My Little Nephew's First Birthday

Balloons, barbeque, birthday boy, bulgolgi, and buns.

Camera, "Cheese", chicken, and chocolate.

Pagoda, photos, picnic, and pizza.

Sauces, sausages, sizzling, and smiles.

Does the following list of words paint a picture of the day?

On the way home from our long afternoon, we saw this little cute monster (?) sitting on the bench at the park.

We took a closer look at it.

Our dear little one happen to be fast asleep so after adoring the cute little doll, we were on our way.

My Little Nephew

By Corrinne May, My Little Nephew Lyrics

It's funny how one thing happens 
And changes your whole point of view 
Everything that seems to matter 
Has cast aside for a better truth

You're growing faster with every 

Minute, second, photograph 
I wish I could spend more time with you 
My little nephew 

Everyday's a new discovery 
I'm a child again looking through your eyes 
With every step you're teaching me 
How to fall and cry, get up and smile 

You're growing faster with every 

Minute, second, photograph 
I wish I could spend more time with you 
My little nephew 

But you're far away and I'm over here 
Memories are lost in the span of years 
So, when I go will you miss me? 
When I go will you remember me? 

You're growing faster with every 

Minute, second, photograph 
I wish I could spend more time with you... 
My little nephew

See you learn to tie you shoes 

Say that sky is blue 

And that your best friend is Winnie the Pooh 

My little nephew

Honey Joys

An old favourite, a childhood treat, a simple recipe. Just cornflakes, sweetened, clustered, baked, and voilà! It's crunchy, crispy, oh sweet honey! Okay, I think I might have exaggerated too much here. You know that moment when a child is trying to tell you something and you are just so busy, so you ask them to get straight to the point. Yes, I know that moment so let's cut straight to the point.

Yes, grab that cereal box and empty it out of it's corn-goodness.

Then add the oils, the sugars and the extras if you want to make it all fancy and pretty. Pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds were a personal choice because of my fear of giving children any treats with nuts. By the way, this bake was for afternoon tea at church so I had to be a little more thoughtful and careful about this.

Some had the seeds and some were plain and simple-the way Honey Joys should be.

You can find the recipe at Happy Home Baking.

Honeydew Cucumber Smoothie

I wake up in the morning feeling like P.Diddy I'm in a fridge. Autumn has just arrived and Summer has gone away for another year, well almost a year, but that doesn't mean we can't have smoothies. I don't exactly know when honeydew melons are in season but it is now, and man are they sweet!

It's ironic how everything is so green about this smoothie, yet everything around here is changing to the colours of Fall, of red, orange, brown and yellow.

The combination of the sweet honeydew melon with the cucumber makes a really refreshing flavour. It feels reallly hydrating to drink too.

I think this blender is the best investment in appliances that my dad has ever made.

Honeydew Cucumber Smoothie

Makes 1 large smoothie or 2 small servings

Ingredients:

1/4 of a large honeydew melon (or 1 cup of chopped melon pieces)

1/4 cup of cucumber

1 cup milk

Directions:

1. Blend all ingredients together and serve immediately.

Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

I didn't believe it until I tried making it myself: butter-less cookies. So many doubts ran through my head like how will this cookie hold together without butter? Will it still have the soft and chewy texture of a typical chocolate chip cookie? Will it taste nice? Well, to begin with, I was looking for a cookie dough recipe without butter, not because I'm extremely health conscious (yes, I'm working on being slightly healthier, well you know better), but because I ran out of butter. OH NO! WHAT? NO BUTTER!? But don't worry, these cookies have saved the day!

These cookies are just as soft and as chewy as a typical chocolate chip cookie. And guess what? It's easy and healthy. YAY! They are slightly crumbly yet contain no traces of butter. If in doubt, immediately try this recipe and you'll change your mind about this cookie dough.

With the addition of a touch of cinnamon and a pinch of salt, these cookies will make you drool over the counter satisfy your cookie cravings.

Mix and match and substitute the chocolate chips with some walnuts and cranberries. Pecan and chocolate is nice together too, I've seen Joy the Baker make it before. Cherries and white chocolate are another awesome combination made by her too. However today I'd like walnuts, chocolate and cranberries in my cookie.

Can you see the walnut chunks? I didn't even bother to chop it up, and I like the big crunch from the walnut pieces. The dried cranberries give a slight twist and tang which complements the bittersweet dark chocolate bits and crunchy walnut pieces.

When shared with loved ones, these big hearty cookies are just right.

Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
Adapted from Half Baked Harvest

Makes 24-30 cookies

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups traditional rolled oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup canola oil (I used rice bran oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup cranberries
1 cup walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line 2-3 baking trays with baking paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix together sugar, oil and eggs. Add vanilla and combine well.
3. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. 
4. Combine the egg mixture to the flour mixture. Then add in oats, chocolate chips, cranberries and walnuts. The dough will be crumbly. 
5. Using a tablespoon, scoop spoonfuls of the mixture and place on the prepared baking tray. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from tray. Last 4 days stored in an airtight container.

Mama-style French Toast

A pretty photo can capture your eye, have you thinking, or even make you drool. I wish I could always capture pretty pictures for you to see but not everything in life is perfect, especially the everyday things. Some of the pretty things in life: a beautiful, personalised, hand-picked necklace; 

a mum that always offers to help;

a simple, yet delicious homemade french toast;... 

This french toast isn't your typical french toast soaked in a eggy mixture. The batter doesn't even include milk, sugar, vanilla or cinnamon like most common French toast batters. It's different. A good different. And did I mention it is realllly simple to make?

In France, they call it pain perdu, meaning "lost bread" because it is a way to save stale or "lost" bread. It is considered to be a dessert, a breakfast as well as an afternoon tea snack. In Quebec, French toast is called pain doré, which means "golden bread". I agree with both interpretations, because my mama's French toast is dessert, breakfast, an afternoon tea snack, and a pretty "golden bread". It only requires some bread of your choice, one's favourite jams or spreads, some self-raising flour, water, oil and sugar to coat. No egg or milk required (you could experiment with the recipe, but I like to keep it real simple).

These pictures don't do justice to how pretty my mama's French toast really are, but I'll update you when I attempt this recipe independently next time (: