Marvellous Mondays and Wandering Wednesdays

Though last week's visit to Spain could not be described as an out and out success, as I mentioned in that post it did come in a week we had two other culinary triumphs, so I thought I'd note them here before they got lost in the mist of time.

On Monday we try to avoid eating meat. Meat Free Mondays in fact - a Linda McCartney legacy. We have 3 staple veggie meals which I wheel out with sickening regularity. This is, in part, because one of them, macaroni cheese, is the only meal (except toad in the hole) that all 3 kids will eat with relish. However the problem with the need for cookbook research on Tuesdays means you do suddenly see interesting things to cook in a way which sticking doggedly to your 3 staples doesn't give room for.

Ainsley Harriott's Gourmet Express 2 is full of little gems and as I looked through it for tapas inspiration I suddenly spied his winter cobbler - which he credits to his wife, Clare, actually. It's gone down very well with adult vegetarian friends so I threw caution to the wind in my bid for expanded kitchen repertoire and introduced a different kind of veggie meal for Meat Free Monday.

Friends, I can't tell you how surprised I was when the Youngest sat down to this meal with the words 'yum' on his lips. I didn't tell him it was full of roasted swede and pumpkin. I bigged up the dumplings, knowing full well that he's a sucker for anything full of carbs.. in fact adding seriously bready carbohydrates is the only sure fire way of getting him to the table and tucking in without complaint. Pastry, Yorkshire pudding, wraps, dumplings. He's not fussy on that score. But even so I was pretty gobsmacked that he declared such an interest from the outset and then just ate his way through his entire plate full. It's got a very creamy sauce that certainly helps. He's much happier with creamy sauces than tomatoey ones for sure. But look! Licking of lips!! Clean plate!! I can tell you that this Does Not Happen Often. Thank you Clare Fellows!

INGREDIENTS (for 6)

• 2 leeks, thickly sliced
• 6 small carrots, cubed
• 6 small parsnips, cubed
• 4 sage sprigs
• 2 tblspn olive oil
• 1/2 pint vegetable stock
• 1/4 pint carton of double cream
• salt and black pepper

For the Cobbles

• 6 oz self-raising flour
• 1/2 tspn salt
• 1/2 tspn cayenne pepper
• 1 oz butter
• 3 oz mature cheddar cheese, finely grated
• 1 large egg
• 3 tblspn milk

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200.c / 400.F / Gas Mark 6.
• Place the vegetables and sage in a roasting tin, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes until brown. (I also steamed some broccoli and cauliflower and shoved that in one end towards the end of the cooking, knowing they would go down better than some of the roasted veg).
• Place the flour, salt, cayenne, butter and three quarters of the cheddar cheese in a food processor and whiz until well blended.
• Beat together the egg and 2 tablespoons of the milk, then add to the food processor. Pulse to form smooth soft dough.
• Mix together the vegetable stock, cream and mustard, and pour over the vegetables.
• Then with floured hands, roll the cobble mixture into 6 balls and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand.
• Brush the tops of the cobbles with the remaining milk, then sprinkle over the remaining grated cheese.
• Place the cobbles on top of the vegetables and sauce and bake for 20 minutes until risen and golden brown.

And if one success in the week wasn't good enough we also had some serious surfing fun eating Californian at No.33 on Wednesday!

Annabelle and Joe have started Wandering Wednesdays with their friends around the corner, but their friends were sick and so they invited us to join them instead. The kids got a head start, having been picked up by the Lovely Annabelle from school, and by the time I joined them the blue duvet was on the floor of the lounge for surfing on, decorated paper fishes were being hooked from the turquoise cotton waters, a huge cardboard boat was anchored in the corner, two kids were in a makeshift car doing 90mph down the freeway and they were all wearing shorts and shades. To cap it all, the Beach Boys were blasting out over the mayhem. I feel that the next Travelling Tuesday will have quite a lot to live up to! I wish I'd taken some pictures.

I was a little concerned that 'burgers' would not be received favourably by my lot, but clever Annabelle began with a starter of Doritos, which got them into the right mood. And there's nothing like having two toddlers and two babies at the table to make my lot look pretty impeccable in their table manners! But even both boys tucked into their burgers and were delighted to find that the pudding prize was Rocky Road and Coke Floats! I imagine they might be asking to go back to California quite soon!