Golden and crunchy

Guess what we're having for dinner? Two guaranteed to get a yay and a victory fist pump from my boys is cottage pie, and lemon-seasoned fish fingers.

Tonight I made cottage pie (I generally do it with cubed chuck steak, but this time, on request because we hadn't had it for a while, I used the traditional lamb mince).

Last week, though, I wheeled out a favourite from their preschool days. Lemon-seasoned fish fingers.

Two things the meals have in common is they're golden and crunchy. The lovely mashed potato with bread crumbs and grated parmesan from the oven, or the seasoned bread crumbs from the wok.

I like to give my kids fish once a week, but they're not mad keen on it. They'll eat it, but you have to ride 'em a little. Not with this meal though.

Recipe: Lemon-seasoned fish fingers

Ingredients

• 1 cup bread crumbs
• .75 kilograms boneless fish fillets (orange roughy is perfect, ling is also very good. I prefer orange roughy because of the texture, its more sustainable fishing status, and because it's a member of the slimehead family)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Grated zest of one lemon
• 2 cups canola oil

Method

Combine bread crumbs, lemon zest, salt and garam masal. Spread this out evenly on a dinner plate.
Beat eggs in a bowl
Slice fish fillets into thickish fingers
Dip the fish fingers into the egg, then roll them in the bread crumbs so they have a nice even covering
In a wok for frying pan, bring oil to a high heat just before smoking
Deep fry three or four fish fingers at a time until they are golden brown (texture like sun)

Serve with steamed rice and stir-fried or steamed vegetables.

This is one of those meals that has something for both kids and adults. I found it a good way of introducing my boys to some new flavours. It's also fun to make, with a little fish finger production line, with someone dipping the fish in the egg, someone rolling the fish in the crumbs, someone laying it out neatly ready to be fried.

Another key to gradually expanding children's taste boundaries is condiments and sides. Children can find a big, busy plate quite confusing and daunting... but that is another blog post I think.

Taking stock

There's nothing like making stock for taking stock.

On a rainy Sunday, and my boys returned to their other home, it's time to prepare for when they're back again.

Yesterday I used my trusty slow cooker to make for my boys and me, chicken and tomato rice. I like to buy a whole, chemical free chicken (don't you love it when they are labelled "chemically free"?) and cut it in pieces myself. It makes me feel like Kitchen Man.

Here's the technique I follow. Note, that the chicken back is retained for later stock making.

The exception to this method the way I do it, is that I keep the bone and gristle on the breast, and cut the breast halves across the bone, so that the breast is quartered. That way you get 10 evenly sized pieces.

As this is more about the stock, I'll whiz over the chicken casserole, except to say that it's made with my good old standby tomato salsa, and that about 1 hour before you want to eat, you pull out all the solid ingredients with a slotted spoon, and pour in enough medium grain rice so that there is only a fingertip of liquid above the rice layer. Then place the solid ingredients back and re-cover.

My freezer bag was now full of chicken backs, ready for taking stock and making stock on a rainy Sydney Sunday. Here goes.

Recipe: Chicken stock

Yields 11 cups stock.

Ingredients

• About 1kg chicken pieces
• 2 carrots
• 2 onions
• 1 leek
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 clove garlic
• 6 pepper corns
• 4 tablespoons canola or olive oil
• 2 litres water

Method

• Preheat oven to 200º
• Roughly chop the veggies, and put everything (except the water!) in a roasting pan and into the oven for 30 minutes
• Remove the contents to a large, heavy based pot
• Use some of the water to make sure you get all the bits and pieces (and flavours) from the roasting pan. Add this water and the rest to the stock pot
• Raise heat to full and bring to boil
• Drop heat back to a simmer
• Simmer for 2 hours, occasionally skimming off the brownish grey film that forms on the surface
• When the 2 hours is up, remove all the solid pieces (do not discard - these are your dinner, and just reward for an arvo of stock-making goodness. Once cool enough, strip off the good meat from the chicken bones, and put this with the tasty veggies. Fry up some ginger and chili in a pot, add the stock bits and some fish sauce. Add 2 cups of your stock and bring to boil, then add a handful of rice noodles - and there's your dinner. Yum!)
• Strain the stock (I use a mesh strainer lined with a paper towel). Strain twice.

I think storage amounts of 1.5 cups is most versatile.

These will keep in plastic containers in the freezer for several months. Make sure you put a date on the label or lid.

And there you have it. Lovely, healthy homemade chicken stock.

First destination? Malaysian chicken rice.