These Little Fingers

My son really enjoys painting. We have painted on all sorts of things;  paper, boxes, egg cartons and so on.  Here is an activity that develops fine motor skills. A creative way to enjoy painting on a 3D object. I blew up a few balloons and got my son to paint it with cotton tips/Q-tips.  Painting with cotton tips on a Balloon is a great way to help little ones develop their fine motor skills and pencil grip! Here's what you will need, Some Balloons to blow up. Some Paint Cotton tips or Q-tips Get ready for some mess....(protect your table and clothes) outdoors suit better. Here in Australia, it's winter so we decided to stay indoors. Blow some balloons and let your kid paint his/her balloons using Q-tips. My son wanted to use only blue...  I was thinking that he was going to go "spot, spot, spot..."  as we have painted spotty pictures before... But he surprised me by doodling a  smiley face on the balloon...     Try this inexpe

Sequin Bauble Here is a  craft activity you can get your kids to do..this bauble was decorated by my eight-year-old daughter as part of Eid decoration.   Materials : Poly Ball 75mm Sequins – Assorted Pearl Headed Pins – Coloured or glue Polystyrene Ornament Hanger Ribbons Assorted How to make a Sequin Bauble:   1. Choose a selection of different  sequins from the assortment. 2. Cover a Poly Ball with the Sequins fastened to the ball with Pearl Pins or else glue them. 3. Push an Ornament Hanger into the top of the decorated ball and tie a length of Satin Ribbon to create a hanger.     We made these brightly coloured textured baubles to hang as part of our Eid decorations.  Happy Crafting!!

Sri Lankan Fish Balls   These fish balls are a really  popular Sri Lankan finger  food widely known as Fish Cutlets back in Sri Lanka. Great  served as a starter or a side dish for any occasion!  Ingredients: 425g can mackerel/ Tuna 1 large brown onion peeled and  finely chopped 2 cloves of garlic finely grated  1/4 tsp turmeric powder 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper/ red chilli powder 1 tsp cumin 1-1/2 tsp  black pepper 5 medium sized potatoes boiled and mashed 1 large green chilli(deseeded and finely chopped) 1 tbsp Soy sauce 1tbsp Tomato sauce 2 tsp Lime or Lemon juice Salt to taste. Batter: 2 eggs lightly beaten 2 tbsp milk 1/2 cup plain flour 2 cups fresh breadcrumbs Oil for frying Method 1. Boil potatoes until tender and  mash. Allow to cool. 2. Drain the mackerel and remove  bones.  3. Add 2 tbsp of oil in to a frying pan, saute the onions until translucent . Add the garlic. 4.Then add the turmeric powder, cayenne pepper and cumin powder. 5.

 Sri Lankan Rolls These most delicious pancake rolls are a specialty of Sri Lankan finger food..  they may be made ahead and frozen, then deep fried before serving. Here's the recipe, Ingredients 12 tbsp oil 1 large brown onion, finely chopped 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped 10 curry leaves, chopped 1 tablespoon corriander powder 500g minced beef or (cooked beef) 1

Here is a great bun recipe to feed your family this winter!Your kids are going to love this caterpillar like bun rolls.   You could add variety for your regular bun rolls by using this method to roll your buns. The filling can be anything your family likes . Recipe adapted from: www.fauziaskitchenfun.com Ingredients for Dough 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup warm milk 2 tsp. instant yeast pinch of baking powder 1 tsp.sugar 1 1/2 tsp.salt 1egg, lightly beaten 2 tbsp.melted butter 3 tbsp.oil 2 tbsp.milk powder (Sesame seeds and tomato Ketchup for decoration purpose) + 1 extra egg Sieve the flour, then add milk powder, baking powder, sugar, yeast and salt.  Then add the oil, butter and  the egg  and mix together.   Now add the milk gradually whilst kneading.  You might not need it all, so add it sparingly until your dough is nice and s

Chicken And Mushroom Pie Make these hearty simple,easy and delicious pies with a few ingredients! 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 medium brown onion, halved, thinly sliced 150g button mushrooms, thinly sliced 3 cups shredded cooked chicken (salt ,black pepper and stock powder for seasoning) 100 ml thickened cream 3 sheets frozen shortcrust pastry, partially thawed 1 tablespoon milk Season raw chicken breasts with salt, pepper and stock powder and steam until done. Shred the cooked chicken and set aside. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened.  Add mushroom. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until lightly browned and tender. Add chicken. Season with pepper.Add

Flat Bread Pizza  Here is a quick and easy pizza you could serve any time of the day...try it you are gonna love it.. Quick And Easy Pizza!- Ingredients Pita bread/flat bread Tomato paste/pasta sauce Salami Olives Pizza cheese Black pepper Egg Chilli flakes (optional)   Use flat bread as the base of the pizza and top it up with tomato paste or pasta sauce.  Add some shredded salami, or  cooked sausage meat (In small pan cook sausage, breaking it into small pieces, until browned add some Worcestershire Sauce for extra flavor, and use as topping) .    Spread cheese and olives.   Spread a slightly beaten egg on top and season with salt and black pepper. and place it under the grill for 2-3 minutes.  Serve immediately with chilli flakes. Yum...  Thanks For Stopping By.....

Color Sorting Activity I tried this activity with my toddler(2 1/2years old ) and he really enjoyed. It is really easy and inexpensive to set  up! Here's how you set this up,  What you will need,  Brightly coloured  toy bits(you can find these around your house).  You could use pom- poms, Lego bricks, magnetic letters, little critters, tiny cars, buttons, pegs and so on . A muffin/cupcake baking tray. Have your toddler sort the bits of toys by colour! For beginners , pick only two to three colours to start sorting with.   And always be sure to monitor. You could color  code the muffin tray using patty pans(muffin cases) or  by adding  dot stickers. Set up a  sorting game by rolling a colour coded dice. (you could make a color dice by adding dot stickrs on to a regular dice)    1. Roll the colour coded  dice.  2 .Help  fill the muffin tray by the color that your toddler rolls out. There you go.. Have fun!

Choc-Mint Delight Since my lime flavored cream-cheese frosted cupcakes were a huge success,I really longed for another special moment to whip up some cream cheese frosted goodies . I baked these fabulous Choc Mint cupcakes for my husband's work colleagues.  This is a really delicious cupcake that  would suit any occasion. I baked these super rich chocolate cupcakes and topped them up with peppermint flavored cream cheese frosting . Here is the recipe for the Chocolate cupcakes. 1/4 cup unsalted butter 1cup sugar 56 grams of Milk chocolate melted 2 Large eggs 2 large egg yolks 1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/3 cup of sour cream 1 cup plain flour 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/2 cup water at room temperature METHOD . 1.Pre heat oven to 350 F. Double sift the dry ingredients(flour,cocoa powder and salt) and set aside. 2.Melt Chocolate in a double boiler or in an microwave oven.And set aside. 3. Mi