Baby Friendly Flapjacks

Ok I will admit that this one started purely selfishly. I ADORE flapjacks and ate them by the bucket ton when I needed to boost my milk supply while nursing little one through illness. (Oats boost milk supply, isn't that amazing and so very, very fortunate?) I found a few recipes online for ones to share with the Playful One but somehow they just didn't hit the spot.

So I present some really yummy, squidgy but still crumbly flapjacks. They are sweet from all the dried fruit and you get a whole heap of calcium and fat due to the Almond Butter. Check for allergies before you introduce these though- citrus and nuts should be treated with caution and I'd probably wait a couple of months into weaning as these stick somewhat to the mouth when forced in by the fistful (the baby, not me, honest).

Baby Friendly Flapjacks
2-3 Medium Ripe bananas
1 1/2 Cup of dried fruit (chopped)
1 tsp Almond Essence
2 Cups of Oats
3 tbsp Butter (we use goat's as it seems gentler on her tummy)
2 tbsp Oil (rapeseed is preferable)
2 tbsp Almond Butter (no salt etc added)

1. Mash the bananas in a mixing bowl.
2. Add in the chopped fruit and mix (we used dates, figs and sultanas).
3. Brown the butter in a saucepan, combine with the oil and add to the mixture.
4. Mix in the oats and almond essence and leave to absorb for about 5 minutes
5. Spoon the mixture into a baking tin (we use a cake tin and cut it up like pizza slices after) and bake on 175 degrees C for about 25 minutes or until it's browning nicely.
6. Leave to cool before devouring.

Episode 44: Holiday Hosts

A Playful Day is kindly sponsored by NorthboundKnitting, uniquely hand dyed yarn, spinning fibre and modern knitting designs. Please show your support for our playful friend by clicking on the link above.

A Playful Day is proudly sponsored by Candy Skein, hand dyed yarns sweet enough to eat! Please support our playful friend by supporting the banner above.

Show notes:

There will be a Carol Feller -along in the Ravelry Group kicking off on Christmas EVE with some prizes ;)

Off the Needles

Top Down Basic Socks from 'Tiny Treads' by Joeli Caparco (check out her video cast here) in Trailing Clouds 'Mind The Gap' colourway

On the Needles

Nangou by Melanie Berg using Wollmeise 100% Superwash Merino in the Cassis colourway and The Uncommon Thread Posh Fingering in the Plata colourway using SIGNATURES! (holy moley)

Tube Socks using up leftovers Malabrigo Rios in the Purpuras Colourway using Twist Chiagoos.
Gwithian hat by ButtonsandBeeswax in Fyberspates Vivacious DK in 'Sunshine' colourway.

Holiday with the Stars
Kim from the fabulous Craftstash videocast is guest recording all about her Thanksgiving. 

Songs:

Fly, Fly, Fly by Adrina Thorpe, available on Noise Trade
Inside my Head by Parkington Sisters, available on Noise Trade

The Day Christmas Finally Came...

Well Christmas festivities finally began to get underway today and I was so relieved. It felt like I should be doing ALL the Christmas fun and frolic now that we have a little one and the pressure to just BE THAT MUM is enormous. My blog reader, Facebook timelines, Twitter feed and Instagram feed have just been filling up with images of babies meeting Father Christmas, making salt dough ornaments and all kinds of Christmas merriment. Us? We'd not even located the Christmas baubles let alone worked out if they're shatterproof when savaged by a small pudgy playful hand.

I stoppped looking at my phone midweek and just felt so much better for it. Do I need to make her a kitsch Christmas sweater, a stocking, a garland, an ornament, a scrap book of images that is perfectly annotated or rush around to every Santa's grotto in a ten mile radius? The thing is, she's 13 months and at the moment, it's all just wonderment and baffling to her so any small gesture is enormous to her and a mummy who can stand upright at the end of the day seems far more healthy to me. I want things to be nice and special but seeing as her current favourite thing to do is career round the kitchen with a mixing bowl on her head, I figure I've got a few years yet before I need to start the whirlwind with full gusto. I can just aim to get the mood and the magic will come, right?

So with deadlineageddon finally past I announced 'We are getting festive this weekend, dammit'. Such a perfect holiday sentiment no?

I made baby friendly mince pies using this recipe from River Cottage and store bought pastry because you know what? I don't have time in my life for pastry. I will. Just not now. I have limits.

We mulled wine and decorated with Ella swinging us through Christmas in the background.

We made a roast dinner for ultimate comfort afterwards.

Then we sank back and basked in the glory of Christmas finally arriving and I resolved that I would try hard not to succumb to the idea that the holiday season is about what I did to make it perfect rather than a holiday season that was full of love and warmth (and plenty of mulled wine- hurrah!). I felt amazingly snuggly and festive suddenly and I was surrounded by my loved ones and they all looked pretty chipper too.

Tomorrow we're going to the farmer's market to get some festive treats and let Playful Baby pet a sheep dressed as a reindeer. Yup. That's my version of queueing for hours in a shopping mall to see Father Christmas. I'm hoping little one never realises the difference...!!

