Rhubarb Sour Cream Cake

Tabitha likes pink.  Also cake.  Pink cakes are top of the list.  Moist, dense rhubarb cake, with a crunchy, sweet topping, dotted throughout with bright pink 'jewels' of rhubarb, is a favourite here.

It's a lovely cake, very nice warm, and also really excellent on the second or third day.  I found it here.  Now, I've never met a cake I didn't like, but this is certainly one of my favourites:

Rhubarb Sour Cream Cake

60g softened butter

300g brown sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Grated zest of one lemon

2 eggs

150g plain flour

150g self raising flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

350g sour cream

One bunch of trimmed rhubarb (around 350g), cut into 1cm slices

50g brown sugar, extra

1 teaspoon cinnamon, extra

Prepare a 24cm springform tin by lightly greasing, then lining the base and sides with baking paper, extending a few cm higher than the sides of the tin.

Beat together the butter, brown sugar, vanilla and lemon zest until very well combined.

Beat in the eggs, then stir through the dry ingredients with the sour cream.

Fold through the rhubarb.

Carefully spread the mixture into the prepared cake tin, smoothing the top.

Sprinkle the combined extra brown sugar and cinnamon generously over the top of the cake - it will be a thick coating.

Bake at 160 degrees for around 1 1/4 hours, or until a cake tester comes out clean from the middle.

Allow to cool a little in the tin, then serve either warm (with custard!) or at room temperature with cream.

It's a good cake to bake with a little helper, as it does not require a delicate touch, and stirring in the rhubarb pieces can be done with a good deal of firm stirring.

Sponge Cake

Sponge cake - I often think of it as a lighter, fluffier version of a scone, in the sense that its primary purpose, in my view, is a Best Supporting Food role, as a vessel for excellent jam and thick Chantilly cream.

I also like a passionfruit sponge, absolutely bursting with cream, and generously topped with sweet and tart passionfruit icing, which sets ever so slightly, cracking a little when you bite into your featherlight slice.

But for an accompaniment for a cup of tea, when the biscuit tin is empty, a sponge cake is really no effort at all, as long as you take the easy option and use electronic beaters!

I use a few recipes for sponge, depending on what mood I'm in, and what ingredients are in the cupboard.  Sometimes I add a drizzle of melted butter, with or without a little hot water, for a slightly more flavourful sponge, which will also keep a little better (possibly into the next day, but not much beyond).  Sometimes all of the flour is substituted with wheaten cornflour, or a custard powder is added.

For this cake, I kept fairly simple, but I flit between a few recipes - Australian Women's Weekly, Maggie Beer, Stephanie Alexander, CWA, even my old Home Economics textbook (Cookery the Australian Way) all feature excellent sponge recipes.  

Grease and line two round 20cm cake tins - I like heavy aluminium, I am not fond of non-stick for sponges, as the tins are too dark and lead to over browning.  Line the sides if you can be bothered, coming 4cm above the rim, to protect the tops from over browning (I didn't bother this time).

Whisk together 4 room temperature eggs with 2/3 cup caster sugar on medium high speed for about 7 minutes, or until very thick and will hold a ribbon when the beaters are lifted out.

Meanwhile, sift together 1/3 cup each of plain flour, self raising flour and cornflour.  Sift them three times.

Transfer the beaten eggs and sugar into a nice large bowl, and sift the flours over the top of the mixture.  Using an incredibly light hand, gently but thoroughly fold in the flour - you do not want to loose any of your air, but you need to make sure the flour is incorporated properly.  Cooking folk lore would have you do things such as folding the mixture in next to an open window with a light breeze, or whilst walking around the garden.  Some recommend avoiding talking while you fold.  Personally, I recommend just doing it and not worrying too much!

Using a scale if possible, evenly divide the mixture between the two prepared cake tins, then spin them on the flat bench, to use centrifugal force to even the tops of the mixture.

Bake at 180 degrees for around 20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean and they are just starting to pull away from the sides of the tins.  Do not open the oven door for at least 18 minutes, or you risk the sponges sinking into a disappointing pancake.

Remove from the oven, cool for just a minute, then run a sharp knife around the edges (if you haven't lined the sides).  Pop them out onto a wire cooling rack covered with a tea towel (to prevent the rack making marks on the cakes) then turn them over again onto their bottoms to cool.

They won't take long to cool.  Meanwhile, whip your cream, add a little caster sugar.  Place one sponge cake on a serving stand or plate, and spread generously with good jam (raspberry, traditionally), then a thick layer of cream.  Top with the other sponge cake, and sieve some icing sugar over the top.

A few additional notes...

A layer of berries (matching the jam, and either intact or lightly crushed) in between the jam and cream is always a good addition.

Some people turn the bottom cake upside down, so that the 'bottoms' of each cake are adjacent to the jam and cream.

For a passionfruit sponge, fill the cakes with cream, then top with an icing made from passionfruit puree (fresh or tinned) mixed with icing sugar, and a little orange juice or water if you need more liquid.

To slice, use a sharp serrated knife (such as a good bread knife) and wipe clean with a hot damp cloth in between cutting each slice.

Sponges don't keep very well, so please eat it all.  Pop a slice or two on a plate, and drop off to a neighbour if you really can't finish it yourself.

A competition sponge is supposed to be 4cm tall.  Of course, it doesn't matter one bit when you're just making a cake for home, but it's useful to have a rough idea of how much your cakes should rise.  Much less than 4cm tall, and you might want to think about why - did you over mix?  Was the oven hot enough?  The cakes pictured here are exactly 4cm tall.

A thick layer of excellent raspberry jam:

See how the bottom layer appears flatter than the top?  This is simply because I took this photo about half an hour after serving the cake, and a sponge cake is so light that the weight of the jam and cream compressed the bottom layer a little!

