I used to be able to fit a lot of information in my brain. Perhaps you could too?
I could cite UN Resolution numbers and every winner of the Best Actress Oscar going back 30 years. I could remember the numbers of my two passports, NI number and tax file number and the preferred cocktails of my nearest and dearest. I had complex pastry recipes mastered and etched on the wood paneling of my mind.
These days, I’m lucky if I can remember what 2 +5 equals and find where I put my phone.
If what you need right now is a truly idiot-proof recipe for muesli cookies, which just happen to be egg, wheat and sugar free, skip to the bottom. If you have the mental capacity for some pondering, read on.
Shin-deep in the trenches raising a ‘two-nager’ there are things I now can easily do. I can quickly give you a ranking out of 10 of the likelihood of whether my son will eat something, or practice shot put with it. I can find my way from the carpark down to the supermarket and back, blindfolded, without us walking past any ride on toys which swallow $2 faster than a chubby kid does custard. I can break and scramble eggs one handed in 30 seconds, while a petulant, wailing mass of 16 kg writhes on my hip about the injustice of not having cake for every meal. I can parrot most of the words in the Wiggles songbook (plus the matching hand gestures, all while wrangling him into jeans, socks and sneakers). I can tell you exactly how many minutes are left in an evening before I can close the door to his sleeping form and contentedly pour myself a glass of wine. And I can remember exactly which child in which Venn segment of his social circle cannot safely eat eggs, dairy, nuts or blueberries.
If any of this sounds familiar, then perhaps you need these cookies in your realm?
I was once taught by a close friend a vital life lesson; do not drink in a palindrome. By which I mean, if you start with champagne, then go to white wine, then red wine- it is a folly of a choice to go back to champagne at the close of the night. You cannot go backwards. There’s no point, only pain resides there. You have to move forwards.
Yet that principle doesn’t apply to baking. Particularly if it involves toddlers, or the busy and distracted. Simple patterns help create a synchronicity that commit things to memory- which is handy if everytime you pull out your phone to look up a recipe somebody plucks it out of your fist so they can watch another episode of Peppa Pig.
So, here we go. These are the 2, 5 muesli cookies. The are perfect for a two year old- both for eating and baking together (striped pyjamas with feet optional).
We eat them five days a week, broken and shared over a coffee and babycino at 10 am. They bake for 25 minutes, involve two implements and one bowl to wash up.
Adding an additional egg to the mix would do no harm to the end result, but if you’ve got anyone in your midst who needs to avoid them the genius of a ‘flax egg’ or ‘chia egg’ is at play here. There’s a curious texture that’s created when you muddle either ground flaxseed/linseed and chia seeds with water. There is no nice way to describe it. I have to use the word. It is mucilaginous.
There are plenty of things in life which are complicated. My feelings about that word is one of them. Beyond that; finding a toddler’s shoe with velcro straps that can sustain play on the sand. The gradings of glass in 17 varying quotes for sliding doors for an imminent renovation. The depths of shame you feel about your country’s treatment of refugees.
So goodness knows the construction of your mid morning snack shouldn’t be among them.
Eggless, Easy-to-Remember Muesli Cookies
Makes 16-18 cookies. These will keep in tupperware in the fridge for 5-7 days happily.
You can use any untoasted muesli mix you like- I prefer to use one without any nuts which also has a mix of dried fruit, coconut and some bran.
Shopping/foraging
2 ripe bananas
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp ground flax seeds
50 g melted coconut oil, or butter
100 ml water
250 g untoasted muesli
Here’s how we roll
1) Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line a large baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
2) Mash the bananas.
3) Muddle together the bananas, chia seeds, flax seeds, melted coconut oil and add the 100 ml water.
4) Fold in the muesli until well combined. Allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes (this will help it stick together better).
5) Use an ice cream scoop to portion the batter into cookies. Flatten the top slightly. Bake for 25 minutes, until brown and firm to the touch.
Just a short note to let you know how much I enjoy your weekly musings Tori – with fabulous recipes an added bonus! I have a daughter three months younger than Will and a six month old son so I particularly enjoy relating to a mother that copes with the daily meltdowns too…and was finally prompted to write as we’ve survived a kitchen renovation a year ago and I just wanted to add my two cents worth after your comment about deciding upon one large sink in your new space. I feel two sinks are a must! We were persuaded to add one after a friend said how much she regrets only installing one…as even if the second is just a tiny one, having another receptacle to drain pots, soak things etc is enormously helpful. I never comment but felt I had to share as I feel so grateful for her advice every time I use it! Good luck with all the decision making….