Chicken Pie Tart On The Run

So there we were, 2 brave parents who wanted to get out of the humdrum of daily life managing work and 2 toddlers, that we booked a short 6-day holiday in the Italian Alps. We were sure it would be a manageable 6-hour drive (7, tops), and we would reach our getaway one-bedroom fully-fitted holiday apartment in a quaint village, all excited and ready for our adventure and a relaxing time. We packed DVDs we wanted to watch, books we wanted to read, and planned places we wanted to go, so sure that we would have time to do them all. It would be a refreshing break, we told ourselves. It would do us good, we said. Nobody would fall sick, no no no!

However we forgot to remember how unpredictable life with toddlers can be! The aforementioned 6-hour car trip became an 11-hour one, with stops at restaurants with kids' play corners, picnic breaks at sunny playgrounds (where we ate the Chicken Pie Tart that I had baked the night before), 2 toddler whine sessions, 1 mommy meltdown session and a blessed period when both children fell asleep. And then we met traffic jams. But thanks to dear daddy who pulled us all together, we got to our apartment in Parcines in one piece, although later than planned. And the place was what we had hoped for - nice and big, bright and airy with sunshine and mountains all around. And so it was worth it.  And the next day would be even better, we were sure of it. And hopefully, more predictable.

View of Pacines, Southern Tyrol from our southwest balcony

View that greets me in the morning

Chicken Pie Tart

I cannot survive on only cold sandwiches and fruits on car trips so if it has to be eaten cold, it had better be filled with yummy things in a flaky pastry crust. So I came up with this tart as I had run out of dough to make the topping and it turned out pretty darn delicious. You can also make individual pastry cases I suppose but that would be too much pastry in every bite methinks. In case of extreme lethargy or too-much-to-pack syndrome, just buy puff pastry or shortcrust pastry from the nearest supermarket. Otherwise, this is my recipe for a shortcrust pastry using the food processor.

For the Shortcrust Pastry

I followed the same pastry recipe as the one for the Salmon and Buttered Onions Tart, which is pretty much my fallback easy pastry recipe. Here it is again

• 200g all purpose flour
• 100g cold butter
• A pinch of salt.
• 2-4 tablespoons of cold water (but don't add them all in one go!)

Put everything EXCEPT the water into the food processor and let it rip for about 20 seconds or until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Then add in the 2 tablespoons of water and wait until the dough comes together. You will notice that the 'breadcrumbs' will get bigger and fatter and suddenly there is this lump of dough banging itself against the walls. If if doesn't do that, then add in more water, 1 tablespoon at a time. But be patient.

Then take the dough out and place it on a floured greaseproof paper. I just roll the dough out on the greaseproof paper and when the dough is the size I want it to be, I lift the paper and place it such that the dough is above the pie dish, flip the paper 180 degrees and let the flattened dough drop squarely on the pie dish. Remember to grease your pie dish first.

Bake blind in a 180 degree oven for about 5 minutes or so until it has hardened and the colour has changed from pale white to beige.

For the Chicken Filling

• 250g chicken breast or thigh meat, cut into small pieces
• 1 potato, cut into small cubes
• 1 carrot, cubed likewise
• 1 onion, sliced and diced
• A handful of sliced and quartered mushrooms
• A handful of peas
• A handful of corn (frozen or canned)
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• About a quarter of a glass (any ol' glass) of water
• About a quarter of a the same glass of apple juice
• Whatever herbs, fresh or dried you have on hand. I used an Italian Dried Seasoning Mix in view of my destination.
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• Generous topping of grated parmesan

Add butter and oil to a heated pan. When the butter has melted, add the diced onions and stir until the onion is transluscent. Then add the flour until it forms a thickened buttery mixture. At this point, add the small pieces of chicken meat and stir until it is coated in the thick buttery mixture. Add more oil if you think the mixture is too thick and cannot coat the chicken pieces.

Then add the potatoes, carrots and mushrooms. Stir them around before adding the water and apple juice to wet the mixture. Mix in the herbs and seasonings. When the mixture is bubbling merrily, add the peas and corn, stir, cover and let them cook on medium heat. Remember to stir often to avoid the flour mixture from burning at the bottom.

After about 15 minutes, check for the softness of the vegetables and the doneness of the chicken meat. The mixture should be thick, kinda like chowder consistency. If not, add a bit more flour and let it cook a while longer.

The Assembly

Take the cooled pre-baked pastry out (it's ok too if it is still hot or warm to the touch), and spread the chicken filling in it. Top with a generous grating of parmesan as this will form a topping and will keep the filling wet and juicy in the middle.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes until the parmesan topping is melty and the crust is done to the right degree of brown crispness. If you find that the parmesan topping got too brown and crispy while waiting for the crust to bake, add more grated parmesan topping on top in the last few minutes for added cheesy-meltiness.

Wait for the tart to cool and pack it into your picnic basket. I baked this the night before and left it on the counter to cool before packing it up for our 6am start.

End result - delicious factor is upped by 10 degrees when eaten in the sun. Beats a boring cold sandwich on any picnic day!

Enjoying lunch in the sun

Toddler potion

Mommy portion with extra grated parmesan on top.

Chargrilled Tuna with Pan fried Zucchini, Tomatoes and Olives served with Buttered Saffron Rice

I love seafood, but living in the middle of Germany, "seafood" is usually defined as fish and "fresh fish" usually means flash frozen ones that travelled about 6 hours in a truck from the coast after perhaps 4 hours of processing. Seafood that in Singapore would have been held by the tail, prodded with a stick and scoffed at. But once in a while, I get my hands on some really fresh, good quality (need I say) expensive fish which gets me all jittery and excited at the same time because for one - how will I cook this? and for two - will my kids eat this? And so out come the cookbooks and this one was inspired by Jamie Oliver's Char Grilled Tuna with Vegetables. I always have zucchini in my fridge as this versatile vegetable can be something crunchy (like in a salad), or something crispy (like encrusted in a parmesan crust and baked) or something sweet and saucy like how it was transformed as part of a vegetable dish to accompany the fresh tuna that I was afraid of. It was totally freestyle cooking on a Saturday evening when the whole family was at home. So with the hubs taking care of the bubs for the next half hour (I timed it - it was almost leisurely cooking when I did not have to attend to the kids!), let the tuna transformation begin!

