Children's cookery book has right recipe for the Sick Kids

A COOKBOOK with dishes chosen by children sounds like it could be a recipe for disaster.

But instead of junk food and ice cream, the children who picked their favourite recipes in aid of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation instead came up with dishes including Tottie Leakie Soup and Shetland Pony Macaroni.

The Friends and Family Cookbook, featuring around 35 recipes, was the idea of Corstorphine mother-of-three Gilly Herbert as a way of saying thanks to staff at the hospital, who cared for her three-year-old daughter, Sophia, when she underwent a minor operation.

Mrs Herbert, 36, asked local families and friends to write down their child's favourite recipe - all of which have been collated in the new book.

The children, aged six months to six years, illustrated the book - which is on sale at the hospital gift shop - with colourful drawings of their recipes.

Mrs Herbert, a stay-at-home mum, said: "We have had a couple of extended stays at the Sick Kids and we're thankful for the level of care and attention we received.

"The ward playroom toys were a bit worn and well used, and it was this that prompted me to start fundraising for the hospital as a way of saying thank you to all the doctors and nurses and, in turn, ensuring other children had a comfortable experience during their stays at the hospital."

Mrs Herbert and her husband, Guy - with help from their friends - have now raised more than 4000 for the Sick Kids Friends Foundation through a raffle and auction over the last two years. The money raised has been used to purchase new bookshelves, tables, chairs, toys and DVDs.

Mrs Herbert added: "All funds raised will benefit the children who visit the hospital, and our book will hopefully help other families to have fun in the kitchen too.

"We got 300 copies printed initially and so far, through friends, I have sold about 80."

The 45-page book, which costs 5, is a collection of simple yet delicious recipes - including starters, main meals and desserts - and is ideal for all age groups. Among the recipes are Sophia's Shetland Pony Macaroni, Annabelle's Lazy Lion Apple Pie, Darcey's Tottie Leakie Soup, Cameron's Yummy Biryani, Connie's Cupcakes, and Calum's Easy Peasy Beefy Burger.

Chief executive of the Sick Kids Friends Foundation Maureen Harrison said: "We are very grateful to Gilly and her family and all their friends for the fantastic amount of money raised in the last two years. The cookbook is a great idea and it looks fantastic. It is already extremely popular with visitors to the hospital.

"The money raised from the sale of the book will support projects like the playrooms and the Drop-In Centre, which provides tremendous support to families and our purchase of state-of-the-art surgical equipment to remove tumours."

Sophia's Shetland Pony Macaroni

Ingredients

Two cups of macaroni

250g cheddar cheese

200ml milk

50g butter

50g plain or corn flour

Method

Add a tablespoon of butter to a pan and melt it slowly. Add plain flour or corn flour through a sieve and mix it until you achieve a paste.

Turn up the heat and add milk, start with 200ml. Use a whisk to blend the paste and milk.

Put up the heat until it's hot but not boiling and add cheese. Keep adding either milk or cheese until you are happy with the consistency.

Take it off the heat and boil your macaroni.

Drain it, rinse it with hot water and add the cheese sauce.