We're back! Have some fried chicken!

We've been back from the trip for a few weeks now.  I am just trying to work up the motivation to blog the holiday tales and photos!  In short: it was a spectacular trip, we all had a ball.  Photos will come soon, as will some more tips and advice based on our experience.

In the meantime, here is a quick recipe for Buttermilk Pan Fried Chicken, just because!

Marinate chicken parts (on bone, with skin - either a whole cut up chicken, or a bunch of thighs and drumsticks) overnight in buttermilk.  About 600ml with a good dash of Worcestershire sauce.

Prepare a spice mixture - I use roughly 2 tablespoons salt flakes, 2 tablespoons smoked paprika, a teaspoon of garlic powder, a heaped teaspoon of cayenne pepper, half a teaspoon of pepper, a teaspoon of dried parsley, and a tablespoon or so of mixed herbs (dried thyme, sage, rosemary).

Remove chicken pieces from the buttermilk and lightly shake them off.  Sprinkle liberally with the seasoning mixture - it's better to apply directly to the chicken, rather than mix into the flour, as some of the spices burn if they hit the hot oil right away.

Dredge chicken pieces thoroughly in self raising flour, shaking gently to remove the excess, then sit on a wire rack for ten minutes or so, to allow the crust to set.

Heat a large cast iron skillet (for preference, as it retains heat very well), or a large frying pan or enamel cast iron pan, and add enough shortening (such as Crisco) or oil (canola, peanut or coconut), or lard (from free range pork) to come about 2cm deep.  Organic, rendered lard would be my first choice, followed by Crisco (as it is highly refined, you don't really get an oil taste from it - advice from Alton Brown, and I would never argue with AB!), followed by the other oils.  Adding a good amount of saved bacon fat is a good idea, too, for flavour.

When frying, to minimise mess, use a mesh splatter shield, and if you can be bothered (it's certainly quicker than cleaning up oil from everywhere) shield your cooking surfaces with tin foil, and cling film on the splash back - see a photo below.

Bring the oil to 160 degrees celcius, then add the chicken pieces.  You'll probably need to do this in a couple of batches, but don't worry about keeping them warm - the cooked pieces will stay nicely hot for a good 15 minutes or so!  Besides, most fried chicken connoisseurs swear that it is best at room temperature, anyway (hence its popularity as a picnic food in America).

Don't raise the heat to compensate for the drop in temperature when you add the chicken - the pan should hold enough heat.  Cook on the first side for about 10 - 12 minutes, then turn and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until both sides are deeply golden and the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 74 degrees celcius (breast pieces, and pieces without bone, will cook faster, so remove them first).

Drain on a wire rack (or pull out your oven rack and use that on the bench if you don't have enough wire racks) - never on paper towels.  This allows the grease to drain away, and your chicken will stay crispy.

A word about fat - fried chicken is not fatty and unhealthy.  When foods are fried correctly (meaning that the internal temperature sits above boiling, so the liquid in the food forces its way out as steam, preventing oil from entering the food), fried foods absorb very little oil, particularly foods with a high moisture content (such as chicken, zucchini, fish etc).  Check out Good Eats: Fry Hard for really brilliant information about frying food in general.

Serve with buttery mashed potatoes, flakey buttermilk biscuits, peppery greens, cornbread, milk gravy or any combination.  Be sure to cook enough to stash some leftovers in the fridge!

Buttermilk marinade, seasoning mixture, flour and chicken:

Seasoned chicken pieces:

Dredged pieces, resting before frying:

My gorgeous 100+ year old Griswold #10 cast iron skillet, freshly seasoned:

Fried chicken and mash:

Crunch.

A Few Miscellaneous Tips

Here are a few thoughts that haven't fitted into any other posts.  Maybe something useful for you?

