Rainy days

Yesterday and today are rainy days, and lately on those "no park"  days I make cakes and ice cream, to keep my daughter busy doing something different . 

For the ice cream I simmer fruit (strawberries in this case) and sugar on a pan, then I mix it with greek yogurt (sweeter then the normal one, which is probably lighter, but I don't like the slightly acid taste.) and I reserve a little for my daughter.

You can see in the picture her hands trying to reach the glass. Like all toddlers I know, she is crazy about yogurt. If we want to eat one, we have to do it hidden in another room..if not she will end up eating 3 of them in a row.. 

When I make a cake, I get my daughter to help me to stir the ingredients, and then we like to go every ten minutes  in front of the oven glass to watch how it's raising.

I have memories as a very small child, of myself playing under the kitchen table and helping them to cook, while my mum  and my grandmother were making "tortellini" and "gnocchi fritti", some typical italian food from my region.

So I suppose that the "urge" I suddenly feel, to cook on rainy days, must be because of those nice memories, and my inconscious side of the brain wants to give her  the same  nice feeling.

I made a carrot cake following  Delia Smith's recipe but I have to say that I don't like the quark cheese on top.. so next time I'll make with the butter/sugar mixture, although that won't be really low-fat..