For the Chargrilled Tuna

• 2 fresh, good quality tuna steaks from a sustainable source
• 2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice
• 2 tablespoons of salty soya sauce

For the Pan-fried Vegetables in Sauce

• 1 zucchini/courgette or other green vegetables like broccoli, leek or asparagus, cut slanted or lengthwise for a longish shape
• 3-4 tomatoes, quartered
• A handful of olives, left whole
• 1/2 an onion, sliced
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, mashed with the back of the knife and minced
• 2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice
• 2 tablespoons of water
• Salt and black pepper shakes for seasoning

For the Buttered Saffron rice

• 1/2 an onion, diced as small as you want
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of butter (or Ghee, that lovely clarified butter that you can probably get from an Asian supermarket if you are in Europe or the US or Australia since that is where many of my readers come from! Besides Singapore of course - but you, my fellow Singaporeans, should know what Ghee is!)
• 1 big mug of fragrant Thai jasmine rice
• 2 big mugs of water
• A pinch of saffron
• A pinch of salt

Take a deep breath, Ready? Set. Go!

Actually it is not that difficult, lah (A Singaporean suffix, this "lah". Kinda like the Canadian "eh" or the Chinese "hor", this I-would-say "non-word" emphasises a sentence in a colloquial way, unique to that country, but I digress. Malaysians, please don't hit me).

For the Chargrilled Tuna

Marinate the fish steaks for at least 15 minutes. Then heat a pan until really hot, add the tuna steaks and chargrill them on one side for about a minute. Then flip and do the same to the other side. I like the tuna to be still pink inside so that was enough for me. And since my children are already eating sashimi from the tender age of 1, I am sure they will not complain about eating slightly-pink-in-the-inside tuna. But if you are not like me and your kids are not like mine, feel free to cook the tuna to your degree of doneness.

Cover the tuna and set aside. When cool, slice it lengthwise to be piled on top of the vegetables.

For the Buttered Saffron Rice

Add olive oil and butter or Ghee, the clarified butter to a heated pan and add onions and garlic with a pinch of salt to prevent them from burning. Then pour in the rice and mix the grains around to coat them in the buttery garlicky oil. Oh good heavens, the smell should be heady and appetising by now. When the rice is making crackling and popping sounds, add all the water and let it boil, covered. Take a little bit of the water and add the saffron to it, making a saffron infusion. Add the saffron infusion back into the rice. Check and stir frequently to make sure that the water has not dried yet. Once it does (about 15 minutes on medium heat), turn off the heat, stir and fluff it up with a fork. Cover the pan, but not completely, leaving a space for the steam to escape and fluff up the rice even more.

For the Pan Fried Vegetables in Sauce

Add the onions and the garlic to a pan of heated olive oil (or your preferred vegetable oil), with a pinch of salt, of course. When they are wilted with the smell wafting up, add the rest of the vegetables and cook until they are semi-soft. Then add in the orange juice and some water if you want more sauce. Prick the tomatoes to let the juice out and let them mingle with the other liquids to make a heady sauce. Season and let your tastebuds tingle.

To serve

Pile the rice on your plate and then pile the vegetables and lastly, the tuna slices on top. Savour every spoonful of the buttery tuna and let the fragrant saffron rice envelope your senses. And finally, enjoy your meal and don't forget to congratulate yourself for doing justice to this beautiful fish.

Penne with Prawns in Vegetables, Olives and Lemony Feta Sauce

 

 

There was this debate between my husband and I about whether or not to cover the pot when boiling pasta. My husband watched me cooking pasta once, and that was when we discovered our differences in the kitchen. But luckily, we all have google app on our phones and our favourite catch phrase has since been "Let's look it up!" Believe me, it has averted petty squabbles more than once. So anyway I looked it up and found out that the reasoning behind boiling the pasta without putting on the lid, is for the simple reason that, boiling pasta with the lid on tends to always, always cause the pasta to boil over. So someone decided to skip the mess and not put the lid on, and since no one likes to clean up pasta water mess, the good word just kept spreading around. Thus my conclusion is, if you are willing to watch your pasta like a hawk, by all means, cover that darn pot (you hear me hun?). Othewise, what is a few cents more on the utility bill compared to not having to clean up pasta water mess?

Having said that, this pasta dish took me 20 minutes to cook. Sure my vegetables are haphazardly chopped and my olives were more or less and whole, but they were still delicious all the same. And since I cooked the pasta uncovered, there was no pasta water mess to clean up. That alone, saved me 5 minutes :-) 

 

For the pasta (feeds 2 Adults and 2 toddlers)

• 250g Penne or other kid friendly pasta, cooked according to packet instructions and drained, setting aside about 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Place the cooked pasta back into the empty pot. You will see why I do this, in the later part of the recipe.

For the sauce

• 1/2 an onion, chopped finely
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic,mashed with the back of a knife and minced
• 1 zucchini/courgette, sliced
• 4-5 tomatoes, quartered,
• A handful of olives, left whole or halved
• A handful of raw prawns, deveined and shelled (I used frozen ones that are already shelled and too small to be deveined hehe clever me!)
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of creme fraiche or 4 tablespoons of single cream or you can skip this if you feeling guilty (but please, if you are feeding kids, they will simply burn the calories off!)
• 100g (more or less) of feta cheese
• Shakes of salt and black pepper 
• A squeeze of lemon, depending on how you strong you want the lemony taste to be
• Grated parmesan for serving

Feel free to skip the prawns and add more vegetables if you want. I've used broccoli and carrots before, as well as leeks and asparagus. Even frozen peas and frozen french beans. Feel free to freestyle baby!

Ready? Set. Go!

Add the olive oil to the pan and when hot, add the chopped onion and the minced garlic with a pinch of salt to prevent them from burning, and stir until the irresistable garlic aroma wafts over. Then add your zucchini, tomatoes and olives and let them wilt together in the pan, while soaking up the garlicky oil. When the zucchini (or the hardiest vegetable that you are using) is all nice and soft to your liking, stir in the creme fraiche or cream, making sure that it is all well-blended to form a creamy sauce. At this stage, it should still be quite dry, Break up the tomato pieces in the pan to lend tomato juiciness and colour to the sauce.  If you have raw prawns, this is when you cook them. Then add about half a cup of the pasta water to bind the sauce together. When it gets all nice and bubbly, turn the pan off, add the crumbled feta cheese, a squeeze or more of lemon and adjust for seasoning.

