I googled what I could make for them & found a chicken soup recipe. Then I added my own flare to create what Israel calls a Belinda Surprise meal. A bit of this & a bit of that thrown together with love. They all loved it (of course!) – hope you do too. And, as an added bonus, you can use the meat balls from this recipe for other meals!

Belinda Surprise Soup for uneasy tummies.

This recipe comes in 2 parts. The soup broth & the meatballs to give it a bit of a boost of something more substantial. I’ve also included at the end of the recipe some tips on how you can use the extra meatballs for other meals.

Ingredients:

Mini Chicken Meatballs

• 500g chicken mince
• 1 green apple
• 1 zucchini
• 1 carrot
• good pinch of vegeta stock
• half cup of bread crumbs
• olive oil spray

The soup broth

• 4 cups water
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• good splash of soy sauce

Directions:
Grate the apple, carrot, zucchini into a large bowl. Add the chicken mince, bread crumbs & stock. Use your hands to mix the ingredients. Take a good size teaspoon of the mixture & roll into small balls. When you have rolled all the mixture, spray a frying pan with olive oil spray & cook the meat balls.

In a separate pot, add the water, vegetables & garlic and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Add the meatballs (allow say 3 per person), the chicken stock & soy. Add salt & pepper to taste. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Your are now ready to serve.

Other ways to use the left over meatballs:

- serve as finger food with sweet chilli sauce

- saute some mushrooms, then some baby spinach until wilted. Serve meatballs on top of the spinach & mushrooms. Drizzle with Kepap Manis.

- make a bolognese sauce & use the chicken meatballs instead of beef mince.

The City Staging Company is owned by one of our wonderful clients. It is a Total Event Management company that understands Corporate Event Planning and Audio Visual Technology. They specialise in a wide range of events – Corporate, Product Launches, Roadshows, Gala Dinners, Themed Parties, Cocktail Parties and more.

You will be assigned an Account Manager to be your single point of contact for the entire project. The City Staging Company employs only the best operators skilled in set up & running your event plus sound, lighting, vision & theming of your production.  And your Account Manager will co-ordinate all these operators to take away the stress from you.

Have everyone talking about your special event(s) this year – contact them on 02 9557 8779 or email info@thecitystaging.com.au.

Jayne wrote, “I  thought you may be able to use my household tip, as all my pet loving friends have benefitted from it! As summer approaches our furry friends lose hair! I have found that a rubber kitchen glove far surpasses any vacuum or other method ever tried. I could almost build a new cat from the amount I get from Piper & Phoebe this time of year!”

Answer: He sees our kitchen bench overflowing with marshmallows, turkish delight, macadamias, rice bubbles and chocolate! It’s time for me to make my favourite treat recipe that I usually make at Christmas only.

So here my friends, I share with you the Best Ever Rocky Road recipe – it seriously rocks every house we visit.

You will need:

400g milk chocolate, chopped (I buy the 300g cadbury milk choc blocks)

300g pink & white marshmallows, chopped (I use my kitchen scissors & cut them into 3 or 4 pieces)

400g good quality turkish delight, chopped  (chop/cut as per marshmallows)

1 cup rice bubbles

1 cup natural macadamias chopped coarsley (chunky is good)

Method:

Line a lightly greased 20 x 30cm lamington tin with 2 strips of baking paper. Cross them over so they extend over the sides of tha pan (makes it easier to remove it from the pan to cut it)

Melt chocolate (seriously I do this in a saucepan over low heat. Have never had a problem doing this with cadbury milk choc). Cool slightly.

Meanwhile combine marshmallows, turkish delight, rice bubbles and macadamias in a big bowl

Work quickly, stir in the chocolate until all of above is moist & coated in chocolate

Spread into the prepared tin & refrigerate

Can be made up to 2 weeks ahead & stored in fridge.

Warning – this is so good, you’ll be expected to make it every year;-)

The Gogos and Mamas Group is a registered Australian charity which provides emotional, educational and financial support to grandmothers in South Africa who care for their grandchildren who have been orphaned by AIDS and violence.

It’s estimated there are over 1.9 million children orphaned by AIDS in South Africa. This number will continue to rise unless action is taken now. The Gogos and Mamas Group are working hard to raise funds to help with many facets of daily life. The group recently raised enough money to enable 70 South African grandmothers and their AIDS and violenced orphaned grandchildren to attend a tailored workshop exploring healthy sexuality. The workshop held in South Africa is the 1st in a series of education events focussing on sexual health. Learn more about this event.

