Playing with your food: making a fondant cake with kids

by Carly We love winter and the Little Man is no exception.  He'd play outside all day everyday if we'd let him and I'm thrilled he enjoys the out-of-doors as much as we do.

But even us winter-lovers have days where the thought of getting dressed to roll around in the snow is just too much.  We were having one of those weekends and after exhausting every episode of Handy Manny and The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Family on Demand, it was time for a new game plan for our Saturday.

Earlier in the week Jake was upset about being told that he couldn't help me with the snowflake-themed cake I was making for a bridal shower.  He loves playdough and when he saw me rolling out all that fondant he just really wanted in on the action.

We had a chocolate cake mix kicking around and some leftover fondant so while Jake was watching all those Handy Manny episodes, I made the cake and coloured the fondant.  Then we went to town.

Jake had a blast rolling, cutting and "painting" the fondant.  He was thrilled to invite Nana and Papa for supper and beamed when he passed around pieces of his cake for dessert that night.

Want to do it yourself?  Here's how . . .

Make some fondant from scratch or do what I did this time around and pick up a box of pre-made white fondant from Michael's, Bulk Barn or your favourite cake supply store.  I used a 24 oz. package for the cake you see here.

Make your favourite cake, cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove it and put in the fridge so it'll cool that much faster.

While it's baking and cooling, pull off small balls of fondant from the larger piece and tint it different colours.  I used paste colouring, but for small amounts like this, you can use liquid food colouring because you don't need a lot.  Each coloured ball that I made was about 1.5 inches in diameter.  If the balls get a bit sticky, add icing sugar (not flour!) to them as you knead in the colour.  Keep your fondant in plastic wrap or a sealed baggie so it doesn't dry out when you're not using it.

Because we made a chocolate cake, I tinted the rest of the fondant brown, but you can leave it white or make it any colour you want.

When the cake is cool ice it with your favourite kind.  Buttercream, cream cheese, canned . . . it all works.

Roll out the largest ball of fondant to about 1/8" thick.  Use icing sugar (not flour!) to keep it from sticking to the counter or your rolling pin.  If it gets a little dry, you can use vegetable oil or PAM to keep it from sticking or drying out.  Place it over your cake, smooth it out and trim the excess.

(You can completely skip the step above and just lay your cut out fondant directly on whatever icing you chose, if you'd rather!)

Get out everyone's  favourite cookie cutters, pull out the coloured balls and start playing.  The cut-out fondant will stick to the cake if you "paint" the back with water.  If there's too much icing sugar on the front of the pieces, "paint" the fronts too after you put them on the cake.  If you have clear vanilla, almond or lemon extract, you can paint the fronts with that instead for even yummier fondant.

I have letter-shaped cookie cutters, so I made our play time into a teachable moment by sounding out and spelling the names of our family members.

I just let Jake create whatever he wanted, regardless of how the cake looked.  In the end there so much fondant on the cake, we couldn't possibly eat it all.  I don't even like fondant that much.  But that's the beauty of fondant - you can just peel off what you don't want and eat the cake and icing underneath.  Mmm!

Carly has red hair and occasionally the temper to match.  She loves potatoes, rainy nights, photography, her husband and her 4 year old son, Jacob.  Probably in reverse order.   She also blogs.

This Post Is For The Birds

by Sasha Many, many (many many many) years ago, I read an article in Owl magazine about a girl who had trained the chickadees in her backyard to eat from her hand. This took some patience and perseverence - going out every day with a handful of seed, working her way ever closer to the feeder, and finally taking the feeder away. I finally tried this a couple of years ago - and after a week or so I did manage to get a few brave little birds to land on my outstretched hand. It was pretty neat.

I now have a 2-year-old. "Patience" and "perseverence" aren't really in the lexicon yet. But 'bird' certainly is. And so, when I heard rumours of some really friendly chickadees at P11 in the greenbelt, I decided to check it out.

The plan was to take the girls out on Christmas Day, so just to avoid any disappointment, I swung by on Christmas Eve. And sure enough, those birds know where seed comes from. I had none with me, and yet all I had to do was step out of the parking lot and stand there, and within a minute or two the nearby bushes were a-twitter with chubby little birds, all eyeing me hopefully.

Christmas Day was a success. We went out with a big back of black sunflower seeds, which Miss Bea cheerfully scooped from the bag into piles on the ground. She liked the birds, and tried to hold some seed out for them, but then squealed and jumped away whenever one came near (and as a testament to how brave these birds are, that didn't stop them trying).  Before long they were actually tusselling for the seed on my hand (video).

If you would like to check it out, P11 is located off Hunt Club road between the 416 and Moodie. There are pathways & ski trails, but you can find the chickadees just by stepping out of the parking lot.  Note though, as we learned on a later visit, the chickadees have the sense to stay inside on the blustery days, leaving us wishing we did too.