I like to do it the Italian way where they add the whole pan of sauce into a pot of drained pasta and stir, and let it sit for a while to soak up all the flavours before serving. Then ladle the pasta on plates with a generous grating of fresh parmesan and fresh cracked pepper and dried chilli flakes if you dare and a few sprigs of basil, if you happen to have them. Then get ready for the creamy, lemony pasta coating your tastebuds and tell me if you do not want seconds!

Mission accomplished.

BBQ Roast Chicken in A Roasted Vegetable Sauce with Baked potatoes and Sour Cream

I have a love affair with roast chicken dishes. I love it that I can just put them in the oven, do stuff completely unrelated to them for the next 45-60 minutes, and then 'Ding!' lunch is ready. My kids love them, I love them and oh have I mentioned my cats love them too? They usually prowl around our feet while we eat chicken, like the predators they are, hoping (and getting) many many tasty morsels.

I'm so hungry mommy! Can I have some chicken prueeesee?

I love this dish for its simplicity. And since I have the habit of marinating the chicken or meat that I've  bought before freezing them, all I have to do on the day that I want to cook this dish is thaw the chicken and cut the vegetables. After arranging everything on a tray, I put it in the oven and then spend the next 45 minutes doing yoga (if the little one lets me. If not, then I will be playing with her AND doing yoga. Quite fun really :-)

Anyway before someone gets confused, there is no cat recipe here!!!!!!

It's strictly chicken and vegetables in a tray y'all, and it's mighty delicious. Here is the recipe.

For the Chicken

• 3 or 4 chicken legs (I use organic free-range and they do taste better!)
• 8 tablespoons of BBQ sauce (of your fave brand)
• Shakes of garlic powder, salt and pepper
• A few pinches of dried rosemary (or a few sprigs of fresh ones)

For the vegetables

• 2 capsicums or bell peppers quartered
• 1 leek, cut into similar sizes
• 2 onions quartered as well
• 1 zucchini/courgette, well, you know the drill
• 6-8 cloves of whole garlic, skin and all (optional)
• 4 large potatoes cubed, or similar amount of baby potatoes 
• Olive or Canola oil. 
• Sprinklings of dried herbs like rosemary and thyme and paprika 

Feel free to substitute vegetables according to what you have in the fridge. Sometimes I throw in black pitted olives too, since that adds a nice saltiness to the sauce in the vegetables.

 To serve:

• Sour Cream and chopped chives, seasoned with salt and pepper
• Or Creme Fraiche and Herbs 
• Tobasco sauce, chilli sauce or chopped fresh chilli as befitting your tastebuds.

Ready? Set. Go!

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Take out a tray and place the cut vegetables on it. Season with pepper and herbs but NO SALT as it will draw out too much liquid from the vegetables (read that somewhere and have not done that to my roasted vegetables ever since).

Place the chicken legs on top, pour some olive oil over everything and slide the tray into the oven.

As for the potatoes, you can either put them on a separate tray or put them together with the vegetables (but you will need a big tray for all of that!).

Let them cook together at 200 degrees for the next 45 minutes, turning once at the 20 minute mark, and another time at the 40 minute mark. The chicken will have shrinked away from the bones, the skin all crispy and dark and there will be charred bits on your vegetables. It all adds to the caramelly, BBQ flavour, but if that is not what you want, then make sure that the chicken covers the vegetables completely and turn the chicken more frequently.

The roasted leek and capsicum somehow forms a delicious caramelly sauce that goes well with all the garlic, if you are a garlic person. When which, you will be squeezing the roasted garlic out of their crispy shells and mashing them into the sauce. If not, then just omit the garlic and just have caramelly sauce to pour over your BBQ roast chicken legs. I have also been known to liberally sprinkle tobasco sauce or chilli sauce, or occasionally chopped fresh chilli over my entire plate while my children watches and wonders why is mommy occasionally wiping tears away from her face?

Yummy for the tummy, that's all I have to say.

Teriyaki Chicken Rice with Miso Soup

Come to mama you bowl of yumminess!

I believe in food nourishing the soul. I believe that eating food that one craves will lead to a happier self. And I believe eating good food makes me a better mommy.

And that was how I found myself on that day at 2.30pm, between attending to the needs of a sick little girl and an extremely energetic little boy, in the unlikely situation of not having eaten lunch yet! My son had eaten a chicken-vegetable mayo sandwich with his friends at a playschool picnic and my daughter was not eating much at all due to her sickness leading to a lack of appetite, so at least the kids were warm and fed. But still no less demanding. And although this dish usually takes scarcely 30 minutes to cook, I was so busy running to and from the kitchen and the kids that it took me way way way longer than usual, and I was well on my way to becoming a cranky mommy to say the least. But the thought of a hot belly-warming homecooked Japanese meal and a sated craving kept me going coz I know, it would do me soooo much better than eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or having an instant cup noodle. I would rather wait for something good than have something mediocre right now, chaknowhatImean?

So if you are hankering for this dish, let it be known that this can be cooked, with no kitchen accident, under stressful conditions, even if you are frazzled and hungry wih 2 screaming kids.  I guess the trick is 1) to cook the rice first 2) prepare and cook the chicken while the rice cooks and 3) turn the rice off and cook the miso soup while the chicken continues cooking on low heat. A bit of multi-tasking needed sure, but we all are endowed with that talent aren't we?

Teriyaki Chicken Rice (feeds 2 adults and 2 toddlers)

1. Well first of all, cook your rice according to packet instructions. So make sure your pack of rice is not all in Japanese coz I ain't no Japanese cooking teacher who's gonna to tell you how to do it. But in a pinch, just use whatever type of rice you prefer. 
2. And now back to the chicken. I prefer to make chicken balls than just have chicken slices so all these go straight into the food processor for about 1 minute, EXCEPT for the Teriyaki Sauce and the water.

• 1 chicken breast, cubed
• 1/2 onion, cubed as well
• 1 carrot well cubed too
• Salt, black pepper and garlic powder shakes to taste
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons or more bottled Teriyaki sauce
• 4 tablespoons or more of water

Ready? Set. Go!

Wet your hands, and with wet hands, form balls of roughly equal size and drop them into a heated frying pan that has about 2 tablespoons of canola or other vegetable oil. Le them cook on all sides but they need only be half-cooked. You may have to do this in 2 batches, depending on the size of your pan.

