That Ilk Bearsden and Milngavie

It is hard to keep your intake of seasonal
fruit and veg during winter – how do you
do it?
I batch cook some staples such as chilli,
bolognaise, chicken or fish pie at the weekend
to heat up during the week when time is more
tight. I like to cook things from scratch as this
is a family tradition (my parents had a
restaurant and my mum was a cook) and
hardly ever buy any ready meals. I always
cook with olive oil, although in the last few
years I’ve started using butter to cook certain
things.
we hardly ever
buy any ready
meals
Kids are notoriously hard to please when it
comes to eating more fruit and veg. How
do you keep your girls excited about
healthy eating habits?
In the winter months we eat a lot of oranges
and apples and in the summer we prefer
strawberries, blueberries and melon. The
children always have fruit as their snack and
they are allowed one sweet per day after
school (this is variable and difficult to
enforce… especially during the holiday period
but we usually get back on track during term
times!).
The girls always have a lot of raw vegetables
for lunch, together with a sandwich. I cook the
same thing for everyone at dinner and they
eat a good helping of compulsory vegetables
every night. Sometimes I hide a lot of
vegetables in a lasagne or a Bolognese with
various degrees of success!
What are your fridge staples – food items
that don’t miss from your household at
this time of year?
In our fridge there is always a lot of fresh
vegetables such as peppers, carrots and
mange tout. There is always fish, mainly
salmon and prawns; lean mince beef and
chicken. We also love pulses in all their forms
and, as a good Spaniard, I love bread!
What is a go to recipe with Spanish roots
that your family enjoys over and over
again?
My go to Spanish staple is chickpeas with rice
and paprika. The girls devour them, they are
really cheap and extremely easy to prepare. I
also make Spanish omelette and meatballs
regularly.
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