Winehot

In case you were wondering about the romantic French bistro??? I have one word for you:

Winehot

Here are some more words: sexy, unpretentious, best food ever, intimate, amazing service & atmosphere ~ think black walls and glittering old-world chandeliers.

How much? How little! we had 3 drinks before dinner (Gav: 2 beers, me a glass of bubbly) and then a gorgeous bottle of wine with:
1 bread & dip plate to share ~ best in town says Gav, I didn't know he kept an eye on the bread & dips around town, but apparently so and this one's a winner :)
2 mains:
Merino lamb for me because I usually only wear it, not eat it and had to have a taste, yum. Gav had the Steak frites and is still talking about it 5 days later. Gavin even raved about the salad dressing - so light! so tasty! - and if you haven't met him before, he's a pretty laid back, non-rave-y type of guy, especially about salad dressing.
1 dessert:
the creme brulee, of course. Nice and crispy on top.

All of this deliciousness for only $140. If we eased up on the sauce, the total would be well under $100, more like $80. What a gem! We'll be back....very soon.

from Gavin since our Winehot experience:
Saturday ~ all tucked up, nearly asleep and he says, "So, how soon can we have another date night and go back to Winehot?"
Sunday ~ "What kind of blue cheese do you think that was on my steak? I can't stop thinking about it." What???
Monday ~ walking back from the produce shop "What kind of oil do you think they use at Winehot to cook those fries?" Me: "Hmmm, must be a good one, and a pretty special variety of potato, too." Gav: "I think I'm going to buy myself a deep-fryer for Christmas."

Winehot
605 New North Road
Kingsland
Auckland
www.winehot.co.nz

Beetroot puree tip

When cooking beetroot to puree into baby food, steaming is very easy. But if you have the oven on anyway to cook dinner, why not try roasting your beetroot in foil?

Roasting beetroot makes it taste sweeter and brings out a complexity flavours that steaming does not. Wash under running water, shake off the excess water and trim any greens, then wrap in foil. Wrap as many beets as you like in the same foil packet and bake in the oven at 180C.

Check smaller beets after about 25min, larger can take up to an hour. When they are cool enough to handle, you can use a knife to peel but you will find that the skins peel away very easily.

For the baby puree, throw the beets into your blender or use a handheld stick blender for a smooth puree. Hopefully, you will have cooked enough for a big batch of beetroot cubes to freeze in your Solids Starter Kit and some for you to enjoy :)

Intolerance to milk?

Today's solids tip is from our Plunket nurse, Yvonne. She has helped me overcome dietary intolerances in both of my children and today, her tip is about milk intolerance.

The first time I noticed that something was up with Isobel and milk was when we switched from formula to organic cow's milk when she turned 1. She began to get these inflamed, itchy eczema-like patches on her abdomen and thighs. After a few days, it became pretty clear that it was the milk as it got progressively worse and milk was her only new food during that time.

Even though she was 1 and well past the starting solids stage, this emphasised how important it is to introduce new foods - one at a time, for a few days - and keep track of any changes in behaviour or skin appearance during that time.

The good news is, you've got plenty of options if your baby has a milk intolerance:
-boil the milk: bring to a boil in a saucepan. The act of bringing it to the boil takes care of that harsh protein that causes the intolerance, brilliant! We have been doing this, it is easy and it does work. I boil about 500ml a couple of times a week for Isobel, let it cool and store it in the fridge in a glass bottle.

-go back to formula. I had wanted to eliminate the formula altogether by this stage, but she has it a couple of times a week in her Safe Sippy. I notice now, at 15months of age, that she is starting to wean herself from formula and only has about 100ml anyway.

-drink goat's milk! Although theoretically the same chemical composition as cow's milk, goat's milk does not cause this sort of intolerance and people who suffer from allergies or intolerances to cow's milk swear by it. Our friend, Mel, also recommends it :)

More good news for Isobel: this is not an allergy to milk and she will very likely outgrow this milk intolerance. How do we know that? Well, she is fine with formula which comes from cows, no problems with cheese or yogurt either, thank goodness. We'll try her again with cow's milk when she is 2.

I hope this has been helpful! If you have any tips that you would like to share, please add your comments below.

Plunket Charity Auction

Have you checked out Plunket's charity auction on TradeMe? Expore NZ and bid on these amazing auctions for:

-Rainbows End
-Skippers Canyon
-Waitomo Caves
-InterIslander Ferry passes
-accommodation

and....exclusive Dora backpacks designed by Salma Hayek and Jessica Alba! And much more.

Check out the auction and bid today at www.trademe.co.nz

Happy Bidding!

we love ecostore :)

Did you know that you can see & buy the mumi&bubi Solids Starter Kit and The Safe Sippy2 at ecostore? They have a fabulous baby section with all of the good things for your eco-baby.

Our friend, Mel, visited the other day and shared her great ecostore customer service experience with us:

"I've just been into the ecostore to get a few bits and bobs and found a great baby food cookbook, while I was browsing the shop assistant suggested that I might like to get a solid starters kit because they are wonderful. Thought you might like to know. They look great on the shelves as well."

You can find ecostore in Auckland at:
1 Scotland Street
Ponsonby

and online at www.ecostore.co.nz

When you visit, tell them how much you love your mumi&bubi Solids Starter Kit :)

Safe Sippy customer review

Safe Sippy review from Tara, a happy mumi&bubi Customer..

on The Safe Sippy: "what a fantastic product! I am very impressed...my one year old girl always ends up chocking and spluttering because the sippy cups we have seem to "gush" when she tries to drink and it has actually put her off drinking out of cups so we went back to bottles...The Safe Sippy is FANTASTIC.....Awesome!!!

Click here to buy and find our more about The Safe Sippy and The Safe Sippy2 which is a sippy or a straw cup (only one in the world!). Check them out today and use the following code in the shopping cart to save 10% today:
mumi