not liking it, but as she got older I would squeeze a bit of lime on the avocado pieces or mix in a passion fruit, just to brighten up the flavor! It's also great with a boiled egg for breakfast. She still loves it, and it's great for me because it's such a quick and easy snack or breakfast food. 

As well as starting them off early, I think the key to having a food-loving baby is expressing your own love of food to them (not ever saying 'yuck'), giving them home cooked sugar/salt free food (you don't want them getting a taste for synthetic, processed flavors), but also not being afraid of exposing them to spices, herbs and food that tastes strong naturally, like oily fish.

CHRISTMAS PEPPARKAKOR

Pepparkakor hearts on my coconut ceramic plate (made by Tine)

These little biscuits are a big thing at christmas time in Scandinavia. They are essentially a more exciting version of gingerbread. The only downside to them is that the dough has to be made a day in advance, but it's so worth it, because they taste delicious and make your whole house smell like christmas! They're also good for morning sickness.

300g butter (room temperature)
5 cups* granulated sugar
1 cup of golden syrup
1 tbsp ground ginger
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground cardamom
1 tbsp baking soda
2 cups water
15 cups plain flour

Stir together the butter, sugar and syrup until smooth. Add in the spices and baking soda. Then stir in the water followed by the flour. Knead the dough on a floured surface and refrigerate for 24 hrs wrapped in foil. 

The following day, when you're ready to bake, roll the dough out to 5mm, and use a cookie-cutter to cut out pepparkakor biscuits. Place them onto baking paper, and bake at 170°C for 6-10 minutes.

*For those of you who don't have a cup measurer, this one is super cute...

Hedgehog measuring cups. £32 from Anthropologie