The last week my mum has been over, mum/grandma to the rescue with looking after all 4 of us and of course sneaking in every cuddle possible with baby boy.
She has pretty much taken over cooking duty in the house which is marvellous as it means we all get some rest and I love her cooking. It reminds me of growing up, it would I guess seeing as it’s what I ate as I was growing up.
Monday – Honey Spiced Marinated Chicken and Red Pepper Kebabs served with Baked Potato and Salad
Chicken marinated in 3 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar, good shake of paprika, small sprinkle of chilli powder and a heap of garlic.
Last time I tried this I had the pan too hot and burnt the marinade, set the smoke alarm off and woke all the small people in the house. This time was much more successful and I baked in the oven alongside the potatoes after sealing in the pan.
Tuesday – Sweet n Sour Pork in Tempura Batter with Rice
The husband went to wet Baby Boys head so Mum threw this together with plenty of onions for us. We were going to have normal batter until a look in the (empty) fridge revealed no eggs…
Tempura Batter
100g Corn Flour
150g Plain Flour
10g Baking Powder
- Enough soda water to make a runny batter that coats your finger.
- Whisk together.
- Drop in meat/veg
- Then deep fry in sunflower oil
Sweet n Sour Sauce
1 cup sugar
1cup rice vinegar
3/4 cup ketchup
1 onion
1 people
- Fry onion and pepper.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan, stir, taste and serve.
So simple! Though don’t do what Mum did and mistake the salt for the sugar, not once, but twice. That does NOT taste good, luckily we tasted before pouring over the pork!
Wednesday – Beef Adobo and Rice
At the husbands request, a chuck it in the slow cooker and leave until eating affair.
Thursday – Pasta Bake with Chorizo and Part Baked Bauguette
Part of Mums “tax” for staying with us is part baked baguettes. I love bread, but out here just isn’t the same as the UK. There really isn’t anything nicer than a piping hot baguette straight from the oven.
Friday – Family Friendly Friday Brunch at Al Bahou, Movenpick Hotel, Ibn Battuta Gate
Friday was mum’s birthday so as her present we treated her too an afternoon off cooking and took her out Dubai style.
For those of you not in Dubai, brunch is a meal between Breakfast and Lunch, which I generally find consists of a variety of eggs. Those of you in Dubai know that brunch has a different meaning….
A food and drink extravaganza, all you can eat, all you drink, for three and a half hours.
Al Bahou is very child friendly, not like some of the messier brunches I have attended sans child (like where I got hold of the husbands credit card and attempted to order drinks for the whole bar, lucky he came back from the toilet and stopped me) and we had a great time. Full post to follow to really try and explain to those not in Dubai just what a brunch is and why they should try it if they visit.
Saturday – Southern Fried Chicken with Chips
Last time Mum was out she got it into her head that she would make us proper KFC style fried chicken. It failed miserably and she went home determined to crack it. So before she left I introduced her to Pinterest and left her scouring that for recipes to try.
Lo and behold, one of the things she brought out with her to Dubai this time was some hot sauce. Mightily confused as we don’t eat anything of the sort, she explained that she had cracked Southern Fried Chicken and would be making it for us while she was here. She uses this recipe. And I will admit, it was good. Nicer than KFC to have the fried chicken taste whilst knowing that the chicken I’m eating isn’t reconstituted and exactly what’s gone into it.
Sunday – Chicken Quaesdillas with Rice and Salad
This is my husbands FAVOURITE meal. He requests this every birthday, a full plate of quaesdillas only.
Fajita spiced chicken and melted cheese in a fried corn tortilla. In mine I add peppers, mushrooms, onions and sweetcorn, but you all know that my husband hates veg so he has his without…
And that’s another week done, with all of us fed. See you next week.
