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The Christmas Dinner consists of: Yorkshire Puddings, Sweet Potato Bake (Contains Glytactin BUILD 20/20 Smooth), Roast Carrot and Parsnips, and Stuffed Mushrooms.

Cook the entire meal in a large muffin tray (one with deep cups) so that it doesn’t take as much space in the oven and there is less cleaning at the end. However, if you have family members joining you, the carrots and parsnips can be made on a much bigger scale and in separate oven proof dishes. 

Both the sweet potato and the pudding contain Glytactin BUILD 20/20 Smooth, as some don’t eat pudding. If you wish to have the pudding, you can simply roast your sweet potato and not bother with the sauce.

For the Yorkshire Puddings:

1 egg replacer egg (2 tsp of powder with 2 tbsp water)

3 tbsp cornflour

¼ cup (60ml) rice milk

1 pinch of turmeric (this simply gives it a golden colour and is optional)

⅛ tsp paprika (also helps with the colour and is optional)

1 tsp nutritional yeast

Salt and pepper

For the Sweet Potato Bake:

Glytactin BUILD 20/20 Smooth, mixed with 3 tbsp water

⅓ small sweet potato, thinly sliced

¼ tsp onion granules

¼ tsp garlic salt

⅛ tsp smoked paprika

⅛ tsp dried parsley

¼ tsp cornflour

¼ tsp apple cider vinegar

Salt and pepper

For the roast veg:

1 carrot, peeled and sliced into batons no longer than the width of your muffin tray cups

1 tsp vegetable oil

⅛ tsp black pepper

⅛ tsp onion granules

⅛ tsp garlic salt

⅛ tsp Italian herbs

1 small parsnip, peeled and sliced into batons no longer than the width of your muffin tray cups

1 tsp vegetable oil

Approx 1 tbsp of maple syrup or honey

Mushroom

1 tbsp cranberry sauce

1 tbsp Violife grated cheese alternative

¼ tsp rosemary

¼ tsp thyme

For the Christmas Pudding:

Glytactin BUILD 20/20 Smooth

30ml water

25g butter

12g brown sugar

⅛ tsp cinnamon

⅛ tsp ginger

⅛ tsp mixed spice

50g dried fruit

½ tsp egg replacer

1 tbsp water

25g flour

⅛ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 200°C. 

Using a large muffin tray, line one of the muffin cup holes with tin foil. Make sure there is enough foil overhanging so you can grip it and remove it later.

Yorkshire Puddings

Whisk 1 tsp of egg replacer with 2 tbsp of water. Whisk in the cornflour to thoroughly combine. It will become quite gloopy, but do not worry. Slowly add the rice milk, giving it a good whisk to incorporate it into the mixture. Add the turmeric and paprika and again give it a good stir. Add salt and pepper to your own taste and set aside the mixture until needed.

Sweet Potato Bake

In a glass jug, add the Smooth, water, onion granules, garlic salt, smoked paprika, parsley and cornflour and stir to fully combine. Place in the microwave for 1 minute and give it a good stir. Put back in the microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds to 2 minutes until it starts to thicken to a double cream consistency. Add salt and pepper to your taste.

Arrange the sliced sweet potato in a rose shape in the foil lined cup (overlapping slices around the edge and keep working towards the middle until the cavity is filled. This is more about ensuring the slices all get cooked than how it looks at the end so don’t worry if it doesn’t hold its shape when it is cooked). Pour the sauce over the sweet potato until all the sauce is used. (You may need to use the tinfoil to prevent it from spilling out by ensuring it is slightly upright from the muffin tray).

Carrots

In a bowl, stir together the oil, black pepper, onion granules, garlic salt and herbs. Add the sliced carrot and stir until all the carrot is coated in the mixture. Place the carrots in one of the muffin tray cavities.

Parsnips

Place the parsnips into another empty cavity and drizzle 1 tsp of oil over them.

