The Heinz Kruger Palace of (57) Varieties

[SupermassiveLBD]

Strangers are friends you just haven't met, yet. Even when they are baddies and drive science-fiction-y submarines, wearing a smart grey lounge suit.

Sorry it's taken me a while to get here - my 8" stilettos are killing me.

::Collapses on chaise longoo::

But I did bring the Caravaggio

::Gazes in awe::

Ah, lovely to see the Caravaggio again! If you can tear your eyes away for a moment - can I ask a favour? What sort of thing do you eat for dinner? Have got to do a big shop at the weekend and am soooo bored with always doing the same stuff. Inspiration much appreciated!

BTW - found this earlier which is good fun

find your Hobbit/elven/dwarf/wizard name

Well, obviously, at Chateau Maud we eat a three course dinner every evening, dining off the best Spode china and supping vintage wines as the candelabra cast shadows on the hand-flocked wallpaper. Ok, no. We eat a lot of pasta with various sauces or things like lasagne or salmon fillets cooked in the oven. Early in the week, we're quite often eating stuff made from leftovers from the weekend chicken. When we cheat, it's with stuff like ready-made chicken Kiev (although Girl has just vetoed these) or Indian take-aways (we've just discovered the takeaway-in-a-bag from Sainsbo's). That's not very inspiring, is it?

Shall we open some to celebrate our arrival here in this den of iniquity shrine to vaudeville?

Sounds much the same as us, although we don't eat a lot of pasta, as I have probably the only child on earth that doesn't like it & tbh I prefer rice as far as carbs go. Unfortunately H doesn't like risotto so my attempts to get that on the menu have failed miserably.

We tend to have pork stir fried with either hoi sin, szechuan or sweet & sour sauce & noodles one night, chilli, spag bol or sheps pie, sausage plait or steak pie, pizza with salad & jackets, chicken curry, fish & chips & roast on Sunday. I try & rotate everything but am still bored!

Tbh I'd happily live on 'student food' - filled jackets, omlettes etc, but H doesn't eat properly during the day so has to have a full on dinner at night and DD has got much fussier since being at school.

::Makes notes - pork stir fry ... risotto ... ::

We do normally have a full-on evening meal, partly because we eat quite late and so everyone's hungry by then. Girl has become less fussy since starting school, because when you're at the end of the lunch queue you have to accept what's on offer! She'll now eat things like jerk chicken which she would have refused when she was smaller.

I think I've mentioned before that Bloke does most of the cooking. He enjoys it - he says it helps him relax after a hard day's work - and I think I exhausted all my culinary aptitude on Annabel Karmel recipes when Girl was tiny!

Have never been tempted by Annabel Karmel - even after meeting her a couple of years ago (she looks like a morsel of food has never passed her lips).

H is a chef so doesn't go near the kitchen unless he's getting a beer out of the fridge!
DD is not a bad eater but most of the easy things kids like - pasta, eggs, mince, fish fingers - she won't touch with a barge pole!

Re stir fry - try sharwoods hoi sin & spring onion sauce with pork, fresh spring onions, red peppers, courgettes & cashew nuts with noodles & spring rolls - yum!

this is the risotto I tried

I loved it so I do it if his lordship is out for the evening now!

Eww, cooking, my least favourite topc at the moment.

Everyone is very much of a meat and two veg type of person, at Casa Massive, believe it or not. Except me. Though spag bol, lasagne etc are tolerated. If it were left to me it'd be cheese sandwiches or takeaway, but unfortunately I don't get a vote

Of course, we all dress for dinner

And we had clean newpaper on the table last week.

We still have loads of AK books. I bought one and was given the rest or got them in charity shops. She has some nice recipes, but some of them are far too elaborate use-twenty-five-different-ingredients-and-every-pan-in-the-kitchen for me. I still use her recipe for coconut kisses.

Tan crimplene slacks? Get thee over to Style and Beauty, you fashion maven!

