In which I sound frighteningly fanatical about food and Turi learns to stand up...

You may have noticed, I like to make as much of our food as possible from scratch. I don't like to be beholden to the manufactures of processed food. I like to be in control of what goes into things and I am generally incensed by excessive packaging. I like sticking it to 'the man', whoever that may be. When I pick up a product my mind tends to assess whether I could make a tastier, better, cheaper, more wholesome item if I made it myself.

It is true, on occasion I have been known to take things a little too far - like when I tried to make tortillas from scratch (I seriously do not advise this unless you invest a tortilla press) or marshmallows (why bother?). But for the most part I do think the extra effort is worthwhile.

My latest I-made-it-from-scratch adventure involves home made rusks. I did a little research on teething biscuit recipes here and came up with my own recipe:

1/2 cup wholemeal flour

1/2 cup plain flour

1 cup brown baby rice cereal

3 tbspns vegetable oil

Mix all the ingredients together. Then slowly add ice water until the dough comes together. Roll out on a floured surface. Cut into shapes and place on a greased baking tray.

Bake at 180C for 12mins or until firm and golden.

The kids seem to like them and they are certainly more economical than buying a packet of rusks. I probably wouldn't recommend them for a very young baby as they are a bit more crumbly than bought rusks.

In other news, Turi learnt to stand up today... let the head injuries begin!