CHILD’S PLAY
Life in lockdown means time to have fun and discover the joy of making food. Here is a trio of ideas to share with the young ones from Hilary Biller.
OH FOR A DAY BY THE SEASIDE
MAKES 8
Dreams can come true, it just needs a little imagination …
What you need
1 bowl, 1 metal spoon, paper cups, baking tray, rolling pin
1 packet green jelly crystals
200ml boiling water
2-3 drops of blue colouring
3 sweet biscuits, crumbled
8 jelly babies
8 mini paper umbrellas
Dissolve jelly crystals in the boiling water, stirring with a metal spoon. Add a little drop of food colouring at a time to make the jelly the aquamarine colour of the sea. Stir before adding the next drop.
Take 16 white paper cups, double them up to make 8 and spread out on a baking tray. Divide the jelly between the 8 paper cups and allow to set in the fridge.
Break up the biscuits into pieces and place in a plastic bag. Use a rolling pin to crush to the texture of sea sand.
When the jellies are set, remove from the fridge. Sprinkle over a little of the biscuit crumbs to make the sand. Add 1-2 jelly babies and push an open umbrella into the jelly for some shade. Enjoy your day on the beach.
MARTIAN MEN
MAKES 1 DOZEN
Create your own creatures from Mars using a gingerbread cutter and easy homemade biscuit recipe, some glacé icing and sweets. You can replace the sweets with currants, raisins and sultanas or sliced dried fruit.
What you need
Gingerbread cutters, baking tray and baking paper, bowl and sieve for icing, green food colouring, teaspoon, liquorice allsorts, jelly babies or jelly beans OR raisins and dried fruit pieces.
Biscuit dough
125g butter or margarine, softened but not melted
100g (½ cup) caster sugar
1 large egg
435ml (1 ¾ cups) flour
Decoration
250ml (1 cup) icing sugar, sifted
30ml (2 tbsp) hot water
Green colouring
Sweets of choice
For the biscuits combine the butter, caster sugar and egg in a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth.
Sift in the flour and use a wooden spoon to bring the dough together. Lightly flour the counter surface and knead the dough by hand until smooth. Place in a plastic bag and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Remove the dough and cut it in half.
Roll out the dough between two pieces of greaseproof paper. When it’s 4mm-5mm thick use the gingerbread cutter to cut out figures and gently lift them onto a greased baking tray. Depending on the size of the tray you will have to bake 2-3 times for 15 minutes each batch.
Any extra dough can be rolled out and shaped into biscuits and baked around the figures.
Make the icing by placing the icing sugar in a bowl and adding the hot water a teaspoon at a time. Add a drop or two of colouring and mix well until you have an icing that can be spread but is not too runny.
Remove the figures from the oven when golden brown and gently use an egg lifter to lift them to a cooling rack to cool.
In the meantime cut the sweets or dried fruit into different shapes. Using a teaspoon, spread the icing on the biscuits, taking care around the edges.
Press sweets or dried fruit into icing and allow to set completely.
ZEBRA SARMIES
MAKES 8 RECTANGLES
For a quick snack on safari …
What you need
Bread board, a knife to spread, bread knife and serving platter
8 slices of day-old white, brown or wholewheat bread
Softened butter or margarine Marmite/ Fray Bentos or hazelnut/chocolate spread
To serve, optional
Cocktails tomatoes, baby carrots and baby cucumbers
Butter three slices of bread and spread with your chosen spread, ensuring you spread right to the edge to give a zebra effect.
Place the slices one on top of the other. Top with a fourth slice of unbuttered bread. Set aside and prepare the other 4 slices in the same way. Ask a parent or guardian to assist with cutting off the crusts on all sides.
Then cut the bread in half and half again to make 8 stripey sandwiches .