Yorkshire Puddings

Place 1 tsp of vegetable oil in two other muffin cup sections (2 tsp used in total). Place the tray in the oven for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile:

Mushrooms

Remove the stalk from the mushroom and using a spoon, gently remove the black gills. Finely dice the stalk and add to a bowl along with the gills. Add the cranberry sauce, mushroom stalk, Violife, rosemary and thyme to the stalk pieces and stir to combine. Spoon into the mushroom and set aside. Sprinkle with a little more cheese.

When the 15 minutes is up, remove the tray from the oven and divide the yorkshire pudding mixture between the two tray cups which have the hot oil in them.

Place the mushroom in a spare cavity (it doesn’t matter if it is resting on top, just make sure it can’t topple over. 

Drizzle the maple syrup or honey over the parsnips and put the tray back in the oven for a further 15 minutes.

Now make your Christmas pudding:

In a small saucepan, add the water, butter, sugar and spices and place on a medium heat. When the mixture begins to simmer, add the smooth and the dried fruit and give it a really good mix. Simmer the mixture, stirring regularly, for 3 minutes.

While the mixture is cooking, In a small jug or cup, make the egg replacer egg (1 tsp of egg replacer and 2 tbsp of water) and set aside. Take a small bowl and weigh out the flour and bicarbonate of soda, give a little stir and set aside. Line a microwaveable mug or cup with cling film and set aside.

After 3 minutes is up, the mixture in the pan should be a little darker in colour. Add the egg replacer mixture, flour and bicarbonate of soda and beat it a little to combine the ingredients. Spoon into the lined cup and microwave for 1 minute. If a skewer poked into the middle comes out clean, it is cooked. If not, cook for a further 15-30 seconds. Cover with tinfoil and leave to one side while you finish the dinner.

Now back to your Christmas dinner:

Remove the muffin tray from the oven and carefully remove the yorkshire puddings (these will soften and deflate when slightly cooler), carrots, parsnips, and stuffed mushroom and place them on your plate. Using a spoon, remove the sweet potato and place on the plate, then, gripping the foil, remove the sauce and pour over the potato.

Serve with low protein gravy if you choose.

After you have finished your dinner, it’s time for you pudding! If you like it warm, place in the microwave for 15-30 seconds. Serve with warm custard, cream or even brandy cream.

Happy Christmas, I hope you enjoy your meal!

Moving into KS2 (or ‘Juniors’ as we used to call it)

By Vicki Watson BEd

Year 3 heralds the start of KS2 – for some it’s just a move along the corridor, for others it’s a new building within school or even a new school. Either way, it’s the beginning of a new period in schooling and often the most important question is – where are the toilets?!

This year will bring many more questions for all children. Most of them will have met their new teacher for a short time, either in small groups outside or on Zoom and some will have seen them round school ‘back in the day’!

But what are they coming back to?

In a nutshell:

• The classrooms will be set out in rows with everyone facing the front.
• Children will have individual or paired resources. The general rule will be to stay in their seats and respect other people’s space.
• They will be expected to stay in their class or year group bubbles with staggered arrival times and playtimes. Hand washing will be frequent.
• Because there will be limited contact between adults as well, it will mean that they see less teachers than before.
• A comfort to some but a worry to others – especially those who rely on being able to see older siblings at break times.

As a parent, what can you do?

• A lot of schools have sent out Transition Booklets at the beginning of the holidays but don’t worry if yours hasn’t.
• Talk to your child about who they are and what their strengths are – tell them we are all in the same boat.
• Find their ‘brave’…..

• Set some goals to help get back into a routine – devise a timetable and organise ‘back to school’ stationery, etc.
• Talk about what is going to be the same and what will be different.
• Get them to voice and face their worries by writing them down and feeding them to a ‘Worry Monster’ or a ‘Worry box’. Encourage them to share.
• Create a little jar of memories about lockdown. Write down all the positives so they can be reminders for when you or your children are having a wobble.
• Read, read, read. Share books where both of you can read to the other and not just at bedtime.
• Have faith that school will catch them up with everything else.
• Pastoral care will be at the forefront of every year group and your teachers are there to help your children discover the new normal. Share with them and they will share back. Together, the world will become a safer place again for your children.