I have recently "allowed" my husband to go on a holiday without me. It was a dream opportunity for him, so although he went through the motions of asking me if it was OK, it would have been unnecessarily cruel of me to forbid this journey. In short, I felt I had no choice. Now one might ask, is this the beginning of the cracks in our relationship, or is our ability to have separate holidays a sign of our profound love and trust of one another? Although we are undoubtedly accountable to each other and our children, I find the notion of interpreting marriage as meaning being joined at the hip completely unacceptable. I married a man who has some interests I don't share, and if I were to take our marriage as a license to stamp out those things in his life, then the things that make us different from one another and interesting to each other would be gone. I don't want to melt into a pot with him and lead identical lives.
Anyway the good news for me is I now have a trade holiday ahead to look forward to, and no, he doesn't want to come along...
I am so deep in BBQ mode I simply have to give you another couple of interesting salad recipes:
Crunchy Creamy Broccoli Salad
Roast a packet of sunflower seeds in the oven (190 C) for about 7 mins or until they turn a touch brown. Watch out, as they burn very easily. Chop a good sized head of broccoli into bite size pieces, including the stalk, and steam it all for 3-4 minutes, so not too cooked. It should be slightly firm and bright green. Once the broccoli has cooled, add the sunflower seeds and a large handful of grated cheddar cheese. Add enough mayonnaise to coat it all, plus a generous splash of white wine vinegar, salt and fresh pepper.
Borlotti Bean Health Salad
All salads are healthy, no? Drain a tin of borlotti beans and chop up half a jar of sun dried tomatoes. Grate 3-4 good sized carrots and chop up a large bunch of watercress or rocket. Mix all of these together with a good glug of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.
Sunday, 5 July 2009
Friday, 5 June 2009
The BBQ Paradox
It's June, it must be summer! A time for your caveman to come out of his cave, light the fire and declare "I am cooking dinner Saturday night". Heaven. He's cooking dinner. Maybe we can even entertain? Yes. So here's how it goes in my house:
What I do:
Call the friends and invite them over. "It's a BBQ. Hubby is doing the cooking, lucky us". I then plan the meal (which does need a salad or two), go food shopping, shlep it all home and put it all away. On the day I wash the salad, chop the veggies, make a pasta/potato salad, put out chips and dips, count out the plates and the cutlery, set out table mats and napkins, fill the salt and pepper for the table, slice the bread, chill the wine, set out the glasses, slice some lemon, put out any condiments, make a marinade, unwrap all the meat, locate the BBQ tools, (don't you just love how a spatula, tongs and an oversized fork are called tools?), tidy up, get out the frisbees and suntan lotion, pop the potatoes in the oven and do a quick hairbrush/lipstick check before the doorbell rings.
What he does:
Opens a pack of charcoal, lights said charcoal, opens a beer an watches as charcoal very very slowly turns white (it takes an hour), calls for the meat, then cooks/burns the meat.
Yeeha.
So with all that labour in mind, I will propose a super easy kids dinner here:
Fake Pizza
My kids worship at the alter of Ask Pizza, and it's the one place where every morsel of food is eaten up, no tears or tantrums. So sometimes at home, I make "fake pizza". You need toasted english muffins (I use wholemeal to make them a touch healthy), smear them with some tomato pizza or pasta sauce from a jar, and top with cheese (I just use cheddar). If your kids stretch beyond marguerita pizzas, then add some ham or tuna before the cheese - whatever your kids are happy to eat. Pop them under a grill to melt the cheese, and call them mini pizzas.
What I do:
Call the friends and invite them over. "It's a BBQ. Hubby is doing the cooking, lucky us". I then plan the meal (which does need a salad or two), go food shopping, shlep it all home and put it all away. On the day I wash the salad, chop the veggies, make a pasta/potato salad, put out chips and dips, count out the plates and the cutlery, set out table mats and napkins, fill the salt and pepper for the table, slice the bread, chill the wine, set out the glasses, slice some lemon, put out any condiments, make a marinade, unwrap all the meat, locate the BBQ tools, (don't you just love how a spatula, tongs and an oversized fork are called tools?), tidy up, get out the frisbees and suntan lotion, pop the potatoes in the oven and do a quick hairbrush/lipstick check before the doorbell rings.
