What do you do on the weekend?
Do you do weekend sport?
Do you catch up on all of the weeks washing?
Do you have a Friday night ritual?
Do you get to sleep in?
Do you catch up with friends?
Do you catch your breath?
At our house we look forward to the weekend like everyone else.
A chance to unwind, take a breather, try to get some things done around the house.
I love that we don't have early morning sport that means getting up earlier than during the week.
If we aren't doing Farmer's Markets we are lying on bed with extras popping in and out for early morning snuggles trying to delay getting up as long as possible.
Then we stumble out in PJ's to cook a special weekend brekky.
The TV is on in the family room with old episodes of Wacky Races.
Remember that show? Oh my...... I love it as much now as I did in my own childhood.
My lads look forward to being allowed the tiny bit of 'weekend gaming'~ the only time they are allowed all week.
We will try and schedule a special 'Family movie' on Saturday night that we all watch together snuggled in like sardines on the couch. Sometimes even a TV dinner- quelle horreur!
We try and do some cooking together and shop for the ingredients as a family. I know it isn't what everyone finds fun but our family LOVES food shopping. We love going to Market together. Love the smells, the sounds, the colour, the faces, the culture......just EVERYTHING.
In fact we pretty much do everything together. There is a lot of together at our place. Is it a big family thing? I am not sure.
Somebody once asked me on Instagram if I 'forced' my kids to play together because all the pictures of them were together. Of course I don't force them too but yes we are together a lot. My kids unashamedly adore one another. And we adore that they do. Who wouldn't?
Whatever it is I love the weekends and our together time.
GOURMET GIRLFRIEND'S CRUNCHY FISH RICE PAPER ROLLS:
This recipe came about as a result of my 12yo wanting to cook some fish.
He was once my MOST fussy eater.
He is now my most adventurous and the most interested in cooking.
It was something we came up with together but he did all the prep and I did the frying.
We had such fun.
For me as such a busy mumma it is the most wonderful way to spend one on one time with my lads.
And then we get to eat the spoils! SO MUCH WIN!
I have a cold Rice paper roll recipe here but in this one you shallow fry the rolls to make them crunchy. DELISH.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
- 500g Rockling (or any other white fleshy fish) cut into 10cm lengths
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1 inch piece of ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 bunch coriander
- 1/2 bunch mint
- 10 garlic chives
- (some extra of each of these herbs for putting in each roll)
- 2 Kaffir lime leaves
- lime zest & juice of a lime
- 1 red chilli
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon Rice bran oil (and extra for frying)
- rice paper sheets
METHOD:
Put everything except the rice paper sheets into the blender and BLITZ baby Blitz!
Pop a rice paper roll into a dish of water for just long enough to become just a bit soft (if you leave it too long the sheet becomes too soft to work with)
Now place it flat onto the workbench (it will totally soften as you place all the ingredients on top).
Smear a good heaped tablespoon of blitzed spice mix on top- in the middle of the rice paper, followed by a piece of fish and some more herbs.
Now fold up the bottom over the ingredients. You will notice the rice paper is now translucent & soft to work with.
Now fold in the left and right sides and roll into a cigar shape.
Now set aside on a plate until you have rolled all of your rolls.
Heat a nonstick pan to medium and shallow fry several at a time for abut 3-4 minutes on each side.
Serve immediately with Nuoc Cham dipping sauce (recipe here)
I'm having one of my fairly frequent 'Icelandic music' listening weeks this week.
I have shared this artist before.
Her voice is just enchanting...and i love the gentle drumming in this track too. Hope you do too!
