A boy in Dear Zoo PJs

As soon as I have seen these PJs in Sainsbury's, I knew I had to buy them for Eddie. We are big fans of Rod Campbell's Dear Zoo. It has given us so much pleasure to lift the flaps and find the animals that were sent by mistake.

A boy sends a letter to the Zoo, asking to send him a pet, and all sorts of wrong animals arrive in parcels until finally a perfect pet is delivered. A true classic. It was written in 1982 and stood the test of time. The story is simple and endearing, and it is so much fun to read it with a little one who loves to guess what animal is hiding on the next page.

It used to be Sasha's favourite book for quite a long time. Now it amuses Eddie. I think we are on our third copy, as the previous two were read so many times, and chewed and torn off (those flap bits are very tempting for little fingers) that they were not readable anymore.

 Rod Campbell's illustrations are well known, he has a unique recognisable original style.

So, I was delighted to see that our favourite book has made it into the outfit.

The pyjamas look very cute. The best bit is a pocket at the front, which you lower down to find a fierce lion.

Eddie loves clothes. He has a nickname in the family - Gok Wan. He loves putting my scarves around his shoulders or my hats on his head, and is very proud of his achievements. From a son who is very indifferent to what he is wearing in Sasha's case to someone who loves dressing up in Eddie's, I have two opposites. It is curious to observe how different they are on many levels.

I only wish they had an adult version too. Why should adult PJs be either boring or sexy? I want the Dear Zoo PJs too! :)

Nature's Plus Animal Parade Vitamins

When your child is a very fussy eater, as a parent you are always anxious if he is getting enough vitamins. We had talks with the dietitians and nutritionists about Sasha and his diet, and though the consensus was that I am doing my best, it was suggested that we might look into introducing multi-vitamins to his diet. And so our search for the suitable vitamins and supplements started. We tried several major brands, some were tried, some never passed the introduction stage when Sasha refused categorically to chew them.
He liked the Twisty Fish omega oil capsules from haliborange, they were fun, fish-shaped and tasted of orange. Sadly, the Haliborange decided to discontinue this product, and for some reason known only to my son, he refused to take the similar product that came in a bottle (tasted pretty much the same, but looked different).
Eventually we found a product that Sasha agreed to eat every morning. It was Haliborange Kids Multivitamin Fruit Softies. The vitamins are strawberry-shaped and remind of the Pick'n'Mix gummy strawberries.

Recently we were offered to test vitamins for kids - Nature's Plus Animal Parade. These are chewable multi-vitamins and mineral supplements with D3 and whole food concentrates.
Each chewable tablet supplies 16 vitamins and 8 minerals. There are 90 animals in total in a bottle, they are vegetarian, gluten free and hypo-allergenic.

I opened the bottle under Sasha's supervision. We spread several little vitamins on the table and picked one of the animals. Sasha took it carefully, fingered it, sniffed at it (he does it with all new foods), licked it, put it back on the table. I waited a bit. He picked it up again and decided that he liked the taste after all. I also tried a couple for the research purposes. The vitamins are crunchy and have a concentrated orange taste. They remind me of the hard candy hearts in texture.

Every morning we pick a different animal to eat. I know that the serving size is two animal-shaped tablets, but as Sasha is used to have just one vitamin in the morning, we continue with this tradition.
The list of ingredients makes an interesting reading: among the organic nutrient sources blends you will find rose hips, wood ear mushroom, oyster mushroom, shiitake, amla berry, guava, holy basil, broccoli, spinach, mango, carrot etc I love the idea that there are so many super foods packed in the mini animals.

My only suggestion to Nature's Plus: we would prefer one vitamin per day. Is it possible to pack a double doze in one animal-shaped vitamin?

These multi-vitamins are available from The Nutri Centre.

Herring under the fur coat (a cold Russian salad)

I have mentioned already a troika of classic Russian salads when I wrote about a salad called Vinegret.

Dressed herring or a herring under a fur coat (lit.) is a very popular Russian layered salad made of the salted herring and cooked vegetables.

I haven't made it for ages, as it is not easy to find good quality salted herring. What you get in the delis across the country here is a marinated herring, a slimey and mushy concoction, very vinegary and odd, it always makes me think of the chemical weapons of mass destruction.

Finally I decided to prepare my own salted herring. I bought a couple of fresh herrings from the fish counter and salted them overnight.

You will need

2 medium potatoes

2 medium salted herrings

1 small onion

1 medium apple

2 medium carrots 

1 egg

2 medium beets

mayonnaise

Cook the beets, potatoes and carrots (separately, you don't want all your veg to go purple), peel the skin and grate each vegatable. Use a bigger grating slot for the potatoes, otherwise it will look like glue. Start layering.

First you do a potato layer.

Second layer: boned and chopped herring.

Third: finely chopped onion

Fourth: a grated apple

Fifth: grated carrots

Sixth: grated beets

Add a generous helping of mayo on the top and spread it all over the beet layer. Decorate with the finely chopped egg (first egg white, then the yolk).

