FORMULA FOOD - ROUND 4

SPAIN = PAELLA

It had to be Paella! Mind you it wasn't as authentic as it should have been, after a month of terrible budgeting on my part & 3 days till payday, I invented a store cupboard Paella! Well the majority of national dishes are peasant foods anyway!
Conclusion: Really tasty & perfect for the hangover from hell that I was suffering from.
Would I make it again?: Yes, it was lovely. I've made paellas before & they were quite stodgy, I think the trick was cooking the rice separately.

Paella:
400g long grain rice (already cooked in chicken stock with a pinch of saffron added to the water), 200g chorizo cut into £1 coin size slices, 200g jumbo king prawns, 1 onion chopped, 1 red & 1 yellow pepper diced, 2 handfuls of frozen peas.

1. Fry the onion & peppers in a bit of olive oil to soften, the add the chorizo & fry for another 5 mins or so, until the oils are released from the chorizo & the edges start to get crispy.

2. Stir in the peas & prawns & after a minute or 2 add the rice & stir to combine.

3. Divide between 2 hungover parents & 1 small girl & eat out of a bowl whilst watching the Grand Prix, feeling very sorry for yourself!

FORMULA FOOD - ROUND 3

BAHRAIN = FALAFEL

I have been very impressed by these falafel pittas we have had today. As one is watching one's weight, I was delighted to find a weight watchers recipe for falafel & it wasn't crap! Very satisfying actually.
Conclusion: Healthy, satisfying & low fat. Would I make them again? Definitely, they were bloody lovely!

Falafel Pittas With Cucumber Sauce:
410g can of chick peas drained & rinsed, 1 crushed clove of garlic( I forgot to put this in!), 50g breadcrumbs, 4 sliced spring onions, 1 egg, 1tsp ground cumin, 175g finely diced cucumber, 3tbsp chopped coriander, 1 tbsp mint jelly, 150ml 0% fat Greek yogurt, 4 pittas & shredded Iceberg lettuce.

1. Preheat oven to GM5 / 190c.

2. Put chick peas, breadcrumbs, garlic, cumin, spring onions, egg & salt & pepper into a food processor & blitz until smooth. Roll into 20 small balls, place on a baking tray (lined with greaseproof) & bake for 15mins with a dab of olive oil on each ball.

3. Mix together the cucumber, mint jelly, coriander & yogurt to make the sauce.

4. Split the warmed pittas & fill with shredded lettuce, falafel & cucumber sauce.

AMELIA'S LONG NIGHT

Huzzah!, we've cracked it again with another "angel baby" (the highest award given by The Baby Whisperer for my children!). At 9 weeks & 3 days old, Amelia Rose Briddon has slept through the whole night! 7:30pm to 6:30am - what a star!

I gave her a dream feed at 10pm, sounds very American I know, but it's just feeding your baby without waking her up & she stayed asleep for ages - 11 hours, I'm very impressed. Let's see if tonight's the same.....