Creamy Pasta with Prawns and Broccoli

A great thing happened in my kitchen the other day...the Wonderboy ate prawns for the first time! Hooray and hurrah! He said they tasted "like fish and peas" which, weirdly, is kind of right. Once again, I have learnt to never underestimate the sophistication of a child's palate.

This makes for a handy emergency dish, as it requires very few ingredients and I even used frozen prawns and frozen broccoli. Simply put some pasta shapes onto boil (I used rigatoni). Add the broccoli for the last 3 minutes of the cooking time. Now drain the pasta and broccoli, making sure to retain some of the cooking liquid seperately for later.

Return to the pan. Now add the prawns, a couple of tablespoons of creme fraiche, some freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used half a lemon for 2 adult-sized portions), and plenty of salt and pepper. Put over a low heat, stirring until hot. This is where you can add some of the cooking water back to the pan if the sauce is a little thick.

Stir through a fresh herb of you have some-I used basil, though I think mint or parsley would also work well.

Then just act super casual, like it's no big deal and "hey all 4 year olds eat seafood, chill out man", and see if your little one digs in..

Foraging

Pretty much the perfect Sunday today. A picnic in the park (where we seemed to bump into everyone we knew so felt very popular)....

....followed by picking blackberries from the ridiculously wild bramble that has taken over the side of our garden. This is where my laissez faire approach to gardening has really paid off. We managed to get over half a kilo today and I'd say there's about another kilo still to ripen!

Now I just have to decide what to do with them all...any great blackberry recipes you guys know of? So far I'm most excited by blackberry ripple ice cream. Actually that's a lie. Honestly I am most excited about making blackberry gin!

The Cosy Club

Went here for the first time last night- the newly opened Cosy Club in Bath's Southgate district. Having heard good things about it, and already being a fan of their other bar in Bath 'The Velo Lounge', we were very excited to give it a try. Mostly I was keen to get my hands on their tapas menu and enjoy a nice cold glass of Sauvignon Blanc on the balcony terrace, which overlooks the streets below so is an excellent people-watching spot!

There is a good selection of tapas (aswell as other mains on the menu such as burgers, salads and pasta dishes) and you can choose three dishes for £8 which is, I think, very good value.

FYI if you go on a "Tapas Tuesday" you also get a free glass of wine!

Some of our choices included chorizo cooked in garlic and red wine, slow cooked five-spice pork belly, minted peas with feta and spring onions, and crayfish tails in a chilli tomato sauce. YUM!

After our food we moved inside for some cocktails. I have to say the decor is one of the best things about this place-an eclectic mix of colours and textures, with oil paintings on the walls, mismatched cushions on the bar stools and Victorian lampshades hanging over the gorgeous bar.

Did I mention the delicious raspberry margherita? It was...well, delicious. I came for the food, but it may just be this new cocktail discovery that keeps me coming back...

Emergency Strawberry Tarts

Ok, I know my life must sound incredibly twee that I would need such a thing as "emergency strawberry tarts". But...well, yes sometimes people show up and I want to give them something sweet. I like to give people cake when they come my house. Sometimes I even wear a pinny. That's just how it is.

Anyway I trust you guys enough to make this confession...sometimes I buy ready-made sweet pastry cases and keep them in the cupboard. Now, reader, you might be the type of person to spot such a thing in another person's shopping basket and briefly judge them. But hear me out! Would you not also be super pleased to arrive at someone's house, pretty much unannounced, to be greeted with a plate of these beauties?

Make a strawberry coulis by simmering some chopped strawberries and a handful of caster sugar, for approximately 8 minutes until soft. "Mush" (technical term there) with a fork until you have a thick sauce.

Now whip up some cream with a drop of vanilla extract. Fill the cases with the cream. Top with some coulis, fresh strawberries, and a good drizzle of more coulis.

And by all means, if you have more time and haven't been at work all day, make your own pastry. You'll be the better person for it.

Pools and Polperro

Well we're home from the sea, and I'm missing it already. Luckily the sun came out in the last few days, so we spent a very happy day at the beach in Looe. Laying on the sand, burying our feet, rockpooling, walking out to sea, eating ice creams, watching the boats go by....life at it's best, surely?

Then, a lovely evening in the nearby village of Polperro. This is a real working fishing village and is very small, so feels less touristy than Padstow and was certainly much quieter.

We found a very old, creaky and crooked fisherman's tavern on the seafront, serving local fish and seafood. Having bagged the best window table, we could sit and watch the fisherman bringing in their evening catches (this elicited different reactions from us..my Dad and I thought of how fresh and delicious they would be, whilst my Mum was grossed out. She's not the biggest fish fan. Toby was more interested in the boats themselves)

So in true form my Dad and I each had the seafood platter, which included (and this is a big claim here) The Best Scallops I Have Ever Had. Cooked in garlic butter and bacon. Just truly heavenly.

Oh take me back...

Cornish Coast

Yet again, I've been a rather neglectful blogger of late. But at least this week I've had an excuse, as I've been having a relaxing time away in Cornwall with the Wonderboy and my parents.

Yesterday we took a visit to Padstow, which is a great place for wandering around the little shops, pubs and cafes...especially when there are enormous Cornish scones to be had.

Oh, and of course Rick Stein has taken over the place. He has a seafood restaurant, cafe, deli, patisserie, shop and fish and chip takeaway. Yes it was expensive, but it was very good. And the only time in my life that my fish and chips have come with a lemon wedge and parsley garnish!

Chocolate Chunk and Peanut Butter Cookies

Now I'm not the biggest fan of American cooking, but I am quite taken with their love of peanut butter. Especially when it's combined with chocolate, and comes in cookie form.

You can find the full original recipe here. Sorry I'm not writing it out for you guys, but it's Sunday evening and I've had a pretty heavy weekend, so you'll have to forgive me.

(ok since you asked I went to see the Foo Fighters yesterday - and it was quite possibly the best concert I've ever been to - but I know you really just want to hear more about these cookies..)

It is worth mentioning that I left out the whole roasted nuts and the dark chocolate that are listed in the recipe, as I didn't have them. Which is perhaps why sleepy Sunday baking isn't always the best idea...frankly you're just not fussed about minor details such as "ingredients". But, I have to say, I think the dark chocolate would have made these cookies even better as the bitter element would have cut through the richness. Didn't miss the nuts though as I used crunchy peanut butter. So there you go, top tips direct from the front line of baking for you.