Monkey

Preparation time: 15min   |  Cooking time: 15-20min   | Servings: 1

“One little monkey jumping on the bed…” – I guess you all know this song. Well, my daughter has just discovered it! Ha, and guess what, she loved it! She was jumping all around for at least half an hour, singing it over and over again. No wonder we did a monkey for her lunch:) Beef and kasha, yummy and healthy! In fact, I prepared this meal for the whole family, but just change the presentation for my daughter and added the cheese flowers. One meal, two different look & feel. And guess what, my husband was a bit disappointed he didn’t get the monkey! Next time, everyone gets one:)

Did you know that the Monkey is the ninth in the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar?

Step1 Prepare the kasha following the instruction of the package you bought. Cook the green beans in the salted water until tender. At the same time prepare the beef: peel a shallot, chop it and then add to the beef together with spices. Mix everything well.

Step2 Using your hands, make two balls from the beef: one bigger, one smaller. Heat the oil on the frying pan and fry the beef on both sides for a couple of minutes until well cooked. In the meantime prepare the gravy, following the instructions on the package you bought.

Step3 While everything cooks, prepare a few flowers: cut them from the orange cheese using the cookie cutter or a knife. Cut off ends of the olive to make the eyes. Cut small stripes of cheese – one for the mouth, one for the nose. When the everything is ready to serve, make a palm tree leaves on the plate using green beans – adjust their length when necessary. Place the beef balls underneath and spread a little bit of gravy on them. Shape monkey’s ears, arms, legs and tail using kasha. Complete monkey’s head by placing the olive eyes, cheesy mouth and nose. Decorate the palm tree with flowers; you can also give one to the monkey. Use ketchup drops for the centers of flowers and monkey’s smile. Enjoy!

Monkey shaped meal