Learning not to Teach

During the week I was incredibly touched to be asked by one of my friend's daughters if she could come and bake carrot cake with me.  She has been taking an interest in cooking lately and remembers this particular carrot cake that I made for them once (well, mainly the scrummy lemony cream cheese icing).   It was lovely that she would want to spend time with me and I am also secretly chuffed that she liked my baking!  As I was about to discover 8 year olds are very honest and to the point so I take it as a compliment indeed.

I was a little unsure how to approach the imparting of my carrot cake knowledge.  My "daughter for the day" is unschooled and from her mama's blogging I suspected that trying to turn it into a structured "lesson" would not be successful.  We had a lovely time and she popped in and out of the kitchen and helped with sifting, mixing, carrot grating and bowl licking...

It was actually harder than I thought to not turn it into a lesson and I had to stop myself often from wanting to instruct, take over and show her alternative ways of doing certain steps.  I wasn't always successful in this but true to herself she could see my manoeuvrings a mile off and would always want to find out what her way did.  I like that.

Looking back I realise that not only was I fighting the way of my own schooling, but also how I was trained in my job and how I have gone on further to train others.  Having worked for years in hospitality, I have had to train a lot of people quickly and efficiently (often on the job during busy services).  It is a fast paced work and there is rarely the time or room in the wage budget for people to discover how to do things for themselves.

Aside from the baking we also had a good play at the playground around the corner and chatted away amongst Seb getting in on the action.  It was so very refreshing to have the company of a young girl who just tells it as it is.  Us adults can hold back a bit.

I was treated to a few "things kids say".  I'll share my particular favourite with you.  Early in the piece she asked in a roundabout way how old I was.  She was finding it hard to work out, due to my grey hair that is usually more common to older people.  On the way to the park she was pondering what people might think suddenly seeing me with her.  Would they think I was her daughter? Then...after a little glance at my hair.... "or maybe they might think you're my grandmother?"  Well. What can you say to that other than "pass me the henna!"

My little Buddy

All of a sudden it seems as though my baby is, well, not really a baby anymore.  Sometimes it seems as though weeks and months go by without any obvious developmental milestones.  It is only really when I look back on photos that I realise just how much he has changed and grown, how much more of his unique little personality is shining through.  These past couple of weeks though it seems as though he is changing daily.  He has been starting to say some bona fide words and so the wonderful world of conversation that we can both understand is starting to open up.

We like to hang out in cafes quite a bit.  Mama likes a proper coffee (can't do instant and tea just doesn't cut it these days) in the morning and fortunately Seb is a very good cafe go-er.  To be fair most of his 9 months of growing inside me was spent in one as I worked.  Of course the promise of a warm milk or occasional milkshake also helps to keep him near the table.  We also share a love of baked goods...

We are entering a lovely phase where it is less about needing to be a caregiver and more having a little friend along for the ride.  There is so much to look forward to as he is able to interact more and more with the world.  I can't wait to take him to his first movie, go camping, clamber around rockpools at the beach, see him learn to swim, and so much more.  But as much fun as there is ahead of us there is so much in the present to enjoy.

And of course, when he falls asleep in my arms, I know that he will always be my little baby.

Organic Mandarin Jam with Rapadura

I like making jam. But I have never been all that good at sticking to a recipe.  None of this 1kg of sugar for every kilo of fruit business for me.  Personally I find it makes the jam WAY to sweet.  I like to be able to actually taste the fruit as well. More often than not I end up with a runny jam which has never bothered me at all.  No complaints from any of my friends yet either.  Maybe they are just being polite.

Not that long ago someone made reference to Mandarin Jam and my ears pricked up.  I hadn't even heard of it, let alone tasted.  The thought of it has been playing on my mind for a while.  Also tickling these thoughts is the memory of me deciding that the next jam I make I'll try using rapadura sugar rather than refined sugar (click here for a nutritional comparison). 

Hmmm... do I risk trying two new things together?  Of course I do.  So I consult my google recipe book, peruse a few recipes and take the bits that I like the sound of from each one.  I can't find too many references to people having used rapadura for jam making and those that I did find weren't all that in favour of it.  However, once my mind is made up... well... I just like to see for myself.  Here's how it went....

I grabbed what I thought was about a kilo of mandarins from the local organic co-op, not a bad guess as  I ended up with 1.2kg

I zested 4 of the mandarins and 2 lemons.  I then peeled and chopped the mandarins around their middle and discarded the seeds.  I put the zest, chopped mandarin and juice of the lemons into a bowl and blitzed with a stick blender. I put this all in a pan on the stove to boil.

Meanwhile I had 600g of rapadura warming in the oven.  It's a jam making tip I've heard of before.  I can't remember exactly why... something to do with it helps the jam set better.  Anyhow, if anything, I thought I'd try it for luck.

Once the fruit mix had started to boil I added the sugar and brought it up to boil again.  I then reduced it to simmer for about an hour.

Once it started catching on the pan a bit I tested it for setting point and it seemed pretty good.  

Here it is!  My first attempt at Mandarin Jam AND using rapapdura.  Wow - the rapadura sure darkens it. Taste wise it is very like a marmalade.  I think I would put a little less zest in next time.  I don't think that the flavour of rapadura itself affected the jam much as I put such a low ration in. Despite this it set well as there is a good pectin content in citrus.  

I am looking forward to trying more jams with rapadura.  I think colour wise it will work great with berries.