gastrokid

Kedgeree for Kids

Here's a dish that is well-known in the UK but maybe a new discovery for US readers. It's a classic Anglo-Indian recipe dating back either to 13th century India or to the days of the Raj - the British colonisation in the 19th century - depending who you talk to.

Traditonally a hearty breakfast dish, Kedgeree is great anytime. Despite the hint of curry powder my kids wolfed it down.

For four people you'll need:

• Three boneless Haddock fillets smoked but undyed
• One large Spanish onion
• 1 pint of milk
• 1.5 cups of basmati or long-grain rice
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 1 tablespoon of mild curry powder
• 1/2 cup of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• large knob of butter
• vegetable oil

First, rinse the rice in bowls of cold water till the starch is removed. Then drain in a sieve and set aside.

Next place the haddock in a large skillet. Add the milk and enough water to cover all the fish on a medium high heat until it comes to the boil. Reduce the heat to low for four minutes then turn off the heat and cover for a further 10 minutes. Remove fish and transfer to a plate. Reserve the liquid. Peel off the skin and flake the fish, taking care to remove any bones.

Sautee the onion in In a large non-stick skillet after heating the oil and butter. When the onion is soft add the curry powder and mix together. Then add the rice and the peas and stir all the ingredients together. Then pour the reserved milk/water over the rice and spread evenly. Bring to a boil then simmer for 15 mins over a low-medium heat.

While the rice is cooking, boil three eggs in water for five minutes - no longer. Remove the eggs and plunge in a bowl of cold water for two minutes. Then peel the shells and chop the eggs.

Add the eggs and fish to the cooked rice and mix well together. Garnish with roughly chopped parsley.

Spicy chorizo frittata or muesli?

That's the global breakfast survey being conducted on one of the Guardian blogs today. The writer takes in global morning food from South America to New Zealand and, perhaps not surprisingly, still prefers a good old full English Breakfast including black pudding.

The blog has generated an impressive amount of comments and some more great global breakfast tips...

- Matthew

Is Your Careful Cuisine Making Your Kid Fat?

That's the question posed in this week's London Observer.

In an article guaranteed to generate angst in households across the UK and titled, "The middle-class myth of healthy eating", the Observer highlights salt as as a catalyst for obesity whatever economic demographic you fall into.

Writer Andrew Purvis writes:

"I scrutinised the typical diets of children I know then went to three of the country's top medical experts - a cardiovascular specialist, a cancer researcher and a neurologist - to have them analysed for impacts on health. We weren't just looking at obesity, but high blood pressure, cancer and other ailments associated with diet. Often what was left out (oily fish, whole grains, vegetables) was more damaging than what was put in, but the three main villains in the piece were salt, sugar and refined carbohydrates. Of these, the most invisible but pernicious is salt. Think of how Kellogg's Rice Krispies taste without milk or sugar, and it will come as no surprise that a single serving contains as much salt as a packet of Walker's ready-salted crisps."

To reinforce his point. Purvis cites Dr. Ian Campbell who recounts: "I have yet to see a child beyond a year old be satisfied with one portion...I've seen it in my own children and I've asked other people - and they often have two or three."

More salt than in a packet of potato chips? Yikes. Back to fruit and nuts I guess....

- Matthew

Chorizo scrambled egg breakfast burrito

This thrown-together breakfast burrito (is there any other type?) inhabits the same spiritual home as Hugh's eggs de la vera but I use Spanish chorizo to deliver the spicy pimentonny kick.

Dice four half-inch slices of Spanish chorizo and set aside.

Beat three eggs with a drop of milk and add to your warm but not hot non-stick skillet. Slowly raise the heat and just as the eggs are thickening add the chorizo. This will release the oils and infuse the eggs.

Cook until eggs are scrambled to your liking and serve in a warmed tortilla with sliced tomato and a sprig of fresh cilantro.

My kids had already eaten breakfast when I threw this together and I had to fight them off me and barricade myself in my office so they wouldn't mug me for it!

- Matthew

What's in Your Gastrokid's Breakfast?

The other morning, we were having breakfast and Dylan, his bowl loaded up with some coconut and dried fruit granola mixed with organic Cheerios and a few of those new Weetabix Minibix (yep the ones with chocolate), put on his best four-year-old pouting face and, lip curled up, announced.....

"My friend in nursery has Cocoa Pops for breakfast. Why can't I have Cocoa Pops as well?"

Cue ridiculous attempt to explain the concept of sugar rotting your teeth and not forming the best energy platform for a health breakfast - though not quite as tortured as I did it there.

Dylan nowadays just wants cold cereal though will make an exception for smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels as well as a good cheesy egg omelette. Zelda, the little one, will eat anything and everything put in front of her at this point.

To be honest I can't remember what I ate for breakfast as a little kid though I do remember eating toast and marmalade and a cup of tea from about 8 years old onwards. No healthy grains and no fruit and survived.

So what I'm asking is: Do we obsess too much in trying to keep sugary cereal off the breakfast table? And what do other Gastrokids eat for breakfast?

It would be great to compile a little global guide to kiddie breakfast comparing and compiling Japanese brekkie with American favorites and some African and European treats thrown in as well.

After all, we can't all eat Cocoa Pops,can we?

- Matthew

The Taste of Real Eggs

I was staying at a friend's house the other night and, before hitting the road to head home, they offered me half a dozen eggs freshly laid by their "house hens" (okay, so they kept them in a big free-range pen in the garden, but you get the idea).

They promised me that these would be the best eggs I'd ever tasted - after all, they'd been feeding them nothing but organic vegetables.

For those of you used to seeing your eggs all scrubbed and supermarketized, here's what these fresh from the chicken eggs looked like.

And the taste? My friends were right. The richest, yellowest and tastiest oeufs I've cooked. We made a big cheese and mushroom omelette for the whole family. It lasted about four minutes.

- Matthew

Palm Pilot

Interior: Kitchen-Morning
I'm dutifully cutting up a toaster waffle, into vertical strips, as requested by my daughter for at least a full two weeks. It's the last waffle in the box.

Inquisitive Daughter: Can you make me a cool shape?

I’m groggy. Uncaffeinated. The convenience food has suddenly become inconvenient.

I look out the window. It being California there are just a few options. Inspired by the scenery, here's what I made.