CUTE AS...

Oh, well - another rejection notice from yet another publisher...it seems this writing life is only for the perenially thick skinned.   To cheer myself up I'm off to the garden.  Meanwhile, here's my favourite photos of a sleeping Prince ... cute as...

Hanging in there!

While Queen Marigold is languishing at a few publishers that I've researched and sent it off to, I am mindful of the apparent lottery of submitting a manuscript in the hope someone will love it enough to publish it.   I know that I need to be pro-active and continue to believe in my work enough to keep pushing it.   I also want to protect it; somewhat like sending off a child into the big wide world.  Will someone understand it, appreciate it, and believe in it enough to put in the hard yards and nurture it through to maturity and completion?  Of course I'm aware there are myriads of talented writers out there with IMPORTANT things to say, but the passion for this book is derived from a belief that children's imagination is precious and deserves to be fostered. 
I am encouraged by writers such as C.S.Lewis who believed in the concept of imaginative writing enough to write stories of pure imagination for children to engage with - the idea of men such as Lewis and Tolkien joining with other writers to discuss the children's stories they were writing fills me with encouragement as even as intellectuals in an era when children were still largely 'seen and not heard', they believed in the joys of introducing children to imaginative fantasy.  
I believe a beautiful way of doing this is to encourage children to explore the natural world in a safe manner ... and what better way than introducing them to a fantasy world of edible herb characters while at the same time being encouraged to try simple recipes using fresh food all the family can enjoy.   Not only are children engaging in imagination and play, they are also being empowered to build healthy skills that will stay with them for a life-time. 
So with that in mind here is a sample chapter from Queen Marigold featuring one of her royal subjects in the herb garden, Royal Rosemary ... enjoy! (Each of the herb characters in the stories is referred to as a 'herbling')

  Royal Rosemary’s Story

Royal Rosemary had thin, dark green leaves with a strong aroma and flavour.  They were used in the family’s favourite baked vegetables and puddings. 

Royal Rosemary loved to learn new names and say them out loud.   The only name he preferred not to remember was his own.  He thought Royal was a silly name, so he asked everyone to call him Roy.

Today Roy Rosemary was having fun saying all the new herbling names out loud.   This was his VERY favourite thing to do.  Then the worst possible thing happened.  Roy Rosemary forgot a name!  He tried to think, but he just couldn’t remember.  Oh, dear!

He felt so sad, and feeling sad made it even harder to remember new names.

Roy Rosemary heaved a big sigh and said, “I’ll have to wait and see if I can remember Lottie Lemon Balm’s name.”  The other herblings nearby chuckled.  Roy didn’t think there was anything to laugh at!  Not at all!

Then Roy realised he had just said the name he had forgotten!   Roy Rosemary started to chuckle along with his friends.  Then he remembered why he had forgotten her name. 

He had heard Lottie Lemon Balm saying how sad she felt.  Roy Rosemary knew he had to help her.  If she was sad, then he would be sad and forget her name again.  Oh dear!

He would ask Mrs Mint to help.  Mrs Mint was Lottie Lemon Balm’s aunt and was always so friendly and kind.  Together, he and Mrs Mint tried to think of clever ways to make Lottie Lemon Balm happy.  But they couldn’t think of anything at all.  The blue wren was no help either.  He had darted away on some secret mission.

Then Roy Rosemary had an idea!  Lottie Lemon Balm was new so perhaps she hadn’t got to meet everyone yet.  Maybe she would feel better if he introduced her to all the other herblings in the herb garden...oops! Herbdom (Sshhh! don’t upset Queen Marigold).  

Now Roy felt a little better.  He must remember to tell Lottie Lemon Balm about his idea!  That should cheer her up!  And Roy Rosemary happily began to say all the new names out loud again, starting with Lottie Lemon Balm’s name.  It was his VERY favourite thing to do. 

Later that day, the little girl who lived in the house-with-the-big-red-front-door came along the Herbway.  She picked Roy Rosemary’s thin dark green leaves to flavour one of the family’s favourite meals; Rosemary Baked Sweet Potato followed by Apple Crumble with Rosemary.   What a wonderful day Roy Rosemary was having.

Perhaps soon you might like to help a grownup make one of these dishes.  They might become family favourites too.  Just like the grownups and the little girl who lived in the house-with-the-big-red-front-door.

