The thing I like about Sundays is its slowness.
I wake to find myself in a tangle of limbs. Between one to three of the the offspring burrow their way into our bed during the early hours of the morning, and I wake to their tousled heads and sleepy smiles.
There's the requisite mock wrestling with us and the day begins.
We potter round doing house projects that have dragged on for months.
We visit the local park and the children cycle round the lake.
With the cool in the weather I go for a short jog. Building up my fitness takes time. But on a Sunday that's absolutely fine.
I cook slow food for dinner. Risotto is a favourite. It's the kind of day where I can spend the time stirring the rice and chatting with the family. I had the pleasure of meeting Loukie Werle a few years back and she gave me her wonderful book and this recipe is brilliant.

Lemon Risotto with Rocket.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
400g arborio rice
125 ml (1/2 cup) dry white wine
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus lemon wedged to serve
1.5 litres (6 cups) simmering chicken stock
90g freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 large bunch rocket, rinsed, spun dry and coarsely chopped.

Instructions:

1. Combine the oil and onion in a heavy based pan and cook over moderate heat until onion is soft.
2. Add the garlic and stir for a further minute.
3. Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes.
4. Add the wine and lemon juice and cook until absorbed, stirring constantly.
5. Add one cup of stock at a time and stir until absorbed. Continue until you have added all the stock.
6. If the stock runs out before the rice is cooked add some simmering water.
7. Add the parmesan and rocket and stir vigorously.
8. Stand for 3 minutes and then serve with the lemon wedges.

What are you having for dinner tonight? Hope you've had a lovely weekend x

Image courtesy of We Heart It.

In recent months my interest in cooking has really waned. I was caught in a rut of preparing the same 5 or 6 staples every day. It was boring and I was over it. In addition, the noxious fumes emanating from our ancient oven made it hard to raise any enthusiasm about the cooking process as well. I didn't want to be the one responsible for poisoning my family either.
So I've stuck mainly to stove top cooking and it has all been dull, dull, dull.
Then we moved in with my parents. Now their cooking has changed considerably since the days I lived at home. I suspect cooking for 2 people makes it easier to be adventurous than the days where they cooked for 7 of us.
One of the first things they said when we "relocated" was they'd cook and we were to focus on parenting. Which was fine by me. Actually it was more than fine. It was fanbloodytastic.
But the thing is this. My passion and enjoyment of cooking has really increased in the past week. It's like learning a new skill in some ways. Mealtimes have been a treat because my parents prepare amazing, freshly sourced local produce for our meals.
Meals have been delicious AND healthy. Think baked rainbow trout with vegetables from Poppa's garden, or lamb chops with wedges and rocket salad. Simple but yummy.
So yesterday when my parents were away on a long walk we decided to prepare them dinner using one of the recipe books they had.
Our morning started with a trip to the markets. I had forgotten how much I love the vibrancy and cheapness of our local markets. The offspring ran round grabbing the vegetables off our list.

Then Husband and I whipped up these three dishes (which look pretty similar to the original don't they?)



And we all enjoyed a fabulous fresh and healthy dinner together. We all had fun preparing the meal together and I had forgotten how much enjoyment doing meal preparation as a family was.
My goal is to have 10 recipe staples for when we move home again. After all, I will have a brand new kitchen with a very hot oven.
I'll have absolutely no excuse!
What's your dinner recipe staple? (I'm collecting for my recipe collection and suggestions are VERY welcome)