Dad's Cuisine

YELLOW RICE To the surprise of us all, it turns out that Dad does have a few tricks up his sleeve when it comes to cooking. I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but I have never mastered the art of cooking rice. I know most people wouldn't consider rice cooking an art per se, but it's something that has always eluded me (and I'm not the only one ). It may be because I don't particularly like rice. I'll eat it if there's no bread to mop up a particularly tasty sauce, but I have always found rice boring and bland.  Until last week. Dad and I have got into a nice routine: once a week, he comes round to visit us. He plays with his grandsons, gets them far too over-excited before bed, and we cook together. Last week, when I informed him we were making a courgette based dish, he  insisted on making some yellow rice, assuming he wouldn't be eating very many courgettes (an assumption that proved to be entirely correct).  I'll be honest: I wa...

COCONUT LIME CHICKEN & BROCCOLI Bring in the sunshine with this zingy, zesty dish.  One of the biggest challenges in teaching Dad how to cook is his dislike for vegetables - he has never enjoyed eating what he refers to as "green things". However, we all know that green, leafy vegetables are nature's gift to our guts, so I have to find creative ways of getting Dad to incorporate the dreaded green into his diet. Mum never simply boiled vegetables, but always prepared them with other ingredients to ensure they were bursting with flavor. Green beans, for example, were always made with garlic butter; the obligatory Christmas Brussels sprouts were tossed with roasted chestnuts, giving them a nutty, buttery taste. Despite these efforts, she still had to berate Dad at every meal to serve himself some veggies, whereupon he would protest and point to the three green beans on his plate. I actually created this recipe for my children, who also narrow their eyes wit...

CHICKPEA BURGERS Packed with protein, these chickpea burgers are a tasty treat for laid-back family evenings. Now that Dad is in his 70s, he has decided to go on a health kick. When he was a businessman in the 80s, it was quite normal to enjoy boozy lunches that included lots of red meat and red wine. But now he realizes that you get out of your body what you put into it, and recognizes the benefits of eating as many vegetables and pulses as possible. However, Dad's not a big fan of vegetables. We've tried to tempt him with everything from broccoli and beans to carrots and cauliflower, but he just doesn't seem to have that 'vegetable appreciation' gene.  You can lead a horse to water and all that.   But Dad does enjoy pulses such as chickpeas, which are very high in protein and a great alternative to red meat or chicken (a s you get older, red meat is harder to digest).  These chickpea burgers can be prepared days in advance and frozen in batc...

CARROT & SWEET POTATO SOUP Spring is just around the corner but there's still a chill in the air, so we made a hearty carrot and sweet potato soup to warm up body and soul.  When discussing what kind of soup Dad would like apart from tomato, he eagerly requested "brown soup". I would love to give you the recipe for brown soup but I have no idea what this could possibly be. Is it minestrone? Oxtail? Apparently Mum and Dad knew exactly what they were talking about when they decided to have "brown soup" for dinner. This frustrating lack of information gave me a peek into my parents' relationship, and reminded me of my own relationship with my husband. Over the years a couple develops a code, a sort of shorthand that will sound like gibberish to anyone else, but will make perfect sense to the two people involved. It is a great comfort to know that there is someone in the universe who will always understand you, even when you sound like a crazy pe...

COOKING WITH DAD After Mum's passing, we are using the kitchen as a way of dealing with our grief.

CELERY PESTO  Celery pesto is a fantastic alternative to traditional pesto. Using cheaper, readily available ingredients, this is a cost-effective and healthy twist on a classic recipe.  Pesto is one of those recipes that I have always found particularly intimidating, and to be honest, a bit posh. Its ingredients - parmesan, pine nuts, fresh basil and olive oil - are on the expensive side. As a busy working Mum, most of those items are not a part of my staple diet (which generally includes pasta, rice, chocolate and wine. Lots of wine.) But I came to discover the joys of making pesto because I was making tomato soup for Dad. The recipe called for a single stick of celery. Now, we are not big celery eaters in my house, but Dad really wanted tomato soup and I really wanted him to eat some vegetables, so I dutifully bought a bunch of celery. Having detached the single stick required and chucking it into the pan to make the soup, I started munching m...