I’m often asked how I decide what I’m cooking at the weekend. I’d love to say there is some kind of formula but in truth it’s basically a case of turning the pages and seeing what I fancy. This does create two challenges:
- For #CurrySaturday – 18 months in means all the “fancy items” have long been cooked and;
- Making sure the ingredients are in the cupboards at short notice.
This weekend has seen two attempts at getting the boys more engaged in trying new items. For #CurrySaturday I went for:
- Homemade flatbreads: Perfect for children as it involves mixing with your hands, use of a rolling pin and general messiness. Perfect, until you have to clean up! These had a HUGE amount of fenugreek in which I thought would put off the boys – the reverse is true. I’ve found an unhealthy obsession with fenugreek!
- Prawn fritters: Good for one boy. Finley avoids seafood like …. well the plague! Chickpea flour really made the batter lighter.
- A homemade (using homegrown) tomato chutney to accompany the banquet of salads, pickled onions and yoghurt.
The verdict was simply fun for the boys. Not tasty. Not filling. “It was fun”. Take of that what you want.
Sunday brought a sense of “comfort”. Torrential rain all day allowed for a long affair when it came to food for #MexicoSunday. Keeping the same theme as Saturday (and maybe again too much cooking) we went for:
- Quesadillas: My pre Rick Stein opinion of these was very much how are they different to an enchilada. How wrong I was. I opted for Blue Corn Flour (although looks more grey) – another chance for the boys to get their hands stuck in. My new tortilla press makes the end result easy and these cooked quickly with a simple selection of cheese and vegetables.
- Accompanied by Salsa Verde made from Tomatillos and a fiery tomato salsa – both packing contrasting punches.
- The ultimate highlight though was bringing a drink into the game. A margarita. I always thought the tequila would take over but very balanced drink. Very refreshing even on a cold wet day.
So I now have a smorgasbord of leftovers (a bit like boxing day) in the fridge to nibble at over the next few days. Bring on the leftovers if they are as good as the original.
Words of Wilko 