Dinner With Crayons – Page 5 – Colourful Family Food

DIY posh mushy peas

June 10, 2013

Do you ever think you’ve seen a recipe somewhere and when you look for it you can’t find it?

I was convinced I’d read In Nigella Lawson’s How to Eat or Nigella Express about pimping up frozen peas with creme fraiche and mint to make posh mushy peas.

But I couldn’t find it anywhere. I have searched all of her books but don’t have a clue who to credit for my inspiration, I can’t imagine I’m the first person to do this. Maybe it came to me in a dream?!

Ingredients:

Frozen peas, creme fraiche, mint sauce, black pepper and salt.

Directions:

Combine ingredients in stick blender cup and whoosh. It’s that simple. Serve alongside fish cake and potato wedges for an easy, healthier, poshed up kids’ fish and chip style supper.

Yo! Who says kids won’t eat sushi?

June 7, 2013

Maybe it’s the conveyor belt with everything temptingly sliding past. Maybe it’s the bento style plastic boxes that takeaway sushi comes in. My five year old has always been crazy for sushi.

In fact he’s more adventurous than many of my grown up friends. When any of them are icky about raw fish, I say “You eat smoked salmon don’t you?” Sashimi isn’t so different.

Ted’s favourites are the little maki rolls that come in sets of four; we usually grab a cucumber and avocado set to share half of each flavour between us.

Staff will always hand you a set of children’s chopsticks although annoyingly Yo Sushi never has any straws for the drinks. As well as water from the taps in front of you, alternative drinks for kids are bottled real fruit juices although these are pricey. For grown ups Yo Sushi is licensed although I’ve never ordered any alcohol there myself.

My recommended kid friendly Yo Sushi dishes are:

Noodles
Rice – although not fire cracker version if they don’t like hot stuff
Pumpkin Korroke (fritter thingies)
Any gyoza (deep fried dumplings available with duck, veggie or chicken fillings)
Nori maki rolls
Chicken yaki tori on skewers
Pancakes (for pudding)

These were the dishes I started Ted off on but these days there’s not a lot he won’t try out from my dishes.

My current favourite Yo Sushi dishes are:

Tuna & coriander sashimi
Salmon and coe roe tartare (a yellow banded dish, possibly only available in certain branches)
Salmon sashimi and nigiri selection
Sea weed salad
Squid salad (shown above)

Something I do miss whilst watching the calories is Yo Sushi chicken katsu curry (fried breaded chicken slices with curry sauce and rice). Actually this dish is so filling you might only eat 2-3 dishes rather than the 4-5 you could quickly clock up if you hadn’t filled up on this.

My top Yo Sushi tips:

Staff will guide you to a seat either on stools at the conveyor belt.

Some branches have tables for groups although you may have to wait longer to get one of these.

Fizzy or still waters from the taps in front of you are unlimited after you’ve “bought” the glass (as are miso soup and green tea).

Dishes are colour coded according to price bands between around £3-£6. Blue and green dishes are the cheapest with grey (and in some branches, yellow) the more expensive ones.

Sometimes on “Blue Monday” all dishes on the belt are blue making this the cheapest day to visit. Some branches do a “Sumo Sunday” with unlimited dishes for around £19.99 although the colour bands you pick will determine whether this is a good deal or not.

You can help yourself to dishes on the conveyor belt or order from the menu.

The conveyor belt may be depleted at the beginning of the day. Depending how adventurous the local clientele are, you may need to order sashimi and raw fish dishes rather than them sailing around in front of you. Most dishes arrive in under ten minutes so don’t be put off ordering something that looks complicated to prepare.

It’s not all fish, there are plenty of cooked fish, meat and vegetarian dishes.

If you’ve ever wondered how long the food has been whirling round the belt, dishes are covered in plastic dome that has a sticker with an “expiry” time according to the type of dish. Dishes that “expire” are removed from the belt so you know everything is fresh.

To call a waiter or get the bill, press the button in front of you. Whizzy lights and noises happen but this is all part of the Yo Sushi experience.

Yo’s Japanese style desserts may be an acquired taste – they’re less sweet than you expect. My son loves the pancakes but I tend to get my sweet fix somewhere else later in the day.

The Yo Sushi branch at St Paul’s does sushi making classes for groups.

Watching the staff prepare batches of dishes can be hypnotically entertaining. All the action goes on in the central area inside the conveyor belt.

Some dishes like these tempera battered tofu cubes come with a dipping sauce; other rolls are a bit unwieldy with chopsticks.

So it’s ok sometimes to use your fingers!

Have your kids ever tried sushi?

With thanks to Westfield Stratford City who hosted this meal at Yo Sushi.

Mid week Moroccan turkey with cous cous

April 26, 2013

My Moroccan turkey with cous cous is a super easy turkey recipe for a weekday supper that’s not too spicy for kids and not too bland for grown ups.

Something I’m ever thankful for is that my son enjoys spiced food and so long as I don’t go too crazy with the chilli he will eat food virtually as spicy as my husband and I like it.

This dish starts with a base of garlic and cumin (which isn’t hot) and you can decant your child’s portion before you hot things up to your own taste.

…

Zero effort spicy carrot soup

January 23, 2013

Who needs canned soup when you can have this spicy carrot soup ready inside 15 minutes?

On Saturday I was busy cooking my souffles for Blue Kitchen Bake’s French Classic challenge and the idea had been we would have souffle for lunch….

Leftover lamb curry with mushrooms

January 21, 2013

Meat from the weekend roast was brought back to life in this quick leftover lamb curry with mushrooms.

