zanzibar chicken

What's your favourite dish? I'm not going to cook it but I'll order it from ZANZIBAR!

Today is all about preparing for Milo's birthday on Monday. We've got some shopping to do, we need to get him some winter school shoes, tidy the house and we need to diminish the washing mountain. Ana Louise takes care of the latter two whilst I knacker him out in the wave pool and water slides at Brentford Fountains, that's foxing teamwork. In fact we are there for just short of three hours of sliding, bobbing in the waves and generally splashing, and he sparks out in the car on the way home, which is useful even if it does mean we have a later evening than usual.

Later, with the shopping, shoes and Strictly done, a very good little boy goes to sleep and we have an experimental curry from this month's Delicious, whilst watching Sense & Sensibility from my new costume drama collection.


It's a pretty rich dish, and the tomatoes, basil and cloves make it taste completely different from other chicken curries I've cooked. Personally I loved it, but I think next time Ana would prefer it with pureed ginger rather than chopped, which is a fair point. The chillis come from my plant outside, which has gone mental, and the basil is from Milo's basil seeds.

Incidentally, I know I made the claim this year's June edition of Delicious was the best single issue, but looking at this month's made me think that maybe my favourite issues are the November ones? Some many of our dishes come from these issues it *must* be the best? Tomato curry, little mash pies, beef stew with pumpkin, cep and potato stew, lamb karahi, sage and sausage pasta, pumpkin minestrone, and thai fish and pumpkin curry have all appeared from November's pages, and there are at least six dishes I want to cook in the next week or so, including tonight's dinner. Any takers, or indeed disagreers?

Food of the Milos
Despite the three hours of swimming, Milo doesn't eat an awful lot today, but what he does eat is pretty spectacular. I design his breakfast into his own heraldic shield, however he misses the point and calls it 'breakfast pie':


That's apple, banana and raisin 'cakes', a marmite crumpet and four grapes. No lunch, but a bribery packet of jelly dinosaurs during the shoe fitting, and then sausage, beans and chips for dinner. He is a very good boy, and hugs me and Ana in Sheen High Street, whilst inviting us to his birthday party. It's a monster party apparently, but we don't have to be scared because he'll look after us - aaaaah!

sources
zanzibar chicken - Paul Merrett, Delicious, November 2010, p64