• Planning ahead is important.  Before you travel - particularly if you are staying in a private residence or holiday rental, without a front desk - research your local area.  Find out where the nearest playgrounds are, where the local supermarket is, the location of the closest 24-hour or late-night chemist, the details for an English-speaking doctor or ER details of the closest hospital (ideally with a paediatric department).
• Consider Brolly Sheets.  These are waterproof, highly absorbent pads which tuck in over the top of a made bed.  Even if your toddler is night toilet trained (as our girl has been, for many months), the combination of new places, new beds and upside down body clock / jetlag may lead to accidents.  Hotel beds are unlikely to have a mattress protector and / or spare linen, so tucking a Brolly Sheet over the sheets is a good idea.
• When using a porta cot (we love the Phil&Teds ultra light one), bring along a spare set of sheets and mattress protector.  It's a good idea to bring along the sheets straight off your child's cot at home, so they have a familiar smell.  Zach is mostly in bed with us, but I put him in the cot for naps and the start of the night, when I'm not in bed with him, or else he tries to crawl off the bed if he wakes!  So we are bringing a porta cot.
• You can download some fabulous white noise apps for your iPhone.  I have a free one called Relax Melodies, which allows me to create a blend of river and wind noises (or multiple other combinations), which helps drown out background noises in strange places (or when we have dinner guests at home, as our bedroom is off the main living area!)
• We use MCN (modern cloth nappies) at home.  I love them because they are incredibly comfortable for Zach, cute, and environmentally friendly.  The only downside to travelling with MCNs are a) the drying time, b) you need to have easy access to a washing machine.  If you use a fast-drying nappy like a Pikapu, you can easily get away with only bringing four or so along!  Use the four nappies during the day, then put a disposable on for night time, washing the day's nappies then hanging them out to dry overnight.  Just make sure you have some disposables as backup in case.  The Aldi disposable nappies are quite good, made in Germany, and are available all over the world.  The other advantage of using MCN on holidays, if in hot weather, is that you can just pair the nappy with a t-shirt, no need for pants!
• I am bringing along a jar of almond butter.  Spread onto a sandwich with some wholegrain bread, I have a simple meal for Zach, containing combined complete protein, good fats and carbohydrates, without sugar or salt.  Add a piece of fruit and you're set!
• Bringing along a room thermometer can be useful, particularly if you have a small baby and use baby sleeping bags such as Grobags.
• I like to travel with small Australian gifts for any children you meet along the way.  Stickers, paperback books, badges.  It's a nice way to interact with new friends at parks, planes or cafes.
• When considering room layout, if at all possible, arrange a seperate bedroom for any children used to sleeping on their own.  If your children are used to their own quiet bedroom, trying to get them to sleep on a rollout bed at the foot of your bed, in a single hotel room will likely be a nightmare ending in a lack of sleep for everyone.  I'm not a massive fan of 'adjoining' hotel rooms - that is, two independent hotel rooms with an interconnecting door - with small children, as they feel too far away for me to relax.  In addition, you may find that a baby monitor reception will not carry between adjoining hotel rooms.  My ideal layout is a two or more bedroom apartment or suite.  In KL, we have a serviced apartment with two bedrooms, in Netherlands we are staying in a little farm cottage with two bedrooms, and in both Aix-en-Provence and Paris, we are staying in private two-bedroom apartments.  Tabitha gets her own room, and Zachary is in with us, just like at home.  When we travelled to the US with Tabitha, 10/11 months old, we managed to get away with mostly booking large hotel suites, with separate living areas, and putting her porta cot in the living area while we retreated to the bedroom.  Since about 6 months of age, Tabitha has been a funny little thing, preferring to sleep without any company or distractions.  Zachary, on the other hand, sleeps best with his face firmly nestled into my chest!
• Consider all the options and factors when booking flights.  Going for the cheapest option may be a false economy if the flight is so traumatic that the family takes days to recover.  Consider nap and sleep times, meal times, early wakeups, stopovers vs direct flights, stopover options in terms of airport facilities and entertainment.  Compare airlines in terms of seat width and pitch, opportunity to select seat allocation, reputation of airlines when dealing with children and availability of airline lounges if applicable.
• I hesitate to even say this, for fear of sounding incredibly out of touch, but if it is at all possible (points, savings in other areas of the trip etc), consider business class travel.  Paradoxically, I never found it to be that important when travelling alone (a good book and a cosy blanket and I am happy anywhere), but with children, there are many factors which make it incredibly alluring.  Cleaner bathrooms with shorter queues (I've seen small children have accidents while waiting in line on flights), far higher staff-to-passenger ratios meaning better service (for extra water, hot drinks, an additional blanket etc), priority checkins and baggage claim (less time at the airport and less standing around), lounge access at airports (somewhere quiet to let the children nap, lots of snacks, even kid play areas at some lounges), and, most importantly to us, flat beds.  Tabitha doesn't sleep in her pram or car - she only sleeps in her bed.  I've been on a night flight with her once, 9pm - midnight (long story, we were delayed) and I've never seen her loose control like that - delirious, falling over, screaming, sobbing, nearly falling asleep then flailing around.  I will do anything to avoid her getting into that state again - it was heartbreaking.  Having a fairly quiet business class cabin, with a flat bed for her, will hopefully assist in getting her to sleep.  Also, for myself and Zachary, we can curl up together, feeding him while we lay down, and sleep happily together, just like we do at home.
• While on your trip, try to avoid eating all meals out - it's exhausting for everyone if children are expected to sit quietly at a restaurant three times a day.  Find a deli or nice supermarket, stock up on bread, cheeses, cold meats, fruits and salad, and go have a picnic somewhere (even in your rooms, if you are desperate).  Some of our nicest meals while travelling have been 'picnic style', where we could all relax and enjoy ourselves.  Also, try pubs and even ghastly chain family restaurants (Denny's, I'm talking to you!) once in a while - they will have lots of kids' activities or play equipment, and probably other children for yours to watch or chat to as well.  While I roll my eyes about Denny's, I should explain that we had a really lovely meal there en route from NYC to Lancaster County, PA, when Tabitha was 11 months old.  The food was average, the menu fun in its hilarity ('the food pyramid of bacon' was topped with a bacon sundae in the 'eat sometimes' category).  What really set it apart, however, was the most energetic and enthusiastic male waiter we had - he had two small children himself, and absolutely doted over Tabitha, even giving her his plastic bracelet (she had been pointing at it) 'don't worry, m'am, I've cleaned it up real good with soap and hot water for her first!'.  We were so touched by his service and care that we left him a $100 tip, and the meal still holds wonderful memories for us.  So try a restaurant that might not be rated in the guidebooks - you never know!
• Try to avoid overcrowding your days.  One scheduled activity is plenty.  We found a good rhythm on holidays in the past, which worked for our family:  Wake up, get out of the house for breakfast, fresh air and some physical activity (a local playground, a garden or just a walk around the neighbourhood).  Home for a good morning nap.  Out for the rest of the day, including lunch, an activity in the afternoon (second nap in the pram or carrier), early dinner, then home in time for bed.  Having a fairly predictable routine worked well for everyone, and made planning the trip straightforward.
• Mix in a few child-focussed activities where possible.  A children's museum or gallery, a petting zoo, a ride in a horse-and-cart, lunch at a fun place, a boat ride.  These sort of activities are infinitely more fun for small people than hours at an enormous gallery, or an afternoon spent shopping.  A mixture of all types of activities should keep everyone happy!
• Put away the camera.  Of course we love photos from our trips - we take plenty, and they are treasured.  But I try not to take the camera everywhere, and when I use it, to take just a few quick photos rather than trying to capture every moment.  Live the trip, don't document it.  Don't spend the trip on a smart phone.  For overseas travel, it's often easier to just use a basic call-and-text sort of phone with a local SIM.  Even The Daddy, who is constantly on his for work at home, and does need to bring it with him, leaves it switched off for most of the day, turning it on and spending a set amount of time each day attending to business matters.

