Clean Sheets

Delicious Bananas on the bar-b-q

This is for Aidan and anyone else out there who loves dessert!

 

We did this on the bar-b-q twice over the weekend and it is divine even if I say so myself.

I will add a pic next time I do it.

 

All the ingredients simply need to be multiplied by the number of people

A square of tinfoil

A banana

A dessert spoon of brown sugar

A generous pinch of ground cinnamon

A tablespoon of brandy

 

Peel the banana

Put it in the centre of the tinfoil and make a loose boat shape around the banana

Add the sugar, cinnamon and brandy to each “boat”

Close each parcel by scrunching up the tinfoil tightly but leaving the parcel loose around the banana. Put on the bar b q grill for 5-7 mins.

Put the parcels on each persons dessert plate and allow them to open them themselves, warn them about the hot steam but make sure they get the glorious smell.

Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to the open parcels and watch everyone try to lick the tinfoil discreetly when they have finished!

If you do some extra they are lovely cold with natural yogurt...

Quick and Easy Windowboxes

After two Summers in our home I finally got round to putting some summer blooms outside the front door. I sought some advice at our local garden centre as our front door faces north and I do know not everything thrives in the shade (I don't.) We are lucky to live near the gorgeous Ballyseedy Garden Centre, if you find yourself anywhere near Tralee - check it out.

Lobelia's and Busy Lizzies (impatiens) are the way to go apparently.  Eschewing understated elegance for exuberant colour I chose a tray of pink busy lizzies, and blue trailing lobelias. I bought cheap plastic window boxes ( would have loved beautiful faded terracotta ones, but in the current climate... maybe next year) and a bag of compost. Our watering can mysteriously disappeared this winter (possibly in a wild Kerry storm) so I picked up one of those too, but no other tools required. All came to a very manageable sum so The Princess and I headed home to complete the project.

The Happy One helped too and apart from much compost spread over the patio, and grubby clothes (both easily solved), the whole project was a success and I am happy to report the lobelias and busy lizzies seem happy in their new home and my children are very proud of them. I do need to remember to water them on dry days but as they are at the front door they serve as a continuous reminder.

This was taken after about 2 weeks rapid growth.

The full effect... in case your wondering the sun does shine there at about 9pm on Summer evenings!

Tip: wear rubber gloves as it's easier than cleaning compost from under your nails! 

Reorganise a Shelf

Changing the world one step at a time is a lofty ambition, I'm starting with organising my home one drawer/shelf/press at a time. Of course, it's a bit like painting the Golden Gate Bridge as I'm never actually going to finish, as soon as one clutter hotspot is eradicated a new one grows in another nook or cranny, however doing small managable mini projects one at a time gives me enormous satisfaction, but the key is breaking the bigger jobs into manageable projects that can be finished in an evening or at worst a weekend.

My latest storage device is, believe it or not, the humble 2 litre milk carton!    

WIth the aid of a sharp knife or sturdy scissors I have turned them into small boxes, with a handle, easily labelled that hide their contents and make the shelf look much tidier and hold much more. It's free and gets you "greenie points" as in the reduce, reuse, recycle hierarchy it's even better than putting them into your green bin. So start saving your milk cartons.

                                                   Washed and cut....

Filled and labelled, you can even write on them directly with permanent marker.

PS. Not good for toys for small kids the cut edges are a bit rough - wouldn't cut you, but not safe for smallies.

9 ways to encourage Adventurous eating

I am very lucky to have two children who will try most things. Their latest triumph was mussels in their shells served on top of a simple fish stew, The Rugby Player came home a little later that day and as a result lost most of his mussels to The Princess and The Happy One who stood around him pleading with open mouths like baby birds. I was very proud of them and the Rugby Player wasn't late for a whole week after that!

I am reluctant to claim any credit for this, as my youngest brother (an adventurous cook and eater now) was quite particular as a child and his two older siblings would try anything, so I may meet my match yet! There are some things that I do that may help though.

