Cooking with Children :: Quorn Dansak Recipe

Lara and I quite often cook curry together, either on the hob or in the slow cooker. Lara has developed a taste for curry of different types - much like her mum and dad (and grandma and grandpa). Recently we were asked whether we would like to write a post about Quorn - a meat substitute and I thought that one of our traditional family curry recipes would be a perfect test to put Quorn to - could it be healthier, but just as tasty as our normal family fayre? And so, Lara helped me to make (and eat) a very simple Quorn Dansak, something I normally make with chicken breast or chunks of lamb.

QUORN DANSAK (serves 4 adults)

INGREDIENTS
350g pack Quorn pieces
1 large onion roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
vegetable stock cube made up with 1 litre hot water
150g split red lentils
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 heaped teaspoon curry powder (we used Lara's homemade curry powder)
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 heaped teaspoon Garam Masala



METHOD

• Heat the oil and gently fry the onion until soft. Then add the ginger and garlic for a minute before popping in the turmeric, curry powder and chilli powder. Fry for 1 minute.


• Add the Quorn pieces and fry for a further minute, being careful not to let the spices catch. Add in the lentils and then the stock liquid; stir well and bring to the boil.


• Reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for about 20-30 minutes until the lentils are soft and beginning to disintegrate. Be careful towards the end of cooking because the lentils WILL stick. Make sure you top up with plenty of hot water should you need it.


• About 5 minutes before serving, stir in the Garam Masala and also any salt and pepper that you fancy.

Mr B., Lara and I were all really impressed with how the Quorn stood up to our family curry test. You could definitely tell there was something different about it but it was incredibly close to the chicken version I normally cook... mainly because the only difference in the entire dish was the Quorn instead of the chicken - everything else remained exactly the same. We served our Quorn dansak with steamed rice, mango chutney and mini naan bread. I think the Quorn needed the strong flavours of the curry to support it and probably would have found it too lacking in flavour on a milder dish.

The good news is, I'm willing to try Quorn in some other dishes now. It is much lower in fat than some red meats and compares really favourably in price. If I were to make this dish using free range chicken breasts from my normal supermarket, the meat content would have cost me about £8 but this packet of Quorn cost just £3. If I could replace just one meat dish per week with Quorn I could reduce my fat intake, grocery costs and, potentially, my impact on the environment (although I admit I haven't researched the last of those yet).

There are loads of everyday recipes on the Quorn website that feature Quorn instead of their traditional meat content. You can also find more recipes from REAL people like me (well, I'm real aren't I?) on their facebook page where I intend to share my Quorn Dansak recipe too.

This is a sponsored post but that doesn't stop it being a fascinating read - does it?

mOMma No Spill Cup Review

Clearly it is going to be many months before baby Button starts weaning but I can tell you that having had a play with the mOMma trainer cup, I'm really looking forward to trying out some of the bits and bobs in the mOMma range of feeding equipment.

Lara still uses a beaker occasionally - usually when she is on the move or when I know she is too tired or too distracted to be trusted with a plain old cup. We've tried several trainer cups along the way and I like to think I've built up a mental image of all the things I will be looking for when buying trainer cups for baby II. Number one on my list is a cup that is near-impossible for your child to tip the contents out of. Two, the spout area needs to be easily replaceable and failing that, the cup has to be affordable enough to replace the whole cup... teething toddlers and babies chew through spouts at some rate. Three, the handles have to be small enough for a baby but big enough for a toddler (and for me to grab if I need to).

We have been trying out the mOMma no-spill cup with dual handles. I can't find any reference to replacement spouts on the internet, but the cup only costs around £5.99 so would be easily replaceable if needed. Other than that, it DEFINITELY fulfills my other mummy-criteria.

The mOMma no-spill cup has a rounded and weighted, gently-rocking base so that if your child knocks it, it will just roll and then pop back up to an upright position... a bit like a rocking doll. Originally I worried that the base was too rounded and that Lara would struggle to place it upright on a table but the flat spot on the bottom is surprisingly effective. The inside of the cup is slightly rounded and raised which is probably really important for the next stage up - mOMma sell the same cup with a lid that has an integral straw and a rounded base makes it easier to get to the contents at the very bottom of the cup.

The handles are slightly bendy, which means they can be easily grabbed by me if I need to. The spout is a very bendy soft material with quite a large area of the liquid to be sucked from. The screw-top lid with handles can be replaced with some of mOMma's other lids in the range including a teat or a lid with straw. The bottle itself is a 250ml bottle made from BPA-free plastic.

One of the features I liked most about the mOMma cup was the lid that covered the spout. I gave up with the lids on many of Lara's cups as they were either too difficult to take off (and ended up spraying liquid everywhere) or else they were too loose. The coloured spout cover on the mOMma cup is easy to take on and off and doesn't come off in my bag.

The cup is striking, but perhaps not the most iconic product of the mOMma range. mOMma is currently distributed by Lansinoh in the UK.

 

You can view the complete mOmma feeding range on Amazon.

tommee tippee® Closer to Nature Digital Thermometer Review

This post was first published on Family Tech in March 20120.

I strongly believe that every parent of an infant should own a digital ear thermometer of some sort. I can tell you from experience with both digital, semi-digital and totally un-digital thermometers that a fancy piece of kit such as the tommee tippee® closer to nature Digital Ear Thermometer is worth every single penny of investment.

The tommee tippee® digital thermometer can give you an accurate reading in just 1 second. I'll say that again - just 1 second! Even if you have a frantic baby or a disruptive toddler you only need to keep them still for 1 second in order to take their temperature. Genius.

Actually, Lara loves having her temperature taken. It is one of her favourite pasttimes and trying to get the closer to nature thermometer off her after use is pretty hard! When she was really feverish during February, Lara's eyes would light up when I brought out the thermometer!

The tommee tippee® thermometer is nicely shaped so that it sits easily in your hand while you take the reading. I found it tricky that there were buttons on both the front and the back that did different things (taking readings vs changing settings) but I got used to it in the end.

The thermometer can hold up to 9 readings so that you can track your baby's temperature - this is particularly useful if you are worried and need to track it before contacting your health professional.

The temperature sensor is protected by a thin hygeine sleeve - you get a small number of these included with the thermometer but will need to buy replacements as they are only for single use.

The only thing I didn't really like about the product was the LCD display which I found to be quite dark and difficult to read at times. I seem to remember making similar comments about the tommee tippee® baby monitor.

Despite this, at a recommended price of £34.99 I really think the tommee tippee® closer to nature digital ear thermometer it is worth the investment and will return dividends for most parents.

tommee tippee® products are available at, Amazon, Asda, Argos, Boots, Mothercare, Morrisons, Sainsburys, Tesco, Toys R Us, or online at www.tommeetippee.co.uk.