Golden days

Maisie finally had her first official stay at childcare this week, official in the sense that I could actually leave the building. She wasn't such a fan and refused to eat her lunch. I can't blame her though, she knew that mum's homemade tuna casserole was waiting for her at home. The rest of the afteroon she spent permanently attached to my leg, just in case I was planning on doing a runner.

These were my books from when I was little. Maisie is loving sneaking off to her room, pulling them off the shelf and chatting to the characters on the pages.

Here's a nice easy mid-week meal recipe courtesy of Real Living mag.

Lebanese prawn and fish salad

2 large Lebanese flatbreads

Olive oil spray

1 Lebanese cucumber

1 green or red capsicum de-seeded and roughly chopped

3 vine-ripened tomatoes chopped roughly

1/2 red onion, sliced thinly

420g tinned cannellini or butter beans rinsed

1 small handful parsley

3 tbsp roughly chopped mint

1 small handful coriander leaves

2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Cracked black pepper

200g fish fillets of choice (I used swordfish)

200g raw king prawns, peeled and deveined, leaving tails intact

1 tsp sumac

(Plus I added sliced radishes)

Dressing

1 garlic clove

2 tbsp lemon juice

100ml extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 150 degrees. Separate each flatbread into 2 then tear into 3cm or 4cm pieces. Spread single layer of bread in baking tray and lightly spray with oil. Bake for about 15 mins or until golden brown and crisp.

Meanwhile toss cucumber, capsicum, tomato, onion, beans, parsley, mint and coriander in bowl.

Make dressing by bruising garlic clove with heavy knife. Mix with lemon juice and olive oil.

Coat fish and prawns with olive oil and some salt and pepper in clean bowl. Pan-fry over medium heat until coked to your liking (fish should flake when tested with a fork).

Flake fish into large pieces, leave prawns whole and add both to salad, along with toasted bread.

To serve, remove garlic from dressing and pour over salad. Sprinkle with sumac and toss well.

Chickpeas and babies

So sad the weekend is over!! We had a nice and relaxing, yet quite productive weekend. It was certainly more productive for my sister though...Maisie scored herself a brand new cousin with little Harvey born in a hurry last night, just one day after his due date. Very cute.

We went to a first birthday party, caught up with some friends and got a lot done around the yard (not that I had much to do with that..) As promised Lucy, here is the Kylie Kwong recipe from Friday night. Yummo...and a pic of two little monkeys playing..

Stir-fried chickpeas with black bean & chilli

1 cup (200g)

3 tbsp peanut oil

2cm piece ginger, finely shredded

2 cloves garlic, roughly diced

2 tbsp salted black beans

1 small red onion, finely sliced

3 tbsp shao hsing wine

2 tbsp tamari

1 tbsp brown rice vinegar

1/2 tsp sesame oil

2 spring onions, finely sliced

1 long red chilli, finely sliced

Soak chickpeas in plenty of cold water overnight. The next day, drain chickpeas, place in a pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then simmer over a low-to-moderate heat for approx. 45 minutes or until tender. Allow the chickpeas to cool in their cooking water, then drain. Set aside. Heat peanut oil in a wok until surface shimmers slightly. Stir-fry ginger, garlic, black beans and onion for 2 mins or until fragrant. Add chickpeas and stir-fry for 2 mins. Pour in wine, drizzling it around the sides of the wok in a circular motion, then add sugar, tamari, vinegar and sesame oil and stir-fry for 3 mins to create a rich sauce. Toss in spring onion and chilli, then serve immediately.

Sweet tooth

I used to adore savoury food and would order a cheese platter over dessert any day of the week. But, while I was pregnant, I developed a real craving for sweet food that I'm still unable to shake!! We had a great weekend away in Torquay, but despite eating almost a whole Lindt white chocolate bar, I'm still craving a chocolate fix. Good thing Anzac biscuits are so easy to make...