Food, glorious food

A summer spent with full access to UK shops and supermarkets and the chance to bring back supplies has made us all reflect a bit on what we eat and like to eat. We all enjoyed the choice in the UK and making the most of things we can't easily get here - each with our own treat: different cereal for us all, smelly cheese for me, trays of sushi for Jamie, blackberries and mango chutney for Matthew, gherkins and elderflower squash for Katie (not all at once). But there were no demands for me to find luggage space to bring anything in particular back as our diet here is pretty varied and seems to suit us.

I did find a small corner of my suitcase for the full green and blacks range and popped in a few packed lunch treats in anticipation of a major lifestyle change as, after years of resisting pleas for no school dinners, I have finally given in. My main argument against packed lunches (other than the additional work load it brings, which carries little weight with the kids) has always been that they need a cooked meal when it's cold. Evidently this no longer holds when living on the equator, even if it was very much jeans and fleece weather yesterday. Accepting this and then being told by Katie's teacher that she's not eating and I should make her lunch, gave me little room for debate and I'm convincing myself that cheese and pickle sandwiches are probably just as balanced a diet as the school alternative. And we will add in the variety at home, including with the various things we are trying to grow in our garden. Tim is growing chillies, katie has planted French beans, Matthew (still in his Brazil kit!) has taken charge of our fruit production and was thrilled with his first harvest of bananas today.



Meanwhile Jamie is positioning himself as the cook. He has learnt to start a fire with a magnifying glass and to hack banana leaves down with a machete to use them as plates, dishes etc. These may be useful life skills but they aren't entirely relaxing development milestones for a mum! He's also getting to know the guys at the fruit stall at the end of our road and has lengthy chats with them about fruit and veg we don't recognise and how to eat it.

All 3 kids have always enjoyed cooking and have collectively decided that they will take charge of breakfast at least one day at the weekend. It's not a fast or mess free experience but we aren't usually in any rush at the weekends, and knowing that I have help to deal with the aftermath makes me more relaxed about the trashing of the kitchen. And the results are pretty good - Mango and passion fruit Smoothie with masala omelette.


Anne