Ella’s Kitchen

Ella’s Kitchen is really a gift from above for any parent on the go. When I was pregnant with my first I had visions of hand making all his organic, ethically sourced meals in my Yves Saint Laurent dressing gown with my freshly blow dried hair and sipping a freshly squeezed juice.

Unfortunately, the reality is much different. I just did not have the time to do it all – even a bath was a rare luxury.

The question was how to balance it all, and Ella’s Kitchen played a part in helping.  Ella’s Kitchen have a vast range of organic, healthy food from when your child starts weaning so you don’t feel guilty when you just don’t have the time to prepare meals. However when you do have a moment – even if it is just a few minutes, Ella’s Kitchen have a new cook book called the Red One. In it you can find over a 100 simple and nutritious yummy recipes to inspire big and little cooks alike. From bubble + squeak to Big Beef Ragu as well as delicious desserts (my personal favourite). Both Carter and I have had lots of fun making and more importantly eating the meals and puds. It is a joy to have a cook book that is fun and easy to use

Sleep loving baby by Dunja Knezevic

I thank my lucky stars for having a sleep-loving baby!  Not only does she have two good long naps during the day, she’s been sleeping eleven hour nights since she was three months. The four month sleep regression did knock me of my feet for a few days but all is back to normal now.

Just started solids and there is nothing cuter in the world than her little expression when she tries a new flavor. Her preference is rice pudding but I change it up every now and again to keep her on her tiny toes.

I may also have mentioned in a previous post that my husband and I tried for years to get pregnant, and since I suffer from arthritis, and had to keep of my meds whilst we were trying, I saw an acupuncturist once a week to keep me mobile.  A wonderful wonderful lady who was intent on getting me pregnant. I stopped seeing her a few months before I got pregnant, and decided to not tell her about the great news, but to surprise her with a baby! Well I did just that yesterday and it was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. I met her in a caffee and hid Ari in her car seat under the table, as an extra surprise. Seeing her excitement made me think back to when I first laid eyes on Ari myself, the shock and wonderment taking over.

Babies do truly rule, just the best things since sliced bread!

Carroty cakes xx

Makes 16 Squares Prep 20 minutes Cook 30 minutes

 

Carrots make a wonderfully moist cake. These little treats are especially

good because the decorations are made from real carrot shavings.

What you need

200 g/7 oz carrots

175 g/6 oz soft brown sugar

200 g/7 oz self-raising flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Finely grated rind of 1 orange

2 eggs, beaten

150 ml/¼ pint sunflower oil

For the topping

50 g/1¾ oz unsalted butter,

softened

75 g/2½ oz icing sugar

120 g/4¼ oz cream cheese

Carrot shavings, to decorate

(optional)

What to do

1 Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/Gas Mark 4.

Grease an 18 cm/7 inch square cake tin.

2 Grate the carrots finely into a large mixing

bowl. Sift the sugar, flour, bicarbonate of soda

and cinnamon on top of the carrot, then add

the orange rind and mix everything together.

Add the eggs and the oil to the mixture.

Mix everything together well.

3 Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and level

the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cake

is cooked through – test it by piercing it with

a metal skewer. It should come out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and leave

it to cool in the tin placed on a wire rack.

4 Meanwhile, make the topping. Mix the butter

and icing sugar together, then stir in the

cream cheese until smooth.

5 When the cake is cool, carefully turn it out

onto a board. Spread the topping evenly

over the cake and cut the cake into

16 squares. Decorate each square with

a shaving of fresh carrot, if you wish.