What other travel tips for children do you have?  I will add to the list if I, or you, think of any more useful ones...

In Flight for The Mummy

What do I take carryon for myself?  Long gone are the days of leisurely long haul travel either solo, or with another adult.  Ahh, the luxury of many hours to watch films, read a good book, massage in some hand cream and take a nap.  Air travel with small children is a little different.  Here is what I take in the cabin for myself:

• Two complete spare changes of clothes.  If I get vomited on, or dribbled on, or hand-wiped on, I will want to change.  For clothes which are comfortable enough to sleep in, but still stylish enough to arrive at the hotel feeling human, I favour leggings with a stretchy dress, or jersey harem or loose pants (tricked up pjs, really) with a simple t-shirt and soft cardigan.  I add a colourful scarf (or large soft cashmere wrap which can double as an extra blanket), a few pairs of soft socks and underwear, and possibly a light jacket (depending on destination).
• Wet bags for any soiled clothing
• Beaded Chinese velvet slippers.  These have been a carryon staple for me since my first solo international trip (age 12!).  They are perfect for shuffling to the bathroom, to protect your socks from getting wet from the floor.
• Cashmere or hand knit socks.  This simple touch makes travel so much nicer, keeping your feet warm.  Slather on some thick lotion before going to sleep, under the socks.
• Small leather zip case for jewellery - obviously you don't want to check in expensive jewellery, but you probably also don't want to sleep in it, so I always tuck mine into a secure little leather pouch, then into an unobtrusive compartment of my carryon.
• My 'hydration kit'.  I have naturally dry skin, exacerbated and dehydrated by air travel (cabin humidity is incredibly low - did you know that flight attendants can claim moisturiser creams as a tax deduction?).  Furthermore, I always break out after a flight if my skin gets too dry.  So I take rich hand cream, creamy face cleanser, hydrating serum, a moisture mask (you want one that's 'hydrating' as opposed to 'moisturising', that is for 'dehydrated' rather than 'dry' skin,though the terms are not set in stone.  Basically, one that contains hyaluronic acid is a good start, and it will probably have a gel texture, and not be too greasy.  Slather it on after cleansing, then sleep with it on, wiping off any excess when you wake up.  Try these masks from Aveda, Clarins or Origins), moisturising cream (a good tinted moisturised such as Invisible Zinc is a great choice, containing a sunscreen, as UV rays can be incredibly powerful up in the sky, without cloud cover, and certainly come in through the windows), and an under eye hydrating gel cream.
• The standard toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, eye drops, ear plugs, lip balm (I am obsessed with this Malin+Goetz one, on recommendation from Miss Kitty Cat), water spray (a mini Avene one is nice).
• Basic makeup (tinted moisturiser, mascara, creme blush) to help me feel fresh on landing.
• Hairbrush and ties
• Breastpads (glamorous!), Panadol, antihistamines.
• Saline nasal spray - in the dry, low-humidity air of a plane cabin, dry sinuses are more susceptible to infection.  Keeping your nose moist will help prevent this, hopefully keeping away the post-fight cold.
• Some aromatherapy balm, such as Badger Balm, which I rub underneath my nose periodically to help block out the general Plane Smells.
• Ear bud headphones and an iPod with audio books.  Honestly, I will be unlikely to watch a film with the baby on my lap!  So I choose to bring an iPod full of audio books, which I can listen to while lying down with Zach while he sleeps (we have flat beds on this trip, hooray).
• Kindle - in case I get lucky and manage to snatch some reading time
• Tea bags.  An older friend of mine claims that you are Officially Old when you start carrying your own tea bags.  Well, I have certainly reached that point - I am fussy about tea, and in absence of leaf tea and a tea pot, I would at least like a cup of my preferred blend in a bag.
• Miso soup - I buy, from Japanese supermarkets, little soups that come in two foil packets - one containing white miso, the other containing bonito granules and freeze dried tofu, wakame and spring onions.  Add both to boiling water and you have a lovely snack!
• Water bottle - I mentioned in my travel with kids entry that I like to bring along a proper water bottle, and fill it once we've passed security (darn liquids laws).  This way, I can keep track and make sure I drink a good couple of litres in the air.
• Sunglasses, wallet with destination currency, phone, travel wallet with passports, tickets, photocopies of children's birth certificates etc.

Any flight tips you want to add?  Are you a sedative-and-sleep sort of solo traveller?  Or, like me, do you simply try and stop yourself getting dehydrated while you bounce a baby on your lap?

Babies and Toddlers on a Plane

Personally, I would rather have Snakes on a Plane - but then, as I have a pet snake, I would say that.

Long haul plane travel with small children is dreadful.  Let's not beat around the bush.  There is nothing good about the actual travel part.  It is means to an end - the end being travel, wonderful new experiences, visiting friends and family.  It's worth it, I think, but it's still dreadful!

The best case scenario is a baby or toddler who will happily sleep on the plane (in which case, a night flight is the way to go), or who is content to sit relatively still, with stickers, colouring, movies and the like as entertainment.  Many children are like this - I have heard from friends with incredibly easygoing toddlers who literally watched Peppa Pig for 8 hours straight, with the odd pause to snack.

My children aren't like this - Tabitha is a wriggly worm Class A.  She's never sat still through a movie at home - she likes to potter around, dancing and fetching dolls as she watches.  Zachary has been crawling from 4 months and has never stopped going since!  So clearly, I need to plan ahead.

