Messy

M's not been too good again this week. She had a bit of a cold, which developed into croup, but she's already bounced back to health after a couple of days on meds. I can hear her coughing away in bed as I sit here typing, but that's probably down to her having inhaled half a tin of baby powder. Silly K left the tin in the middle of the rug in the living room, and then while he was sitting no more than 3 meters away didn't notice M remove the lid and shake it all over the room. Grrrr. I wouldn't mind so much, but I only scrubbed the floor and cleaned the rug yesterday (after M decided to get artistic a la Jackson Pollock with a cup of milk):



I can't take my eye off her for a minute, she's waaay more mischievious than either of the boys were. I left her run around the playground at W's kindergarten this afternoon while W played with his friends, spent most of my time there stopping her from eating stones and rabbit droppings (you'd think she'd learn from her mistakes, wouldn't you)...

OK, on to dinner! Made some really good miso soup, and served it alongside some sashimi (hamachi, I think that's brill?) and a carrot and tuna salad. Lots of veggies today!



Miso Soup with Aubergine (from Harumi's Japanese Home Cooking, by Harumi Kurihara)

140g aubergine
140g komatsuna (don't know what this is called in English!) or spinach, cut into 3cm lengths
800ml dashi or fish stock (I used kombu dashi)
4 tablespoons miso paste

Cut the aubergine into bite-size pieces and soak in cold water for about 5 minute before boiling to remove any bitterness. When it has just softened, drain and soak in cold water until cool, then drain again. Heat the dashi in a pan, add the miso and stir until dissolved, then add the aubergine and komatsuna and simmer briefly. Serve sprinkled with shichimi (or a bit of chilli powder).


Carrot and Tuna Salad (from Harumi's Japanese Cooking, again by Harumi Kurihara)

200g carrots, peeled
90g tinned tuna
50g onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlis, crushed
1 tablespoon sunflower oil

Dressing:
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
soy sauce - to taste

Cut the carrots into 5cm thin juliennes and put in a microwaveable bowl with the onion, garlic and oil. Mix together, cover and zap for 11/2 minutes. Once lightly cooked, add the tuna then the dressing and mix well. Season and serve hot or cold.

This salad had a real kick to it, didn't think the boys would get past the first mouthful - J hid his under his rice, but W ate the lot!