I am running an experiment at the moment to test the kids' tastebuds and to see how far they're prepared to go. They are both pretty good at trying things but in the run up to Christmas I felt we had fallen into the spaghetti Bolognese, shepherd's pie and pesto trap. I set myself a target of finding some new dishes to add to the weekly repertoire. So far we have had an improvised Indian spiced meatball curry served with tarka dhal, kedgeree and unleavened rice bread (recipes to come) , turmeric scented chicken skewers served with a Bali style coconut rice and sesame coated pork with a sweet and sour cherry sauce (recipe listed in the recipe section). With the exception of the turmeric skewers and the coconut rice (which tasted like floor cleaner) everything else has gone down amazingly well. The biggest surprise was the kedgeree which they thought was delicious even though there were green things (chopped parsley) sprinkled throughout. I am not trying to be smug here, but it is possible to break that routine and get the kids eating more adventurous things. It does take more of an effort (wow even I was horrified by the mess I created) and if you had been in my kitchen last night, you would have heard me muttering rude things to myself. But the sight of those darling little faces tucking in makes it all worthwhile. So what's on the menu tomorrow' night?
Coconut rice
Hi Adriana
Looks like you've already seen my recipe for coconut rice here - added in response to your comment about soapy rice above. I know exactly what you mean - I often find fresh coconut in particular has that flavour so I use creamed coconut for pretty much everything I want to use it in. What did Rick Stein's recipe use, out of interest?
Coconut Rice
I used the recipe in Rick's Far Eastern Odyssey. To be fair I probably did overdo the lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves, but the coconut milk made the rice really claggy. I was thinking if I did try it again, I would do it without the coconut milk and just use water instead. I like the sound of your recipe better.