When they are all half -cooked with some crunchy brown bits here and there, add the 4 tablespoons of bottled Teriyaki Sauce to slick the chicken balls with. Deglaze with some water (depending on how thick you want the sauce to be - I added 4 tbsp of water to my 4 tbsp of sauce. Let it simmer down and cook on low heat. I also added a bit of white pepper but that is totally up to you.

Miso Soup

400 ml of boiling water
2 tablespoons of Miso paste
2 teaspoon of Dashi powder
1 spring onion
Half a silken tofu, cut into as small pieces as you dare

Ready? Set. Go!

I just followed the instructions and modified them a bit, really. I added the Miso paste to 400ml of boiling water, together with the dashi powder . I found that this works for me well enough. Of course you can make your own dashi stock blah blah but hey short cuts are meant to be used. Stir, and add the silken tofu pieces. Cover and let cook for until the chicken is cooked and add the chopped spring onion before serving. Sprinkle roasted sesame seeds on top for more flavour.

Aaah, at last. When you eat the first spoonful and taste the caramelised chicken on your tongue, followed by the sticky rice washed down by the hot miso soup that warms you from the inside and calms you down immediately, you know that you have made the right decision to cook and that it was oh-so-well worth the hassle. And don't forget the Gari (Japanese sweet pickled ginger) to round up every bite.

Phew. Mission Really Accomplished!

AvoMayoPrawn Tartine

Okay I know. Enough of having things with eggs on top. Or eggs in different ways, right? Actually I was talking, not to you dear reader, but to my tastebuds. They have been insulted lately due to my uncreative efforts of having egg in each and every way for breakfast for the past hmm... at least a week and for today's breakfast, they demanded something else. Something with no egg but just as satisfying with a cup of Lavazza coffee. So while re-reading my posts, I saw a couple of avocados and remembered that I had bought some frozen prawns last weekend (this being the middle of Germany, most of my seafood comes frozen). So out came the idea for breakfast, which I think can be a great open-faced sandwich lunch/brunch idea as well (and with no egg!)

Feel free to use whatever bread you have. I just happened to have some leftover potato and rye bread from the local bakery. It turned out so good I had 3 big slices with 3 mounds of avocado-mayonnaise-prawn topping. And my little girl loved to pick the avocado and the prawns from the chunky creamy topping with her hands. A bit messy perhaps but I just love that she's eating it! Hmm maybe we will have some more tomorrow.

Avomayoprawn Tartine (feeds Mommy and daughter)

• 3 slices of bread, toasted and buttered
• 1 avocado, more or less, scooped out with a teaspoon and plonked on bread
• 6 prawns, chopped into chunky pieces
• 2 teaspoons of mayonnaise (I used Japanese mayo)
• Salt pepper
• Squeeze of lemon
• A few slices of cherry tomatoes, if so inclined.

Mash prawns with mayo and seasoning and lemon, making sure that the lemon does not overpower the taste. Drop dollops of creamy prawn mixture between the spoonfuls of avocado on the toasted bread, perhaps with an extra sprinkling of black pepper and/or parmesan on top. Creamy goodness amidst crunchiness in less than 10 minutes. Add sips of coffee in between (and close your eyes to your toddler making a mess - you can clean up waaaaayyy later). Sigh with happiness, repeat.

Bratkartoffeln - My Homage to Kerwe Food

I didn't cook lunch last Saturday. As usual we had 1001 errands to run so we decided to eat out. The kids had "Flammkuchen" or "Tarte flambee" in French, an Alsatian sorta thin crust pizza topped with creme fraiche and roasted vegetables, while Daddy and I had ...oysters!! Fresh oysters from the French Atlantic coast driven overnight courtesy of French firemen. Who are as good-looking as they sound. Hehe. Okay but first, a little explanation. Every autumn, each town will hold their own celebrations, in these parts called a "Kerwe", like a local Oktoberfest, where there are food stands, bar stands, game stands and rides for young and old just like at a fairground. And Sandhausen's was no different. And as customary, they invited their partner town in France, Lège-Cap Ferret, to participate in their celebrations, and that is where the French firemen and oysters came from. We've been going there for the oysters (nooo!! not for the firemen...) for at least 5 years, and decided that this year will be no different. However sorry folks, no pics of the Flammkuchen or the oysters as all hands were busy either feeding myself or feeding the children. However since we were too busy enjoying oysters and going for rides after that, this was what we had for dinner :

It's my version of Bratkartoffeln, or German Fried Potatoes . A sorta homage to the Kerwe food that is always fried and bad for you (why is 'fried' always followed with 'bad for you'?) like Currywurst (sausages smothered in curry ketchup) with Fries, Steak sandwich and Fries, Bratwurst (more sausages), various kinds of hot dogs and and other bad-for-you-but-yummy-nevertheless things with more Fries (calle Pommes Frites or simply Pommes here). So I made a Kerwe food lookalike with potatoes, sausages and a few alibi vegetables and fried them altogether of course. With a few fried eggs on top. Enough fried yet? Okay okay have some salad on top. Or a few grapes afterwards. But at least I used quality canola oil and not the re-used saturated stuff so I don't feel toooooo guilty about feeding my kids with it. It is yummy, checks most of the important food groups and can be cooked in 15 minutes if you have leftover potatoes and whatever vegetables in the fridge (this being a half-German household, we always have leftover potatoes in the fridge, the other half being rice).

Bratkartoffeln (serves 2 adults and 2 toddlers)

4 large boiled potatoes cut into bite sized chunks
2 onions cut roughly into the same size cubes as the potatoes
1 leek, sliced as small as your kids will eat them
A handful of mushrooms cut into quarters
2 or 3 sausages (I used turkey) chopped into roughly the same size as mushrooms
4 eggs or less if someone does not want it as a topping on their potatoes
3 tablespoon oil for frying
1/4 cup apple juice
Shakes of salt and black pepper
A dash of garlic powder, dried rosemary and paprika to add to the flavour
A sprinkling of chives or spring onions for crunchy green-ness on top.

Ready? Set. Go!

I usually cut the potatoes and vegetables into roughly the same size so that they cook at the same time. The potatoes are meant to be brown for extra crispiness and the onions and leek slightly are supposed to be caramalized but it is up to you how brown or un-brown you want this dish to be.