A classic salad is also decorated with a beet rose (I agree my attempt at making beet roses wasn't the most inspiring, lol).

There are several options available: you may skip the apple layer, but I prefer to have an apple, as it adds extra texture and sweetness.

Some cooks put the mayo only over the beetroot. I like to do several mayo layers: first over the potatoes, before adding the chopped herring. And later over the apple and carrots as well (just a bit, not overflowing with mayo).

I understand it is an acquired taste. Despite the fact that he lived in Russia for a while (when doing research for his first book on the organised crime in Russia), my husband never apprecaited any fish dishes that include salted, tinned or pickled fish. When he arrived home yesterday to find the salad in the kitchen, I could see he was looking at it rather nervously, so I laughed and said: Don't feel obliged to eat it, I cooked it as a trip down the memory lane. And I definitely enjoyed it.

The salad will keep well in the fridge for a couple of days, but not longer.

Abel & Cole (box IV)

Another exciting box from Abel & Cole arrived yesterday. Eddie and I opened it with trepidation, what are the mysterious contents (well, I knew in advance what to expect, but Eddie was very curious to find out)?!
Ella's Kitchen recently launched a veggie song download on their site. Their aim is to make children more interested in vegetables and fruit. While I applaud their efforts, I do think that the main teaching tool is actually cooking with children and handling all the veg and fruit, let them be tactile and explore the textures, tastes and flavours.

Eddie and I have been growing tomatoes in the greenhouse all the summer, and used to go on a daily basis to pick up a tomato or two and would eat it right there, in the greenhouse, with the sweet juice dribbling on our chins. Bliss! We also picked lovely little Alpine strawberries and big crispy apples.
Now with the winter quickly approaching, we will definitely miss our daily trips to the garden.

If you are curious to find out what the odd dish above is, have a look at my Russian salad recipe here.

Shiitake mushrooms and a red pepper made their entry in the chicken and noodles stir fry.

I'll be adding photos and recipes during the week.

Zuppa di farro (a Tuscan soup with spelt grain)

There are many versions of this lovely soup, which is perfect for a cold miserable grey day like this. We tried it first when we visited Tuscany years ago.

You will need
about 150g of whole spelt grain/farro
100 g of pancetta, chopped or cubed
2 shallots
1 garlic clove
herbs: fresh basil, parsley and thyme
2 cans of plum tomatoes
1 big tomato, skinned and chopped
olive oil
chicken or vegetable stock, about a litre
1 porcini stock cube (I Dadi/Star)
pecorino cheese, grated, to serve

Typically you would need to soak farro really well and repeatedely. I use an Italian farro from Pedon which does not need soaking. It is available from the independent health food shops (sadly, Holland & Barrett did not oblige, they only have the spelt flour).
Fry the cubed/chopped pancetta in a frying pan with a tablespoon of the olive oil, once the fatty bits go transparent and start melting, add the chopped onion and garlic. The smell is just fantabulous, totally mouthwatering. Add the chopped thyme if using (you can use dry thyme as well).

Once the onion becomes transparent and softened, add two cans of tomatoes and the skinned and chopped tomato (I like the combination of the two, as it gives slightly different textures), add salt and black pepper and chopped basil.
Add the chicken stock to the mixture. Add the porcini stock cube as well. At this point transfer all the contents of the frying pan to the big pan or pot.
Cook for about an hour, stirring occasionally and adding liquid if your soup gets too thick, as farro absorbs the liquid with all the flavours.
Serve with the grated pecorino cheese on top and a nice chunk of bread, or Italian style bread rolls.

I had this soup for lunch today, and I think it is even better the next day, as the farro acquires the silky texture. A nice combination of robust tomatoey flavours and strong cheese works well with the soft farro. There was enough for 5 generous helpings (yesterday's dinner, my own lunch today and two portions that went in the freezer).

Silent Sunday

Whoever coined the phrase Silent Sunday for bloggers, was obviously obliviously unaware of our household. There is nothing silent about our Sundays, if anything, they are triple noisy.
Even when Eddie is asleep, Sasha is gloriousy vocal and loud. For a person who is very sensitive to any noise produced by the others, he has a great capacity of being extra-loud.
Anyway, a moment of quiet is always a treasured memory.

Easy-peasy apple sponge cake

There are many version of Sharlotka, a Russian apple cake, I give you one I think is the easiest and never failing to work. The word Sharlotka is a bastardised version of Charlotte, but it has nothing to do with the Charlotte Russe. Maybe the original cake was made by a French cook called Charlotte (I am just fantasising aloud).

You will need
2 medium apples, preferably not too sweet
2 medium eggs
One cup of granulated sugar (170g)
One cup of plain flour (170g)
1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
A squeeze of lemon, just enough to make all soda go in airy bubbles
1 heaped tbsp of sour cream
1 tbsp of softened butter, unsalted, plus more for greasing the spring form
Cinnamon
Vanilla essence (optional)

I should probably specify that by cup I don't mean an American measurement, as a kid, I used a mug to measure sugar and flour for this cake. If you prefer the exact amount, it is 170g.