One of my new year’s resolutions has been to buy a generously sized joint of meat for Sunday lunch and to use the left overs during the week. So far we’ve done chicken, lamb and pork and next week I will buy beef.

It was actually my first time roasting a full leg of lamb. The joint cost £17 in Waitrose and was enough for 5 meals for 3 people which I think was excellent value. I think my husband even had cold sliced lamb on his sandwiches for work one day although I don’t think this is the best way to enjoy left over lamb.

There was the original roast dinner, two curries, a stew with pearl barley (one portion of which was blended as soup for my lunch the day after) and even enough to pop into some Cornish pasties. I calculate this joint fed us at under £1 per portion and I have lots of other ideas for the next leg we buy. I’ve not even started on Middle Eastern lamb dishes with cous cous!

Since this dish uses leftovers I am sending it to Credit Crunch Munch the new thrifty food event organised by Helen and Camilla.

Leftover lamb curry with mushrooms

Ingredients:

1 small onion, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced finely
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp chopped ginger
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
1 can plum peeled tomatoes
6 decent size button mushrooms cut into chunky slices
100g cooked leftover lamb chopped into small cubes
6 blocks of frozen spinach (or 100g fresh)
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a medium size pan and fry the sliced onion, garlic and cumin seeds. After a couple of minutes add the ginger, chilli, cumin powder and tumeric.

2. When all the onion is coated with the spices add the can of peeled plum tomatoes – bash them with the wooden spoon to break up if they’re not ready chopped.

3. Add the mushrooms and leftover lamb and stir. Allow the curry to simmer for five minutes.

4. Meanwhile defrost the frozen spinach in the microwave. Or if using fresh, pop the leaves on top of the curry and put the lid on so the leaves can steam inside.

5. Stir the spinach into the curry. Add the garam masala and ground coriander before serving with rice or flat breads.

Turkey Teriyaki recipe using leftover Christmas turkey

January 17, 2013

Before you think I still have turkey left, I made this over two weeks ago!

Every December my husband insists on ordering a Norfolk Black turkey from our local butcher. There are generally only four of us for Christmas dinner with one or two sets of guests over the following few days – two of whom are vegetarian anyway. So it becomes an annual debate whether …

Blue cheese pasta bake with butternut and broccoli

January 10, 2013

This blue cheese pasta bake is the result of a “fridge dive” using up ingredients in the fridge.

Blue cheese pasta bake with butternut and broccoli

I don’t know why pasta bakes have been under used in our house but I intend to change this. Generally do pasta straight with sauces or pesto, our favoured shapes are linguine or quills. I don’t like farfalle butterflies as the centres are still hard when the outside is cooked.

Recently I saw a pasta bake in a picture that used this spirally pasta and I went out and bought some – it’s the de Cecco brand in blue and yellow packets. They do all the best shapes! Interestingly though, my Italian friends who used to live with us favoured Buitoni as their dried pasta of choice.

One of my new year’s resolutions is to make my own pasta, I have not done this yet but have purchased a pack of 00 flour in readiness.

At the weekend I spotted all the big packs of Stilton being marked down in the supermarket – 500g cost just £3.50 and I might have bought 1 kilo for £5 but this seemed a bit excessive.

I’m ashamed to say the broccoli and butternut squash had been lurking in the fridge since before Christmas – the butternut squash having had its end sliced off a couple of times to keep it fresh. My mother would probably have thrown it away but beyond the first 2mm of cut surface there was really nothing wrong with it.

This pasta bake, served in my late Grandma’s glossy red ceramic dishes fed the family for two meals. All of us together the first time then each of us enjoying a separate lunch or supper. My husband welcomed the change from sandwiches and I’m going to make pasta bake a regular event from now on.

I am sending my pasta bake to two brand new blog events run by my friends. The first is Pasta Please hosted by Jacc and the second is Credit Crunch Munch hosted by Camilla jointly with Helen.

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Roasted sprouts with rosemary, lemon and pecorino

January 8, 2013

No more soggy brussels sprouts with these roasted sprouts with rosemary, lemon and pecorino from Nigellissima.

Well I didn’t plan for the first two recipes on this site to be made with brussels sprouts but then this is a reflection of what we’ve been eating for dinner at home and that’s why this site is for.

I have been pretending that Nigellissima by Nigella Lawson was a Christmas present even though I bought it myself back in September. I had barely read it since buying it so it really did feel like a Christmas present when I curled up on the sofa feeling a bit poorly on the day after Boxing Day.

At the weekend I was making roast chicken and looked for a vegetable side dish that was a bit special. I had never considered sprouts with lemon juice but having tasted this combination of citrus, olive oil, cheese and herbs I’m completely smitten. I’ll never look at a soggy sprout again.

I have not adapted Nigella’s recipe in any way therefore I’m not publishing it here – you can find the original in Nigellissima.

I am however sending my seasonal sprouts to Ren’s Simple and In Season event which is this month being hosted by Karen at Lavender and Lovage.

Sprout coleslaw recipe with cranberries and pecans

January 2, 2013

Raw salads are a welcome change after Christmas. This brussels sprout coleslaw is perfect for using up left over ingredients you may have in the fridge.

It’s the tail end of the Christmas bag of sprouts and although I will certainly buy more during the winter, I feel I ought to do something interesting with the six lonely ones left.

This brussels sprout coleslaw was inspired by a leftovers suggestion in this month’s Delicious magazine. Assembling this from memory the ingredients are completely different apart from the thinly sliced raw sprouts and horseradish factor….