So I add the oil to the hot pan and add in the onions and leek, followed by the potatoes, mushrooms and sausages. Leave them to sizzle and brown on their own for a while until you cannot resist the urge no more and want to stir them. It is okay for the veg and potatoes to have brown bottoms - just flip them casually so the other sides get equally bronzed and gorgeous too. Add the seasonings and herbs and coat the potato mixture. Then when you think that it's getting too dry, add the apple juice to help everything meld together into a yummy mess.

Finally just before serving, add the eggs on top and put a lid on the pan. Then turn it off, sprinkle some chopped spring onions on top and get the kids to help you set the table.

Et Voila!

Mission accomplished.

Creamy Scrambled Eggs with Creme Fraiche and Herbs

There is something about creamy scrambled eggs with a dollop of creme fraiche, with a side of toast or croissant and a cup of Italian coffee with a splash of milk that makes me feel that I am starting the day on the right food/foot. With the big plus that it scarcely takes any longer to cook it than to eat it. And my daughter actually loves it too. I've eaten this for lunch, open-sandwich style with mortadella or smoked salmon with my Scrumptious Salad on the side, or for a quick breakfast on whatever bread I have in the bread box. It has even made its way in my son's kindergarten snack box and so far, there has been no complaints and no leftovers.  And don't forget how good this is for brinner - haven't you heard of brinner yet? It's breakfast for dinner as described by Doctor Turk on Scrubs. So there you are busy people and mothers of finnicky eaters - yet another secret weapon in your food arsenal for days when you don't feel like cooking or cleaning up. And this is my favourite way of cooking it, all creamy and oozing with deliciousness. And a doctor friend of mine actually told me not to worry about eggs leading to high cholestoral level in children, as all that goodness is actually needed for brain formation. So eat up children, mommy says it is good for you!

Serving for one or two (at that most!)

• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon of creme fraiche
• A little splash of milk
• Some butter or canola oil to make sure it doesn't stick to the pan
• Dashes of salt, pepper and garlic powder
• The herb of your choice e.g dill or chives
• Mortadella or smoked salmon to add to its fanciness.

The way I do it is to put all ingredients except the mortadella or the fish into a bowl and give it a quick whisk with a fork while waiting for the pan to heat up. Then in goes the butter and/or the oil and then the egg mixture. I let it cook for a few seconds before adding the mortadella or smoked salmon and then I would start stirring it. And that is my secret to creamy eggs - to keep on stirring. And just before it is cooked and is still runny, turn the heat off, but keep on stirring as the heat from the pan will continue to cook the eggs. And the eggs will still continue to cook as you pile them on your toast so don't worry about the eggs being runny at all. More often than not, I am a little disappointed that the eggs are too cooked and not runny enough. But that just means I have to keep on practicing right? And I certainly will not complain about having to eat them again and again!

Ouef En Concotte on the Stove

Ouef what? Andriana, you're sounding quite pretentious. Sorry folks, what I meant was really, French-Style Eggs in Pots Cooked on The Stove, Instead Of In the Oven. Because the usual way is to cook these eggs in a water bath in the oven and I thought, no way am I gonna play around with hot water AND a hot oven before coffee AND with 2 hungry kids! So being a mother and having this necessity to invent a quicker way, I took out a pot, filled it half-way with water and let it boil. Meanwhile I took out 2 small glass bowls or ramekins or teacups or anything than can withstand 100 degrees and poured all these ingredients inside each bowl (that's 2 eggs per bowl)

• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon (or more if you want) of creme fraiche
• Shakes of salt, black pepper, garlic powder.
• A little bit of smoked salmon 
• Dried dill for more flavour. I love dill with fish and eggs. It just makes them so much more buttery and richer, somehow.

I placed the glass bowls into the pot with the water coming halfway up the bowls. Then I covered the pot and waited for about 5 minutes. However, I must warn you that there is quite the rattling going on inside the pot as the boiling water merrily tips and jiggles the bowls against each other and the bottom of the pot as it cooks. But as long as I've cooked it, nothing has ever been broken. But I would still say, do not use your best china for the eggs.

At the end of 5 minutes (or more if you want the yolks to be hard), it should be calling out to you like this :

I served it with toast soldiers and my kids loved to dip and eat them like that.

 Yes, she really is saying "Gimme some of that!"

Now excuse me while I slurp.

Salmon and Buttered Onions Tart

Autumn makes me want to fill the house with nice smelling warm things from the oven. Especially with something nice and crunchy on the outside and wobbly and sorta gooey on the inside with caramelly cruchy onions nestled between pink salmon with flecks of dill. I know the picture from my phone does not do justice (especially since I forgot to take a picture until 2 big slices were already cut out from it), but the taste is as good as it sounds. And it took me only 40 mins (that is 2 episodes of Dora the Explorer or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in kidspeak) with an almost instant homemade crust.

The Shortcut way to the Shortcrust Pastry

How did I do the almost instant homemade crust? Behold my food processor!! It is not even a fancy one. Or a Jamie Oliver one. Just a Phillips one that I bought coz the packaging said that its tall design ensures that minimum counter space was needed and it was at a reasonable price. But oh my Lord, it slices, dices, mixes and even makes pastry!! How cool is that? Actually I think all food processors can do that. So nobody has to rush out to buy the one I've got (especially since I am not famous yet hur hur). Anyway that is my shortcut secret to crunchy perfect pastry everytime. And I follow a foolproof 1:2 ratio of butter:flour. So in this case,

• 200g all purpose flour
• 100g cold butter (80g if you're feeling guilty, but then if you're feeling guilty, there's no point baking this is there?)
• A pinch of salt.
• 2-4 tablespoons of cold water (but don't add them all in one go!)

Put everything EXCEPT the water into the food processor and let it rip for about 20seconds or until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Then add in the 2 tablespoons of water and wait until the dough comes together. You will notice that the 'breadcrumbs' will get bigger and fatter and suddenly there is this lump of dough banging itself against the walls. If if doesn't do that, then add in more water, 1 tablespoon at a time. But be patient.

Then take the dough out and place it on a floured greaseproof paper. I just roll the dough out on the greaseproof paper and when the dough is the size I want it to be, I just lift the paper and place it such that the dough is above the pie dish, flip the paper 180 degrees and let the flattened dough drop squarely on the pie dish. Oh but remember to grease your pie dish first.

Then pop it into the fridge if you are not making it now, or into the oven at 180 degrees for about 5 mins while you prepare the filling that will take like 10 minutes.


