{chicken nuggets in hermie}

I was looking around the internet and social media trying to gain a little inspiration for something new Miss A could try eating. Everywhere you see, children love eating with their hands to feel what a new food is like and nuggets fit perfectly into this category. The trouble is, is that nearly every recipe I have found, contains a bit of parmesan cheese and uses an egg wash before crumbing. These are 2 things that Miss A cannot eat. 

Therefore, the below recipe is my take on the classic Chicken Nugget albeit a bit healthier and full of those ‘hidden’ vegetables that all parents like to sneak in. I find by adding a good amount of veggies means that the chicken breast does not dry out too much and the nuggets are still moist to eat. Enjoy xx

6 weet-bix

500-600 grams chicken breast, cut into ~4cm chunks
drizzle of garlic oil

1 small zucchini

1 leek, white part only, cut into 2 

300 grams sweet potato, cut into ~1 cm slices
5 turns of the ”Chef’s Choice” Sicilian style seafood seasoning or to taste (optional) - See note

1. Pre-heat oven to 200C.

2. Place weet-bix into TM bowl and crush 3secs/ speed 6. Set 2/3’s aside in a small shallow bowl. Place the rest of the weet-bix in a large bowl that will be used to combine all ingredients.

3. Place chicken into TM bowl. Mince 2-3 times/ 1-2secs/ closed lid position/ turbo. Set aside in the large bowl. 

4. Place zucchini, leek & sweet potato into TM bowl and chop 3secs/ speed6. Add garlic oil over the chicken. You don’t have to add the garlic infused oil however, I find it adds another layer of flavour to the nuggets. Saute 3mins/ varoma/ stir speed/ reverse. Add to chicken in bowl & add seasoning or salt if using.

5. Mix with your hands and form either nugget style shapes or balls. Coat in the reserved weet-bix crumb and place on a lined oven tray. (This mixture is quite wet but works well if you use one gloved hand to make the nugget and one ‘naked’ hand to crumb the nugget.)

6. Once all nuggets/balls are complete, give them a quick spray of olive oil over the top.

7. Place in a pre-heated oven for 15minutes. Take the nuggets out and flip them over. Increase the temperature of the oven to 220C and bake another 10 minutes or until golden.

8. Take out of the oven when done and cool slightly before serving with your favourite tomato sauce.

Makes 40-45 nuggets.

Tips: These can be cooked in a frypan instead of oven baked however, they might end up a bit oilier. Also, I have used weet-bix to absorb a bit of the moisture in the mix however, a good batch of bread crumbs thrown in would do the trick too. Finally, I like to use a white zucchini because my Miss A loves to scrutinize her food before eating and it does not stand out as much in the mixture as the more common green zucchini.

Note: This seasoning looks like this:

{acar awak (spicy pickled mixed vegetables) in hermie}

Acar awak is one of those dishes that I remember from a child that my mum would make and then store in recycled glass bottles in the fridge and wonder what was so good about it. Now I realise that this was something that reminded her of growing up in Malaysia and the memories that it brought back when eating it. I think it also has something to do with the fact that when I was young, I couldn't eat much of it because it was quite chilli hot and although I make it now, I don't down size the chilli factor because I think it makes the dish what it is. Having said that, it again is a fine line between eating pleasure and eating pain when I eat this dish. It will keep in the fridge for a good couple of weeks if you don't add the peanut to it. I personally don't add peanuts because we have a nut allergy in the house.

Vegetables:
1/2 continental cucumber, cut into 3 cm long strips with seeds removed
1 carrots, cut into 3cm strips
150 grams green beans, cut into 3 cm lengths
100-200 grams cabbage, cut into 3cm thick
100 grams cauliflower, cut into small florets

Pickling Liquid:
450grams water
300grams white vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Spice Paste:
15 dried chillies, soaked in hot water
10-15 grams belacan
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
5 grams galangal
1 stalk lemongrass
2 tablespoons coriander seeds

30 grams vegetable oil (I use canola)
6 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon vinegar

1. Soak the dried chillies in hot water for the spice paste.
2. Add all ingredients for the pickling liquid into the TM bowl. Heat for 8mins/ 100C/ speed 1.
3. Meanwhile, chop the vegetables as above for pickling. 

4. While the liquid is still hot, set the controls to 2.5mins/ varoma/ reverse/ stir speed. When it boils, remove the MC and add the prepared vegetables through the hole. Drain in a colander. Dry the TM bowl.
5. Add belacan into dry TM bowl. Dry roast 5mins/ varoma/ speed 1.
6. Add in rest of the spice paste ingredients and blend 15-20secs/ speed 7 or until smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl.
7. Add vegetable oil into TM bowl and saute 6mins/ varoma/ speed 1.
8. Add sugar, salt and vinegar to TM bowl and cook 2mins/ varoma/ speed 1/ reverse.
9. Finally, add the pre-pickled vegetables and stir through with spatula. Cook a further 1mins 30secs/ varoma/ stir speed/ reverse.
10. Store in a clean (preferably steralised) container in the fridge. Serve sprinkled with peanuts as a side dish to something like beef rendang.

Acar served here as part of Nasi Lemak

Makes about 800grams.

