Animals and Megha

Our darling at 18 months can now recognize the below animals. When asked to bring the animals from her toy bin, she correctly brings the respective animal! so proud of her :)

Animals she can recognize:
Penguin
Tiger
Turtle
Duck
Dolphin
Giraffe

Way to go Megha!

Blushing Pears

Here is a simple dessert/snack recipe. 

Ingredients:

Pears: 2, pealed with the stem intact

Apple or cranberry cocktail: 150 ml
honey: 1 tbsp (skip if your child is under 1 year)
Cinnamon stick: 1 inch
Bay leaf: 1 small

Method: 
Peel the pears. In a deep dish, add everything except pears and stir until honey mixes with juice (about a minute). Gently place the pears in pot and pour water until water barely covers the pears (almost submerge but quite). In medium flame, cook until pears are soft. It will take about 20 minutes. 

With a slotted ladle, take the pears out and place in a serving bowl. return the liquid to flame and boil in high flame until the liquid reduces to 1/2 to 1/4. Pour on the pears in the serving bowl and chill. 

Serve as snack.

Our Adult version: 
Substitute juice with rose wine and honey with 2 tbsp of sugar.

Home made Custard

Yum yumm yummy

Megha likes this a lot. I have to make it more often, come to think of it.

Ingredients:
Full fat milk: 1 cup
Honey: 1 tbsp (for kids over 1 year; you can increase this if you want sweet)
Egg: 1 (Only if you have introduced egg white already)
Vanilla Essene:few drops

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 d c.
Whisk all the ingredients in a bowl until well combined. Pour in 2 small ramekins (or any oven safe container).

In another big oven safe dish put these two ramekins side by side. Pour in hot water in the big pan in such a way that the water is up to 3/4th of the outside of the custard ramekins.
Bake for 30 minutes. After that, check to see if the custard is set. It shouldn't be loose...it should feel like jelly. If you insert a knife, it should come clean. If in 30 minutes, if its not set, keep baking for 10 minutes and check again. It took me 45 minutes.

Chicken Divine!

Why do I call it divine? Because the combinations are endless! 

Ingredients: 
Chicken: 1 skinless/boneless (or Tofu if veggie version)
Spring onion: 2, chopped
Broccoli: 1 cup
Your favorite herbs: 1 tbsp (I used dried summer savory leaves)
Butter: 1 tsp
Chicken/veggie broth: 1 cup (if you dont have broth, replace this with water and add salt)

Method: Chop the chicken or tofu. In a pan, heat butter and saute spring onion. add chicken, broccoli and chicken/veggie broth. Cook until chicken and broccoli are fully cooked and add pepper and herbs and switch off. 

Pulse/puree till your desired texture/consistency. 

wonderful, protein rich lunch!

Father's Day- 16June2013

How did an year go by so fast? Last year this date, this was how we celebrated. This year, since Megha is a little older, we got to do some crafts.

This gift was by her daycare provider, Meghas hand prints in Green :)

Below is a card to her dad scribbled by Megha :) 

Below is also a photo frame on which I got Megha's hand prints in plaster. If you see closer, you will see the wording, "I Love you Dad" on left and "16June13, Megha" on right. They all now proudly sit on the fire place mantle.

I also bought a small lemon fudge cake from Dufflet.

We LOVE playing outside

We really do! I dont know if its because I used to take Megha out for walks everyday when she was young or if all kids love being outside, but as far as Megha goes, she can stay outside and play all day, everyday!

As I had told before, the whole of last week Megha was under the weather. Monday June, 03rd Anand had taken a day off to take care of Megha. At about 4 in the evening apparently Megha went to the kitchen and started gazing out (we have floor to ceiling glass doors). Then she came back, took her sandals and went to Anand! This is he way of saying that she wants to go out :) She is getting so communicative lately :)

Here is a picture where Megha is playing in our backyard. Please ignore the patches in grass, it got fixed over the weekend with downpour.

OH Oh

Megha is saying so many new sounds and a few words these days. Since the last few weeks she says "Oh oh" if she drops something, if she slips, if she gets upset etc. So cutely she says that I have to hug and kiss her right away!
So proud of her that she knows exactly when to say it!!