My vegetarian son

The thing is, one of my (many) constant worries about Max is that he isn't fond of meat. He loves fish, but doesn't even really like chicken that much which means I am constantly looking for new sources of protein to ensure he has a balanced diet. However, we recently discovered that when he can see the whole chicken/goose/slab of whatever meat, he is much more interested. He was very excited about roast chicken recently, for that very reason. This evening he loved leg of lamb cooked in a whole bottle of red wine and with two heads of garlic (can I get in trouble for that? I am sure the alcohol had burnt off!) and he was especially keen on having a good old chew on the bone after tea! I guess he isn't such a serious vegetarian after all!

More snow...

It snowed all night and this morning, an inch in an hour. We decided to go sledging with Max again. It was still snowing and bitterly cold. He wasn't overly impressed and took a lot of convincing. Half way up the hill, Max on the sledge, Marion and I chatting away, the sledge suddenly felt a bit light and we realised Max had fallen off the back and was laying like an upturned beetle half way down the slope! He was even less impressed with that! He went on one little ride down the hill with his Mama which he he seemed to enjoy but then decided we really ought to tow him back home, thank you very much! My sensitive little mouse.

Hot cocoa and cups of tea all round!

Pink pasta!

Just discovered a really yummy new thing to do with beetroot. Previously, every time they arrived in our veg box, I was rather uninspired and did Russian beef borsht. Yummy though borsht is, when you have done it about a hundred times, it gets a bit boring. Also, I made a New Year's resolution to try and break out of my culinary rut and cook beyond my repertoire at least once a week. Took a quick look in my Abel and Cole cookbook and discovered 'Roasted beetroot penne'. As pink is Max's favourite colour, I figured this would be a winner of a family meal and, indeed it was. Max loved his pink pasta and pink vegetables and so did we. Delicious. Bright and cheery and yet rather sophisticated at the same time.

You need:

About 700g fresh beetroot
A few glugs of olive oil
400g penne or some other chunky pasta
3 crushed garlic cloves
Juice of half a lemon
Half a mug of single cream

To garnish:
Lots of freshly grated parmesan
Finely chopped toasted walnuts
Chopped fresh parsely or basil (parsley is better)

Oil the beetroot, oil a roasting pan and roast the beetroot wrapped in tin foil for about an hour or so (an hour or a half if they are bigger). Let them cool, then chop them into bite sized pieces (or if it's for kids, whatever size they can deal with). Cook your pasta. Fry the beetroot and garlic in oil for about 5-10 minutes (until it's warmed through - medium heat). Turn the heat down and add the cream a bit at a time. The colour is fabulous. You can't fail to be cheered by it. Add the lemon juice. Add the pasta and warm it all through. Serve topped with your toasted walnuts, grated parmesan and chopped parsley. Apart from the roasting of the beetroot, it's quick and definitely easy.

He was supposed to be sleeping!

We put Max down for his lunchtime nap late today as he slept until after 8 (very unusual for him). He seemed to be happily chatting away for ages then went a bit silent and we figured he had dropped off. About 20 minutes later - 'Mama, Mama'. It seems he had found an artistic use for the Sudocrem! He was very proud!

Let it snow...

I just don't get it. BBC news has 'snow' as a major headline and they manage to report on it for at least half of the programme. The trains aren't running, the bins are overflowing, the airports are closed, the streets unnavigable. Why, oh why, can Britain never cope with anything other than extreme dampness?

Here, in Regensburg, we have just as much snow and it has pretty much been coming down constantly since we returned (3 days late due to Gatwick being closed and Easyjet being a bit rubbish). Everyone clears their own front drives and their own path - can you believe there was a news article about this happening in the UK? Here it is a foregone conclusion and, by law, has to be done before 7am. The buses are running, the schools are open, the paths gritted, the roads cleared by about 8 (even the side streets) and life generally goes on as normal. It isn't even a subject of discussion.

Max isn't particularly interested or phased either - thinks it's a bit cold, doesn't want to wear gloves but does rather like to eat snow and ice...watch out for the 'doggy poo' Mummy!