The Salmon and Onion Filling

• 200g pack of frozen salmon (or fresh or smoked if you prefer)
• 2 or 3 large onions, depending on how much you like them. I used the food processor that made thin rings of onions in 30 seconds flat (I love my food processor!)
• Pinch of salt
• Dash of pepper
• Sprinkling of dill
• Shakes of garlic powder

I heated a pan with a tablespoon of butter and a splosh of olive oil to stop it from burning. Then in went the onion rings and I added the salt to encourage the water to seep out of the onions to prevent the filling from becoming too soggy. When the onion looked translucent and and limp, I added the fish and the rest of the ingredients and mashed and mixed them together. You don't have to add the fish at this stage if you are using smoked salmon though. When the fish is cooked through, turn off the heat and let it cool.

Meanwhile...

The Egg-Creme Fraiche Custard.

It is literally, just egg and creme fraiche, with seasonings, mixed together in a large bowl or a measuring jug for easy pouring.

• 3 eggs
• 250 gram carton of creme fraiche (or single cream)
• Shakes of salt and black pepper
• A little bit of milk if you need to stretch the custard to fill up your pie dish.
• And whatever herbs you want. I stuck to dried dill.

Ready? Set. Go!

I always had this problem of the egg custard mixture spilling on the counter, the oven door,the kitchen floor and wherever else,  as I transfer the pie dish, filled to the brim with filling and custard from the counter to the oven while saying "I will not spill this!". So I have developed this sure-fire method of making sure that it won't happen anymore neh ni neh ni pooh pooh :

• Take out the blind crust that has been cooked for about 5 mins and cooled a little
• Pour the salmon-onion filling into the crust, making sure you spread it evenly to ensure nobody is cheated of delicious filling in every bite.
• Open the oven door, slide the pie dish in.
• Put the greaseproof paper that you used to roll out the dough (or another piece of greaseproof paper) below the shelf your pie dish is on.
• Then and only then, pour the egg custard mixture into the pie dish.
• Close the door, and voila! No spillage on the kitchen floor and whatever spillage in the oven is being caught by the greaseproof paper.
• After about 5 minutes remover the greaseproof paper to prevent the egg custard droplets on them from turning black and crusty and giving your oven and the tart a burnt smell.

Ingenious, no?

So we bake the tart at 200 degrees for about 20-25 minutes but make sure you keep an eye on it. It will be puffy and golden and the onion slices that stuck out will be caramelized and bronzed. Take the piping hot tart from the oven and serve it with the Scrumptious Salad with Avacado and Other Good Things. And let the winds rage outside.

Yah-meh! Mission accomplished.

Chocolate for breakfast.

I asked my son what he wanted for breakfast the other day and after 2 seconds of thinking, he said "chocolate". I initially said no but then again, Germans have their Nutella on bread for breakfast, the French have Chocolate Croissants and the Americans err... Coco Pops. So perhaps it is possible to have chocolate for breakfast after all. The challenge though, is how to make sure it is not just chocolate but perhaps with some kind of bread and milk too. Then I thought, hey wait a minute! Didn't the Domestic Goddess Nigella have a recipe for Chocolate Bread Pudding? Granted she said it was dessert, but I am sure that she will have no objections to eating it for breakfast too, considering her whole attitude towards food for pleasure. And it has milk and eggs too, stuff people regularly eat for breakfast. And 70% dark chocolate has been proven to contribute to an overall healthy being. Okay, the sugar is a lot in her recipe, but I can reduce it. And serving the Chocolate Bread Pudding with berries on the side will make it even better right? And thus, I was sold. Thank you my little son for letting me have chocolate for breakfast. Oh wait, it is actually for you!

The Chocolate Bread Pudding

• First, you need half a loaf of white bread or croissants or french loaf or dinner rolls. Or anything white as wholemeal and rye or soudough don't really go with this recipe. I have even used Turkish flat bread coz I tend to freeze leftover white bread so that when the mood strikes to make this recipe - voila! I have bread!
• 500ml full fat milk (if you use low fat milk - it's on you!)
• 250ml cream (the original recipe uses double cream but I just use regular whipping cream)
• 3 large eggs
• 75 grams brown or white sugar (the original calls for 90g)
• 150 grams of dark chocolate, broken into pieces. Or use chocolate chips.
• A splosh of vanilla extract

Ready? Set. Go!

Cut the bread into cubes and pile them onto a casserole dish. Scatter the chocolate onto, into, around and between the bread cubes. I like to make sure that the chocolate pieces are evenly distributed for a melty chocolate satisfaction in every bite.

In a measuring jug, measure out 500ml of milk, add a 250g carton of cream, 3 eggs, vanilla and sugar and stir. Pour this custard mixture onto the bread pieces and gleefully press your hands (or a spoon) onto the bread and custard mixture to ensure all that the bread pieces soak up all all the eggy milky goodness. Let it sit for at least half an hour though you can also cover it with clingfilm and leave in the fridge overnight for a hot-from-the-oven dessert-breakfast the next day, which was what I chose to do.

When you are ready, set the oven to 180 degrees. Slip the casserole dish with the chocolatey bread mixture onto the oven and bake until brown and puffed up, about 30 minutes though it might take up to 45 minutes, depending on your oven.

I have used many bread types for this and have found croissants to give the best guilty-pleasure inducing result. Thus when I want to serve this for dessert, I use croissants and serve it with salted caramel. But when I serve this for breakfast, I use baguette and serve it with a side of fruits for a "healthier" option. However, having said that, I not only skipped the fruits, but also poured extra cream on top instead for my portion hehehe. Hey, do as I say okay, not as I do (I have been repeating this to my son quite often nowadays...)

Either way, I get my chocolate dose for the day. And dessert before ANY meal. And my son gets his wish. Winners all around and happy tummies too.

Mission accomplished.