Sasha is mom to 2-year-old Miss Bea, and 4 month old Baby Em.  Her ramblings can also be found on her blog, The Rambling Stroller.

Cooking together - kitchen sink pasta

by Krista As soon as my children were old enough to help out in any way, I started to involve them in the preparation of our meals. I have fond memories of "helping" my mom in the kitchen as a child, and I hope that this involvement will lead to the same. I also want to pass on my love for cooking to them and in the process, let them see what goes into our meals. The best reason that I have for including them in the meal preparation is that they are more likely to eat the food that we prepare without trying to pick things out if they are part of the preparation.

My little sous-chefs started out with pretty simple tasks, like moving ingredients from the cupboard, or pretending to measure things for me (while they were really just playing with the measuring spoons). They have gotten to the point where they can, while being WELL supervised, hold the mixer/hand blender, add ingredients to or stir a pot on the stove, and roll cookies or fill muffin cups. Most of the cooking that I do these days is with a child on each side of me, standing on a kitchen chair and helping out. They take such pride in this, and truly love the food that they create.

We recently made a quick and simple favourite together, I like to call it our kitchen sink pasta. They like it, because there are lots of their favourite veggies in it, and there is lots for them to do in the preparation. I like it because there are few ingredients that need to be chopped, it's nutritious, and only takes about 20 minutes to make.

1/3 cup pine nuts 3 cups of penne 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 cup vegetable broth 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 red or orange pepper, sliced 1 cup corn kernals (fresh or from frozen) 1 cup peas (fresh sliced snow peas or frozen) 3 cups of baby spinach, washed and dried 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half dried or chopped fresh basil to taste freshly ground pepper to taste freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Advance prep work: In toaster oven, toast the pine nuts for about 4 minutes (until slightly golden). Slice peppers, tomatoes and snowpeas (if using)

With the children: Start the water boiling for the pasta. Once it boils, add the pasta. My children like to help here, but you have to be careful that they aren't too zealous and get splashed by boiling water. I use a ladle to let them tip the pasta into the pot. Cook until al dente. Let the kids test the cooled noodles to tell you if they are done before draining. Set pasta aside, but the veggies should be ready at about the same time.

While the pasta water is starting, have the kids help to measure out the veggies and put all but the spinach, tomatoes and pine nuts in a bowl. In a large frying pan with a lid, heat the oil. Add the broth and garlic. Have one of the children pour the veggies into the pan (or take turns pouring). Sauté them for a couple of minutes, then reduce heat and add the basil and spinach. My children like to do this, they get to throw handfuls of spinach into the pot. Cover and let the spinach start to wilt. Stir occasionally to mix everything together. Once the spinach is fully wilted, have the children add the tomatoes and pine nuts and stir them in. Cover and let sit, on very low heat, for another minute or two. You want the tomatoes to soften, but not be mushy.

Mix veggies together with the penne and serve, topped with the pepper and parmesan. Enjoy!

Krista is married to Willy and mom to a 3 year old son, Woo, and 1.5 year old daughter Goose. You can find her at Life in the Hutch or on Twitter @kgraydonald

Parents in the Capital

 by Finola I am the mom of two beautiful daughters aged six and eight. I am also the wife to Tony for almost 15 years now. Guess who has gotten most of my attention for the last eight years?

 You always hear that you need to take time as a couple once you have kids, or else you can grow apart. Blah, blah, blah. I never really paid too much attention to that advice. I allowed the small people in our house to absorb me, fully and completely. I didn’t adjust well to being a working parent, so when I wasn’t at work, I was at home with my daughters. I felt guilty if I went out to get my haircut. I felt guilty if I went shopping. I felt guilty if I met a friend for a coffee. I felt guilty if Tony and I went out for an evening. This meant that most of my time was spent either at work or at home. I did very little to nurture myself, and I did even less to nurture my marriage. It was working well enough for a long time.

 So I would only see a movie in a theatre once a year. So I would only eat out at a restaurant with Tony one or twice a year. So I was hesitant to get a babysitter. So Tony and I weren’t laughing together very often anymore. There was tension and aggravation and sighing. I was feeling tired lonely and sad, and I didn’t feel like I could talk to Tony about it. It wasn’t drastic, and it wasn’t all bad, but we were disengaging from each other and our connection was gradually diminishing.

I think those first few years of having children are much harder and more stressful than we realize when we are in the midst of diapers, feedings and sleepless nights, because we are just so busy getting through each day. It isn’t until the children grow a little and become more self sufficient that we step back and realize just how freaking hard those early years were, and just how much of an effect it all has on yourself and your relationship with your partner.

