Apple Donut Goodness

Right so this week has been a wee bit hectic with me being back at work x2. I say x2 because I'm actually doing two jobs. Couple of hours working for the youth department at our Church and taking on 6 Musical Theatre groups. This was our first week of doing both and SB was AMAZING as she  comes to both work places with me. Check out the smile I got while she sat next to me on the couch when I worked from home on Wednesday. How delicious is she? 

Anyway she was in bed by 8:30pm tonight and I went to put the kettle on to make my new favourite "nightcap" Red Seal's Apple and Elderflower tea and watch My Kitchen Rules on youtube. The thing is the kettle didn't work so I asked J to come and have a look at it and he fixed it, but turning it on at the wall, but by that time I was firmly implanted onto the couch and had absolutely no energy to get up and make myself tea. Anyway on MKR the dessert they made were Italian donuts. I got up to get a glass of water and there they were staring me in the face. Deliciously tart green apples and this amazing Merlot J got from work which I have been rationing over the past month. Now J has this thing whenever deep frying is mentioned he get's all excited like a kid on Christmas morning and goes ooh oooh ooh we can make apple donuts! And for some reason watching donuts being fried on MKR gave me the inspiration to make these bad boys. 

Super easy to make, deliciously indulgent. We both especially love the tart taste that comes through from the green apples that makes this dessert not to sweet...but don't do a me and smoke out the house at 10pm. The best thing is that these are ingredients that most of us have on hand all the time.

The Paul's Apple Donut Goodness

3 Green apples cored and sliced very thinly so they are donut shaped with a hole in the middle (I didn't have a corer thingy so I just halved and sliced them) 

Batter

1/2 cup of flour

2 T Brown Sugar

3 t cinnamon

Water

Coating

Cinnamon

Icing Sugar

1. Heat oil in a pan, just a shallow amount. Approximately an inch. *Putting the lid on, gets the oil hotter, faster

2. Sift flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. I like the batter on this nice and thin, almost like a tempura, so I add water in until I get the desired consistency I like, which is almost as thin as milk. But if you like your batter thicker go for a custard like consistency

3. To test the heat of the oil, drop in a bit of batter and see how long it takes to go brown. Adjust your temp from there. I ended up needing to lower the temp on my oil as my first apple went black in 20 seconds

4. Once you get your oil to a desired temp, coat your apples and stick them in the oil, they should take 30-50 seconds

5. Put them on a kitchen towel to drain excess oil

6. If I were making these for guests I would dust them individually with my cinnamon, icing sugar mix but as it was 10pm, my house was smoky and the Blacklist was loaded ready to go, I simply put a few tablespoons of icing sugar in a bowl with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon and then tossed the apple donuts through. 

Yes J did complain about the smoke but once he had implanted himself next to me on our couch with a bowl of apple donuts on one knee and a bowl of ice cream on the other, there were no complaints in this house hold!

Enjoy xx 

My top 5 Best-Est Most-Est Practical Baby Shower Presents

I had an AMAZING baby shower like seriously it was AMAZING (Will post photos and highlights on the blog when I'm in a nostalgic mood) My friends and family "showered" me with the most incredible presents. I was so, so, so blessed! 

After having Shyra-Beth it really got me thinking,  just how stupid some of my purchases were for baby showers I had attended prior to having SB. I remember getting a friend baby socks that had bells on the feet... what was I thinking! But in reality for most people, how would you know what a mum-to-be really needed unless your job was directly related to babies! 

The best thing from my Baby Shower was that I got such an awesome range of practical things like a nappy cake, blankets, face cloths and socks to not so practical but ridiculously beautiful baby wear that J would have a fit about if I ever purchased. So from a mum to all the clueless gals (and guys) my Top 5 Best-est practical Baby Shower presents! (Not so practical presents will be featured later) 

1. Bulb Syringe aka Snot Sucker

One of the first baby showers I ever attended I experienced culture shock, I had entered into the world of babies! There were babies nursing, nappy brands were discussed and prices compared and I was trying to get my head around the concept of a nappy cake- in my opinion if it can't be eaten it shouldn't be called a cake..but anyway. I thought I had heard it all until the snot sucker was mentioned! And immediately there was chorus of agreement from the mums. So when I went to farmers and saw this nifty little contraption I had to buy it. It was bought and it sat in a basket on my change table for about 3 1/2 months until poor SB got a snotty nose and I remembered my snot sucker. I'm not going to lie, I did have to youtube how to use it but yikes once I got going I was addicted! It actually sucks out snot and boogers! It's amazing!!! I'm sure J and I did it one too many times for the sake of our amusement.. poor SB, but she did sleep better that night!

