India Allsopp (or was it Kirstie Knight?) recently wrote about putting one’s relationship with husband/partner first, followed by that with the children: the couple are the cornerstone and unless that relationship comes first, the edifice will crumble. In short, adult time is essential to keep everything together. For me, the idea of eating tea with my 1, 2 and 6yo is not that appealing – too much spilt juice and nursery food – and I love that the currently non-bearded husband and I have ‘grown-up’ time in the evening (oh, stop). Maybe we’ll all eat together when the children are older. And can cook. Sometimes though, I find myself in a culinary cul-de-sac so was very happy when a friend recommended Crumbs: a website with recipes for children and adults written by two sisters/mothers. I’m going to write a few wine recommendations for their site and they’ll do a few recipes just for us. And together, we’ll make the world a better place. For now, back to what I know.
This week’s white in the fridge: Nederburg Chardonnay/Viognier 2009, £4.29 currently on offer, Waitrose
South Africa used to make me think of Mandela. Now it makes me think of that effing droning noise we had to put up with during the World Cup. Oh, and Naomi Campbell and her blood diamonds dirty little stones. However, most of all it is a country that makes me think of wine. Good ones at that, often underrated. This one is really good value, a blend of Chardonnay and Viognier grapes: slighty chubby but just what I felt like after too much Sauvignon. Melon, peach and a twist of lemon. Veh gud.
This week’s red on the side: Herrick Shiraz, 2009, £5, Tesco Wine Club
This wine makes me want to put on Now That’s What I Call Music 8 and pass round the After Eights because I seem to remember this brand from the late 80’s (which is a worry, I was in my mid teens and should definitely have been more into cider and/or cheap spirits, not wine). Anyhoo, Herrick is an Australian-looking wine from the South of France and was one of the first New World style wines from the Old World made by a flying winemaker. Still lovely, this is a juicy, blackcurrant-flavoured wine with smooth edges. Quaffed with a rather magnificent but very easy (adult) supper cooked this evening, thanks to inspiration from Crumbs.
Cheers dears x
Tell me about it. We've gone from supper without the boys – which always got delayed because they wouldn't go to bed, and meant two lots of cooking every night – to supper with them most nights. Which means less cooking but does tend to detract from adult conversation as we berate them for dropping food on the floor and not finishing their meals. Nothing's perfect. I'm definitely bookmarking Crumbs, though.
Oh good, isn't it a lovely site? We do eat together at weekends for lunch and it is an endless stream of me (mostly) telling – sorry, asking – the boys to stay sitting/finish their plate/not flick peas. Enjoyable carnage, but I don't think I could do it every mealtime. Also, don't you eat much earlier in the evenings there? Bearded one is often not back until after 8 so the boys and the baby are all in bed. When we last in the US on hols, we were looked at like loons when we booked a table at 8pm and treated like alcoholics when we ordered a SECOND bottle of wine. It was LA though, I like to think NYC is a bit more edgy?!
We started eating together last year. Well, most meals. I am always on the search for new family recipes so this sounds like a great idea. And of course wine recommendations are always welcome!
I do aim to please, MM x
They definitely like their drink around here, and people eat quite late in NYC – although out here in the 'burbs it's quite common to have supper around 6. When we stayed at a hotel in Connecticut with a restaurant, we would take boys in to have supper at 7, and everyone else would be finishing their meal having started at 5. They must have thought us very weird. When we eat with the boys, we eat at 7 – luckily my husband is usually home at 6.
NYC one of my most memorable holiday destinations, three brilliant days. We left on September 7th 2002, lots of our pictures had the Twin Towers in shot, looking magnificent. I got the photos back on the 11th, will never forget looking at them in disbelief back home sitting in my car on a deserted London street. RIP.