 I don’t have all of the answers, but I do know that Tony and I are taking some positive steps now to reconnect as a couple. I personally am working to change the way I react when Tony doesn’t do things like they should be done as I would do them. I am taking a breath and laughing at his absent-minded professor moments rather than getting angry. Is it really the end of the world when I find the ice cream in the fridge instead of the freezer? Or if he consistently mixes up which of our children likes to drink milk with dinner and which one likes water? I could even laugh the other morning when I found the coffee pot empty, the chamber filled with water, but the basket open and still containing yesterday’s coffee grounds. AT 5:30 IN THE MORNING WHEN I WAS EXPECTING TO FIND MY HOT COFFEE READY AND WAITING FOR ME. See? Progress.

 Tony and I have also started having date nights - so far we have gone to a wedding, we went Christmas shopping, we have had coffee and lunch dates, and we spent a whole day at the Nordic spa together. When I leave for work in the morning, I have started kissing him good-bye again. When I walk past him in the kitchen, I reach to touch.

 It is not magic but these small things make a big difference. We are laughing more. We are talking more. We are more connected and more present. We need to keep doing these positive things; these generous things. We need to take care of our children and take care of ourselves and our relationship too.

 Last week I had a meeting at the end of the day in another part of the city. I had to take a bus and then walk a short way to get there. I had Googled the directions earlier, but hadn’t bothered to print them out because they were so simple. This is a big mistake when you are directionally challenged like I am. I got lost. I pulled out my cell phone, called Tony, and he was there to pick me up within five minutes and drive me to my meeting. He didn‘t roll his eyes or complain about me being lost, yet again. He was just there for me, like he always is. It really hit home that day just how lucky I am.

 It may be almost impossible for partnerships to come out of those early years with kids completely unscathed, but keeping the connection going is worth spending time on and thinking about while the children are still young. This stuff is hard and I can only imagine that it gets an awful lot harder if you wait until your children are all grown up.

 I wanted to post this on Kids in the Capital because I know that many of the contributors and readers here have really young children and are in the middle of those really hard years. If you can remember to take just a little bit of time each day, each week or each month for each other, it really will go a long way.

Finola is married to Tony and together they have two girls who are 6 and 8. You can read her blog at www.finolablog.com or find her on Twitter @Finola.

Breastfeeding Cafe

by Amanda As a new mother I was prepared for many of the joys, obstacles and sleepless nights a parent experiences. What I wasn’t prepared for was the mountain I would climb to be able to successfully breastfeed my child.  I was under the naïve impression, or possibly more like a dream state, that my child would latch on to the breast and I would magically feed him and all would be a success. Because really, how hard could breastfeeding be? Isn’t it so natural?

I was wrong. So wrong! We had problem after problem.  Needless to say my milk supply diminished and my child was not getting near enough to eat.  We immediately received support through a lactation consultant at her private home and after weeks and weeks of dedication we finally started to have success with exclusive breastfeeding.

Support makes a big difference as it brings the breastfeeding mother encouragement when needed, a place to share stories of joy and where questions are not judged but welcomed.  Breastfeeding can bring forth challenges but for me it is now a joy, a special bond I have created with my child, and I believe I feel this way now because of all the support I have.

Every Wednesday from August to December, with the exception of one or two missed due to appointments, Dominic & I have headed out to the Breastfeeding Café.  The Breastfeeding Café is a supportive atmosphere welcoming breastfeeding mothers were you don’t have to worry if you have showered that morning, if you have bags under your eyes from lack of sleep, whether you have spit up all over your shirt, or feel like you might be judged.  Moms & babies under 6 months are welcomed at the Breastfeeding Café.

The Breastfeeding Cafe was created by Susan Martensen, a DONA approved Birth & Postpartum Doula Trainer and is currently offered Wednesday’s at Milkface in Westboro.  There is no registration or sign up required, you just come and go as you can and wish. Have a breastfeeding question? Come on out and ask.  Want a place to relax, chat and feed your child? Come on out.  It’s a relaxed atmosphere that welcomes moms to enjoy a few hours over snacks, snuggles with their babes and other women.

Every Wednesday I knew what I was doing and where we were going. I looked forward to seeing all of the wonderful women I met and to ask Susan any baby related questions I may have.  It was comfortable, serene and wonderfully supportive.

There is a donation fee, recommended $5, to help cover the costs of snacks.  There is always yummy food!

So, what are you doing next Wednesday from 10:30-12:30? Head over to Milkface in Westboro and enjoy the Breastfeeding Café.

Amanda is mom to Dominic, 8 months, and can be found blogging about life, product reviews & giveaways at Namaste Mommy, PTPA Panel of Moms & Tools for Schools.  When not feeding and changing diapers Amanda is busy with her company DeGrace Energetics & Little Lotus.