1. The children eat the same dinner as us. If we're having something a bit spicy I add natural yogurt to theirs if they want it.  Their high chairs have no trays so from the time they could sit up (and with the help of rolled up towels before that) they have participated at the table.

2. I don't offer an alternative to the dinner, but if they don't want it that's fine. I used to only put half The Princess's dinner in front of her at a time as she went through a phase of being daunted.

3. On David Coleman's advice if they are eating I disregard their manners, cutlery use etc  - time enough for that, I've seen very few adults eat bolognese with their hands in restaurants! In the early days of feeding never discourage their participation in feeding themselves - no matter how messy, give them a spoon too as soon as their interested or finger food to hold while you spoon up the messy stuff.

4.I  often find they eat more if they have a small drink with their dinner.

5. In restaurants I try to avoid the childrens menu and divide an adult main course between them or order them a starter each, this is sometimes a little more expensive but the quality and choice is not comparable.

6. Never assume a child won't like something, even a wedge of lime (the Happy One insisted on trying one on Monday night.) Let them try it other wise you're putting the notion into their heads that you can know without trying - they may surprise you. The Princess has loved tangy Loganberries from about 7 months (they're pink I suppose!). 

7. Don't lose heart, if they won't try something or say they don't like it, try again. Anthony Worrall Thompson says it takes 17 attempts to get children used to a new food. (not everyday in succession obviously!)

8. I accept that they have days when they are not hungry, and never coax them with the exception of when there are friends or family around and they need to be reminded to eat in the excitement, this is on the grounds If someone pushed a loaded fork or spoon towards my mouth when I was full or didn't feel like it I think I would resort to violence.

9. Your most valuable commodity in the eyes of your children is your attention, even negative attention is better than no attention so if they can get a reaction from you by staging temporary hungry strikes you can bet they will become more frequent.

My advice in a nutshell is to hand the plate and cutlery over to the child, avert your eyes from the mess and sit back enjoy your own meal and some dinner conversation that doesn't revolve around " just one more piece of brocolli." Nigella Lawson puts it all better than I can in her book How to Eat, there's a really sensible chapter on feeding children. I have the book out from my local library at the moment and love it.

If you haven't already read Dr. Christopher Green's New Toddler Taming I would recommend it , he points out that no toddler in the Western world died of starvation through stubborness and even children of parents who swear they eat "nothing" seem as full of energy and mischief as my own.

We can always console ourselves that my youngest brother eats foods from all over the globe now and can cook quite a few of them too.

Trying new things to get out of the "dinner rut"

Cleansheets enjoys cooking, but it’s not always easy to be imaginative when time and money are limited. I cook dinner at home at least 5 days a week (not including frozen pizza and other "lazy day" options!)

The worst is the "dinner rut", when nothing in your repertoire appeals as they are tired, worn out recipes that need a break. Hopefully we can share some new ideas, or even inspire variations of some of your own favourites. Trying new things does take some planning and some new additions to your store cupboard but it's worth it!

I promise that everything I recommend I have tried and tested in an ordinary family kitchen.

Please let us know how you get on... leave a comment or send me an e-mail cleansheets.ie@gmail.com

 

 

 

Fashion Magazine budget slashed

There are times when a magazine has no substitute, a recent trip to hospital with The Happy One necessitated the purchase of two, to read while he slept, however if you require or want some new clothes and need up to the minute advice on what to buy and how to wear it... 

check out www.whatshewears.ie 

A fashion website which is to the point, easy to navigate, and tells you where to source items in Ireland, putting it streets ahead of many magazines. Cleansheets loves it and with each week I think it's a habit worth taking up. Window shopping from your desk. Although Cleansheets has a Looking Good category we bow to these folks superior knowledge on all things sartorial.

Recipe: Gently Spiced Meatballs

Recommended and tested by cleansheets.ie

Serves: 4
Ready in: 1 hour

Serve with: pasta or cous cous and some steamed brocolli