Today was a day of good food! This morning, I made some Afghan biscuits (my favourite biscuit to make at a minute's notice, since all the ingredients are normally in the cupboard, and they store really well).
The recipe I use is from the brilliant New Zealand cookery book, Ladies, A Plate, which I have mentioned here before - it is a compilation of dozens of classic recipes from women around New Zealand.
Here is how you make them - I seriously suggest you try baking a batch, they really are ridiculously good, and dead easy to make:
AFGHANS
Cream 170g butter with 100g brown sugar. Add (sifted together) 180g plain flour, 3 tablespoons cocoa and 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder. Mix, then knead in (with your hands) 2 cups of cornflakes (crush them first).
Roll teaspoonsful of the dough into balls (about the size of a large cherry), then flatten each ball slightly with a fork. Allow about 2cm in between the balls, for a little spreading.
Bake at 180 degrees for 12 - 14 minutes. Cool on a rack.
To make the rich, fudge-like frosting, gently heat together in a small saucepan 3 tablespoons of water, 45g caster sugar and 45g butter. Once melted, bring to a rapid simmer for one minute (do not stir), to form a light syrup.
Pour about 3/4 of the syrup into a bowl containing 190g pure icing sugar sifted together with 3 tablespoons of cocoa, and beat well as you're pouring. Add a little more syrup only if needed - you want a thick, smooth, fudgy icing. As you use the icing, you can add a little more syrup or plain hot water if it starts to thicken and cool.
Spread a good, thick layer of icing onto each biscuit (about a teaspoon per biscuit), then place a walnut half onto each one as you go.
Leave them to set - they will keep well in a tin for a few days.
At dinnertime, Tabitha tried an Afghan. She liked it, but after eating about a third of a biscuit, she dropped it and went back to her chicken and vegetable pot pie! I don't really have a big sweet tooth, perhaps she is taking after me.
This evening, The Daddy brought home a jar of honey he was given at work - from an apiarist in Blackburn! A man has a little colony of bees in the middle of the nice bushland area of Blackburn, and produces his own honey. We have a great big jar of it - and it is excellent. Tabitha can't try the honey, as honey should never be given to babies under the age of one, as there is a small but serious risk of deadly botulism poisoning.
Apparently, keeping bees in your backyard (urban apiary) is the latest trend - keeping chickens is so last decade! This is an interesting article about all the beehives in Paris.
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2 comments:
Hi there. I'm a new mum to a 1 week old boy and I've been following your blog with interest prior to the birth. As a new mother I was wondering if there was anything you'd do differently next time 'round?
So far my baby is quite easy to settle and in good health but I'm always wondering if I could be doing something to make my life a bit easier or make things more comfortable for the baby. I'm also aware that things might change dramatically as the baby grows so I'm interested to hear your opinion - if you feel like blogging on that topic of course :)
Hi Cat, welcome!
That is really an excellent question - one I ask myself often, as we plan on having more children.
I must say, there is not much we would change about the way we've done things so far - I will write a short post on it soon, but in short, I would say we've followed the Pinky McKay approach - taking the lead from the baby, feeding on demand, cuddling her whenever she wants it, lots of attention and kisses.
I'd say the biggest learning for me was this: for the first 5 or so months, the best thing to do was just follow Tabitha and be loose and flexible - she fed around the clock, slept at different times each day. At around 5 or so months, though, she naturally began slipping into a routine, and I didn't NOTICE! It took quite a few weeks before I noticed she was consistently getting tired for a nap at 8:30am, 12pm and 3:30pm. Once I worked that out, and started working (roughly) to that timetable, she seemed much less tired and happier to play with more energy when awake.
I suppose, though, the biggest thing I've learnt is that all babies are SO different - what works for one baby certainly might not for another. My next baby might be quite different!
I think that, as long as you make every choice out of love, respect and care (Pinky McKay always says to ask yourself, "Is it safe? Is it respectful? Does it feel right?")
If you keep asking yourself those three questions, you will tap into your mummy-instincts.
I hope you are having a ball getting to know your amazing tiny baby! The first 6 weeks or so are hard slog - let everyone else do things for you, ask for help, spend as much time skin-on-skin with the baby. The time just flies and once Tabitha was 6 months or so, I found myself tearing up when I saw newborns, missing my tiny baby!
xx TM
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