Scrumptious Salad with Avocado and Other Good Things

I know that sometimes even the most passionate cooks sometimes do not want to cook. It happened to me today. I went to the kitchen and loathed the thought of having to cut things and then clean the darn kitchen again. But being in Germany, I can get away with not cooking dinner as the Germans actually have this habit of eating cold dinners of bread, cheese, various cold cuts and perhaps radishes, cucumbers and tomatoes, as my husband is wont to do. They even have a name for this meal - Abendbrot, which means, roughly translated 'evening bread'. Which releases many a frazzled mom from the responsibility of having to cook a warm dinner, as Asian moms are expected to do. So Abendbrot today it is. Except that I will make a salad and pile it with avocado too as lucky me, my kids love avocado! If you have not yet fed this nature's superfood to your kids, you should try it as not only is it chockful of vitamins, minerals and other super good stuff, but when mashed with cream cheese with some salt and pepper, it is actually super yummy on bread and thus can be a short cut lunch on a busy day (ala bruschetta but with avocados instead of tomatoes), or used as a different kind of spread to pep an otherwise boring sandwich. I personally like to cut avocado into half, with the hole in the middle stuffed with minced cooked prawns dressed with olive oil, lemon, honey and coriander or spring onions. Now that is good food, fast. Just like this Scrumptious Salad with Avocado and Other Good Things.

When making salad, I always like to have something crunchy, something soft and something salty on a plate. So this is what went on my plate that day.

The Salad Mix

• 2 handfuls of rocket leaves shredded gleefully by my son's hands
• 2 tomatoes, quartered rather messily
• Some feta cheese, crumbled by Mommy 
• A handful of olives (my kids hunt for them and eat them whole!)
• An avocado or 2. Scoop the flesh out with a teaspoon and plonk them on the leafy greens on the plate
• A few chopped walnuts for extra crunch
• A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
• A splash of balsamic vinegar
• A few shavings of parmesan (using the vegetable peeler). If you want you can also just grate it. But having the parmesan in pieces seem to make it taste nuttier and more awesome.

I just piled these on a plate and served it with bread, cheese and heated up some leftover potato soup from the day before. Hmm come to think of it, I should also post that Creamy Leeky Potato Soup recipe since my husband said, "Mmm, this tastes like the real thing!". The real thing? What, I pray, does a fake potato soup tastes like? But I digress. Back to this Abendbrot meal. The kids ate mostly bread, cheese, avocado and olives (and the potato soup) but hey that seems to satisfy the carbo-protein-vitamins good food pyramid requirement, so not too bad for mommy's lazy dinner efforts. Work smart, not hard I say!

Mission accomplished.

Almost Paella, but Easier

Forgive me for the long name of this rice dish recipe, but when it comes to the Spanish rice dish Paella, there are so many purists who are ready to defend their beloved national dish that I am rather afraid that if I were to call this dish Paella, I might be forced to admit that I am an imposter and have no business cooking it. Now that would be sad as this is one of the easiest rice recipes I have on hand. The usual recipe that I've seen calls for Arborio rice or even just Paella rice, but what is that, really? So I have, in a pinch, used even Jasmine rice (being Asian, I always have that around), Basmati rice and even just leftover rice from takeout. But never Uncle Ben's rice because in my opinion, calling it rice, is like calling instant coffee, gourmet java. Bleah. Anyhow, I am blessed with kids who like prawns and rice and so I always have frozen prawns in the fridge. Together with other frozen seafood and also frozen peas that I always scatter on whatever I cook, to up the vegetable ante. A note to all you busy people who like to eat well (and mommies who want their kids to eat well), do not turn your nose up on frozen products. They are not only handy to have around, most also have high nutritional values as they are picked and packed when they are prime (for example, peas). But you have to take note of which brands are better than others of course. But hey, if you like to eat well with minimum fuss, frozen foods can be a handy helper.

So there I was on this particular Thursday, back from the playground with the kids and they are suitably tired and hungry. I know I have at the most, a 30 minute window before they ask, no whine for candy or chocolate for dinner, so this mommy has to flex her chopping and stirring muscles right effin' now. So kiddos, watch Little Einstein in the meantime ok? I will be back in 20 minutes.

The Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup uncooked rice (Arborio, a short-grained rice, or any kind of rice you have on hand - don't sweat it, it is an Almost Paella recipe, remember?)
• 4 cups of hot broth (I used hot water and organic vegetable granules)
• An assortment of seafood (I used prawns and clams but you can subtitute them with chicken)
• A cup of frozen peas
• 1 smallish onion, cut as small as you can or want
• 1 clove (or more) garlic, crushed and minced 
• 2 carrots, cut into smallish cubes the size of the peas
• 2 tomatoes, quartered
• A pinch of saffron or half a teaspoon of saffron powder
• A pinch of paprika powder
• A dash of salt and pepper for seasoning
• A tablespoon of butter or oil
• Half a lemon  

Ready? Set. Go!

Heat a wok or large frying pan (or a paella pan of course if you have one, but who does? Unless you are Spanish I presume).  Add the oil or butter and then the onion and garlic with a pinch of salt to prevent them from burning. Stir briefly before adding the rice. Coat the rice with the onion-garlic-butter mixture until slick. After about a minute, add in the tomatoes, followed by the broth. Let them simmer for a while until bubbly. Then take a little bit of the hot broth in a cup, and add the saffron. You will notice how the saffron infuses the broth with a beautiful orangey-yellow colour. Stir to encourage more infusion, and then add it to the pan. Add the carrots, salt, pepper and paprika powder and merrily encourage them to infuse each other with their delicious flavours, using a wooden spoon. Cover and let them bubble together on medium heat, while you enjoy the next 10 minutes of Little Einstein with the kids. But do remember to stir once in a while unless you don't mind the rice sticking to your pan. 

Once 3/4 of the water has been absorbed by the rice, add the seafood (or chicken) and peas and cover and let everything cook together for approximately the next 10 minutes on medium to low heat. If you are using chicken, cut it into small cubes and season with a little bit of salt, black pepper, paprika and dried herbs, for example, rosemary to amp the flavour as chicken can be a tad boring. Either way, I like to hide the seafood or the chicken within the rice as not only does it help in the cooking process, more flavour is yet infused into the rice.. Anyway after 10 minutes are up, you have to use your powers of observation to tell if your rice is cooked enough, soft enough, seasoned enough or needs more water. Adjust water and seasoning accordingly, and let it cook longer, on low heat if necessary. Some people like their rice to be al dante with a bite, while others like them soft and fluffy, or even somewhat risotto-ey. Whatever your fancy, when your rice is done, squeeze lemon juice from the lemon half and stir through. Paella purists may, at this point, shake their heads in utter disappointment at the tragedy that has just occured, as they might prefer to serve theirs with dainty slivers of lemon as a form of decoration, at the side of the plates, but since I will be serving 2 toddlers, I would rather add everything together so that it is easier for them to feed themselves (or rather, for me to feed them!)

