DRIED APPLE CAKE

This is one of those cakes that you leave on the kitchen table and it disappears in no time at all. It is done with dried apples, which I have recently discovered for cakes, and they make the cake rich and dense. You need:

- 150 gr dried apple chunks
- a glass of water
- 175 gr sugar
- 175 gr plain flower
- a teaspoon of baking soda
- 85 gr sunflower oil
- 2 eggs
- zest of one lemon
- butter to grease the loaf mould

Preheat the over at 185 degrees. Grease the loaf mould and then cover it with baking paper.

Put the dried apples with the glass of water in a microwave dish and microwave for 4 minutes at the highest setting. Then drain the apple chunks to get rid of the water.

Mix all the ingredients but the apple. When they are mixed well add the apple chunks and mix again (you may feel there is too much apple for the cake butter, but just keep mixing until all the apple chunks are coated). Put it all into the mould and bake for 55 minutes.

Children like helping with this cake and also eating it. Be careful so that they do not get hurt when you take the apple chunks out of the microwave as the water will be very hot.

TIGER's MILK

It you have tried the ceviche you should definitely try this recipe. It has a real kick and it is claimed that it makes you become a tiger (I'll leave it at that). Particularly recommended for any non-tiger mums who have recently been put in the spotlight.  It is the revival of the  'Blame the Mum' club (from non tiger mums to muslim mum). My children  - and, regardless of the type of mum you are, I bet you that also yours…- have been members of that club pretty much since they were born!

You need:
- 150 ml of the leftover liquid of ceviche
- 150 ml fish stock (you do this just by boiling fish bones and an onion for 30 minutes - just ask a fishmonger to give you a few bones. it is best if you do it with flat white fish. After 30 minutes get rid of the bones and sift through  colander)
- the juice of an orange
- 6 leaves of celery (the leaves, not the stalk)
- 200 gr red onion
- a spring onion
- the juice of a lime
- a teaspoon of coriander leaves
- a red chill
- 6 raw prawns (much better if shelled) - you can also substitute the prawns for 120 g of white fish.
- sea salt

Boil the prawns (2-3- minutes in hot salty water). Take the shells off and mix the prawns, heads (squeezing them a bit) and shells with the orange and lime juice and a pinch of sea salt. Let them rest for 5 minutes in the fridge.  Take the heads and shells off. Put the juice, prawns, ceviche liquid, fish stock, celery leaves, onion, spring onion, coriander leaves and chilli in a blender and blend until smooth. Put back into the fridge until you serve it (it only lasts for a few hours). If you find it is too strong then add a few ice cubes.

You can serve it as a cold soup in bowls. Or in glasses as an aperitif (in which case it is good to shift it through sieve so that the liquid is smooth).

CEVICHE

Peruvian food is one of my favourite cuisines. It became very fashionable in Madrid a few years ago, and there are some great Peruvian restaurants in London as well. This recipe comes from a friend who spent various years living there. You need:

- 400 gr of white fish - we used sea bass, but you can use lemon sole, monkfish, tilapia…the only requirement is that the fish should be very fresh as it is easy to get food poisoning from raw fish.
-  4 limes
- 3 lemons
- 3 cubes of ice
- a green chilli (sliced thinly - we did it with red chilli, which is also very nice, simply because the green ones I found in our corner shop were far too hot for the children)
- a spring onion (sliced thinly)
- half a clove of garlic (minced)
- a teaspoon of coarse salt
- a red onion (sliced thinly)
- coriander leaves (be generous)

Cut the fish into small cubes and put it in the fridge. Juice the lemons and lime ( do not press hard so that you do not get the bitter juice of the rind). Mix the garlic and salt with the juice. Put the red onion into the juice and leave it for 5 minutes. Take the onion out of the juice and put the fish into the juice together with the three cubes of ice. Put it back into the fridge and wait for 3 minutes. Add the sliced chile and spring onion and serve ( get rid of the ice if any bits of ice remain)

One of my sons loves it, but the other two find it too sharp. I dilute the juice with two tablespoons of very cold water for them.

