Happy Monday?

Does it depend on the weekend you’ve just had, or the week ahead of you? Are you thinking what to make for dinner, or are you young enough not to give it a thought, with all your meals provided by someone else?

Either way, why not take a little time to play? These are meringues, bananas, medjoul dates and crackers filled with cream or mascarpone - the most delicious Italian cream cheese.

You don’t need a child to do it with you, but it helps!  For more ideas on kitchen games and experiments, click on the picture.

Are you cut out for it?

To make these you need:

Recipe for butter biscuits (see jigsaw shapes above)
Cutters - round will do but they’re boring
One child - boy or girl, doesn’t matter

To get some more ideas for what to do on a rainy day with children, click on the picture.

Don’t make that face

Picky eaters are more likely to eat their food if it makes them smile. Here is a plate of 3 vegetables and 2 mini shepherd’s pies. Small sizes are also more appealing for children than a large dollop on a plate.

Click on the picture (go to Today’s Recipe)  to find out how it is made.

The green things

Someone I know will never eat anything green.  He’s very nice really and he doesn’t know what he’s missing.  Broad beans (on the right in the picture) may be an acquired taste; runner beans aren’t around yet, but British asparagus is just coming into season.  It’s on sale for a brief month or so - and it’s so good. There’s no need to make a fancy hollandaise sauce.  Just serve it hot or cold with lashings of good olive oil or fresh butter.

To find out how to do it with no steaming or boiling, click on the picture. Today’s Recipe is easy enough for a child to do.