Christmas-3

~ Merry Christmas -3 ~

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy new year !!

The festivities are in full swing. Gifts are all wrapped and placed under 

the christmas tree, the sweet smell of freshly baked cookies and pudding

is gently wafting, the colorful decorations on the xmas tree  are beautifully 

gleaming in the warm hues of christmas lights ! A tiny lil replica of our 
the tree and presents is all ready for my lil ones salad platter too !!

Christmas tree on my plate 

Sliced Cucumber, red n yellow peppers, steamed bay corn, cheese circles 
(use a tiny piece of  straw to cut out perfect circles) 

Christmas-2

~Merry Christmas - 2 ~  

Dull gloomy days of winter are perfect to involve lil ones in 

DIY holiday crafts and keep them occupied. To ride out  cold breezy 

days with loads of fun and frolic we have been making lots of christmas 

crafts- santas, snowmen and  christmas tree both on paper and plate ...

These christmas themes salad plates are not only easy to make but

 also great to eat !! Even the smallest hand would love to get involved ..

HoHoHo Santa on the go ..

Guava, banana, black grapes , red pepper , cucumber , pea, cheese 

and savory stars. 

This year my little one  had taken the responsibility of decorating 

the Christmas tree. From the big box of last years decorations she 

picked out some of the vibrant pieces and tied them up all on her own. 

Truly kids grow up so soon .........

With delicious guavas in abundance , our second creation was also 

with similar ingredients .....but you can  replace the guava slices 
with juicy  pineapple slices too .

Frosty the guavaSnowman 

Sliced guava, cucumber, banana, black grapes, pea, red bell pepper 
and cheese (Use a piece of drinking straw to cut out tiny circles from
 a cheese slice) 

If you are planning a christmas party for kids these tiny fruity
easy to  make edible crafts are sure to be a hit !! 

Merry Christmas !!!! 

Merry Christmas

 ~ Merry Christmas ~ 

Sesame crackers with Tomato apple  relish 

Jingle bells jingle bells , jingle all the way , 

Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh...

Christmas is in the air ..Chill wind and  fog has engulfed the northern
 part of the country, the mornings are biting cold but the afternoons 
are slightly  better. The markets have  transformed to tiny santa lands
 with the wide array of colorful displays ,beautifully decorated
 christmas trees, shimmering  decorations and gorgeous red 
Santa ensembles ,the streets seem to radiate in a sea of red n green  .
With just less than a week on the advent calendar its time to 
gear up with the holiday goodies. 

Christmas is synonymous with  hearty heavenly baking. Sugar cookies , fruit loaded 
rich buttery plum cake, gingerbread houses and marzipan encased petit fours ....ah 
the list is endless ....but  we decided to start the festivities with some savories.

Winter season brings in rich luscious tangy apples and ripe juicy tomatoes too. Their
 abundance in the market was truly a perfect excuse for some culinary experiments. 
While lil one was busy decorating the christmas tree with cute lil santa , bells and 
baubles , I was in the kitchen kneading the cracker dough . 

Sesame Crackers with Tomato apple relish 
A wonderful alternative to readymade crackers , these are perfect 
for holiday munching .

  
Ingredients for Crackers 

1 cup whole wheat flour ( atta), 1/2 cup refined flour (maida), 

1tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp vegetable oil or butter, 2 tsp sesame seeds, 

 1/2 tsp dried rosemary ( or fenugreek leaves for an indo version) .

1/2 cup warm water , salt to taste . And a star shaped cookie cutter 

Method

Combine everything and  knead to a stiff dough.

Divide into two large balls .

Roll out the dough , cut into stars and prick with a toothpick .

Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 18-20  mins or till golden.

Cool on a wire rack and store in air tight box.

 Tomato apple relish 

Ingredients 

5 large tomatoes, 2 medium size onions , 1 apple, 2 tbsp sugar,

 2 tbsp raisins, juice of 1/2 lemon , 1/2 tsp grated ginger , 

pinch of pepper & cinnamon , 1/4 tsp rock salt , 1/2 tsp toasted 

sesame , 1 tsp vegetable/olive oil. 

 Opt-  2 tbsp finely chopped red and green bell

 peppers for garnishing 

Method 

Peel , core and  grate the apple . Chop the tomato and onions and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan , add ginger and onion and saute till pink. Mix in grated apple 

and chopped tomato along with raisins, sugar n spices. Cook for 10-12 mins till the
tomatoes are mushy . Add in toasted sesame and  lemon juice . Gently mash the

  pulp with  a ladle or potato masher. Cook for a min . Garnish with chopped red 

 green bell peppers for an added Christmas zing. 

Serve the dip with  crackers and  Cheesy Xmas trees . 

Turkey Day

~ Joys of the Fall ~ 

Technology has made the world smaller ! After having a 

long online chit chat with a friends daughter in USA, my little one 

wanted to know why don't we have a Thanksgiving holiday here 

in India . Like her friend she also wanted to have a harvest festival 

with turkey lunch and a big slice of the spiced  pumpkin pie.Thus

 entire evening afternoon was spent answering her  innumerable

 questions about the varying cultures and  festivals around the

 world . Being a vegetarian I could not treat her on a real turkey 

but a turkey sandwich was waiting to be gobbled !!!! 