Bon Appetit xx

Notes: The vegetable quantities that I've listed above are just a guide. I basically just use what I have in the fridge and what can fit into the TM bowl. In the photos above, you can see that I forgot to add the cauliflower but it still tastes delicious! Also, belacan or dried shrimp paste can be found in all good Asian Grocery stores. Finally, I prefer to make this a day or 2 before being eaten as the flavour develops over those days and it tastes so much more better!

{homemade baby food in hermie}

Apple & Blueberry Puree

I have 2 beautiful daughters who are 6 1/2 months and 3 1/2 years old. With Miss A, we have just delved into the world of baby food again and using a Thermomix second time round has made it just that much easier. With Miss I, I used a pot, stick mixer or fork which work well but there's just more to clean up. Also, I find that if I make Miss A's food before our own dinner, the cleanup is even more efficient.

Below, I've listed a small sample of fruit and vegetables that can be used in combinations to make up a large variety of baby foods  for bubs. Make sure you progress trying new foods according to what your baby can handle eating and keep an eye out for any signs of allergies when trying new foods.

Fresh (raw)

This is great for 'on the go'. All you need is a portable bowl, and a fork to mash. No need to heat up.

avocado

mango

banana

apricots

peaches

pawpaw

strawberries

blueberries

Cooked (and then frozen for reserves)

I usually pair the vegetables together for different flavour combinations. For the fruit, I usually combine these with one of the dried fruits to be used in addition to porridge or weet-bix as a breakfast.

Apple

Pear

Pumpkin

Sweet Potato

Potato

Peas

Corn

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Carrot

Eggplant

Spinach (frozen ones available in handy segments)

Sweet Potato, Pea & Spinach Chunky Puree

Dried

Dried fruit is quite sweet from the natural sugars in them already so I only use a couple of pieces (max) in combination with something less sweet such as apple or pear. Also, I stay clear of dried fruit that has sulphites added as a preservative. I personally get extremely itchy from this and if you search hard enough, you can find preservative free fruit. In Adelaide, you can find the Sultanas and Prunes in Coles supermarkets and the Mango and Apricot at either Goodies & Grains in the Central Market or the Queen Street Grocer.

Sultanas

Mango

Apricot

Prunes

Snacks:
With Miss I, I used other rice biscuit snacks however, they do have sugar and salt added. At such a young age, I'm trying to stay away from these unnecessary additions to Miss A's diet so, below are a couple of things I have found that have the same 'dissolve' in the mouth feel that are 100% additive free. I have also listed below some dairy options so your little one gets their calcium intake. Note, a lot of dairy products have an addition of 'natural colouring' which may be annato or 160b. This has been linked to head banging in children and I personally avoid it just in case. You can read more about it here.

Corn Puffs

Rice Puffs

Hard Cheese, easily grated and added to avocado

Yoghurt

Bon Appetit little Bubbies xx

{cucumber & tomato salad in hermie}

This salad is great on it's own on a summer night however, my family also serve it whenever it is curry for dinner. The natural yoghurt acts as a chilli 'dampener' for the tongue (much better than water) and my little 3 year old finds it quite effective.

170-200g continental cucumber (~ 3/4 of a cucumber)
120g tomatoes (~1-2 tomatoes or 7-8 large cherry tomatoes)
big handful of coriander
juice of 1/2 lemon
big pinch of salt to taste
3 tablespoons natural yoghurt
1 red chilli, finely chopped (optional)

1. Place all ingredients (except yoghurt and chilli) into Thermomix bowl. Chop 3-5sec / speed 4.
2. Drain away excess liquid. Pour into serving bowl and mix through yoghurt and chilli. Add more salt if required.

Bon Appetit xx

Tips: If your lemon has a lot of pips, exclude from the bowl and add through the lid once closed. When the MC is inserted, the juice will drain into the bowl as the MC will stop the pips. Also, it is perfectly OK to add the chilli in step 1, however, if you also have children eating this dish, it will be harder for them to pick it out. 

Notes: When this salad is diced up manually, it is not as watery and usually you do not have to drain away excess liquid. However, using the Thermomix changes this due to it's chopping technique. Also, the presentation may not be as 'pretty' however, the flavours are still great :-)

{beans & carrots in hermie}

When I think of beans and carrots, nothing spectacular really comes to mind. Most people think of these vegetables as some steamed side-dish making up your 'meat and 3 veg' meal. Well, this side-dish although quite simple, is the perfect accompaniment to the lamb curry that I have previously posted about. 

1 carrot, roughly chopped

100g beans, topped and tailed

1/2 onion, peeled

big thumb of ginger, peeled

15-20g of vegetable oil (e.g. canola)

5g (1 teaspoon) mustard seeds

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

50-75g water

salt to taste

1. Place carrots and beans in bowl and chop 7sec / speed 4. Set aside for later.

2. Place onion and ginger in bowl and chop 5sec / speed 5. Scrape down. 

3. Add oil and mustard seeds and saute 5min / Varoma/ stir speed/ reverse. Scrape down bowl.

4. Add beans and carrots, turmeric, water and salt. Cook 8min / 100°C/ stir speed / reverse.

The final product should be tender yet have a little bite to it still. The beans should still be bright green with minimal gravy.

Bon Appetit xx

Notes:

Before I had the Thermomix, I used to chop the beans and carrots neatly and obviously, this leads to a 'neater' presentation. However, the dish i made tonight still had the same flavour and my family loved it.