How do you rise to the challenge of catering for a children's birthday party?

Children’s birthdays in general can be a bit of a minefield... expectations are so high on behalf of both the child and the parents and one of the biggest challenges is how to make a birthday cake that will compare favourably with those that have come before…

We go for the morning or afternoon tea option in terms of timing and I always serve very simple food (and always the same things every year): small ham and/or cheese sandwiches, mini meatballs, hummus, carrot sticks and crackers and real fruit kebabs. The only sugar hit in the whole event is the cake... but the cake is the piece-de-resistance and I try to impress...

Last year I made this one with a digger theme:

The year before I made this one with a pirate theme:

Then before that, a train theme:

But this year, I was getting over a nasty bout of flu and I decided that a six year-old birthday party was going to be an easier ride…

Jack, following in my footsteps, has been compiling his own recipe book and found a photo of a chocolaty slice that his liked the look of… ‘Done’, I said, ‘let’s make it for your birthday!’

I hadn’t read the recipe at that point, but it turned out to be a 15 minute no bake slice and one of the easiest things I have ever made… the only downside, is that it uses raw egg, so you need to use eggs you can trust. I buy mine from Yvette in town here, so I know her chooks are healthy and happy.

The kids loved it, the adults loved it and you could only eat little pieces at a time as it was quite rich… and it certainly took the pressure off Mum this year!

Chocolate Fudge Slice

2 packets vanilla wine biscuits

½ cup sultanas

¼ cup walnut pieces

250g butter or Olivani

1 cup raw sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

½ cup good quality cocoa

2 large or 3 medium eggs, lightly beaten

1. Crush the biscuits in a food processor or in a plastic bag with a clean rolling pin. Line a shallow cake tin (square or rectangle).

2. Melt the butter or Olivani in a saucepan, take off the heat and then add the sugar, vanilla, cocoa, sultanas, nuts and eggs. Stir well.

3. Pour this mixture over the crushed biscuits and mix together very thoroughly.

4. Spoon out into a the cake tin, press down well and refrigerate.

5. After a couple of hours it is ready to serve. Cut into small cubes… and that’s it!

Korean BBQ Portobello Burgers

Marinade:

1 cup water

¼ cup light molasses

¼ cup maple syrup

¼ cup tomato paste

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ red wine vinegar

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp liquid smoke (I didn’t have this ingredient)

2 tsp sriracha (I didn’t have this ingredient)

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp onion powder

4 large portobello mushrooms (with the stems cut off)

oil for grill

Toppings:

hamburger buns

grated raw beetroot

mayonnaise (or Vegan mayonnaise)

salad

The original recipe had kimchi here (which I love but you can't get anything like this in Coromandel... there is a nice Korean place in Thames which sells it though...)

1. Mix all the marinde ingredients together and marinate the mushrooms for an hour or so.
2. Grill the mushrooms for five minutes per side or until done.
3.  Lightly grill the buns and spread the mayonnaise on the inside top bun. Build up a nice bed of salad and place the mushroom on top.
4. Eat with your fingers and enjoy… 

Note: I kept the marinade ingredients and make marinated tofu and stirfry the following night with it.

Recipe source: Isa Does It, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz with minor changes

Chickpea, Leek and Tamarind Curry

Ingredients

1 onion
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp finely-chopped fresh ginger
1 tsp ground coriander
1-2 tbsp tamarind paste (to taste)
1 large leek
1 can drained chickpeas
1 tin tomatoes
lemon or lime juice

Method

1. Finely chop the onion. Clean the leek and chop it into 3cm chunks. Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan and add the onion and leeks with the spices and cook until the onion is soft, the leeks are starting to soften and the mixture aromatic.
2. Stir in the chickpeas, cook for a few minutes and then add the tomatoes. Continue to cook until the chickpeas have cooked down a little and thickened the sauce and the leeks are cooked through. Add lemon juice to taste.