Turkey sandwich 

Bread , cheese & veggies

Beautiful Pumpkins 

The magic of this turkey sandwich is that with a few changes it can be 

transformed into a cute Red Indian(  Native American) inspired 

sandwich too, look how easily the turkey feathers becomes his funky

headgear ...and now all is needed is a cucumber arrow !!! 

 Native American  sandwich 

cheese, bread and veggies 

Children's Day

~ Happy Children's Day ~

Children are the world's most valuable resource

and its best hope for the future - John F. Kennedy

Little Food Junction wishes all the kids a very happy children's day.

Children's day (in India) is celebrated on 14 th november each year. 

The day commemorates the birthday of our first Prime Minister , 

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who  loved kids and believed that they 

 are the future of our country and should be nurtured and loved 

dearly. As a tribute to which his birthday is celebrated as

 children's day. Most schools have cultural programs on this

 day. Often the teachers enact plays, narrate stories , sing songs

 and shower them with yummy treats and colorful gifts. 

Magic Toadstools 

Garlic oregano cheese bread from local bakery (or substitutes)* 

topped with tiny cheese circles (use small bottle caps/larger end of a

piping tip), cucumber, cherry tomato, grape and parsley.  

My lil one is very fond of  fairytales - thus for the celebrations at home 

her dad bought her a big book of '365 fairytales 'so that we never 

fall short of great stories for reading out to her every night. To add 

a wonderful zing to the day , I decided to bring alive the little 

land with  -' The Frog Prince' and the ' Magical Toadstools '. I 

spotted some garlic oregano cheese bread in one of the local 

bakeries and decided to put in to use with some veggies 

and  loads of fun !!

The Frog Prince 

Garlic oregano cheese bread from local bakery (or substitutes)* 

with tiny cheese circles green tomato , cucumber and olive eyes , 

cherry tomato ketchup mouth and cucumber feet . For the cheesy tongue-

keep a cheese slice diagonally & cut out a long ribbon using a 

toothpick, make a cut on the bread and insert it gently  

*Half moon shaped bread can be replaced  with  folded stuffed paratha ,

dosa, uttapams, crepes, pancake , whole wheat bread circles, tacos  

calzones or even Quesadillas ( click link to check out our indo 

mexican Roti Quesedilla) !! Enjoy 

Party time

~ Party Time ~

(And announcing the Giveaway winners)

 Thanks to all the participants for taking out time and  putting in your 
valuable comments . I loved going through each and every word !!
Drumroll pl - the 2 lucky winners selected via Random.org are  - 
from the LFJ Blog- comment no. 44 , Sue and from our Facebook page -
 comment no. 4 Archana Shenoy !!!! Heartiest congrats to both of you pl 
mail me ur address so that I can send in your prize . 

Life had been jus too busy since last few months - from working on a book, 
to dividing time between family and professional assignments time had almost 
been running on a treadmill !!  I had been literally dreaming of throwing a tiny 
pamper party for lil one - I knew she was also dreaming for a lovely play date 
with mom and dad............What could have been better than referring the 
Little Food Junction book-'Fun Food for Fussy Little Eaters' for a quick 
appetizer ! Oh did I tell you that there is  a chapter 'Party Time ' in the book
 and  you can find some similar ones on pg 58-59.


Tomato Boats 

Since our play date had to start from watching a movie at the theater and 
returning home for the party , the menu had to be quick & simple. I had done 
most of the preparations- from scooping out the tomatoes to mounting the
 bell pepper triangles and keeping the sprouts all ready beforehand.!

Boat appetizers - scooped tomatoes filled with seasoned sprouts and some 
green chutney ,topped with tiny bell pepper  masts and placed on a bed of
shredded purple cabbage. 

And of course the star of the day - 'my lil one' had to serve us some  tea in her tiny mini 
ceramic tea set too ( few days back I had shot some beverages for Barista n a
 sealed tetra pack of iced tea still lying with me was put to use ) . The date came to an 
end with a sweet note - sinful decadent chocolate truffles !!

These  colorful wooden paper clips and some roses made great gifts too :) 

***********************

Winners of the Giveaway 
Screen shots of the two winners selected by random .org 
From the blog commentators- comment 44 Sue  

from the Facebook page  commentators- comment 4 Archana Shenoy

 Heartiest congrats to both of you pl mail me ur address so that I can send

 in your prize . 

Book Giveaway

~Book Giveaway ~

Fun Food For Fussy Little Eaters 

The festive season is right around the corner ....the westerns markets 

are stocked up with the Halloween paraphernalia while the Indian markets 

are beautifully lit up with the luminaries of the 'festival of lights'- Diwali. 

While the houses are getting decorated , party menus are being finalized and 

the gift lists are being checked and rechecked , what could be a
 better way to spread the same festive warmth on the blog with
a  Giveaway . 

