Lunchbox Friendly Vegetarian Koftas

Remember my post on 'red lentil koftas' from last year? (Click here for the recipe) Here is a slightly more attractive presentation of them for kids.

The inspiration simply came from my love for my son. One school day, he asked for something special (as he often does). I know he normally enjoys red lentil koftas, which I learned how to make last year and have been making some at times ever since. It was during a really hot week and I thought the red lentil koftas would be just perfect. I simply made the mix the night before and left them in the refrigerator over night. In the morning, made small koftas with them, wrapped them around with some fresh juicy, crispy lettuce and voila! When he came home, there was no sign of any leftovers. He surely loved his lunch.

Have a very happy day!

Happy Kids, Happy Mum!

As far as I can remember, I had never looked after someone else's child up until the other day. A friend of mine needed a carer for her daughter for a day and I put my hand up, even though I was a bit anxious about it. I know the little girl and my children love spending time with her. It definitely made it easier that they get along well.

Luckily, our little guest had great manners and her interests were similar to my children's. There were lots of reading, chatting, puzzles etc. during the day (actually, at some stage, my son was walking around with a crown on his head! Oh girls! They know how to make boys do things for sure). I didn't really need to come up with activity ideas for them most of the day but I did suggest a few little things which they happily accepted.

One of the favourites on the day was the outdoor painting activity. If you have been following my blog, you would know that we have been renovating since towards the end of last year. We have completed most of it but there are still some jobs to do before we can call it 'all done'. One advantage of this process is that we have got lots of cardboards around. We try to get rid of them slowly, putting them in our recycling bin whenever possible but we still have heaps. On the day, I basically cut one large piece nice and neatly and gave it to the kids to use as a canvas. They took one of their paint sets, took a paint brush each and simply got started.  They all had a great amount of space for their masterpieces.

This would make a perfect party activity and it won't even cost much. Just make sure you have got nice sized cardboards, enough paint brushes to avoid any tears and screaming; and an art smock each so that no-one ends up with a set of clothes covered in paint to go back home with. All you need after this is to sit back and enjoy the sound of laughter and the bright, proud eyes on the children's faces!

(Our little guest learning hand-embroidery)

(A snack platter from the day)

 Have a fantastic day!

DID YOU KNOW ...? (76)

Photo Source

Are you one of those millions of people that have wondered whether penguins have knees or not at some stage in their lives? Well, here is the answer in case you have not found it out yet; yes, they do have knees.

RECIPE: Gourmet style couscous salad

Here is the newest addition to our family's salads menu. It was such a winner with the kids when we made it for the first time that our son even asked for some for his lunch at school the next day. 

Ingredients: (serves approximately 6 people):

- 1 packet couscous (500g) (larger couscous preferable)
- Some red capsicum (a small capsicum)
- Some rocket (a big handful)
- Some walnuts (about a handful)
- Dill (optional but it is particularly delicious in this salad)
- Parsley (optional)
- Roasted veggies such as zucchini and pumpkin (optional)
- Some olive oil, lemon juice and salt for seasoning.

Method:

Cook your couscous using the instructions provided on the packaging (it only takes about 10-13 minutes to cook). Once the couscous has cooled down, add all of your ingredients and seasoning and mix well. Voila! Your salad is ready! (You can add some chicken, fish or meat to it and have it as a main or have it as a side dish).

Enjoy something delicious today!

A No-Sew Makeover in Half an Hour: DIY Chair Cover

Here is my no-sew project from the other day: a new DIY swirl chair cover. It took me less than half an hour to come up with this beauty!

The chair works perfectly fine but the cover on it was a bit boring and not in its best shape in my opinion. So, I decided to try my hand at re-upholstering it and I must admit, this has been one of my most favourite upcycling projects to date. I am just in love with the outcome!

What I used was a staple gun, a hammer (to hammer the staples down when/if they were not in properly), a screw driver and my choice of fabrics.  (Depending on how your existing chair is assembled, what you will need to use may differ. Eg. Allen key instead of a screwdriver).

The process was quite straight forward. I simply took the screws off the backing on the seat and the back support, separated them using some muscle power, stapled the new fabrics on them making sure that the fabrics were well stretched(I chose not to remove the original cover on it), attached the back pieces back on, put the pieces together again and voila!

The whole procedure took us approximately half an hour. It is a perfect and very affordable way of adding some colour to your home or jazzing up your room.  

There is nothing like having something that has your (or your loved ones') touches all over it at home. It just is so unique and special. 

Enjoy the beauty of some personal touches in your life today!

RECIPE: Tomato and Mozzarella Stack Salad

I have recently learnt how to make one of the easiest, the most delicious and very impressively presentable salads on earth! Thank you so much for sharing the original recipe of Like a Breath of Fresh Air, my friend, Shirley. Originally, it was made using the ingredients of tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, asparagus, basil and balsamic vinaigrette, and I must say, it looked amazing in their photo but we made it using the ingredients we had at home at the time and it was still fabulous!

Here is our ingredients list for you:

- Tomatoes (I wish I could say from the garden but unfortunately store-bought just like all the others on the list)
- Mozzarella cheese
- Fresh basil leaves
- Some salt (we lightly salted each layer of tomatoes)
- Pomegranate sauce
- A drizzle of olive oil

Enjoy something delicious today!

Care Tips for when Heat Hits

As most of you have been experiencing or are aware, the heatwave has been affecting quite a few people in the Southern Hemisphere in general and in Australia in particular recently. It is not very easy to keep cool in this heat. I hope everyone is trying to look after themselves as well as others these days. Caring for others in this heat could be as easy as  knocking on the door of especially some elderly neighbours just to check up on them and also see if you could help them with anything to stay safe. 

However, we also need to keep in mind that us human beings are not the only living that feel the heat.  

Dark red dominates this image, indicating temperatures that were significantly higher than average between December 27 and January 3, especially in Queensland and New South Wales. (Source: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=82790)  

According to this article here, the heatwave also had some deadly impact on the wildlife. For instance, 100,000 bats have died from the heat in Queensland.

Here are some suggestions that come to mind that I would like to share with you with the hope of making a small difference in the life of a living creature. My suggestions are mostly on keeping your pets and also small sized wildlife safe.

* Keep your pet hydrated. Make sure your pet has an access to some fresh water at all times. In our case, we have chickens and we leave them a few extra sources of water in their pen where they can freely access to in case one gets dirty or evaporates quickly and we don't realise it soon enough.

*Add some ice to their water source at times, if possible/applicable, as the water will warm up quickly in this heat.

*Depending on the type of your pet, you can wet them at times to cool them down.

*Try to offer some cool ground for them. It could be that you have a cool place you can keep them in, or you can put some wet sheets underneath them etc. We wet our chickens' pen as well as the ground under trees at times as they are the places they often stay at.

*Offer some green leafy vegetables if possible as they contain water and are often easily consumed by many types of animals.

*Leave some water outside for lost/homeless animals.

*Leave a shallow bucket with some sticks and/or rocks in it in your garden so that smaller animals such as ants can drink some water too without drowning as Wildlife Victoria has recommended.

Stay safe!