Yesterday I was walking the dog in Cornwall Park and a mother was there 
with her 2 year old daughter. They spent the whole time with the daughter playing in her yellow gumboots in the puddles. It made me laugh, the Mum probably wanted to go for a walk in the park, it was a beautiful afternoon, 
sun was shining, there were even cows!! 
But instead she was appeasing her daughter, allowing her the freedom and joy of getting wet and having fun. It’s what we do…parents, we do what is best for our child. It got me thinking about the innate nature of nature. Having been to the talk by Hope Jahren, the scientist/botanist and author of Lab Girl 
at the Writer’s Festival in the weekend, (I think I was a bit star struck tbh!!), I have been thinking about trees and our connection with the earth. Trees produce flowers and fruit at their own expense, 
reproduction slows their growth, and ring width may be halved in good seed years. And yet they do it and so do we. We have kids, we reproduce and we put ourselves last and them first. It’s nature, it’s innate in all living things.
Today I got up and made empanadas for my daughter’s school lunch. Doesn’t happen every day believe me, but I do enjoy making them for her and today I had time. So here’s the recipe. 
I do plan to make bread today, Multigrain loaf, but that’ll have to wait till this afternoon as my plan is to catch up on my novel. That means writing more than 10,000 words in the next 10 days. :/ Well let’s just see how that goes shall we!!
So I picked up the recipe for Empanadas when we lived in Chile. They are a favourite with the kids and adults alike, of course. They are simple and easy to make.
Empanadas de Queso (Cheese Empanadas)
Put a cup of flour and 4 tablespoons of soft butter in a bowl with a pinch or two of baking powder. Add 1/4 tsp of salt. Rub the butter through your fingers to make a fine bread crumb mixture, then add milk to make a soft dough. It’s really a bit of a guessing game on how much milk to add, so just add a bit at a time until the mixture combines. If the mixture is too wet, add more flour until it’s not sticky. Instead of milk you can add cooked mashed pumpkin and its juice. That makes a lovely golden dough that’s got to be good for you.
Roll out the dough and use a cooky cutter 
or glass to cut out rounds.
Put cheese on one side and pinch the sides closed with your fingers or a fork. 
Fry in olive oil. Delicious hot!