Spiro, a while back I made a 3-week meal plan which I'm happy to email you. Spookily enough, this morning I marinaded some pork for Char Sui for tomorrow night! I use my slow cooker a fair amount - had chicken casserole tonight. Sausages a fair bit too - sausage & lentil casserole, sausage & mash and I do a yummy pasta with sausages, peas, and roast buttnernut squash. I tend to roast a chicken on Sundays and then have the leftovers as a jacket potato topping with mayo & tomato/pepper/spring onion. Fish & homemade fat-free chips loads, too... Maud, jerk chicken - that's seomthing I've always wanted to try but never have.

DrTwigs had a sudden night out (neglecting to mention this earlier, hence lots of chicken casserole left!) so I'm catching up on some ReseArch. I've just finished The Impressionists (wot no Bobby Davro?) and I'm now on Frozen. Anybody seen it? I know LadyV has but doubt you are around tonight, V... ? It's not exactly grabbing me but he is awfully cute in it - I know, I know, big surprise. But I'm currently worrying that it is going to be (a) upsetting and (b) one of those godawful 'make your own mind up' endings, which I detest. Anybody know if it has a proper resolve?

Roast butternut squash risotto with loads of sage is my fave. Yummers. Anyway, 3 days into yet another diet here so stop talking about blinkin' food! :)

I used an AK book when MissTwigs was a baby but TwigBoy was a BLW baby.

Only on special occasions Maud, mostly I just wear my locally produced sAdidas rip-off trackie bottoms.

My Twigs, you are good with all your meals. I have just got so bored with it all that i want to scream every time I set foot in the kitchen.

Re; Frozen, never mind the plot, feel the thudworthiness. That reminds me, I haven't managed to grab a DVD session for ages and I still have a Strike Back I haven't seen. What do you think of that?

Have had Tesco finest butternut & sage risotto which was lovely. Wouldn't mind your char sui pork recipe, Twigs.

That butternut and sage thing sounds like my kind of food actually -- could you do the same sort of thing with pasta of some sort, do you think? I presume it's fresh sage we're talking about? I couldn't be bothered standing there stirring like you have to with a ristotto.

My lot wouldn't touch it, either way but I could make myself a bit to have when they were having the spag bol.

I love cooking, Massive. The kids only share the same meal as me and DrTwigs about 3 or 4 times a week though - the rest of the time I cook separately for them and that does bore me, it's way too much cooking. But they need to eat about 5.30 and DH and I eat after they've gone to bed (I couldn't eat that early and DrTwigs isn't home by then).

I wish he was home now though - this film is scaaaaaary. I'm on the verge of turning it off actually, as it's spooking the hell out of me! His eyes are so twinkly though!

Massive, go for the Strike Back!!

Oooh, what a poppet, Twigs. Loving that smile you can see if you click onwards.

I used to love cooking too, it was the only domestic chore I didn't mind but now I am just cooked out.

Ooh - nice pic! I still haven't watched the end of Frozen - H is out tomorrow so might finish it then.

Massive you must do ep 3 of Strikeback - if I can't convince you - I bet JP can

Spiro, the Char Sui recipe is from Nigella's How To Eat book - I will dig it out.

Massive, yes I actually do the same thing with pasta. Cube and roast the butternut squash and then fry some fresh sage - I also add frozen peas and some lemon zest/juice. I then either add this to risotto or pasta with tons of Parmesan. With pasta it is DIVINE with some cream or creme fraiche to make a sauce but that's out for me at the mo :(

Speaking of good enough to eat...

I'm going to wish you all sweet dreams & be off for an early night. Have been dragging myself out of bed about 20 minutes before we need to leave for the last 3 days - not good!

I've got that book Twigs - don't think I've ever cooked anything from it though!

Perhaps you need some diversion, Twiggy?

MN keeps wiping my messages when I try and preview them, grr.
I was trying to say I do want to wtch JP but due to Mr M's working from home, I haven't been able to grab any TV access time recently.

I will try that butternut squash recipe though it sounds a bit painful.

And sweet dreams to Spiro, here's hoping you get lucky

Pg. 443, Spiro - there are 2 recipes and I use the 1st one. Night night!

Massive, I nearly linked to that photo instead! Very cheeky smile, reminds me of a pic we liked from the CBeebies stories...