I have always maintained that ages 12 months to 2.5 years are a International Travel No-Go Zone.  That is, if it can possibly be avoided, long haul travel for that 18 months is a bad idea.  Of course, this is a gross generalisation, and I'm sure there are kids out there who will travel just fine in that age range.  I just haven't met any!

With this in mind, we were keen to get a big overseas trip in before Zach turned one.  Zach is 7.5 months, Tabitha is 3.  Babies under 1 are relatively easy to distract, tend to sleep easily in new or strange places (wrapped up in a carrier or with a mouth full of breast).  Toddlers over 2.5 / 3 have far greater language and comprehension, and can (sometimes) be reasoned with.  They are also hopefully toilet trained, and capable of walking reasonable distances on their own.

I mentioned night flights - truly, this is the path of least resistance.  If you can spend the majority of the trip asleep (or at least, your child can), you have far fewer hours in which to provide entertainment.

Most babies will sleep fairly easily on a plane.  In the past, I (and other parents I've travelled with and alongside) have put the baby to sleep in carriers, wraps and slings, or on the breast or bottle, or by walking-and-patting.  The baby then either sleeps on the parent, or is carefully (and perhaps riskily!) transferred to a plane bassinet (if one is available, and if the baby fits in it, and if the baby will have a bar of it whatsoever - mine don't).

While the baby is awake, he or she can be entertained by scrunchy paper, new shiny toys, a rusk or snack, babbling to her parents or the passenger in the seat behind.  It can be tedious, but it is perfectly manageable.   If you have easy-going flight attendants (luck of the drawer) your baby can possibly crawl up the aisle with you every now and then, or sit and play on the floor at your feet if you have a bassinet seat (which has a little more foot room than regular seats).

If you happen to be flying business or first class, and therefore have a flat (or nearly flat) bed, you can hopefully just pop the baby on the breast or snuggle him to sleep, and both get a reasonable night of sleep.

Moving onto toddler sleep.  If you are travelling in the 12m - 2.5 year age gap I mentioned (The Mummy's Avoid-at-all-Costs-Flight-Zone), my thoughts are with you.  It might be tricky, as your munchkin is thrilled and stimulated by the new environment, break to normal bedtimes, new faces trying to chat and engage etc.  All you can do is your best.  Try to follow the bedtime routine - PJ on, night nappy or toilet, brush teeth, milk, a few bedtime stories and then perhaps some quiet guided meditation with either parent ("focus on your feet.  Think about how much they have walked today.  Feel the toes getting very sleepy.  Feel your feet getting tired and still" etc, for possibly an hour, until sleep appears - yours or theirs!)

Do prepare your child for the trip - talk them through what will happen on the plane.  Discuss what their meal might contain.  Practice laying still.  Let them bring a favourite stuffed toy.  Perhaps introduce some 'portable' elements to their bedtime routine in the weeks or months leading up to the trip (for example, a hand and foot massage with a lavender oil or balm).  Try some calming music or an audio book with headphones.

It may be possible to bring your car seat with you on the plane.  Many sources recommend this, as your child may be used to (and happy with) sitting for prolonged periods of time in their car seat, and it can be more supportive for sleeping than a regular seat for small children.  You will need to contact your airline, and it will depend on the type of car seat you have.  Also, bear in mind that once the seat is installed on the plane, you are stuck with it for the entire trip - you can't decide to stash it in the overhead lockers if it's not working out.

Certainly bring an extra squishy pillow, comfy clothes, a snuggly toy, warm socks, perhaps a favourite lightweight blanket, and likewise pack light clothes in case your child feels hot.

Speaking of clothes - pack plenty of spare, for the baby or child and for yourself.  Long-time readers of the blog may recall our flight to America when Tabitha was 10 months old.  She developed a stomach flu a few hours into the flight, and spent the rest of the flight to LA (and the 5 hour stopover in LA, and the 5 hour flight to Boston) with a 40 degree fever, vomiting non-stop.  From this I have learned two things:  firstly, pack lots of clothes, wipes, plastic bags.  Now add some more.  Certainly a full box of wipes.  You might not need them all, but if you do, you had better hope you have them!  Secondly, it takes a lot to deter The Daddy and myself from international travel.  Many (either made of weaker stuff than us, or else eminently more sensible, depending on how you view things) would have sworn off travel with children forever after that trip.

Apart from clothes, you will need an ample supply of nappies, wipes, smell-proof bags for nappies, a lightly padded change mat (those airplane change tables are rock hard), bibs, a small tub of nappy balm (pick one which can double as a lip balm or salve for dry skin, such as CJs

On the opposite end of stomach flu, we have eating and drinking.  Many children (and adults) become dehydrated on long flights.  Remember to drink plenty of water yourself, of course, but you might also need to remind and encourage your toddler or small child to drink as well.  I recommend bringing along their own familiar drink bottle - bring it empty (darn liquid and travel laws), then fill it up on board or once through security clearance, buying bottled water and decanting it into your child's water bottle.  Remind them often to drink.

Snacks and meals tend to be plentiful and regular on long haul flights.  If you have a child who eats properly, and happily eats the same food as you day-to-day, it might be tempting to turn your nose up at the children's meals offered on flights, and request a regular meal.  After all, you don't order from the nuggets-and-chips kiddie meals at restaurants.  I urge you to reconsider, and request the kiddie meal on the plane.  It comes out first (meaning that you can help them with their food if necessary, and they don't get hungry and ratty waiting), and it is includes a couple of fun treats that (if you are like us) aren't things they regularly eat, so the novelty adds to the entertainment.  If you are travelling with a baby, it might be worth ordering a 'special' meal for either yourself or your adult companion (such as a vegetarian meal, low fat etc).  This is because the special meals come out earlier, giving one of you a chance to eat your meal first, while the other adult holds the baby, then vice versa.

