autumn splendor and baking with the little

dont look at it.
just ease yourself back onto the sofa and, purposefully choose not to look it.
ignore the laundry pile
there
piled high on the chair
silently accusing you
crinkled and tangled into a chaotic mess of you-are-not-domestic-enough heckles and taunts
look at your book
look at your computer screen
look at the floor you vacuumed yesterday and the load of laundry you folded yesterday and have yet to put away
sigh loudly
at least loudly enough for the clothes to hear and feel ashamed for draggin your pregnant ass of the couch to fold it
fold it
put it all away (except for the little's stuff cos she is sleeping)
feel much more brilliant and bliss-filled as you smell caramel slice in the oven
realize a split second later that you in fact, smell burnt caramel slice in the oven
swear a few times to make yourself feel better and make a cup of tea
go back to the couch to drink it and nibble on some elderflower loaf and relax a while, waiting for the rain to ease enough for you to make a dash to the garden for peas, beans and spinach for dinner.


i found this recipe in a book called 'french children dont throw food'
i was visiting friends who were getting ready to welcome their first child and picked it up off the coffee table - i found it a rather interesting read. it is all about the differences between french children and their american or english counterparts. the authur tells us how french children have a certain calmness and manage to control themselves better than most other children she has come into contact with in both the usa and uk.
as with most books however that advocate various fool proof methods for raising children, i found it a little lacking when it came to applying it to our household, and, as with most self help books i took it with a grain of salt and used what i wanted, ignoring the other parts that didnt really mesh with my parenting technique.
what i have applied again and again from the book was a recipe that she included for kids to make.
it is a basic yoghurt muffin recipe, but i find it works really well as a loaf and is rather tasty when coconut and elderflower cordial (which i make myself every spring) are added to it. the relatively low sugar content means it is not too much sweet for the little to have as an occasional treat and the better she gets at the baking process the more involved she becomes at helping put it together. we have made this loaf together about 4 times and so far each time she gets better at not creating a huge mess and gets a little more responsibility. this time she did all the stirring without my cautionary hands fluttering near by, next time i think she will even be able to help with the scooping of the dry ingredients!

so, if you leave out the elderflower cordial and coconut threads you can keep it plain or add what ever else you fancy to this wee gem of a recipe.

and so, here it is.....



COCONUT AND ELDERFLOWER YOGHURT LOAF

turn oven onto 180'C

3/4 cup of yoghurt (or milk kefir)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup oil
3 Tblsp elderflower cordial

1  1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup coconut thread

mix together wet ingrediants

in a seperate bowl sift flour nad baking powder and add sugar and coconut thread. mixing well.

add wet ingrediants to dry and gently fold though until just mixed.

pour into pre-greased loaf tin and bake at 180'C for 45 minutes or until skewer comes out just clean.

head outside to enjoy the last of the sun for the day and watch little show the visiting cat how to catch bugs.... or was that the other way around....

cool, cut and eat for afternoon tea with some fresh milk from the farmer down the road.
bliss.

thansk for reading - please feel free to comment and come visit again

xx
jes