Fun in the kitchen... even when the recipe flops!

So I had grand plans for baking tonight. We were going to make yummy muffins, make a huge mess and have a fun in the kitchen.  We accomplished two out of three goals. We had a blast and made a HUGE mess but the muffins were a complete flop. Even after almost an hour in the oven they were still soupy.  Not quite sure what I did wrong... however I thought I would still share photos of how my daughter helped me every step of the way.

First we needed chopped apples and I am so excited about my new food processor that I decided to use it to chop the apples. (this may be were the recipe went awry because they turned out more like apple puree..) My daughter is fascinated by the food processor.  After making sure it is unplugged I let her put the apples in the bowl (what toddler doesn't love transferring objects from one place to another?) Since the machine isn't too loud she also loves pressing the button and watching everything whirl around!

Then we measured out all the dry ingredients and put them in a bowl. She likes to know about all the ingredients and must touch each of them before dumping them in the bowl!

She tells me that hand mixing is the best technique and the messiest!

Then we dumped in all the wet ingredients. This is the maple syrup going in. Somehow she managed to keep it all in the bowl!

The whisk seems to be the easiest tool for her to use when mixing wet ingredients.  The spoon is still a little too hard to get around and usually ends up flinging batter around instead of mixing.  She of course wanted to use the spoon...

Next time I may let her use a small measuring cup to help me fill the muffin tins.  

These smelled so good but unfortunately they just didn't bake well.  We had a great time making them and left me with a sink full of dishes!

What is your favorite thing to make with your little one?

Curried Coconut Carrot Sweet Potato Soup

Last week I mentioned I was going to try two new recipes for lunch.  I didn't get around to trying the soup until today... and it was well worth the wait. Can't wait to have it for lunch again tomorrow!!

I was inspired by this delicious and simple ginger carrot soup but I didn't have ginger or a shallot so I had to improvise. I did have a package of frozen sweet potato I wanted to use and so here is what I came up with...

Ingredients

1 bunch carrots (I had about 8-10 medium carrots)

1 bag frozen sweet potato (or maybe 1 large diced sweet potato)

4 teaspoons sesame oil

2 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)

1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1/2 cup Coconut Creamer (unsweetened)

Salt and pepper to taste

First dice the carrots and sauté in the sesame oil in a large pot. When the carrots begin to soften (about 5-10 minutes) add the frozen sweet potato and sauté for another 5 minutes. 

Once all is warmed through and softened add two cups of broth and the curry powder.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Then add coconut creamer and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.  Finally transfer mixture to a food processor (you may need to do this in several batches) and pulse until you have a rich, thick creamy soup! Serve warm and season with salt and pepper. Mine came out quite thick but I like soup that way. You could always add more broth to make it thinner.

What's your favorite soup to make with a food processor??