What he does:
Opens a pack of charcoal, lights said charcoal, opens a beer an watches as charcoal very very slowly turns white (it takes an hour), calls for the meat, then cooks/burns the meat.
Yeeha.
So with all that labour in mind, I will propose a super easy kids dinner here:
Fake Pizza
My kids worship at the alter of Ask Pizza, and it's the one place where every morsel of food is eaten up, no tears or tantrums. So sometimes at home, I make "fake pizza". You need toasted english muffins (I use wholemeal to make them a touch healthy), smear them with some tomato pizza or pasta sauce from a jar, and top with cheese (I just use cheddar). If your kids stretch beyond marguerita pizzas, then add some ham or tuna before the cheese - whatever your kids are happy to eat. Pop them under a grill to melt the cheese, and call them mini pizzas.
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
The True Cost of Looking Good
Tell me you have never lied to your husband about the cost of some clothing you have bought, and I will call you a liar. It seems so 50's and way out of synch with the power woman role a working mother might play, but I do sneak around and pay half cash, half credit card for those essential fashion must haves. Call me pathetic and out of control, but I do not share those dirty price tag details with the hubby.
And I know I am not the only one!
A friend said her husband freaked out at the credit card bill for a shoe store purchase. She said she just didn't have the heart to tell him she had paid the first £100 in cash. Another woman I know goes shopping with drycleaning bags, so when she gets home she is "carrying in the drycleaning".
I share all bank accounts with my husband. It's not how eveyone does things, but it works for us - except when I want that dress.... Mind you it works both ways, and when he decides to buy a car we end up having a grown up discussion about costs and budget (yawn).
So, as this is all about frugality, I will follow with my cheap eats ideas.
Day One - Roast a Chicken
Please buy organic chickens. Plump flavoursome meat from a happy animal far outweighs the watery shrivelled up battery alternative. My fastest roast chicken is seasoned generously with salt, pepper and dried or fresh thyme, with a quartered lemon shoved up its whatsit, together with 5 or so unpeeled garlic cloves (also in the whatsit). There is some unwritten law that says all chickens shalt be ready after 1.5 hours of roasting at 185C. Anyway, it works for me.
Carve and serve with vegetables.
Now chuck the remains in a big pot, cover with water, add 2 carrots cut into chunks, an onion peeled and cut into four pieces, 5 or so peppercorns, 2 tps dried or 3 stalks fresh thyme, and salt. Bring it to a simmer and let it all cook down for 2-3 hours. I leave mine to cool in the pot overnight as I can never face the washing up.
Day Two - Make risotto!
Using the stock (strain out the bones and muck) you made last night, you can now create a seriously yum homemade risotto, chucking in any leftover veg you have. See my previous blog, here, entitled, Are You a Martyr Mum, for my risotto recipe. Easy stuff.
Day Three - Drink lots and reheat the risotto
OR be an aspirational Italian and make risotto balls:
Roll some leftover risotto into a ball. Press a small piece of mozzarella into the middle and re-roll to cover the cheese completely. Dip the ball into beaten egg, then breadcrumbs mixed with grated parmesan, and fry until golden in olive oil and a little butter. Serve hot. If you do it right, the mozzarella should melt and form strings as you pull them away from your mouth, thus inspiring their italian name which has something to do with telephone wires...
And I know I am not the only one!
A friend said her husband freaked out at the credit card bill for a shoe store purchase. She said she just didn't have the heart to tell him she had paid the first £100 in cash. Another woman I know goes shopping with drycleaning bags, so when she gets home she is "carrying in the drycleaning".
I share all bank accounts with my husband. It's not how eveyone does things, but it works for us - except when I want that dress.... Mind you it works both ways, and when he decides to buy a car we end up having a grown up discussion about costs and budget (yawn).
So, as this is all about frugality, I will follow with my cheap eats ideas.