But for under $10 from Farmers any mum-to-be would be stoked with this especially after hearing horror stories of having to suck the snot out of your poor baby's nose WITH YOUR MOUTH in the middle of the night so that they could sleep better.

2. Merino Onesies

I had decided that since I was having a spring baby it was unnecessary for me to get merino, cotton would be more than enough. But the week SB was due there were horrible gale force winds and rain so I decided to go and get 2 merino onesies for her. It just so happened that I met up with a friend just before shopping whose kids had outgrown them and she gave me 5 merino/wool onesies which ended up being just what we needed. In the first 24 hours babies have a hard time regulating their temperature after being so warm and snug for 9 months. SB esp had this problem and we ended up doing tonnes of skin to skin in the first 24 hours. But next to skin to skin merino is the next best thing. But what makes merino onesies so amazing is that they keep baby warm but because its nice and breathable baby doesn't overheat. Useful in summer and winter! So instead of buying 3 cotton onesies with sayings like 100% cutie, mummy's sweetheart or handsome like daddy on it (FYI these are all onesies I have personally purchased for people) For under $25 (from farmers or baby factory) your mum-to-be would be a lot more grateful for 1 merino or wool onesie.

Or if you're wanting to treat mum to be, dimples has an amazing merino range! one of my friends got SB a gorgeous merino sleep sack from dimples... ahhh dimples


3. Muslins

SB is a wonderful baby as far as babies go, but the worse thing about her is that she is spilly! She has been a bit better since starting solids but ever since she was tiny she has just been a spilly baby. Pukies pukies everywhere.. I went from my signature scent being Bright Crystal to Milky Pukies.

Muslins or old school flat cotton cloth nappies have been my saving grace! I have like 40, I can't can't have enough of them. Seriously we have at two of these in every room. We never leave the house without one. We made a conscious decision to not give her a pacifier, so she sleeps snuggled with a muslin because it smells like milk! Very cheap but very practical! I like the white ones because I can just bleach them.

4. Ecostore Baby Products 

SB was born with the most amazing skin. Like actually just beautiful, perfect and soft. The thought of putting anything chemically on that beautiful skin was just horrifying! Ecostore's products are natural and amazing and so gentle on baby's skin. The best part is that they are so affordable as well! SB always smells divine after I smother her in their coconut oil based moisturizer. Buying a range of these for a new mum is just so practical and you can even arrange it in a nice basket with wood wool if you are feeling a bit fancy. 


5. Baby Sling

This is on the expensive end of presents as presents go but boy it is sooo worth it! I bought mine for myself even though I totally shunned the thought of being a baby wearing hippy momma. But my Naturesway sling was just amazing when SB was tiny. It beat having to lug around the massive buggy everywhere and kept her from being pass the baby as no one reaches for/ kisses a baby in a sling. Also because she was so warm and snug in there near to me she would just sleep. Its a bit harder getting her in it now as she is so long, but once she is able sit with her legs around me i'll definitely be using it again. I especially love that it is NZ made, comfortable (padded shoulder strap), so easy to use (there's a clip, no complicated buckles) and its made out of natural fibres so its breathable and she doesn't get all sweaty snuggled in there. 

Good Habits- Bed Making Madness

I read in a blog post ages ago titled 10 simple things to make you happier at home. The top tip was to make your bed every morning. While I was working full time I hate to admit it but the bed almost never got made in the morning. Mainly because I'm not a morning person and because I never made a habit of it while growing up (much to mum's dismay) However thought of hoping into an unmade bed atnight was just gross so I always used to make the bed in the evening just before getting into bed, which J used to roll his eyes at as it completely defeated the purpose!

