Make & Do

Picture this: half a dozen hungry kids are about to come over, and all you've got is rice, cream, a half-eaten chocolate bar, and a box of sultanas leftover from yesterday's school lunchbox. If you've also got a rice cooker, this recipe should solve your problem. Makes about 3 cups of vanilla and 3 cups chocolate rice pudding.

Ingredients:

Egg Nog for Everyone

In a jug, mix together:

• 1L vanilla soy milk
• 4 teaspoons maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon brandy or rum essence
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Chill before drinking. Great for people with an egg allergy, vegans, and kids. If you whizz it in a blender before serving, it will have a bit more froth to it - like egg nog made with whipped egg whites.

Do you remember doing long distance trips as a kid, asking "are we there yet?" every five minutes? If you're not looking forward to re-living the experience from the parental perspective, here's some tips on long-distance car trips with toddlers and pre-schoolers.

Plan Ahead

Christmas is the time of year when it's quite OK to get out all the tacky, home-made, crappy crafts and put them on public display. And making crafts will hopefully keep little hands busy while you're trying to get everything else ready for Christmas festivities. Try these...

This is based on a recipe I found in a Coles recipe mag last night. Don't let the small size fool you - they're sweet enought that you only need to eat one for dessert! Although we had ours tonight with vanilla ice cream that I had softened, then stirred in the leftover chocolate and cream mixture from making the tarts before refreezing.

This has to be the quickest, easiest dinner. It's also vegetarian, healthy, and kid-friendly. The chickpea balls only take a few minutes to make, and the tomato sauce can be a home-made basic pasta sauce or store-bought in a jar. Home-made pasta sauce freezes well, or it can be vacuum sealed in jars and stored in the cupboard.

Sewing Modern Cloth Nappies

Using modern cloth nappies (often referred to as MCN's) instead of disposable nappies can save over $700 a year in buying nappies, and over 2 tonnes of landfill waste that will take centuries to break down.

Warmer weather, school holidays, and the kids need something to do. Read on for recipes, crafts, and games to keep the kids busy and celebrate Spring.

This is the cake that I made for each of my children's first birthday parties - no dairy, no egg, and vegan-friendly. It's rich and moist, and very easy to make.

Ingredients:

Got a bag of soap nuts for the laundry? Soap nuts are an eco-friendly alternative to chemical laundry detergents in both front and top loading washing machines. But you can do a lot more with soap nuts than just wash your clothes. Make your own shampoo, head lice treatment, silverware cleaner, insect repellant, and lots more. Soap nuts don't lather like commercial soaps and cleaners, but the fruit of the sapindus mukurossi (soap nut) tree contain natural saponin - yes, soap. Soap nuts are also traditionally used in Ayurvedic treatments for excema and psoriasis.