RSPCA Cupcake Day

In the month of August our animal rescue organisation the RSCPA organises a Cupcake Day to raise much needed funds for the animals.  My daughter asked if we could participate. She has always been an animal lover.  She was just born that way!  From when she was tiny she has always loved animals and if  there was ever a petting zoo at any events we would attend, she would spend HOURS in there.  I could never get her to come out!

So we talked about what to do, listed down the jobs and away she went.  It was a good way for her to do something positive for animals after suffering the loss of her much loved chicken, Luna, last week.

She designed a flyer on the computer and we emailed it out to family and friends.

And the orders came in. I thought maybe I should have put a limit on the maximum number of cakes you could order!!

We decided we would bake the cakes on Sunday and deliver on Monday.  We made a really delicious vanilla cupcake with cream cheese icing.  My daughter hasn't always been that keen on helping in the kitchen.  I used to wish she would take more of an interest in it.  But, I found that if I didn't pressure her and just got on with the baking, her curiosity would get the better of her and she would eventually find her way to the kitchen bench.

So I mixed up the batter, while she laid out the patty pans.

Then she spooned the mixture into the patty pans.

Out of the oven they came, ready and cooling.

Ready for the fun part, icing and decorating.

We participated in the RSPCA Cupcake Day a few years ago and we found this simple but effective cake topper.  It is just one chocolate button and four chocolate chips.  A paw print!

We packaged them up, according to the orders and stored them in the fridge ready for delivery the next day.

On Monday we delivered the cakes to friends and family.   There were lots of ooohh and aahhs!  I could tell my daughter felt very happy.  She gratefully accepted the money and counted it all up.  She raised a grand total of $105.

On the September school holidays we will go for a drive to the RSPCA and she can give them the donation money directly herself.  It will be more meaningful for her that way.

A huge amount of learning went on in this process.  Making a flyer (marketing, english and computer skills), working out how much to charge and adding up the donations (maths), cooking (so many skills!), delivering the cakes (communication skills and using manners).  It really is a worthwhile process to have children volunteer and raise money for something important to them. They gain a greater understanding of issues outside of their world and it helps them to grow up learning how to become good citizens in our society.  I think she did a great job.

The Power of Homemade Food

So with my very first post, I thought I would share with you one of the topics that makes me "Truly Content".  This is a big one, homemade food.  And I have come to realise how important it is, in the last 10 years.  Having my daughter and enduring some years of ill health has made me so much more aware of the impact of what we put into our bodies. 

The Famous No Knead Bread

 Around this time, was also when I realised how much I actually enjoyed cooking.  Following a recipe (sometimes changing things here and there) and being able to create simple, delicious meals, snacks and treats for my family from scratch, was very, very satisfying.  I felt so much better that the food we were eating was unprocessed and didn't contain preservatives, colours, numbers and ingredients that were really not needed (think sugar in store bought stocks and pasta sauces).

Pumpkin, Brown Rice and Chickpea Patties

I guess my foundations were laid, coming from an Italian family, where lots was always cooked from scratch and good food was truly appreciated.  But my interest really peaked in the last 5 years.  I have learnt so much and I continue to learn.

My Famous Jam Drops

Mmmm....Melting Moments

I borrow recipe books from the library and I read them for fun!  I read blogs about healthy whole food and I am constantly trying new recipes. I watch cooking shows.  I try to plan holidays or day trips around food. I once had a job teaching children to cook.  I designed and the children made healthy vegetarian food from produce we grew in the school garden. I am toying with the idea of a home business based around whole foods.
My husband was interested in vegetable gardening, so we set up some patches, which then got me interested (I may have taken over a little bit!).  But now that we have moved into our new (old) house, we are planning out our vegetable gardens together and it has been something we both spend time doing together.   As we grow more produce, I need to use it in wise ways and that then has me cooking different recipes with lovely organic produce from our own backyard.  Wow!  And that led me to cooking for family and friends, sharing it and also having them come to our place to enjoy that food.  The power of homemade food!

Baked Ratatouille with Green Olives and Parmesan

It has opened my eyes to the fact that this is something that really makes me content.  A warm pot of soup bubbling away on a winters day.  The smell of a homemade cake or biscuits baking in the oven.  The excitement in my family's faces when I tell them, "yes" I've made your favourite dish for dinner tonight.  Even coming home from a late afternoon walk and smelling someone's dinner cooking in the house I am walking past. That smell wafting into the cool afternoon air.  Mmmmmm.

Family Christmas Lunch 2016

When I reflect back and see what cooking from scratch, has really done for me, I am quite amazed.  It has brought so much more into my life, than I really thought possible.