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BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND SWEET POTATO SOUP

This is a Thai flavoured soup. You need:
- 350 gr butternut squash and sweet potatoes (diced - some supermarkets sell this already diced)
- 1 onion (diced)
- half a teaspoon grated garlic
- a teaspoon grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- juice of half a lime
- salt
- 1 tin of coconut milk
- water
- coriander

Heat the oil, add the garlic and ginger and let it fry for a minute. Then add the onion (medium heat) and wait for 3-4 minutes until it gets soft. Add the butternut squash and sweet potatoes and let it fry for 3 minutes. Add the salt and then the coconut milk. Fill in the tin with water and add it to the pan. Let it all simmer for 15-17 minutes until it gets soft. Blend it all with a hand-held blender. Add the lime juice and the coriander just before you are going to serve it.

My children prefer this without the ginger.

CHICKPEAS WITH TOMATO

This is a really good dish for a really cold day. You need:

- 100 g of chorizo (cubed)
- 60 g of serrano ham or bacon (cubed) - this is better with ham
- a tin of chickpeas (400 gr)  - you can also boil the chickpeas yourself, but this naturally adds time.
- a glass of water
- an onion (sliced thinly)
- a garlic clove (minced)
- half a glass of tomato sauce (see our recipe - you can also do this with chopped tomatoes from a tin)
- a teaspoon of parsley (chopped thinly)
- 5 piquillo peppers (cut them in thin stripes)

Heat the chorizo and ham/bacon in a pan under low heat (do not add any oil as they will release a lot of fat - if you are on a January diet then get rid of a bit of the fat they release with a spoon). After three minutes add the onion and let it fry gently for 5-6 minutes until it gets golden. Then add the tomato and minced garlic (if you are using tinned tomatoes let it bubble for 5 minutes, but if you are using sauce there is no need to wait). Add the chickpeas (do not add the brine - I actually wash the chickpeas to get rid of the brine salt, but you may not feel this is necessary). Then add the water and peppers and let it all simmer for 15-20 minutes so that you send end up with a gooey stew. Since the bacon and chorizo are salty I do not think this needs any salt, but if you wish then add some. Sprinkle with the parsley just as you are going to serve it.

You can prepare the day before you are going to eat it. Children find it very easy to help with this dish, as indeed it is a simple dish.

WAFFLES

This is one of my bribing foods of choice - as easy to make as pancakes, but they look like if you have made much more effort to the kids. Add whipping cream on top and you will get them to do anything.

You need:

- a mug of  plain flour

- three quarters of a mug of milk

- two eggs

- a pinch of salt

- two teaspoons of baking powder

- two teaspoons of sugar

- a quarter of a teaspoon of vanilla essence

- 100 gr of melted butter

- a waffle pan or waffle maker ( we have an electrical one from Robert Dyas that costs around £20 and you can use to make panninis as well)  

- icing sugar

Mix all the ingredient expect for the butter (we blend them with a hand held mixer). Brush the waffle maker with the butter (on both sides). Add the mixture and cook for 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the waffle with lots of icing sugar. 

LEGO CANDY

I am trying to encourage the kids to stop watching random youtube (though I have little credibility on this as I could not stop watching the 'what are those?!' vines a few months ago). In my search for  science experiment sites, I have become hooked onto the Crazy Russian Hacker and The King of Random. Absolutely addictive stuff: experiments with  liquid nitrogen, melting cans and making green slime, and also plenty of plainly weird but compelling-watching videos about domestic tricks, from how to cut a watermelon to opening packs of crisps. Who would have thought I would end up discussing with a teenager whether it is better making candles with butter or with mandarine peels. Live to believe…

King of Random has this recipe for Lego candy that in a moment of weakness I agreed to try on.
You need:
- 250 ml water
- 125 ml corn syrup
- two packets of unflavoured powdered gelatine (or 10 leaves that you should pre-soak )
- a packet of Jell-o (they sell it in many supermarkets and in Amazon)
You also need lego silicon moulds that you can also buy in Amazon.

Mix the water, corn syrup, gelatine and Jell-o. Heat the mixture in a pan over medium heat for 8 minutes. Put in into a tall heat-proof container. Let it rest for 3 minutes. with a spoon, take the top crust that would form on the top and discard it. Pour the remaining clear liquid into the moulds and let them rest for 5 hours. You should be able to de-mould them easily by then.