Now that I am at pretty much at home all day and have to walk in and out of my room I've made it a goal to have my bed made every morning, because I cannot bear to walk into my bedroom and see a messy bed. This chore sounds pretty basic BUT housework with a baby is never basic and I have learnt that housework is made simple by simple routines. SO for my enjoyment and her entertainment, we've made making the bed the game we play everyday. And it is awesome because even if she's crying as soon as I pull up the blinds and pop her on my bed, she knows what's coming and starts smiling and giggling. This time with SB has forced me to get into the routine of making my bed every morning and is teaching SB from young that this can be really fun. So yes it does take us about 15 minutes at the moment, but it is so much fun! Plus the more mobility she gains and the stronger she gets the more fun it becomes. 

Things that make her giggle

1. Playing "parachute" while fluffing out the sheets

2. Making a little teepee with the sheets and lying under them with her and looking at the light peer through them

3. Tucking the sheets in really tightly and watching her kick so hard she untucks them

4. When I prop her up against the pillows she has now learnt how to roll forward and onto her tummy so we play peek a boo (photos 2 &3)

I know motherhood is not easy but its all about these special moments and incorporating the things you have to do (making the bed) with the things you love doing (playing with your baby and seeing them smile) 

Here's a few photos from the fun we had this morning

Taco Salad with Deconstructed Guacamole

Right so me and J are huge foodies. We LOVE food! When we were going out I hated looking at my bank statements as they just listed one eatery after another. Now that we have SB and don't quite have the flexibility (or the income) to pop down to the Merchant in Albany for a cheeky cocktail and their amazing sticky hickory pork ribs- yes I know I just mentioned cocktails and ribs in the same sentence, I have been forced to make these amazing meals at home *shock horror face* 

One of my ultimate favourite comfort foods are taco salads from Mexicali Fresh filled with Pork Carnitas. Now I've justified these as being healthy as they have "salad" in the description. But as much salad and vege they put in there, the taco iss till deep fried and the salad usually smothered in sour cream- not that I'm complaining. They are amazing! 

Here is the recipe to my healthy (and cost effective) option, the star of the dish being the deconstructed guacamole

Ingredients

Taco:

4 Tortillas

Olive Oil Cooking spray

Filling:

1/2 Chicken Breast cut into strips and fried with ground pepper, chili flakes and a bit of Moroccan seasoning (I used the other half of the breast for home made pizzas) 

Watties Chili Beans

Mesclun or Baby Spinach (half the bag) 

Deconstructed Guacamole:

1 Avo

4 Sun-dried Tomatos sliced thinly 

1/2 Red Capsicum

1T Olive Oil 

2 Cloves of Garlic chopped

Dried chili flakes

Crispy (but healthy) Taco Shell

I got these awesome taco molds from my friend who does Avon but I'm pretty sure I've seen them at Stevens. They are pretty handy to have around I've made individual quiche's and all sorts of other goodies with them

I just popped the tortilla in there and gave it a tiny spray of olive oil just so they would crisp up beautifully, as if they were deep fried. Bake in the oven at 160 degrees for about 7-10 minutes but keep a close eye on them. 

Filling

Filling is pretty straight forward. This time I used chicken because that's just what I had handy but I have also used braised pork mixed in with 4 bean salad, sweet corn and parsley. Skies the limit with your protein options for this dish. 

I also squeezed a wee bit of lime juice into the Chili beans as J LOVES his limes! 

Deconstructed Guacamole

1. Saute garlic and chili flakes on medium heat in the olive oil until soft and fragrant

2. Add capsicum and avo until slightly softened

3. Add the sundried tomato and then COVER THE Pan- this is the most important bit

4. Lower the heat and let all those flavours blend for a good 4-5 mins

5. Once the sun-dried tomatoes darken in colour remove from the heat. You know it's done when there is a beautiful strong smell 

There you have it. Assemble just before eating and top of with a little bit of thick greek unsweetened yoghurt as a sour cream replacement and to cut through the heat of the chili!

J took the leftover taco for work the next day and said he had a lot of jealous workmates- wifey points scored! xx