How about baby meals?  Infants under the age of two, who have not purchased a seat, can order a baby meal.  This differs between airlines, however generally includes some pureed and / or steamed veggies, meat and fruit.  You can try requesting a children's meal for your baby - we have always done so in the past when Tabitha was under 2, and the airlines always accommodated this request, providing her with her own children's meal instead of the standard infant meal.  If you are doing Baby Led Weaning, the children's meal is possibly a better choice for your baby.

Speaking of BLW - we all know it can be messy, these clever self-feeding babies!  Obviously, you don't want to have to sit in a seat covered in tomato puree and chewed up meat-and-veggies, dropped from eager baby hands, for the rest of your journey.  You could certainly try only offering your baby milk for the flight - nothing wrong with that at all - but most babies will protest once they see food, and demand their own.  I suggest packing your own food for a BLW baby - some sandwiches, perhaps some salad veggies, some cheese, things like that.  You can also use a bunny rug to cover yourself and the seat while your little one eats on your lap.  Cleaning up messy hands and faces can be done with baby wipes, of course, but I think that a proper wet facecloth does the job better, so consider bringing a couple of them in a snaplock bag, to wet and use as required (you could even get a cheap pack of them from the supermarket and dispose of them along the way).

Of course, if your baby is puree-fed, it’s probably a good idea to bring jars or pouches of food for him.  The infant meals on airlines vary wildly and are incredibly unpredictable.  They might include pouches of organic puree, with a rusk, some water and perhaps some applesauce.  Then again, they might not have anything pureed.  Then again, they might completely forget to provide your infant meal (it happens) so you really want to be prepared if your baby doesn’t eat regular food yet.  You can bring a stash of those pouch-foods, just show them at security, as long as they are properly sealed they do not count towards your liquids limit!

How about snacks for toddlers and small children?  Honestly, the airlines tend to bring out a reasonable amount of food.  Main meals, a few snacks, sometimes a pre-bed treat such as a Magnum ice cream or a hot chocolate.  Often pieces of fruit are available too, either offered or on request.  You can generally ask for other snacks, such as nuts, confectionary, museli bars etc.  Something about flying also seems to decrease the appetite for most people - perhaps the lack of movement and exertion, combined with increased pressure?  So you might find you're just fine without extra snacks.  But it certainly wouldn't hurt to throw in some of your own fruit, museli bars or a sandwich, particularly if you happen to have a fussy eater.  As I mentioned earlier, it is a good idea to bring your child's water bottle from home, and fill it up once you have passed security or boarded the flight.

If you think you will really struggle to get your child to drink enough water on the flight, consider some fun straws (those bendy straws are awesome for toddlers), or even a little juice mixed in.  I know, I know - but hydration is really important on flights and changing timezones.  Dehydration leads to all sorts of unpleasantness including irritability and constipation.  On that note - our lovely GP suggested administering lactulose in a low dose each day on the trip, to Tabitha.  We anticipate there will be a lot more refined carbs than usual (croissants, baguettes, cake...) and possible dehydration from the flights, so we want to prevent any possible constipation for her.  She's suffered from it before (not enough water was the cause) and it's so distressing and stressful for everyone.  If you think this could be a problem for your child, chat to your GP before you go.

Moving on to activities and entertainment.  The Big Topic for flying with kids.  Maximum entertainment with minimum carry-on luggage (bearing in mind that your carry-ons will already contain ample changes of clothes, baby wipes etc, right?  Right?).

The obvious first choice is an iPad or similar portable media player.  Load it to the hilt with movies, television shows, interactive games and apps, and picture books (this is an underrated part of the iPad - you can load up all your favourite picture books!).  Purchase some kid-friendly headphones (which prevent the volume reaching damaging levels for delicate little ears).  Let them go for it - it's hard to silence the Sensible Parent voice in your brain, "too much television!" but don't listen to it.  It's just one day, and if movies and games work, brilliant.

You will need other entertainment, however.  There are a good 20 minutes on either end of the flight where all electronic devices must be switched off, and, of course, you want to try to give those little eyes a rest from the screen.  Also, if your child is like ours, they simply might not be happy to sit and watch the screen for any prolonged stretches of time!

Here are my entertainment tips and ideas:

