Al wears the apron!

Daphne has been away on holiday lately. We hope she is have a lovely time on her well deserved break. But....while she is away, the babies still have to eat. Daphne has some special skills that are hard to match, but thankfully we have some-one ready and waiting to take up the challenge!

 I am sure that not many organizations throw one of their Directors into the kitchen - but Al is more than willing. In fact, in his life-before-Butterfly-Home, Alan worked in the catering industry. So he is more than capable of organizing the kitchen and producing delicious meals for hungry little bellies.

Actually, he looks pretty happy as he blends up something tasty and healthy for the littlest ones. And we think the apron suits him. (Daphne has some nice floral ones, but for some reason he hasn't been using those so much.)

Here is some yummy apples,  cooking up ready for dessert. Growing babes need lots of energy and vitamins, so we prefer to cook our own food rather than buy ready-made cans. Home cooked food has more intense flavours too - which helps children learn to appreciate different tastes.  Varying tastes and textures are all part of providing an environment rich in stimulation for developing little brains. Since our kids have extra challenges, we feel a fresh, varied diet is an important choice we can make for them.

I don't think this cake needs much explanation. Our workplace has lots of women - Al is outnumbered, with just one other male to back him up. All the ladies have been giving Al a hard time since he put on his apron. This cake is his way of making sure they all appreciate his cooking!

Daphne

We have introduced some of our volunteers from other countries, but we'd like you to meet some of our local staff too. These amazing women are the ones at the front line - caring for our kids day by day. They should all have degrees in Applied Practical Love - they do it  so well.

This beautiful lady is Daphne, who has been with us since we opened here. She originally joined our team as a cleaner, and she worked diligently to keep the Home looking spick and span. Each day, Daphne had a lunch  break - time for her to relax, sit down, call her friends or maybe even take a walk. But Daphne never chose to do any of those things - she always spent her lunch break cuddling babies! She especially loved to scoop up tiny Angel and give her a little extra loving.

Over time we discovered that Daphne had another skill - cooking. Now she still does housekeeping, but she also cooks for the children. She loves to make special food for each individual child, and takes such care of the ones who have certain needs or difficulties with textures or  flavours. Thanks to Daphne, all our children get fresh healthy food, made with loving care and attention to detail. And, every child can count on a special treat during the day - Daphne knows each of their favorites, and makes sure that they all get to be spoilt a little now and then!  

Here is Daphne's recipe for a healthy high protein breakfast for babies - no wonder our kids are growing so well.

Breakfast cereal
This can be eaten hot or cold, and can be pureed for young babies. It has lots of fibre and is nutritious. You can add milk or fruit before serving to taste even better.
Red Beans 1 cup

Green Beans 1 cup

 Sugar ¼ cup

 Rice 1 cup

Cold water 3 cups

Put all the ingredients in a slow cooker on auto for 5 hours. Turn off cool and serve.

 We are thankful for Daphne's gifts and the way she uses them to love these children. She is a hero in our eyes!