Day One - Roast a Chicken
Please buy organic chickens. Plump flavoursome meat from a happy animal far outweighs the watery shrivelled up battery alternative. My fastest roast chicken is seasoned generously with salt, pepper and dried or fresh thyme, with a quartered lemon shoved up its whatsit, together with 5 or so unpeeled garlic cloves (also in the whatsit). There is some unwritten law that says all chickens shalt be ready after 1.5 hours of roasting at 185C. Anyway, it works for me.
Carve and serve with vegetables.
Now chuck the remains in a big pot, cover with water, add 2 carrots cut into chunks, an onion peeled and cut into four pieces, 5 or so peppercorns, 2 tps dried or 3 stalks fresh thyme, and salt. Bring it to a simmer and let it all cook down for 2-3 hours. I leave mine to cool in the pot overnight as I can never face the washing up.
Day Two - Make risotto!
Using the stock (strain out the bones and muck) you made last night, you can now create a seriously yum homemade risotto, chucking in any leftover veg you have. See my previous blog, here, entitled, Are You a Martyr Mum, for my risotto recipe. Easy stuff.
Day Three - Drink lots and reheat the risotto
OR be an aspirational Italian and make risotto balls:
Roll some leftover risotto into a ball. Press a small piece of mozzarella into the middle and re-roll to cover the cheese completely. Dip the ball into beaten egg, then breadcrumbs mixed with grated parmesan, and fry until golden in olive oil and a little butter. Serve hot. If you do it right, the mozzarella should melt and form strings as you pull them away from your mouth, thus inspiring their italian name which has something to do with telephone wires...
Friday, 20 February 2009
Sneaky sidelines
No I am not talking about affairs, but time spent at work NOT doing work! I confess there are some days where I spend way more time than is acceptable planning my next holiday, sorting my daughter's social life, booking babysitters, doing my internet shopping, booking a pedicure... Surely I shouldn't feel guilty about this? But I do. When will this mad rush of life get simpler, slower and easier? Who has time to clean out the front hall cupboard? I have enough children's clothing that mine have grown out of to start my own kid's charity shop! I guess the bottom line is that I do grab the time at work to do it all (except that cupboard). A happy working mother is a productive working mother, and there are only so many hours in a day...
Meat on a Stick
This may strike you as a bit obvious, but it always works in my house which is filled to the brim with fussy eaters. Putting meat on a stick turns a mundane meal into something that kids find fun to pick up and munch.
You will need 2 wooden skewers per child. Then I slice up a chicken breast, or a lamb steak, or a steak, and I skewer the little pieces (1/2 inch each) onto the sticks. I often drizzle on some chinese hoi sin sauce, or some barbecue sauce so they are well coated. If you have neither, then a little olive oil and a touch of salt flavours the meat just as well. Grill them on a very hot grill pan or frying pan in a bit of oil (or best on a BBQ outside) until they are browned and cooked. Serve with their favourite vegggies and some boiled potatoes.
Meat on a Stick
This may strike you as a bit obvious, but it always works in my house which is filled to the brim with fussy eaters. Putting meat on a stick turns a mundane meal into something that kids find fun to pick up and munch.
You will need 2 wooden skewers per child. Then I slice up a chicken breast, or a lamb steak, or a steak, and I skewer the little pieces (1/2 inch each) onto the sticks. I often drizzle on some chinese hoi sin sauce, or some barbecue sauce so they are well coated. If you have neither, then a little olive oil and a touch of salt flavours the meat just as well. Grill them on a very hot grill pan or frying pan in a bit of oil (or best on a BBQ outside) until they are browned and cooked. Serve with their favourite vegggies and some boiled potatoes.
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
How dirty are you?
I'd love to be more mukky, but somewhere along the line it became unacceptable to go out without having had a shower, so I was surprised when I visited a working mother friend of mine and she casually mentioned that she hadn't showered in three days. I had a secret respect for that. I love going on the school run wearing my pyjamas under my coat. Add some track suit trousers and running shoes and voila, it looks like I've been to the gym at 6am like all power moms do, right? Ya right. We're all exhausted and filthy...aren't we?
