little kitchen :: pancakes

I love good children's books and to have a lovely friend of mine recommend a kids cookbook I was instantly online purchasing this particular book along with a few more for the little ones. I have not recieved the book she recommended but I did receive the other cookbook I thought I would try.

I love a good children's cookbook, especially one that is written by a mum that seems to understand little people and how some can be fussy eaters. This book is not especially made for fussy eaters, but just by the way things are done you can tell she understands what it is like to have a little one that will not eat lumpy vegetables.

We really wanted to make one of the dinners out of the book, but we did not have the time and instead we made the pancakes! The book is called, Little Kitchen and it is full of receipes that are simple and really easy for children to make. I love having Keely in the kitchen with me and her cooking with me. I like her to see, smell and touch different foods, even food she may not even try. I think this will help turn my fussy eater into a non fussy eater!

There are a few cooking with kids books, but I am really happy with this one. It says when mum or dad need to do certain things, but really it is more focused on the children being the cooks. We made really yummy pancakes, that were easy for her to make and fun for us to eat. Keely made star shaped and your regular round pancakes and dusted them with icing sugar. The best thing is the recipe mixture is a small amount and portioned for children, so you are not left with leftover batter, or pancakes.

We have cooked more this week out of the book, and I will share one of the dinner meals with you next week. So far we have 2 winners out of the book!

Here is the recipe for the pancakes, although I am sure you all have a pancake recipe, but this is good for 2 or 3 small children.

fun-shaped pancakes

1 cup plain flour

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

2 teaspoon softened butter

juice of 1 large lemon

2-3 tablespoons of icing sugar for dusting

*sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into a mixing bowl.

*combine the egg, milk and vinegar in another bowl and whisk them together well. ask a grown-up to help you tip the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk them together.

* add 1 teaspoon of the softened butter to the frying pan and use a pastry brush to grease it evenly. brush a little more butter inside the pancake rings.

*ask a grown-up to help you put the frying pan over a low heat and put the pancake rings in. allow them to heat for 1 minute. pour 1/4 cup of batter into each ring so they are about a third full. if you are not using pancake rings then just pour the batter directly into the pan so that it forms a round pancake. cook until bubbles start to appear on the surface then use and egg flip to gently hold the pancake in place while lifting the pancake ring away from the pancake. ask a grown-up to help you with this. continue cooking for another minute, or until the pancake is cooked on the underside. (life the edge up with an egg flip and have a peek.

*ask a grown-up to help you flip the pancakes over and cook them for 1-2 minutes on the other side, then lift out the pan onto a warm plate. cook the rest of the batter to make more pancakes.

*serve the pancakes hot from the pan, sprinkled with lemon juice and icing sugar.

enjoy!