It is school holidays and we’ve had a visitor – our gorgeous grandson, Cooper, which meant it was time to cook with Granny, play chess with Papa, and this time, there was also a little piano lesson too!
We only had 48 hours, but we managed to pack a lot in. Cooper had a list of what we needed to cook:
- Meringues
- Chocolate Cream Cake
- Lemon Slice (for Papa), and
- Rocky Road
A major search to find the Rocky Road recipe, but more about that later, then he wrote up the shopping list. A trip to the supermarket and home via my favourite book shop – The Book Shoppe, where I was delighted to hear him asking Janene about his favourite authors. Yes, there was also time for reading in between everything else!
Back at home, and decked out in Chef’s Whites, Cooper was ready to get to work! 
When it come to the meringues – last time we made Evil Pig meringues, I thought that they looked rather sinister, so didn’t even mention them. Instead I asked Cooper what colour the meringue shoud be. His answer – purple! With blue and rose pink colouring at hand, I took a portion of the meringue and began mixing in the colour. It was then that Cooper suggested that we should make evil pigs again, so we ditched the idea of making the meringue purple, and the Evil Pigs made a return! After a little more chit chat (and there was plenty of that), this time, we also made crazy critters, aka porcupines. They were put in the oven and the waiting began – how frustrating that even though they were cooked, they still couldn’t come out of the oven until they were totally cooled!
We kept cooking… Chocolate Cream Cake is always a given, a family favourite, and while Cooper always helps to make the cake, he eagerly awaits the time that the batter is in the tins, and he can have the bowl and spatula. It’s the same every time – when I hand him the bowl, he sits down right where he is and proceeds to eat every skerrick of batter from the bowl. I tell him every time, that I think even when he is 21, he will still do the same!
Lemon Slice, while not for Cooper, he hopped right in and helped! He loved the biscuits, but when it come to adding the lemon verbena and lemon to the mix, I lost him. That didn’t matter though, ’cause we were making it for Papa, and to see the joy on his face, as he watched Papa eating the slice, said it all.
Finally… Our Rocky Road... Once we found the recipe, a recipe that, over time, has been changed so much that it has now become our own – we’ve pretty much changed everything, which meant that we had to actually decypher our changes! There was only one word that neither of us could work out, so we added, at Cooper’s suggestion, dried apricots. He also tasted the dried sour cherries that I had, and gave them the thumbs up, so we were good to go.
Cooper took on the roll of marshmallow chopper, he was very good, only popping a few in his mouth as he worked away.
I was given the task of chopping the dried fruit and breaking up the chocolate. Cooper put the chocolate into the respective basins, and I set to getting it melted, with him stirring in between. With the tin lined, all the ingredients (except for the small amounts of dark and white chocolate) were combined in a large basin, and then half was added to the tray, drizzled with dark and white chocolate, then the remaining half of the mix added and finished off with the last of the dark and white chocolate. It was put into the fridge, and it was time to be patient again!
Our recipe, created with time, and fun together in our kitchen
- 360 g milk chocolate
- 180 g dark chocolate
- 90 g white chocolate
- 20 g coconut oil
- 280 g pack of marshmallows
- 75 g slivered almonds
- 80 g rice puffs
- 15 g glace cherries or dried sour cherries, quartered
- 75 g dried apricots diced
- 75 g dried cranberries
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Line a slice tin, approx. 18 x 30 cm, with baking paper
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Cut the marshmallows in half, and put into a large mixing bowl.
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Add fruit, nuts and rice puffs.
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Chop the milk chocolate, and half the dark chocolate, and place in a microwave proof bowl, together with the coconut oil.
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Microwave the chocolate on high for 30 seconds. Stir well and repeat another 2-3 times until the chocolate is just melted.
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Add the chocolate to the dry ingredients and mix well, ensuring all ingredients are well coated.
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Chop the remaining dark chocolate and place in a microwave proof bowl.
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Chop the white chocolate and place in a microwave proof bowl.
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Melt the dark and white chocolates in microwave, on high for 20 seconds. Stir well and repeat another 1 or 2 times, or until the chocolate is just melted.
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Lightly press half of the chocolate marshmallow mix into the lined slice tin, and spread to cover the base of the tin.
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Drizzle with half the melted dark and white chocolate, then add the remaining chocolate marshmallow mix, and spread evenly.
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Drizzle with remaining dark and white chocolate.
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Place in refrigerator to set for 3-4 hours, or overnight.
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When set, cut into 3cm squares
- For gluten free, ensure that all ingredients are gluten free.
Having cleaned up after each item was prepared, the final clean up didn’t take long, and a pot of bolognese sauce was prepared for our dinner.
With Cooper wondering when we would have chocolate cream cake, I slipped out to the kitchen and, unbeknown to him, also prepared some of the Evil Pigs to go with it. When I walked in with the cake, the look on his face was priceless!
The following day I set to, and packaged up all the goodies for Cooper to take home. There had to be two packs of each item, so he could take some to his Dad’s house and some to his Mum’s house.
Meanwhile he and Papa played chess, and every now and then I could hear him practising the C major scale that I had taught him.
The day flew and it was soon time to load the car and head off to rendezvous with his Dad, and say our goodbyes. Until next time…
Oh, and the mystery word on the recipe? Glace, as in glacé cherries
Until next time…
Love your family and…
Bon appétit!
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I love how you packed so much in to a short visit. We’ll be doing the same in a couple of weeks. Happy days! 😊
Thank you so much, and, yes, very happy days… Cherish every moment and enjoy every second with yours💕
What a fun time you all had. Kitchen time with grandchildren is one my special joys.
It is always a fun time, I look forward to the next visit, even before this one finishes! You are so right, time with grandchildren is a blessing.