Pizza, burgers and cardboard boxes

Home from preschool on Friday and I realise there's half a batch of pizza dough in the fridge from the night before. Woohoo! (I get really excited when I put ingredients together in my head and come up with a meal. Don't you?)

I rush in and quickly sizzle some garlic in coconut oil (I've become a real convert to coconut oil - more on that another time) before emptying in the contents of a large can of tomatoes and a bit of dried oregano and rosemary. Some salt and pepper and I leave it to bubble away and thicken. Meanwhile, a bowl of frozen sweetcorn is out thawing, I spread the dough out on a tray with my fingers and I drain the tuna, grate the cheese and chop some beautiful organic spinach leaves.

The sauce looks ready so I dollop it on the dough, and hide the spinach amongst it (Luca will never see it once I pile everything up high anyway). On go the sweetcorn, tuna and cheese, and into the oven till the dough is golden and crusty.

Scroll down below to see what I did with the leftover tomato sauce 

And boy was it delicious. Think it must have been the rosemary and the garlic in the sauce that gave it a real savoury edge. 

It was a resounding success with Luca (and for once he didn't pull anything green out), but 'fraid Kian did what Kian has been doing for weeks now: throws the plate and everything on it across the floor. In one fell swoop. 

Every. Bloody. Meal.

I've seen a temper in me this week that I don't see very often. That's all I shall say on the issue.

On Saturday (to try and temper my temper and inject a bit of cheer into our week), we took boxes to grassy hills and did this:

Linking in with the Playlist at 1000 Homes of Happiness 

And made it a burger night. 

While the sesame maps were rising, I roasted whole beetroot and potato wedges. Made the patties with chopped
onion, and the same dried herbs from the night before!

Luca had fun making his towering burger with cheese, tomato, beetroot and sauce. Kian... well, he actually ate half a patty. And the floor got the rest.

Last night, I stuffed cannelloni with a mixture of crème fraîche, parmesan, spinach and nutmeg, poured the leftover tomato sauce over the top and baked for 20 mins or so.

The boys didn't touch it, even when I mixed it up and turned it all gooey.

Maybe there was too spinach this time. But this is happening so much at the moment that sometimes I feel like giving up and just giving them toast at every meal.

But I don't. I can't. Some mums wonder why I go to so much effort in the first place, but that's just what I do. 

I cook from scratch because it's like second nature to me. There are lots of reasons.

Lately, I've felt deflated. Luca will pick, and Kian loves seeing the whole lot fall to the floor.

I'm waiting for the next phase. The one where they can't pile it in fast enough, and then ask for more.

It's happened in the past, so I know it's possible.

Until then, if you need me, I'll be on my hands and knees clearing up the last mess.