On a sidenote though, when they do feed themselves, there tend to be rice everywhere - on the table, under the table, on the chair, beside the chair and of course all over themselves and best of all, on me! Now my solution to rice on furniture and on the floor is to wait for half hour until they dry, and vacuum them up!! Hahaha no sticky rice sticking to the surface and leaving behind residue while you try to pick the grains up with wet cloth. As for the the clothes, just undress and chuck them into the laundry bin. 

Mission accomplished.

Herby meatballs in thick simmering and utterly delicious tomato sauce

We had burgers last night and since we are not exactly a family of meat eaters, we had about 250g of already spiced minced meat leftover. Have I mentioned I love leftovers? As in lurrrve coz it makes my life so much easier. Many a dinners have been made from just leftovers that have been assembled to form a some sort of tapas meal or a mini buffet. But anyway this time I have uncooked leftovers, which leaves even more room for creativity. And having a cold blustery autumn day gave me the perfect excuse to turn the oven on and scent the house with warm herby tomatoey smells. All without having to stand for hours in front of the stove! And it was perfect served with pasta and a side salad or you can even have it as a meatball sandwich. This is how I did it.

The Meatballs 
(I used half of this for burgers and the other half for the meatballs)

500g minced meat
1/2 tsp of cumin
1/2 tsp of paprika
1/2 tsp of black pepper
1/2 tsp of granulated garlic
1/2 tsp of dried rosemary (feel free to use fresh ones)
4 tablespoons of barbeque sauce
4 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
A generous pinch of salt
1egg
1 tablespoon of all purpose flour
2 tablespoons of oil (I used olive but any vegetable oil will do)

The Herby, Utterly Delicious Short-cut Tomato Sauce

A pack of store-bought tomato sauce (I used the one with herbs)
A handful of basil
Pinch of salt
A dash of pepper
A sprinkling of granulated garlic
A few shakes of dried rosemary
A generous grating of parmesan
A tablespoon or 2 of good quality balsamic vinegar
Basil leaves for garnish.


Ready? Set. Go!



Preheat the oven at 200 degrees
Pour the oil into a casserole dish. For the meatballs, mix the meat and everything else together in a large bowl and form into meatballs (or patties of sausage shapes or whatever you prefer). Just make sure they are all of about the same size so that they cook evenly and take about the same time. Spread the meatballs onto the casserole dish.

In another bowl, add all the tomato sauce ingredients together EXCEPT the parmesan. Taste and correct the seasonings. It should not taste too acidic and sour. If it does, add a little bit of sugar. Otherwise, leave it as it is and pour it onto the meaballs. Make sure they are all mostly covered with the sauce, but it is okay if the tops are poking through. Finish with a generous grating of parmesan.

Slide the casserole dish into the preheated oven and cook for about 20-25 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the meat is brown and cooked. (Meanwhile, mommies can sit and play with their children while singles can pour themselves a glass of wine).

When ready, tear a few basil leave and strew them on top. Serve with pasta or bread and a side salad for a complete nutritious meal that will leave your house and your family feeling warm inside and out. Who can resist that?

Mission accomplished. 

Pasta bake with Easy-Peasy-Creamy Bechamel Sauce and Whatever Meat Sauce You Have On Hand

It was another hectic day with a teething one-year-old and a hyperactive 3 year-old who wanted to be entertained all the time. So at any point in time I was either comforting a little girl on my hip or playing with an energetic boy, trying my best to keep it together and at the same time hoping that I am giving them both enough attention and engaging them intellectually enough. All between not losing my temper. Sounds like another day in motherhoodland? Oh wait, to top it all of, it is now time for lunch. Now what is a mother who doesn't want to feed her children out of pre-cooked cans and bottles to do? The answer is nothing short of a lifesaver - Leftovers.

Do not snob the power of leftovers nosiree. I always appreciate reading what other people do with their leftovers so that I have a ready arsenal of ready-set-go meals for a hectic day. These leftovers have soothed many a frantic mealtimes. So when I opened my fridge to see a bowl of chilli con carne from last night I decided to stretch and transform them to something with pasta. And this pasta bake is what I came up with. You are of course free to cook your own meat sauce if you are luxuriously blessed with time or feel the inclination to cook.   Thus with my 2 toddlers plonked in front of Dora the Explorer for the next 20 minutes (that is how I time my cooking nowadays), I said a prayer to the kitchen gods that I will have no accidents and set to work.

THE PASTA 

I tend to use Fussili and Penne as they are easier to serve, and can be eaten with the fingers too, as my children are inclined to do.. For the 3 of us, I use 250g.

Boil 2 litres of water and cook the pasta according to packet instructions. While that is cooking you get a saucepan out and start on the bechamel sauce.

THE BECHAMEL SAUCE

I have a foolproof recipe that goes like this :

1 tablespoon butter (with a splash of any oil on top to stop it from burning)
1 tablespoon of all purpose flour to be added when the butter has melted.
1 glass of milk (approximately 250ml, of full-fat or low fat or what you prefer)

This 1-1-1 recipe is easy to remember right? Now just stir the milk into the butter-flour mixture with a pinch of salt and pepper and I like to add some granulated garlic as well. Feel free to dress it up or down with paprika or nutmeg and various dried herbs (I used dried Italian herb mix). Then stir frequently until it becomes of a creamy soup consistency, about 20 min.

At this point, your pasta would've been cooked, your bechamel sauce ready and your leftover meat sauce would be out of the fridge. Time for assembly.



Ready? Set. Go!


Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Stir the meat sauce into the pasta. Scoop a layer of bechamel sauce onto the bottom of an overproof casserole dish and top that layer with the pasta mixture. Keep adding these alternate layers, ending with the bechamel sauce. Finish off with a layer of grated parmesan cheese and slide that gorgeous gratin onto the middle rack of the oven. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the parmesan has melted and is all bubbly (bubbly cheese is always good isn't it? Makes me think of all sorts of delicious things with bubble cheese on top like pizza, lasagne, mac and cheese...but I digress).

At the end of 20 mins, the pasta bake will be in the oven and I will inevitably be with the kids watching another episode of Dora. By the time that episode is over, lunch is ready! Woohoo! Bring the dish out onto the table and let the kids watch as you ladle it onto their plates. I always feel that that part is necessary as it whets their appetites to see and smell what they their tastebuds will be tasting shortly. Oh and don't forget to tell them to blow their food first.

Mission accomplished.