salmon and beetroot & watercress salad

You'd think going out for dinner and therefore not cooking would have a positive affect on the updating of a blog, but not this one. Being full of fish, beetroot and wine just made me sleepy so although the date stamp is correct, I'm actually writing in the future - wooooo!

Back to the past though and a busy busy scorching Saturday. Sandwiched between my final mock driving test and dinner at Kiki and Brian's, I get to grips with the new, full-on milo magic experience. And on a hot scorching day it's HELL!

Ana looks like she's run 10 marathons by the time I confidently hustle him out of the door for our traditional daddy time, but things have changed since the last time the routine was in action, mainly in the high maintenance stakes. Much like his mother in fact...

We:

• Spend 20 minutes looking at ladybird on a wall, and that's before we've even got to the end of the road;
• Get some money out of the cash machine on White Hart Lane, which involves pressing all the buttons;
• Go halfway up the alley to listen to the cockerels. They aren't crowing, but we have to wait a long time to confirm this fact;
• Scoot along to the wall opposite the chip shop in Barnes, whereupon we walk along half the length before doing numerous fireman's slides down the sign post;
• Ransack Fara for toys and books, carefully steering him past the large collection of vaguely familiar things on the shelves. "I've got one of those at home daddy!" Erm, yeesssss - look at that leaf!
• Drink a babyccino and eat some lemon drizzle cake in Cafe Nero whilst performing a "show" by the door. Stroke a dog;
• Go into Barnes Fish Shop and pick up a crab, literally rather than buying it;
• Buy apples, cherries, and courgette flowers at Barnes Market. Bite the girl serving us with new shark toy friend;
• Buy seeds for ducks in Membury's. Talk to new as-yet-unknown girlfriends using toy shark as a chat up line;
• Eat ice creams on a bench by the pond. Fail to feed ducks.
  
• Scoot to Vine Road playground and spend an hour and a half in paddling pool before moving on to various slides, swings and rope bridges. Refuse to go home and I have to walk to the end of the path whilst he goes in the opposite direction before he caves in;
• Snack lunch at home before heading out to Sheen to buy him some sandals. I force Ana to dress like 'a lady' and she complains all the way. We have coffee and lemon moons at Orange Pekoe on the way back;
• Dinner, pasta bolognese, bath in which I have to paddle my feet. They get eaten by a new toy shark friend. Books, bed and sparko by Six PM.
  

Forget him, I'm shagged.

As I said earlier, luckily Brian and Kendra are on kitchen duty tonight so we have a marvellous salmon and beetroot salad for dinner, followed by some sort of stewed fruit pudding and one or two glasses of wine. It's a lovely evening, and one I'm going to encouragise the Bolger's to repeat.

In the meantime Kiki, could you give us the recipe? I think you said it's a Jamie number...

m thanks

Food of the Milos
The inevitable Cheerios for breakfast, not that he eats many of them, followed by his new favourite thing "making toast and tea". Not that he eats much of it once he's made it, in fact he mainly just licks butter and marmite off the knife, so beware if he ever offers you breakfast. Cheese on toast for lunch, and spag bol for dinner. Plus all the cakes, snacks and ice creams of course...