How you can help!

It’s WORLD AIDS DAY on 1 December, and our gogos have hand made AIDS awareness pins from African beads to celebrate. Please help by buying a beautilful pin (right). Pins are just $3 for a small and $5 for a large pin. They make a great gift too!

To order a pin or two, please contact Michelle on 0447 441 434 or email gogosandmamas@hotmail.com. You can also visit our Facebook page  – The Gogos and Mamas Group for photos and the latest news from our gogos and their grandchildren.

You can also help by spreading the word about this charity, and keeping up to date with what they are doing by following them on facebook.

Easy Mushroom & Spinach Risotto
The easiest risotto ever no mixing just let the oven do the work.

1 brown onion
1 clove garlic
olive oil
2 cups arborio rice
5 cups boiling water
3 tbsp soft butter
20g chicken stock cube, diluted using 1 cup boiling water
3 cups mushrooms, sliced
2 cups baby spinach leaves
2 tbsp chopped chives
shaved parmesan for garnishing

Directions:
Saute brown onion and garlic, until brown

Combine into the large ovenproof dish, rice, sautéed brown onion and garlic and soft butter mix them all up and then add the mushrooms and mix again.

Add the 4 cups of boiled water and the 1 cup diluted chicken stock with the mixture. Cover the dish with the lid.

Bake in the hot oven, 200°C, for 30 – 40 minutes.

Check the dish and mix it if theres a lot of liquid put it back in the oven uncovered for 5 minutes.

Stir through baby spinach leaves, a bit of shaved parmesan and chives, then serve.

Variation:
Roast Pumpkin, Spinach & Goats Cheese
BBQ Chicken & Mushroom
Seafood Risotto
Roast Beetroot Risotto

Framing & Art Matters do all the framing for Israel Smith Photographers. They share the same obsession for excellence as us and they always deliver exceptional quality. Needless to say we are huge fans of their work!

Framing & Art Matters have been around for 20 years, are based in Randwick and service clients from all over Sydney – it’s worth travelling for great quality framing!

Jenny says “When you come to us for your framing, you not only get a designer with a creative mind but also a framer who possesses an extensive practical framing knowledge. This helps with your selection process. Because Framing & Art DOES Matter!”

The team are experts at all kinds of framing, from standard pieces (certificates, prints, photography) to objects & textiles (needlework, tapestries, sports memorabilia) & finally to original paintings & artworks requiring conservation and museum methods.

Mention you are an Israel Smith Client & receive 20% off when framing your kids artwork!

Call Jenny next time you need something framed, or simply drop by her gallery for a look at the current range of artworks on display!

Ph: 02 9398 9430
206 Avoca St, Randwick NSW 2031
www.framingandartmatters.com.au

Discover your inner writer

Are you an aspiring writer who doesn’t know where to start, how to carry on or when to finish? Or are you perhaps hungry to find the words but there’s nothing in the fridge?

Bestselling Coogee author, Joanne Fedler, invites you to explore your writing talents at her spring writing retreat - Accidents of Narrative, Serendipity in Storytelling.

At the retreat, which will be held at the beautiful Hartzer Park in Bowral from 2 – 4 September 2011, we’ll explore serendipity in writing through games, writing exercises, rituals and sharing.

Whether you want to write your own life stories or fiction, whether you’re exploring poetry or prose, whether you’re a veteran or a newbie, this retreat is for anyone curious for internal adventure. Download a Registration Form at www.joannefelder.com or call Michelle Favero on 0447 441 434 for more info.

We used this amazing but smelly remedy from my trusty natural remedy book – “Gentle Healing Hands for Baby & Child” when Rilien kept waking himself up with a blocked nose. It worked a treat, and we then got 6 hours straight sleep! Yeh!

So if you or your children are having trouble sleeping because of a blocked nose or a chesty cough, try this

1. Thinly slice a yellow or brown onion

2. Place the onion in the centre of a piece of cheesecloth (I used one of Israel’s hankechiefs) and then fold the sides over to make a self contained pack

3. Warm the onion in an oven for a few minutes (I heated it in the microwave for 20 seconds)

4. Place the warm onion pack on top of a singlet or t-shirt & secure it with surgical tap. Then put night clothes over the top.

In a nut shell, the medicinal properties of the onion are in the smell and inhaling them does the trick. I should warn you though, the room does not smell pretty the next morning, nor does the person who had the onion strapped to them.