Happy Holidays!

Tata Madiba

This morning I walked the Playful Baby through the places Nelson Mandela visited in Brixton and explained what a figure of hope he was both in his own country and across the world. There were many people there looking for a way to pay homage to one of the most influential people of our time. I explained that he stood for equality, for peace and against poverty. She clucked happily at the other people there and a woman stopped me to say how wonderful that I carried my child to a place of such importance. We talked about the legacy we leave behind and I said I hoped mine was a daughter who valued every person as an equal and strived to see the end to poverty and greed. His message lives on in more than just his generation. Rest in peace Tata.  

“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” — Nelson Mandela

Journey Blog Tour

It seems fitting that I'm breaking my blog/recording silence to indulge in this particular blog post. Deadlineageddon very nearly sucked anything playful out of me this month and I feared I might never find my way back to here, my little corner of the internet where I get to talk about fun knitting things, recipes and occasionally muse about life in general. 

Welcome to my leg of the Journey Blog tour. 'Journey' is a collaboration of hand knits from Jane Richmond and Shannon Cook (of Love in the Mommyhood fame) and is inspired by the journey of self-discovery, independence and the path back to yourself. This really resonates with me right now and I felt an immediate affection for this book. In planning my post for the blog tour, I started a thought process that went something like this:

Oh! Self discovery....... a journey.... Vancouver Island.... I should knit something out of my holiday yarn that I bought when I visited the West Coast ...... I should share how I taught my friend to knit while we travelled near the island...... and tie it in and....


You get the idea. 

I was just running away with myself, thrilled to be thinking about knitting one of the wonderful patterns from this book till I sat and made myself re read the words Shannon and Jane start the book with. Before you even launch into the fabulous collection that includes two garment patterns, a shawl pattern, a sock pattern and two accessory patterns, there is foreword that shares the sentiment that drove the publication of this book. Shannon and Jane worked together on Jane's previous publication 'Island' which I was very lucky to review last year. That friendship has taken them both to unexpected places in their creative journeys as they worked worked together to make all their differences and shared interests into this wonderful publication put out by the publishing company they have now established. 

No publishing journey is easy and to do so as friends is incredible. The warmth from the friendship seems to ooze off the pages that are filled with stunning photography by Nicholas Kupiak  (he also did the photography for Island). It made me stop, think, and gather myself. Why would I add a deadline to this? The book is beautiful and makes me want to curl up with it and a mug of something warm and delicous and read it from cover-to-cover. Yep, even the knitting patterns because they are so thoughtfully written and laid out so you just know it's going to be a pleasure to create. 

Spate by Jane Rochmond, (c) Nicholas Kupiak

So instead of frantically casting on, I partook in some imaginary knitting. Wanna know what I made first? I made Spate, the wonderful textured fingerless mitts that Jane Richmond designed for the book. I worked them up in something yummy from my stash that's been marinating for a while and I was so thrilled to find a stitch pattern that showcased such subtle variegation. I knit these mitts to wear while I walked with my little girl and needed my fingers free to help feed the ducks, retie the strap on her shoe or pocket one of the many leaves she hands to me to look at as we walk along. In my journey of self discovery, it has been the balance of finding time to be the person I used to be and a mother. Working out how I reconcile the amount of time and commitment it takes to raise such a sturdy young thing with the knit addict whose every waking hour used to be spent with needles in hand or writing about knitting journeys, is a tricky one indeed. 

Antrorse by Shannon Cook, (c) Nicholas Kupiak

I then got really flamboyant and cast on Antrorse, Shannon's amazingly snuggly looking sweater design for the book. The clean and simple lines to this sweater are just wonderful but the pattern is repeated enough throughout the body of the sweater that it won't be dull to knit. There's also buttons and every good crafter has a beloved button box. I have buttons hoarded and collected from all over the world, from my mother's stash and even from the Giant's mother's stash. They are precious and perfect for browsing over on a rainy afternoon while you consider your choices. 

I WILL cast on from this book and I will sample some vintage stash to do so because Jane and Shannon have reminded me of the pleasure that can be found in knitting when you just slow down and stop to look at the pictures.

You can find other wonderful posts about Journey from other bloggers and podcasters:

MONDAY || CELTIC CAST ON

TUESDAY || TRULY MYRTLE and THE YARNIAD

WEDNESDAY || TANIS FIBER ARTS

THURSDAY || HEY PORKCHOP, NOODLEHEAD and SKIRT AS TOP

FRIDAY || MISO CRAFTY KNITS, IN COLOR ORDER 

SATURDAY || SINGLEHANDED KNITS

A huge thank you to Shannon and Jane for inviting me to be part of the Journey tour. The fun doesn't stop with this post as there will be more details of the patterns on the podcast next week (yes, next week. I'm committed to that). To purchase your copy of Journey, please either visit Ravelry or Marian Rae Publications.