Red toadstools

~ The Little Red Toadstool  ~

Since my childhood days I had an unusual  fascination 

towards the bright red  toadstools with hovering butterflies .

The stories of toadstools  as goblin houses and butterflies as their

 guardian angels  always enchanted me, thus year after year during 

the rainy season when other kids were busy making origami paper boats

or catching dragonflies  I would quietly sneak out and wander all over 

my aunt's huge garden to find a glimpse of these red booties. 

Watermelon, cheese (use a bottle cap for circles), cucumber, 

lettuce & mung sprouts

During lunch break at school, my eyes would eagerly search for the same-

 in the school field, garden , the damp corners of the old pathways.....

..but the truth was that lady luck  never happened to be by my side during 

these toadstool hunts .I could spot dozens of butterflies but not even a single

colorful toadstool. 

For days and days I spent much of spare time in the

 library till I came to know that these red Fly Agarics are not found  in the 

plains. The rains on  plains are synonymous to just slender white capped 

delicate mushrooms or some smelly rugged medium sized toadstools which 

are absolutely incapable of attracting butterflies !!

My fascination towards these crimson beauties now knew its boundaries!! 

I couldn't find these in plains ,but being a creative addict I could always 

create some toadstool & butterfly charisma around me. Thus while

 working over fun ideas for my book Fun Food for Fussy Little Eaters

 an edible version was bound to happen. You can find a similar 

version of watermelon toadstool with a fruity butterfly in the book too. 

Few days back I made a tiny DIY recycled art toadstool for my 

balcony garden. Just cut a plastic ball in half, painted with some red and

 white waterproof  acrylic colors and glued it to a small piece of scrap 

hose pipe. Of course these fake goblin homes do not attract any butterflies,

but a hanging planter with a butterfly mini stake surely pampers

 my childhood memories !!

Tribute to Tricolor
(an excerpt from Child magazine) 

I love to play with recipes,patterns and colors. Do check out my 

tribute to the tricolor in  Aug '14 issue of Child magazine (India) 

(pg. 70-71) . Easy to make, these delicious recipes are perfect to try 

out with your kiddos too !! 

Shark on my plate

~ Shark On my Plate ~ 

The monsoons have just stepped in the northern part of India. 

Cool winds accompanied with wonderful gush of shower are

perfect to rejuvenate the mind and body from the scorching and 

soaring temperatures of summer.....The first showers of blissful sunday 

afternoon surely needed some creative  monsoon snacking and nothing

 could have been better than involving lil one in making and relishing 

an edible version of her story book - 'The Great Shark Escape'........

Brown bread, carrots, cheese, radish, onion green, pea, olive 

Mom's Speak with Real Fruit Power 
(an excerpt from the  writeup )

I always believe that  the most crucial step in making kids understand 

 healthy food choices and  habits is to involve them in tiny fun food 
activities. Taking  their help in picking up fresh fruits , veggies and grocery
 from the store to planning and preparing healthy versions of their 
favorite junks are a few  smart moves to encourage healthy eating. 

The Old chinese proverb "Tell me and I forget, show me and I will remember ,

 involve me and I will understand " beautifully enlightens this theory . 

Click this link to read the detailed article 

http://www.realfruitpower.com/blog/involving_them_in_understanding

Fathers Day

~ Pomegranate Basil Mojito ~  
for Fathers Day 

Fathers are wonderful people...Too little understood, 

And we do not sing their praises ,as often a we should ....

But fathers are just wonderful , in a million different ways 

To make us happy today and everyday !!! 

Little Food Junction wishes all fathers  a very Happy Fathers Day.

While half the world is still busy celebrating the occasion , we 

from the other side of the globe would love to share our take for the 

occasion. The tiny handmade card  accompanied with a cool non 

alcoholic mojito was perfect to beat the summer heat and swing in

 to the celebrations. 

The summer season is the hottest time throughout the Indian subcontinent.
Unlike western summers , the Indian summer is not about colorful days 
and warm wonderful afternoons but about unbearable scorching heat ,
 dusty winds and dripping sweat . Chilled beverages accompanied with light 
meals or a big bowl of garden fresh salad is the best way to keep heat at bay.

Although the blooming season ended long time back , yet there were some
 beautiful myriad red poppies in the garden till last week that seemed to have
 conquered the unbearable heat of the season .Daddy is quite fond of tiny 
potted succulents so lil one had  potted a gorgeous green one in a tiny red
pot to serve as a fathers day gift. 

Both lil one and father are quite fond of pomegranates so nothing could 
have been better than a sparkling glass of ruby red goodness. Some 
freshly picked basil truly added to the zing. The simple recipe and some 
help from me made the lil one 'Mixologist of the day'....


Pomegranate Basil Mojito
This easy to prepare non alcoholic mojito is perfect to try with your
 lil ones on a hot summer day. 

Makes 2-3  glasses 

Ingredients - 
1/4 cup basil, 1 cup pomegranate juice , 250 ml club  soda ,
 2tsp sugar syrup , few pomegranate pearls and some ice.  

Method-
 Muddle basil with sugar syrup and divide into 3 glasses. 
Fill each glass with a few ice cubes and pomegranate pearls, pour in
 pomegranate juice and soda.Garnish with tiny basil leaves and serve.