BBQ begins

 

Apparently, as a new parent, I will furthermore only stay in touch with my pre-baby and childless friends through email and telephone conversations. This is because they do not understand my new language: the language of parenthood. But, I should remember to have that large reunion once a year to touch base.

What drivel.

Spanish inspired potato, asparagus & chickpea salad with red wine & tomato

I ordered crispy chickpeas recently at a restaurant and was surprised to see Neil quite excited about something I thought he would scoff at as fancified restaurant fare. When they arrived his face dropped. He tried a few, declared they were weird and then admitted he thought I'd ordered crispy chicken. Despite his disappointment, I quite enjoyed the little peas, all wrapped up in their crisp coating, but they could have used a little something something to liven them up. This salad was born from a 'nothing to eat' sort of morning, emptying jars and cans half full and being inspired by the possible combinations. Chick peas feature here too and even crisped slightly by a quick toss in the pan, but here they are combined with a red wine and tomato sauce coating roasted potatoes, broccoli and asparagus, a sort of patatas bravas extra.

White fish on roasted potatoes with tomatoes and cream cheese

Somewhere in the recesses of my cupboards is a fairly old yet pristine magazine of 'Winter dishes', one of those 'special editions' from a monthly. I have never made anything from it, but it contains such dishes as Paella, Chicken Kiev and lamb roasted with anchovies. I love it for it's exoticism at the time and it's articles showcasing 10 different ways to liven up chicken, for example. One of these recipes always stuck in my mind: a chicken breast encased in a split bell pepper and stuffed with Boursin cheese. "This is quite an unusual approach".. the magazine lamented. Fast forward to today and I decided to finally try out the legendary cream cheese as a cooking ingredient for myself. I figured that if I paired it with frozen tomatoes and some Vermouth, they would all melt and meld together to create a savoury, creamy, herbal sauce. They did and it was wonderful paired with plain white basa.