ROSEMARY BAKED SWEET POTATO (Serves 4-6)

You will need:

1 chopping board

1 large chopping knife

1 pastry brush

1 teaspoon

1 kitchen scrubbing brush

1 bowl

Clean cloth

1 baking tray lined with baking paper

1 oven

Oven mitts

1 skewer

Yummy ingredients:

1 small bunch of rosemary

1 or 2 kumara sweet potatoes

1 teaspoon of ground cumin seeds

1 teaspoon of ground turmeric

¼ cup of olive oil

Now the fun starts:

Set the oven temperature to 220 degrees Celsius

Rinse sweet potatoes in clean water and scrub with the kitchen scrubbing brush

Pat the sweet potato dry with the paper towel or clean cloth

Rinse the rosemary in clean water and pat dry with the paper towel or clean cloth

Strip the rosemary leaves off their stalks using your thumb and forefinger

Keep the leaves and discard the stalks

Cut the sweet potato into fat chunks using the chopping board and large chopping knife

Place the sweet potato chunks on paper lined baking tray

Brush the potato chunks all over with the pastry brush dipped in olive oil 

Put the rosemary leaves, cumin and turmeric into the bowl and mix together

Sprinkle the rosemary, cumin and turmeric mix all over the sweet potato chunks

Place sweet potato chunks into the oven and bake for about 35 minutes, or until soft in the middle and caramelised on the outside

Remove from the oven and let cool a little before eating

Delicious as a snack, or served with steamed green peas or Queen Marigold’s Sunshine Salad (keep reading to find this recipe) ...  Scrumptious!!!

The Final Product!

Well, after months of writing and re-writing, with assistance from my amazing editor, Alex, I have finally managed to put together a book for children with simple healthy recipes.  The book plots the every-day adventures of several edible herbs living in a small herb garden which is visited regularly by two neighbouring children. 
The main character, Queen Marigold, is enmeshed in a web of royal intrigue that threatens to unseat her royal rule.  As children follow the story, they are regularly invited to trial each of the simple recipes featuring one of the herbs.  For instance, after the story starring Pedro Parsley, sample recipes including parsley as a feature ingredient are offered for children to try.  Parental participation is highly encouraged.
This is a simple concept, but hopefully one that appeals to children and adults alike.  My hope is that by engaging children's imagination, simple concepts about healthy home prepared food will be endorsed.  It may even help to break the embargo on highly processed packaged foods!!
So now it's off to submit my book proposal ...

A Child-friendly Recipe

This is a fun recipe that children from age 3 and up can assist with.  Once you have the basic idea you can be imaginative with the ingredients.   Experiment with different herbs.  There are lots that are suitable to use in this recipe (like basil, mint or oregano).  And remember ... only a little herb butter is needed to give lots of flavour. 

HERB BUTTER SHAPES

Utensils -

A mixing bowl

1 wooden spoon

Some small cookie cutters

1 citrus zester

1 or 2 small trays lined with baking paper

1 clean dry cloth or kitchen paper towel

Ingredients -

A 250 g block of butter

3 or 4 sprigs of thyme leaves (or other fresh herbs)

1 whole orange with the skin on

Method -

Take the butter out of the refrigerator for 30 minutes to soften slightly

Wash the thyme sprigs and pat them dry with a paper towel or clean cloth

Now strip the thyme leaves off the stalks by running your thumb and fore-finger up the stalk

Discard the stalks and only keep the leaves

Wash the orange and pat dry with a clean cloth or paper towel

Use the citrus zester to scrape tiny pieces of orange peel from the orange - avoid the bitter white pith

Cut the butter into small pieces and place into the mixing bowl

Add the thyme leaves and orange peel zest to the butter

Now mix the thyme leaves, orange zest and butter together with a wooden spoon

The butter should be smooth with lots of little green and orange flecks all through it

Spread the butter thickly onto a small tray lined with baking paper

Place the tray in the refrigerator until the butter is firm (for about 10 minutes) 

Use the cookie cutters to cut shapes out of the butter

Place the herb butter shapes onto a clean paper lined tray and cover with plastic film 

Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze for later use

Serve with fresh crusty bread, or with your favourite vegetables, like new potatoes, or steamed green beans and carrot slices ...  Delicious!

A simple idea becomes a complex task

Writing a children’s book is proving to be difficult.  Very difficult.  Concepts and ideas need to be clear and sharp.  In other words, no long diatribe illustrating word prowess.  Short and simple appears to be the key.   Having said that though I know that children, even as young as 6 -8, are very insightful.   So it is necessary to incorporate layers of subtle hues to add colour and interest to a simple message.    A difficult task indeed!  I fear that what appeared to be a simple idea has become a complex multi-faceted writing task!  Oh dear!  Not sure what I’ve started!  Might have to go and practice what I preach and whip up one of my start-from- scratch recipes!  First - off to the kitchen garden for some inspiration!

Writing a Children's Book

So, here it is!  My attempt at blogging about writing a children's book as an unpublished author!  The journey begins here!  So what type of book am I writing for children?  It's simple really!  Children today are missing out on the simple joys of making delicious food from scratch.  And families are missing out on spending time together creating healthy food.  So I’m hoping to write a book that captures children’s imagination, while giving parents and children opportunities to spend together.  And what better way than reading with them and also sharing simple, delicious food!  I originally put together the first draft of this book around 7 years ago for my Honours research.  It has been gathering dust all these years while I completed my doctoral research.  And now I feel the need to develop this book further.  So here goes!