It is said that true love is hard to find. As far as filial love and this mother is concerned, this is increasingly true. Once upon a time I’d walk into a room and the Boy’s face would light up, he would explode with giggles and laughter, his eyes would shine brightly and he would push away whoever was with him at the time. It was clear that I was his One True Love. While I like to think that I remain so, it’s becoming harder to decode. Unless of course he’s showing his affection by means of torment - in which case, I am way ahead of anyone in the love stakes.
For example, he has taken ignoring me – or, rather, ignoring my attempts at discipline – to new heights; yesterday, he actually started to sing-song “LaLaLaLaLaLaLaLaLaLa....” while I was giving him a Talking To in the Naughty Corner. This was after spending the morning lying face-down at the back of his class roaring NO-MUMMY-NO-MUMMY-NO-MUMMY, while I looked the other way and pretended that I only had one child (and everyone else behaved impeccably, grrr).
Aside from these minor mishaps, we had what I thought was quite a pleasant afternoon. We painted the Man a Valentine’s card – red hand-prints on a white board - and tried to make chocolate mousse. (Fun tho’ it was, by the end of these activities – what had I been thinking??? - the kitchen looked like something from the Tate Modern). We watched some Sesame Street, and ate pasta and cheese. And apart from the Naughty Corner incident, I didn’t raise my voice at all – as far as I’m concerned, the mark of a successful day.
So I was somewhat surprised when the Man asked him last night: “Did you have fun with Mummy?”
Silence. Then a ponderous look on his face. Then:
“Mummy shouting. FREDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! STOP THAT!! LEAVE HER ALONE!!! GET DOWN!” (All delivered in an exorcist-esque demonic growl.)
“Shouting all day long.” (Said very matter of factly).
So I guess that answers the question pretty comprehensibly. No room for doubt there.
The Man got lots of filial lovin’ from the Girl however. In fact, he is the apple of her eye. This was demonstrated clearly the other night when, thinking she was sick, I took her into bed with me, and banished the Man. His departure caused a complete melt-down (in her, not him – although he wasn’t overly excited about it either) - big fat tears running down her big fat face, which ceased only when he returned. On a day to day level, I get pushed away as soon as he comes into her line of vision, and her face breaks into a big sweet smile whenever he’s around. It’s very sweet but, you know, a little bit annoying. This is the thanks I get for ruining my life / body / sleeping habits?
On the plus side, she loves bread – any bread, at any time - more than she loves either of us. She might light up at the sight of the Man, but she positively drools when she catches a glimpse of some bread.
You can’t really blame her – little beats good bread (as if she gets given good bread, ha!). Although pastry definitely comes close. And with this in mind, I put together the easiest Valentine’s dinner imaginable last night – Salmon en Croute (or salmon wrapped in pastry for the linguistically challenged).
While perfect for a romantic dinner a deux (dim the lights to block out the sight of all the baby / toddler crap) it’s also fantastic if you’re entertaining. Just make ahead up until the “pop in the oven” step, and then pick up there about 20 minutes before you want to eat. I served it with asparagus (romantic, eh? But also on special offer, so economical too, hurrah!) but it goes with anything.
Finally, you can get as creative as you want with the ingredients to be wrapped. I went for the lazy easy option, but you can get really fancy and top the salmon with smoked salmon doused in lemon juice, cream-cheese mixed with dill, or chopped, cooked prawns tossed in crème fraiche.
Salmon en Croute
You need: (For 2)
· 2 fillets of salmon, skinned (or skin them yourself)
· A block or roll of ready-made puff pastry (get the “All butter” if possible)
· Jar of pesto – any flavour - (get a tub of the fresh stuff from the deli counter if you’re feeling really full of love) or tapenade.
· 1 egg (optional).
Preheat oven to 170c.
Roll out puff pastry, to make 2 squares big enough to wrap each of the salmon pieces, with a bit to spare.
Put one piece of salmon in the centre of each pastry square and smear pesto / tapenade over the top. How much you use depends on how much you like the taste of your chose sauce. I find a tablespoon of pesto or a half tablespoon of tapenade per fillet is good.
Bring the long sides of the pastry up to meet in the middle, on top of the salmon. Pinch it together with your fingers, so both sides stick together (You can even get arty and make pretty wavy patterns...). Press the “short sides” of the pastry down with a fork, to seal. Note that you want to leave a bit of a gap between the top of the salmon/filling, and the pastry, so that there’s a bit of air circulating once the pastry goes “puff”.
If you can be faffed, beat the egg with a tablespoon of water, and brush the mixture over the top of the pastry. It doesn’t add anything to the taste but once cooked, it looks fantastic. The Man went so far as to suggest that I had bought the pastries, ready-made. (Then he stopped talking until the swelling went down).
Put on a greased baking tray and stick in the oven for between 15-20 mins (depending on the thickness of your salmon). If you used the egg-wash, the pastry will be golden and shiney. Either way, it will have puffed up and look fantastic.
Serve with a large side of love.
And finally finally, this can also be made using a side of salmon and, obviously, a much larger piece of pastry. It will take longer for the salmon to cook - test it after 25 mins - so drop the oven temp to 160 to stop the pastry cooking too quickly.
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