A dish to sing about

Bill and I have a complicated relationship...When I bought his book "simply bill" years ago I didn't know of him, but liked the photos in his cookbook enough to buy it. I haven't cooked many of his recipes since and I cannot really explain why.

Now I find the photos in his book a bit pretentious. His all smiles and all white little family snapshots in his all white kitchen is sickly sweet. No wonder his daughter only eats white food...don't blame her.

But I have tried to ignore his Mr. Perfect persona and discovered a brilliant recipe that had everyone licking their plates.

Braised Chicken with lemon and honey

1 Tbs olive oil

1 x 1.6kg chicken, cut into 8 pieces

1 red onion, sliced

12 garlic gloves, peeled but left whole

1 lemon cut into chunks

185ml chicken stock

125g (1/2 cup) honey

small handful fresh oregano leaves

Heat a large frying pan over high heat, add the oil and chicken and cook for 5 min until golden. Remove and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium-high, add the onion and cook for 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Return the chicken to the pan with the lemon, chicken stock and honey, reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Lift out the chicken and put on a baking tray. Increase the heat under the sauce and simmer, uncovered for another 15 minutes to thicken. Place the chicken under a hot grill until crisp. Arrange the chicken on a platter, drizzle with the sauce and sprinkle with oregano. Serves 5

In the process I also learned how to cut a whole chicken into pieces without butchering the bird into unrecognisable chunks of meat and broken ribcage....thanks to google and Youtube I can now professionally slice a bird without breaking out in sweat. Sweet.

some days

This morning we had cuddles in bed, followed by 20 minutes of tantrums (or being pc, an expression of assertiveness) which saw me being hit, pinched, bitten and my hair pulled. During that intense physical period, I had requests from curious bystanders (being the other 2 darlings) for a book and breakfast. I was speechless for once. Children seem to be oblivious to other screaming children, or at least don't find it the least distressing or annoying....A talent I wish I had.

Anyway, after T had vented his frustration we were all smiles and cuddles again and ready for breakfast, was there not the issue of which chair to sit on....but this time I was on the ball and averted another screaming match....On we went cooking scrambled eggs with sauteed balsamic mushrooms (yes, we love mushies now), muesli for G and a hot coffee for me. Finally, greeted by this luxurious breakfast, all was quiet. For a few minutes.

It is only 9.30am

Beautiful sunshine has the kids outside playing in their sandpit. I take the opportunity not to tidy the house, fold the mountain of clothes, clean the grime in the bathtub, wash dishes and mop the floor but to create a post. I haven't had contact with a human over 5 in 48 hours I feel desperate to get some of the words in my heat out....Is it weird that I am sitting on a computer and the 'chat' is really only a virtual one? Maybe it is the only way to sometimes escape from the mondain tasks and demands. From being on call 24/7, having to soothe tears, wipe noses, answer hundreds of questions and provide food on a 2 hourly roster. That is besides the cuddles, kisses and hugs and the physical task of getting everyone dressed (appropriately for the season).

And lets not forget that this mama here does not function without a hot, strong coffee. Well, a hot shower would really get me going but that would be greedy....

But we are here to talk about food, right? Well, I've got something very tasty to share with you.

Chicken baked in

Yoghurt with Spinach

and Jasmine Rice

2 tbs olive oil

2 brown onions, peeled and sliced

4 chicken breasts on the bone

1 kg Meredith sheep's milk yoghurt or

equivalent Greek style thick yoghurt,

drained for 2 hours

2 eggs beaten lightly

3 tbs plain flour

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped finely

2 tsp dried mint

1 tsp ground cumin

salt and black pepper

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

serves 4

Preheat the oven to 175C. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and saute the onions over medium heat heat until softened. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Saute the chicken breasts in the pan until browned, then transfer to an oven-proof dish with the onions on top. Put the drained yoghurt in a large bowl an mix in the eggs, flour, garlic, mint, cumin and salt and pepper until well combined. Pour over chicken, making sure the mixture covers the chicken breasts. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until the yoghurt mixture has set and the chicken is tender. Serve with some steamed rice and sauteed spinach.

Mr P gave this dish a 7 / 10 but that's only becuse it is not an italian pasta dish with an onctuous sausage sauce...

The kids loved it being soubtly lemony (no lemon, but the yoghurt is a bit tangy). The mint an cumin give it just mild flavour, so you could add more of both if you whish. Also, make sure the yoghurt mix is well salted as it can be a bit bland if not salted. Otherwise it is perfect. Easy, tasty and healthy.

This is one dish you actually want to have leftovers as it heats up very well. Just put everything (rice, spinach and chicken) in a pyrex dish, cover with foil and warm up. Yumm.