This dish is so very elegant, and easy of course:
Gratin Greens
Chop up and cook enough spinach or kale or savoy cabbage for your gang. Drain it well and lay it out in a roasting dish. Bring a cup or so of single cream to a simmer with 2 cloves of chopped garlic and a sprig of fresh thyme. Watch it doesn't boil over! Let it cool before adding it to 3 beaten eggs, and stir in some ground nutmeg, salt and pepper. Pour the mixture onto the cooked greens, top with some grated parmesan and bake in an oven (190) for about 25 mins until it has just set. This creamy gentle side dish goes perfectly with roast lamb.
This dish is so very elegant, and easy of course:
Gratin Greens
Chop up and cook enough spinach or kale or savoy cabbage for your gang. Drain it well and lay it out in a roasting dish. Bring a cup or so of single cream to a simmer with 2 cloves of chopped garlic and a sprig of fresh thyme. Watch it doesn't boil over! Let it cool before adding it to 3 beaten eggs, and stir in some ground nutmeg, salt and pepper. Pour the mixture onto the cooked greens, top with some grated parmesan and bake in an oven (190) for about 25 mins until it has just set. This creamy gentle side dish goes perfectly with roast lamb.
Monday, 19 January 2009
Danger: Husband in Grocery Store
Bless him - he loves to go shopping for groceries but despite returning home with 15 bags of stuff (never less, oh no. Bulk shopping is the ONLY shopping for him) I have nothing to cook - especially nothing child friendly.
I have done a small and informal survey and I am not the only unlucky one. My neighbour's husband comes home with foie gras and pheasant, and a friend's husband buys nothing but frozen cheap shite TV dinners and tins of inappropriate sauce. So mine went shopping yesterday. He came back with a dozen hot cross buns which will go off in three days - 16 apples (and we already had about 6 in the house) - the biggest block of butter I have ever seen (we have plenty already) - beers, of course - 5 tubs of yoghurt which only he eats - and a year's worth of oatmeal. No meat, no vegetables, in short, no dinner. But he was so excited...especially about the hot cross buns which were on a buy-one-get-one-free deal. Can someone please teach my husband how to food shop?
Retro Beef Stroganoff
I realise my recipes recently have been a little more time consuming than what I, the Happy Working Mother, promises above. I think the problem is I mostly cook well on weekends when I have a touch more time, and this recipe is no exception. BUT, it is very simple and quite delicious.
Slice up half a rump or sirloin steak per person into even finger sized strips. Put them in a plastic bag with some garlic salt, hot paprika and pepper. Shake around the bag until all the meat is well coated and set aside. I left mine for 1/2 a day. Cut a generous amount of mushrooms into halves or quarters so they are still a good size and slice up one or two onions. Fry the onions in olive oil until they are translucent, then add the mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 minutes then switch off the heat. In a wok, or big frying pan, melt a fair bit of butter and get it as hot as you dare before adding the beef, stir frying it until it is browned but still rare inside. 2-3 minutes max should do it. Now tip the beef into the onions and mushrooms, add one big tablespoon of smooth french mustard and mix together. Add a pot of sour cream which should result in enough sauce to coat some noodles. I served this on papardelle (wide flat noodles) with some broccoli on the side. Yum.
I have done a small and informal survey and I am not the only unlucky one. My neighbour's husband comes home with foie gras and pheasant, and a friend's husband buys nothing but frozen cheap shite TV dinners and tins of inappropriate sauce. So mine went shopping yesterday. He came back with a dozen hot cross buns which will go off in three days - 16 apples (and we already had about 6 in the house) - the biggest block of butter I have ever seen (we have plenty already) - beers, of course - 5 tubs of yoghurt which only he eats - and a year's worth of oatmeal. No meat, no vegetables, in short, no dinner. But he was so excited...especially about the hot cross buns which were on a buy-one-get-one-free deal. Can someone please teach my husband how to food shop?
Retro Beef Stroganoff
I realise my recipes recently have been a little more time consuming than what I, the Happy Working Mother, promises above. I think the problem is I mostly cook well on weekends when I have a touch more time, and this recipe is no exception. BUT, it is very simple and quite delicious.