Asian Deli Noodles

Ingredients

500g rice noodles
½ cup roasted peanuts
2 finely-chopped spring onions
¼ cup fresh coriander
1 large handful mung bean sprouts
½ cucumber (cut into small batons)
1 diced red pepper
finely-chopped red onion (optional)
grated carrot (optional)

Dressing

1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 crushed red chilli (seeds removed)
4 cloves garlic
juice of 2 lemons
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

1. In a medium-sized saucepan, bring some salted water to the boil and cook the noodles according to the manufacturer's instructions. When cooked, drain the noodles under cold running water to cool. Drain and set aside.
2. Mix together all the dressing ingredients. In a mixing bowl, add the cooled noodles then pour the dressing over the top. Mix well and stir in the veggies.
3. Garnish with sesame seeds and peanuts.

(recipe source: Annabel Langbein with minor changes)
(photo source: eatyourbooks.com)

Vegan Challenge

Recently I was challenged to go vegan for a month as part of a health experiment…. As a committed ‘meatarian’ I was worried about how to get enough protein, complexity and flavour in my food.
So to start, I did a bit of research to find out the best high protein vegan foods and aimed to eat a wide variety of unrefined grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, and vegetables everyday…
Key ingredients were:
• quinoa
• pumpkin seeds
• beans (kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, peas, black-eyes, lima beans)
• tofu, tempeh
• nuts (peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, cashews)
• seeds (hemp, flax, sunflower)
• vegetables (brocolli, spinach)
and surprisingly other things:
• bagels, spaghetti, wholewheat bread, and bulgar wheat (which also contain amounts of protein).

I also came up with some recipe ideas to kick-start my challenge and then kept a diary for 30 days.

Mon 20 July	Meatless Meatballs with Pasta and Red Sauce
Tues 21	Pumpkin, Orange and Ginger Soup
Wed 22	Baked potatoes with Baked Beans
Thurs 23	Breaded Tofu with Pesto-Roast Cauliflower Pasta
Fri 24	Roasted Portobello Mushrooms in home-made BBQ Sauce with Grated Beetroot and Salad in Burger Buns
Sat 25	Garden Salad with Toasted Seeds and Nuts
Sun 26	Roast Chicken (oops!) with Roast Vegebles and Yorkshire Pudding
Mon 27	Bubble and Squeak
Tues 28	Pasta and Mediterranean Tomato Sauce
Wed 29	Braised Florence Fennel with Tamari Lentils and Mashed Potato
Thurs 30	Vegetable Risotto with half Rice-half Lentils
Fri 31	Marinated and pan-fried Tofu served with Couscous and Orange Salad with steamed Bok Choy and soy and tahini dressing
Sat 1 Aug	Baked Potatoes and home-made Coleslaw
Sun 2	Garlic pittas with Hummus and Salad
Mon 3	Mexican Beans with steamed Rice
Tues 4	Marinated and pan-fried Tofu served with Stir-fry and Noodles
Wed 5	Pasta with roast Brussel Sprouts, toasted Walnuts and Olives
Thurs 6	Green Pea Risotto
Fri 7	Kumera and Garlic Soup, blanched Veggies with honey-roasted Carrots
Sat 8	Lentil Soup, Buckwheat Salad and Meditteranean Vegetables
Sun 9	Potato, Carrot and Celery Casserole with Dumplings
Mon 10	Tamarind and Chickpea Curry with Rice
Tues 11	Lentil and Tomato Pasta
Wed 12	Roast Veggies with Green Salad
Thurs 13	Tofu Stirfry with toasted Peanuts
Fri 14	Pasta and Tomato Sauce
Sat 15	Cauliflower Curry with Rice and Chutneys
Sun 16	Pasta with Pesto, with chunky Tomato and Red Pepper Sauce and fresh Rye Bread
Mon 17	Breaded Tofu with Pesto-Roast Cauliflower Pasta
Tues 18	Stir-fried Veggies and Mushroom Pasta

Please send me your ideas too… I would love to get them :o)

I also took some photos and have 2 or 3 really great recipes that I will share here... in a day or so :o) Happy eating... Deborah