Due  to some professional assignments and  a short course on 
entrepreneur studies , blogging took a back seat owing to which I was
 unable to share with you a few pages from the book . 

The Book 'Fun Food For Fussy Little Eaters' revolves around the
 central theme of the blog- simplicity at its best . The fun food ideas
 in this book aim to make  food more visually appealing and entice 
children to be more adventurous. Featuring easy to make breakfasts
 and  snacks comprised of healthy ingredients such as fresh fruits,
 vegetable, cheese and whole meal bread, the fun food presentations
 drive home the message that healthy meals don't have to be boring. 

This fun and  quirky book , complete with step by step pictures is divided into 
theme chapters ranging from - Fun at the zoo , Fairy Tales, Happy Holidays , 
and much more. There are a lot of quick and easy to make party ideas for 
the reluctant little gourmets too . Pinocchio, Santa Sandwich, 
Party peacock , Slithery Sanke, Flower garden and many more super easy 
to make fun ideas from the book will surely add a new dimension to 
mealtimes. The book is available 

on - Amazon , Flipkart , Bookdepository , Rylandpeters, Barnes and Noble ,

Saxo , Radiotimesbookshop, Guardianbookshop, Kennys, 

Telegraph bookshop etc. and also at selected stores worldwide. 

 Giveaway

2 lucky people would get a chance to win a copy of 

' Fun Food for Fussy Little Eaters ' .

To win a copy - 

Mandatory- Leave a comment here ( on the blog comment box) or on
Little Food Junction  Facebook page ( comment thread link embedded 
below ) telling us why/when do  you like making 

fun foods or anything about your creative foods /creativity.

Write an additional comment each time  ( here or on our Facebook page again)
 and increase your chances of winning  by

1. Liking  Ryland Peter andSmall  and Little Food Junction Facebook pages 

2. Sharing the giveaway on your blog, Facebook  or twitter .

Terms & Conditions

1. The Giveaway is open till midnight of 8th Nov'13 ( GMT)

2. Open worldwide. 

3. The winner will be announced  on 9th Nov '13 and will be picked 

through True Random Generator via Random.org

4. Don't forget to put in your mail id if its not on your profile (so 

that we can contact you if you win)

5. If the winner dosen't respond within 7 days , we'l be bound to pick 

up a new winner. 

Post by Little Food Junction.

Berrylicious

~ Berrylicious  !! ~

For my lil one and me the berry addiction is still up .

After having loads of Jamun froyo bites through out the week

we still want to add a kick of many more berries to our 

daily breakfast too . Right from relishing big bowls of mixed 

berry  salads ( read spinach, apple, plum  and  cherry salad ) to 

adding some to my oatmeal  to packing a handful in lil ones tiffin 

 we  are tightly in the grip of berry fever and greatly  enjoying it too. 

With a big bag of frozen strawberries in hand , loads of fresh fruits 

in the fruit basket , beautiful flowers in bloom and a wonderful

 weather - what more  can  life ask for ?

We are enjoying our humble jamuns every bit . Ripe juicy booties

 sprinkled with some black salt just tastes absolutely heavenly and all the 

more with a gush of cool breeze lazed with the earthy aroma of wet soil. 

It seems that during this season , my camera is always hungry for 
colorful captures .While my better half and lil one were at the florist
 picking up some gorgeous roses and marigolds  for an upcoming 
worship ritual , I was  busy capturing  the myriad colors  at
  the nearby temple.

As per our local  calendar the holy month of Shravan has started .According
 to the Indian mythology this period is dedicated to the God of rain and water.
The markets are flocked with colorful flowers ,wood apple (bel) leaves, fruits 
of the angel's trumpets ( datura) and other paraphernalia required
 for the deity offerings.  

The magic of  the rains beautifully makes everything sparkle- the vibrant
 trees, the cool winds  and the charisma of temples flocked with devotees
 and  flower vendors  presents the most picturesque sight . 

Shravan is the month of Jamuns too , and truly this time I have immensely 
experimented with the berry . Right from the Jamun froyo  to Jamun 

smoothie to jamun compote filled purple party cake (that I had made to treat 

our  friends  this Sunday, post the long swimming session ) , the humble

 berry  for me has  truly been the king of the fruits this season. 

While I made some smoothie for lil one , I mixed some gorgeous 
purple puree to the bowl of my humble oatmeal too .....the amalgamation 
of the rich flavourful Jamuns  with some honey turned out 
absolutely wonderful !!!! I must  freeze loads before the season ends . 

Jamun Smoothie

 This easy to whip pixie looking smoothie is perfect to win over 
not only kids but adults too ........

Ingredients 

2 cups  yogurt, 1 cup jamun fruit de seeded , 2 tbsp honey* , 

a sprig of mint for garnishing 

Method

Blend the  de seeded jamuns along with honey  in a food

processor/ mixie  till smooth. Mix in yogurt and whisk for another 
10 secs . Pour into glasses , garnish with a sprig of mint and serve. 

* Adjust honey as per the tartness of the fruit