Slice up half a rump or sirloin steak per person into even finger sized strips. Put them in a plastic bag with some garlic salt, hot paprika and pepper. Shake around the bag until all the meat is well coated and set aside. I left mine for 1/2 a day. Cut a generous amount of mushrooms into halves or quarters so they are still a good size and slice up one or two onions. Fry the onions in olive oil until they are translucent, then add the mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 minutes then switch off the heat. In a wok, or big frying pan, melt a fair bit of butter and get it as hot as you dare before adding the beef, stir frying it until it is browned but still rare inside. 2-3 minutes max should do it. Now tip the beef into the onions and mushrooms, add one big tablespoon of smooth french mustard and mix together. Add a pot of sour cream which should result in enough sauce to coat some noodles. I served this on papardelle (wide flat noodles) with some broccoli on the side. Yum.
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Ahhhhh...January
Yesterday for the first time in weeks, I had the house to myself. It wasn't planned, but following Christmas with my Maw here for a month's visit, plus a guest from New York for 3 weeks not to mention my immediate family and the cleaning lady - an empty house is a rare treat. It only lasted 1.5 hours but that's all I needed to recharge, de-stress and then I got lonely.
I like the chaos of my home and although we have a constant stream of guests and dinner parties and unexpected coffee or wine worshippers showing up at all times, I like it that way. I may not read as much as I might like to, but entertaining friends and family is my great hobby. It creates good memories.
During the holidays I cooked a lot. For me the memorable meal was this stew which I tried making for the first time. Easy and perfect for cold weather.
Irish Lamb Stew
Chop up a couple of white onions and fry in a slosh of oil in a big casserole pot (which must have a lid). While that is frying, put half a coffee cup of plain flour, with a pinch of salt and lots of ground pepper into a resealable plastic bag. Add enough cubed lamb to feed your crowd, close the bag and shake to coat all the meat. Add the lamb and all the flour to the pot and stir until the meat is getting browned. Add a drizzle more oil if there is too much flour though you should have a sticky gloopy mess. Add enough stock (vegetable or chicken) to cover the meat and then some. Stir it all together, turn down the heat to simmer, and cover.
Peel and chop into nice chunky pieces some carrots and some turnip and add these to the pot. Remove a generous amount of fresh thyme from its stalks and add that too. Then add a small handful per person of pearl barley to the pot. Stir and cover and let it simmer gently for 2 hours. Keep checking it doesn't get too thick and stir it from time to time to prevent the barley from sticking to the bottom. If it is too thick just add a little warm water or half a glass of white wine. Also check the seasoning and add as necessary.
I served this with boiled new potatoes and everyone had seconds.
I like the chaos of my home and although we have a constant stream of guests and dinner parties and unexpected coffee or wine worshippers showing up at all times, I like it that way. I may not read as much as I might like to, but entertaining friends and family is my great hobby. It creates good memories.
During the holidays I cooked a lot. For me the memorable meal was this stew which I tried making for the first time. Easy and perfect for cold weather.
Irish Lamb Stew
Chop up a couple of white onions and fry in a slosh of oil in a big casserole pot (which must have a lid). While that is frying, put half a coffee cup of plain flour, with a pinch of salt and lots of ground pepper into a resealable plastic bag. Add enough cubed lamb to feed your crowd, close the bag and shake to coat all the meat. Add the lamb and all the flour to the pot and stir until the meat is getting browned. Add a drizzle more oil if there is too much flour though you should have a sticky gloopy mess. Add enough stock (vegetable or chicken) to cover the meat and then some. Stir it all together, turn down the heat to simmer, and cover.
Peel and chop into nice chunky pieces some carrots and some turnip and add these to the pot. Remove a generous amount of fresh thyme from its stalks and add that too. Then add a small handful per person of pearl barley to the pot. Stir and cover and let it simmer gently for 2 hours. Keep checking it doesn't get too thick and stir it from time to time to prevent the barley from sticking to the bottom. If it is too thick just add a little warm water or half a glass of white wine. Also check the seasoning and add as necessary.
I served this with boiled new potatoes and everyone had seconds.
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