• Pipe cleaners.  They weigh nothing, take up no space, and can be thrown in the bin once everyone is bored of them.  You can bend and twist them into all sorts of fun things - little dolls, flowers, animals, jewellery.
• Drawing paper and crayons (obvious choice, but worth mentioning).  You can draw pictures of all the things you are going to see on the holiday, too, which is really helpful for small children, who struggle with the concept sometimes - that is, where they are going to sleep, where they will sit and eat their breakfast in the morning etc. can all be explained with crayons and a story.
• Stickers.  Then some more stickers.  I don't know what magical powers stickers possess, but give Tabitha a sheet of good-quality, raised and thick stickers (such as a sheet of dozens of little shiny cakes and lollies or animals) and she will stare at them for aaaaages.  Comparing them, peeling one off, finding a matching one, choosing her favourite.  I have packed about 10 large sheets, to be pulled out one at a time, every couple of hours.
• Sticker activity books.  These are often found at the bookstores at airports, actually.  They are large thin books, containing several pages of themed stickers, and 'scenes' on which to place them.  They are generally themed along a specific character, such as Peppa Pig.  Small children will need help with these, generally.
• Colouring in books.  You could even make your own by printing sheets off the internet - perhaps related to your trip?  Ditto for mazes, find-a-word etc. for older children.
• Magnetic dressup dolls.  These are great fun, though the sets can be a little heavy.
• Lego or Nanoblocks
• Small cars
• Small dolls - a family of dolls house dolls might be a good thing to tuck into the carryon.  Tabitha loves 'talking' these dolls to each other for ages.
• Some eye spy / scavenger hunt cards (possibly with pictures for small children).  Choose a bunch of things you would expect to find on a plane, such as a hat, someone in a red top, a bottle of water, a newspaper etc.  You could also play the game with the online magazine (an animal, a woman with brown hair, the letter P etc).
• Do you know Daiso?  It is a chain of Japanese stores where everything costs $2.80 (cheaper in Japan and the US, by the way, not that I'm bitter...).  If you have one near you, pay a visit without your child/ren, and fill your little basket up!  If you don't have a Daiso, you can try a newsagent or $2 store, but seriously, Daiso is brilliant and superior.  I bought stickers, erasers shaped like (startlingly realistic) cakes, biscuits and fruit, erasers shaped like animals and characters, notebooks of shiny, picture-covered drawing paper, pens with fruit-scented ink, pencils with a stack of rainbow leads (which you swap by pulling out the bottom one and inserting it back into the top), a little pinwheel, some miniature containers, sheets of origami paper, nail-art crystals (yikes, but if I get desperate...), some little dolls, a couple of toy cars.  Produce them one at a time, spaced throughout the flight.  If you can be bothered, wrap each one in paper and let your child 'lucky dip' every hour or half hour.  If each of these toys takes up 5 - 30 minutes of your child's interest, you will be a good way towards providing entertainment for the whole trip, if combined with some movie watching.
• If your child gets bored with the Daiso toys by the end of the flight, don't just throw them in the bin.  Put them in a cute bag and gift them to a random family you see at the airport, checking in or boarding a flight.  You might just have given them an additional hour or so of sanity!

How about getting around the airport?  From checkin, through security and customs, to the gate.  From the gate to the car.  With a mountain of luggage.  Your best choice is a carrier.  A good woven wrap is almost always my carrier of choice - it is the most comfortable and supportive of all carriers.  You can wear your baby or toddler on your front or your back.  Most babies and toddlers will nap in a wrap.  A wrap can also double as a pillow or blanket on the plane.  A wrap can be scrunched up and stuffed into the front pocket of a carryon.

The only disadvantage of a wrap is that it is not super easy to put on.  Yes, if you are used to it, you can wrap your baby onto yourself in less time than it takes to open a basic pram.  However, if you don't have someone else to hold your baby while you wrap (your travel companion, for example, might be wrangling other children or carrying luggage), you will need to lay your baby on the ground or a chair. Not ideal, particularly in a situation where there are loads of people and cases rushing past.

"Why would you have to unwrap your precious little sleeping angel?" I hear you ask.  Good question.  Bad answer.  Most security screening officers will make you remove them to pass through the metal detectors.  Yes, even if they are sleeping.  Yes, even if your wrap is simply a single piece of woven fabric without any metal.  Yes, you may want to attack them in anger.  It's no use - they are allowed to use their discretion, and if they ask you to unwrap your baby, you will have to.  Maddeningly, there are no laws around this - I've been informed by one supervisor that you do not have to remove your baby from a carrier, however most will ask you to do so.  It's incredibly frustrating.  I'm going to stop now, lest I enter a rant that reaches a thousand words.  You will also have to remove your (possibly sleeping) baby from a carrier or wrap once on the plane, for takeoff and landing - any time the seatbelt sign is on.  Again, so frustrating, because unwrapping a sleeping baby may cause them to cry and scream, which is not what anyone wants on a plane.  It is also annoying because the baby seems much safer and more secure in a carrier, rather than a flimsy, loose lap-belt attached to your lap.  The reason relates to being able to quickly release the child in the event of an accident, but I would hazard a guess that injuries are much more likely from poorly restrained babies and children, in the event of extreme turbulence, than by being 'stuck' to an adult in a crash.

So, I love a wrap, but appreciate the convenience of a quick buckle-on soft structured carrier (such as an Ergo or Manduca).  What to do?  I take both.  Neither are particularly bulky, both can be stuffed into the front pocket of a carryon suitcase.  If the baby is going to be in the carrier for any length of time, I use the wrap, or if we are needing to get the baby in and out quickly (security clearance) we use the Manduca.  This is the way we always travel, and it works well.  Also, The Daddy prefers a buckle carrier to the wrap, so it's handy to have both.

What about a stroller?  If your child is heavier, or prefers to nap in a stroller, you might find this a good choice (or a stroller in combination with a wrap).  Generally for international travel (and sometimes domestic) you can gate-check your stroller.  That is, you can take it right up to the gate, then hand it over when you are boarding, and they put it in a separate part of the plane.  There are even some strollers which fold up compactly enough to take on as carryon luggage, because they fit in the overhead lockers (Quinny Zapp Xtra with Folding Seat or Quicksmart or a few others).  We are taking an umbrella stroller (a Maclaren Quest), which we will gate-check, for Tabitha.  We also bought a brilliant universal scooter board, a Bumprider, for use while overseas, which will allow us to have Zachary in the stroller, and Tabitha riding along on the scooter board.  I would absolutely love to take our regular pram (a convertible single-to-double Bugaboo Donkey), however it is just too bulky to warrant taking with us, particularly as we are taking a few flights and trains within Europe during the trip.  It would also mean that our luggage would not fit into a hire car or chauffeured car for transfers.  So an umbrella stroller, scooter board, wrap and Manduca are our chosen methods of child transport for this trip!

There you go.  Travelling and carryon with little people.  If I have time, I'll write something about the rest of our packing.  Departure is around 48 hours away!

