Corn & Asparagus mornay

This is a meal that falls squarely into the comfort food category. Especially for me. I remember my mum making this on rainy afternoons, and now, even the smell soothes my soul. I grew up in one of those picturesque, mountainous type places where the smallest fog would make it seem like you were living amongst the clouds. To have a meal that evokes memories of a place and time so touched by magic is in and of itself magical. 

Ingredients

1 tin of asparagus

1 tin of corn ( make sure there's no sugar added)

75g butter

1/2 cup flour

1 cup milk

1 cup grated cheese

1/2 cup breadcrumbs/rice crumbs

3 free range eggs, hard boiled

Make a white sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan, then adding the flour and stirring until combined. Add the juice from the tinned asparagus and stir until combined, then slowly add the milk. Once it's lump free and slightly thickened add 3/4 of cheese, then asparagus, then the DRAINED corn. 

Transfer to a casserole tray. Top with sliced egg, the reserved cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake in a preheated oven at 160'c for twenty minutes. 

I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

Ps 

 A word of warning- when sourcing your canned goods, take care to buy as locally sources as you're able.

Makeshift Okonomoyaki with Salmon

I made a spicy salmon salad for my lunch today. The salad consisted of shredded ice berg lettuce, diced apple and cucumber, sliced onion, and finely julienned snow peas. The dressing had shed loads of mint, coriander, vinegar, olive oil and lemon juice, and I topped it with a grilled piece of salmon.

Being an Economy of Scale kind of cook (that is to say, I always make enough to feed am army), I had a fair whack of leftovers. After lunch, I set about constructing a gingerbread house for my husband's grandparents...and we all know royal icing means- leftover egg yolks. 

Abhorring waste, I decided the perfect use for all these delicious byproducts of my culinary gusto was-- okonomiyaki. Actually, I just decided to throw it all together and then vaguely remembered a Japanese pancake made with shredded cabbage which totally justified feeding my children a mad experiment in frugality. 

The result was surprisingly yummy. 

I served these guys with a lemon yoghurt dressing, parsley seeds and leftover cold salmon. Little miss 1 gobbled it up. My son took my bribery to approach it properly but he did an acceptable job. Though no doubt he would have preferred butter on toast.... (Ah, the palette of a toddler!!).