A New Repertoire

Do your eating habits tend to change when the better weather arrives? I find that we don't want the warming stews and casseroles or pies of winter, the stodgy comfort food which we eat to keep warm. Now it's time for lighter meals to take over, though because my family aren't very keen on salads it can be quite a challenge thinking what to make. I have to confess that our winter eating habits have continued for a much longer period this year, down to the bad weather we've had so far I suppose, but the sunshine we had yesterday has prompted me to search through the cook books for some new recipes.

I don't use books very often for inspiration, the recipes usually call for lots of things which Mick won't eat. I was going to say that he's a fussy eater but I realise that he's come a long way in the years that I've known him. When I met him he wouldn't eat any vegetables, nothing with a hint of a tomato in it, tomato based sauces were a real no no. I credit getting an allotment with him starting to eat vegetables but even though he'll give many more things a go these days, he's still essentially a plain eater. He doesn't like spicy food so curry and chilli is off the menu. I've found a few things in my cook books which I can adapt though so we'll give them a whirl.

Whilst pulling the cook books off the shelf I came across this Women's Weekly Big Book of Kids Cooking which I bought Eleanor many years ago.

I thought this was a brilliant book for teaching children to cook as there are some really simple recipes in it and recipes for things which children would enjoy eating. You can tell which recipes were enjoyed in our household as the pages are stuck together where something must have dripped on them whilst the book's been open on the worktop. These Pizza Scrolls were a favourite.

I had to look and see which recipe had been earmarked by the page marker, Oven-Baked Chicken with Spicy Wedges, another favourite.

I'm pleased that Eleanor has taken an interest in cooking over the years, it means that I get a night off sometimes now, in fact, her boyfriend's coming over this evening and she's cooking for us all. It will give me a chance to have a good look through my books and pick out some new things to try. I wonder if any of you know of any cookery books with good, plain recipes in which you can recommend.