Chicken Sweetcorn Soup

Soup for breakfast.  Yes please.  Light on the stomach, many also contain a reasonable amount of protein.  Most can be prepared ahead of time, and simply reheated in the morning, making them a quick and simple breakfast.

Miso soup is an obvious choice - with cubes of silken tofu, plenty of wakame and your preferred rich red miso or soothing white miso.

Clear chicken broth, on its own or with fluffy matzo balls, cooked white rice or thin noodles.  The perfect breakfast for when you are feeling poorly.

Vegetable soup, with soft pieces of zucchini, pumpkin and kidney beans.

Tomato soup with a side of thickly buttered slices of toast.

Chicken sweetcorn soup, with silky strands of egg and plenty of fresh herbs is also a delightful breakfast.  Here is the one I love, recipe from Godmother Sophie.  It is beautifully aromatic ("so fragrant!" says Tabitha), with fresh ginger, sesame oil, coconut oil, star anise and fresh herbs.  It also contains plenty of chicken, and is quite filling without being heavy.

Chicken Sweetcorn Soup

1.5 litres chicken stock

3 chicken breasts

Sesame oil

Coconut oil

2 star anise

1 inch piece of ginger, finely sliced or grated

2 cans of creamed corn

3 - 4 tablespoons of soy sauce

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Fresh Vietnamese mint or coriander

In a medium saucepan, gently fry the ginger in some coconut oil and a little sesame oil until fragrant.

Add 1 litre of boiling chicken stock and the star anise, heat to a low simmer, add the chicken breasts and poach on very low heat (the liquid surface should be barely moving) for around 15 minutes, or until the chicken breasts are cooked through (74 degrees at the thickest part).  

Remove the chicken, let cool a little, then shred or slice.

Add the creamed corn to the soup, and the soy sauce (you can add more if you prefer it to be saltier - taste it first).  Add the chicken meat.  Add more hot chicken stock to reach the preferred consistency - probably between 1-2 cups.

Bring the soup to nearly boiling, then add the beaten eggs, stirring constantly for a minute.  Remove from heat.

To serve, ladle into bowls then drizzle with a little extra sesame oil, and top with plenty of chopped fresh Vietnamese mint or coriander.

Serves around 6.

Socks, Truffles and Beetroot Lips

Godmother Sophie knitted both myself and Tabitha some beautiful socks for our birthdays - truly, these photos do not do them justice, they have a beautiful lacey pattern up the ankles on mine, and on Tabitha's as well as on her feet.  Sophie is so talented!  Tabby and I have been doing a special "crazy sock dance" together whenever we both have them on, jitterbugging all over the rug.

One of Tabitha's greatest joys in life is being allowed to scrape out the ice cream maker bowl after I've made a batch.  It's really incredible how clean she can get it.  Just cream, milk, egg yolks, vanilla bean and a bit of sugar, so I am happy to let her enjoy this treat.

Recently hosted an evening dessert night for local mummas from our ABA (Australian Breastfeeding Association) group.  There were about a dozen women, plus a few wee babes in arms.  It was really a lovely night!  I made a large flourless chocolate cake (recipe here, although I do it in a larger springform these days), a pain au chocolat bread and butter pudding (recipe below) and a steamed golden syrup sponge pudding (recipe here).  Oh, and vanilla ice cream (recipe here).

For the pain au chocolat pudding, simply slice up 4 stale large pain au chocolat croissants (about 1cm thick), place in a buttered 1.5 litre shallow dish. 

In a medium saucepan, heat together 500ml thickened cream with 500ml full cream milk until nearly boiling.  

Remove from heat, then pour into a bowl containing 1 egg, 4 egg yolks and 3 tablespoons of caster sugar, whisking the whole time.  

Add half a teaspoon of vanilla extract, then pour over the pain au chocolat slices, leaving to sit and soak for about ten minutes.

Bake at 160 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until the pudding is softly set.

In other food adventures, The Daddy recently brought home a truffle.  He was terribly excited, but I felt such pressure to cook something fancy with it!  I am not a fancy sort of cook, so I reached out to some of my clever friends (including Miss Kitty-Cat) and ended up using the truffle for the following:

- Two roasted chickens with butter and thinly sliced truffle under the skin;
- Toasted sandwiches with pane toscano bread, Gruyere cheese, truffle roast chicken and plenty of truffle slices (which the children both loved!);
- Simple risotto with chicken stock (infused with truffle slices) and shaved truffle over the top
- Scrambled eggs with truffle-infused eggs, and fresh truffle over the top;
- The final scraps of truffle were whizzed up with some nice organic unsalted butter in the food processor and frozen in a log, to be sliced and melted over asparagus, poached eggs etc. later on.  I might try making a hollandaise sauce with the truffle butter.

So there you go - if you find yourself in possession of a 70g truffle, keep calm and proceed as above!

My darling little Tabitha is becoming camera shy - so I am getting plenty of gorgeous shots of her silky hair from the back.

Zach, however, remains cheerful and keen for photos - even when he's covered in food.  Perhaps especially when he's covered in food.

Chubby hands covered in roasted beetroot:

Beetroot makes his lips so pretty and pink!

Zachary was off his solids over the last few days - with teeth numbers 7 and 8 making their way through, his mouth has been too sore for chewing, so he has been filling himself up with lots of nice milk.  The Baby Led Solids approach of 'food is for fun until they are one' is most reassuring at times like this.  I know that he is getting everything he needs from breastmilk (he's 95th percentile for weight, and 4cm taller than 98th percentile for height, so he's obviously thriving), so if he wants to stick to milk for a week, that's just fine.  This will also be helpful on our Europe trip (four days until we leave!) - if we are out and about, he will be happy with plenty of milk.