COD WITH TOMATO SAUCE AND PEPPERS

This looks much more complex than it is. It is done in a matter of minutes only. It is a nice dish for both adults and kids with a bit of white rice on the side. You may want to avoid the peppers  for the children as some think their flavour is too strong.
For one person you need:
- a stake of cod (around 50 grs)
- olive oil
- one clove of garlic
- 1 roasted pepper (we use tinned peppers, preferably Spanish 'piquillo' ones which are widely available in supermarkets, though Italian tinned peppers are good too)
 - 2 tbsp of tomato sauce (preferably home made - see recipe in sauces' section - tinned unflavoured tomato sauce is also good)
- 50 ml white whine
- salt
- white flour
- parsley

Slice the garlic and fry it for 1 minute in the olive oil (do not let it get too golden). Take it aside. Salt the cod steak. Dust it with the flour and fry it for 2 minutes on each side (medium heat) in the same oil where you fried the garlic. Add the tomato sauce on top and then the white whine. Add also the peppers on top and then the garlic. Sprinkle a bit of chopped parsley on top and let it simmer all over low heat for 3 minutes. That is all.

As with all fish the kids need to clean their hands really well after touching the cod. One of my sons refused to touch the cod but after we dusted the steaks with flour they became much less intimidating...   

ITALIAN CRACKERS

This is simplicity itself, but beware because the crackers are addictive.

You need:
-250 gr strong white flour
- 500 ml sparkling water
- 100 ml olive oil plus a bit more to drizzle over the crackers at the end
- 1 tsp salt
- half a tsp of black pepper
- rosemary (chopped) and sea salt

Mix together the flour, water, olive oil, salt and pepper until you get a pancake-like  batter. We did so with a hand held blender but you can also do it easily by hand.
Preheat the over at 200 degrees. Line a tray with grease proof paper and spread a very thin layer of the batter on top. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until it turns golder/brownish.
As you take it out of the over sprinkle on top the sea salt, rosemary and drizzle it with olive oil. Let it cool (if you can) and eat.
The children really liked preparing this and they thought we had reached restaurant standards - there you go!

SALMOREJO

This is a very typical soup from the south of Spain. It is a bit like a thick gazpacho, except that the gazpacho is done with cucumbers while in the salmorejo there is nothing but tomatoes. My children eat this as a cold soup in the summer but they also like it on top of crusty bread, preferably with a bit of ham on top.
You need:
- 1 kg tomatoes (as red and ripe as possible)
- 200 gr stale bread
- 200 ml olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- salt
- red wine vinegar

Cut the tomatoes in quarters. Put them in a bowl with the bread, the olive oil and the peeled cloves of garlic. Mix it all well with your hands squeezing a bit the tomatoes. Cover the bowl with cling film and let it marinate for at least 3 hours. Then get rid of the cloves of garlic and blend all the other ingredients in a blender. Add salt and vinegar to taste. Serve with little bits of cured ham or with chopped boiled egg or just on its own.

The kids like helping with all of this and particularly enjoy squeezing the tomatoes and the bread. It is indeed a very satisfactory feeling.

FRENCH TOAST

We have had a bit of a break due to the school holiday but we are now back on track.
French toast is a favourite of my 6 years old son for breakfast. You need:
4 or 5 slices of stale bread
200 ml milk
1 egg
half a teaspoon of vanilla essence
butter
sugar
Beat the egg, milk and vanilla essence. Soak the bread slices in this mixture (do not let them soak for too long). Put a bit of butter on a pan over medium heat. When the butter is melted fry the soaked slices until they are golden (turning them so that they get golden on both sides). When you take them out sprinkle some sugar on top and serve. You can serve them with all sorts of fruit, but berries work particularly well here.

2 MINUTES MAYONNAISE SAUCE

All you need is:
a hand held blender and a tall beaker.
1 egg
200 ml sunflower oil (you can do it with olive oil but then it may taste a bit bitter)
1 tbspoon vinegar
a pinch of salt

Put the egg in the tall beaker. Add the oil. Cover the egg with the blender without moving the blender for 30 seconds. It really is important that you do not move the blender at all. You will see how a think ribbony mayonnaise starts appearing at the bottom of the beaker. Start moving the blender up really-really slowly. If you do it slowly enough the mayonnaise will never curd. When the blender is at the top of the beaker you can then move it up and down with no worries. Add the salt and vinegar and blend again (you can now do this fast) and job done.
You can add anything to mayonnaise: mustard, garlic, tomato ketchup, tabasco and orange juice for cocktail sauce, capers and cornichons for tartare sauce...
The kids can add the ingredients to the beaker but do not let them handle the blender or you will end up with lots of curd sauce...

PASTA WITH CHORIZO

This is a Spanish classic dish that comes from an Italian classic one. In fact when Spanish people say they will 'cook pasta' this is what they normally refer to. My grandma went as far as boiling the pasta in the tomato sauce itself - I thought my Italian friends would be horrified to hear this, but I have found out that in the old times this is how pasta was prepared in some parts of Italy.  Children love this dish, no mater the age.
You need:
 - dried pasta (preferably penne) (a handful and a half per person)
- plenty of water
-salt
- tomato sauce ( preferably home made - see recipe in sauces' section)
- grated cheese
- chorizo cut in cubes (around 30 gr per person)

Boil the pasta in the water (with salt) following the packet instructions and drain the water out of it. Mix it with the tomato sauce. Separately fry lightly the chorizo (without oil) for 2-3- minutes or alternatively put it in the highest setting of your microwave oven for 45 seconds. Discard the (considerable amount of) fat that oozes from the chorizo and mix it with the pasta. Add grated cheese on top.

LEMON CURD MUFFINS

Delicious for breakfast or tea. The lemon curd bubbles a bit out of the muffins and gives them a nice twist.
You need:
- 75 gr butter
- 250 gr self raising flour
- 60 gr sugar
- 25 gr ground almonds (if you do not have this at hand  replace it with 30 more gr of self raising flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 egg
- juice and grated zest  of a lemon
- 100 ml milk
- lemon curd

Mix the flour, ground almonds, bicarb, baking soda, lemon zest and sugar. Separately mix: the butter melted, the lemon juice, beatten egg and milk. Mix both mixtures and strt them lightly (ideally just with a fork). Spoon the mixture on muffin paper cases (you will get 11-12 out of these quantities) filling them to 1/3 of the case. Add a teaspoon of good ( shop bought) lemon curd on each of them. Then spoon the remainign mixture over the curd so that you (almost) fill the cases. Bake in a preheated 200 degrees oven for 15-20 minutes.
Like with any baking the kids love helping with these... and eating them afterwards.