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/355F/Gas 4.
2. Place the sugar and eggs into a bowl and whisk together. Add the bicarbonate of soda (squeeze the lemon juice on top of it while still in the spoon, once it all goes bubbly, then it is ready to be added to the eggs). Add flour, cinnamon, butter, sour cream and vanilla essence, and beat it all together with the blender.
3. Chop apples into small sized pieces. Add to the cake mix and stir well with the spoon.
4. Grease the spring form and pour the cake mix with apples into it.
5.  Bake for about 30 minutes until all golden. To check if the sponge is ready, insert a skewer into the top of the sponge, if it comes out sticky, return to the oven to cook for another five minutes.
6. Decorate with the icing sugar if you like.

Simply Food is celebrating apples this month, and I submit this recipe to their Desserts with Apples event. event runs from November 1st – 30th November.
Raven from CookEatDelicious.com is the founder of this event.

Sixteen

Eddie is sixteen months old today. Sixteen months going on 16 years, according to him, as he starts to show his stubborn personality. A very determined young man. An unstoppable climber with a cheeky smile.

Beetroot and prune salad

Modest beets are the unsung heroes of the veggie world. Often overlooked and abused by the overuse of the vinegar, they tend to be despised and avoided, both by the kids and the adults. Beets are a unique source of phytonutrients called betalains. Betanin and vulgaxanthin have been shown to provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxification support.
This is a very simple recipe that enhances the taste of the beet without overpowering it.

1 beetroot (230g), cooked and grated
5 prunes, chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
2-3 walnuts, chopped
2 tbsp of sour cream
salt (optional)

serves 2
It is a very easy salad for a quick lunch. I usually cook a beetroot in advance. Peel the skin and grate the beetroot, add chopped prunes and garlic (chop it or use the garlic press), walnuts and sour cream. The best option is to have 1 tbsp of sour cream and 1 tbsp of mayo, but I don't usually have a mayo in the fridge. I find it that if I buy a jar of mayo, I hardly ever use it all, it would be sitting in the fridge forever, sulking and unloved.

Mix all the ingredients together, decorate with more walnuts if you want, or chopped flat parsley. If you want, add a bit of salt, or skip it altogether.
A very healthy salad. Nice served with the baby potatoes.

Baby Sing Christmas CD

 Eddie loves opening boxes and envelopes, and when we opened a padded envelope last

Saturday and found this CD, he looked at the smiley chubby face on the cover, then at me and grinned.

At almost 16 months, Eddie loves looking at the photos and videos of babies his age.

And who could resist smiling after seeing those squeezable cheeks?

A fab photo for an album for babies.

Amazingly enough, the music is not exactly what one would expect. The songs have a jazzy feeling about them. I can easily imagine this music as a background for our Christmas lunch.

We listened to the music together, we danced a bit to the sound of the catchy tunes.

This will be Eddie's second Christmas, and we are going to have fun together.

Album: BABY SING CHRISTMAS

Release Date: Out Now

Baby Sing Christmas is a fantastic new Christmas album, perfect to create that special atmosphere for baby’s first Christmas. Born from a love of real music with the aim to create an album that is not overproduced with synthetic sounds but with real vocals and instruments enabling baby and the whole family to enjoy at this traditional time of year.

It is charmingly arranged for guitar and voice evoking that warm, intimate, cosy, yet magical feel that embodies Christmas.  The performances are exquisite, making this is an album of the caliber that every baby deserves – and there are even a few extra bonus tracks with additional vocals at the end.

Get in the Christmas spirit and sing along to classics such as ‘Let It Snow’ to ‘Away in a Manger’ as well as much loved favourites like Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer’

About Music For Baby

Music For Baby is a small independent record label, run by a husband and wife team. MFB specialise in music designed to support development and different activities from pre-natal through to toddler and beyond.  Their philosophy is to create an ideal musical environment in which all aspects of life will be enhanced.  MFB believe that the influence music has on our lives begins when you are in the womb, and that it spans across every aspect of life having a positive impact on concentration, sleep, movement, memory, learning and emotional development.  They also believe that music is a whole lot of fun!

TRACK LISTING

Let it Snow – It’s the Most Wonderful Time Of The Year – Away In A Manger – Winter Wonderland – Santa Claus Is Coming To Town – All I Want For Christmas Is You – Silent Night – Here Comes Santa Claus – O Christmas Tree – Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer – Jingle Bells – Frosty The Snowman – We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Bonus Tracks (remixes with additional vocals)

Here Comes Santa Claus – All I Want For Christmas Is You – Silent Night – Jingle Bells – We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Available to buy from: www.musicforbaby.co.uk

For further information please contact Louise@rockandrollbabyworld.co.uk


Here is Eddie smiling happily, listening to the new CD.