Shelling broadbeans can feel like an unnecessary step in a world of convenience and if I have to be honest, I only pod them when they arrive in our weekly veg bag (which generally occurs but a few times during the summer months). But the site of them excites me, there is something so natural about seeing beans in their shells

This is another one of my childhood dishes, widely cooked and eaten in the Levant. As is often the case with dishes like this, poor man's food to feed the family with (no meat, hence cheap to make, with ingredients local to the region), there are as many recipes as there are cooks, and each family seems to have (at least one) favourite ingredient

For full disclosure, one of the main ingredients in this recipe is black beans, which could either send you running for the hills, or as I do (with a hint of disbelief - could this actually be any good?) jump with joy. I do love a bean, me.  I find that the addition of a healthy element confuses things for my benefit. Is it really a dessert? Its kinda like a meal, right? This is healthy, so I can have it whenever, n'est-ce pas? While it is not a plate of raw broccoli it does have a decent nutritional profile, if you are the type that is looking for one in a brownie.

I love sushi. Love love love it, it should be a food group. Back in my San Francisco days, for years I could not go through a week without my fix. When I moved to London, a principal complaint I had was how hard it was to come by sushi, and that what little was around was of pretty low quality. Really, the basic conveyor belt sushi available in London over ten years ago was all kinds of terrible.

This dish started off as a quick dinner idea using ingredients we had on hand and was a roaring success, leaving a disappointed Mrs Green when the leftovers were reserved for Little Boy Green. I have a feeling she snuck a few bites off his plate (naughty, naughty). We knew that Little Boy Green is not averse to aubergines, especially when prepared as Baba Ganoush. So with that in mind we decided to do a little clearing of the fridge.

This recipe is one of the few that is an undisputed top choice for comfort food for all of us. It has a soft yet firm texture, is slightly smokey and sweet thanks to the smoked paprika (pimenton) used in the recipe, and is a great excuse to have some ketchup, mustard and sriracha. We have been having this baked loaf for a few days now as I have been trying to ‘get it right’, and there have not been any complaints or threats of mutiny.

Much like yours truly, Little Boy Green is a creature of habit. He functions best and is happiest when life is a little predictable. Naps, meals and bedtime are all best received when on schedule. It is, therefore, very confusing when he doesn’t play ball and his responses become unreliable.

I have entered myself into an ultra marathon, Race To The King, a double marathon that takes place along the South Downs. I am using this post as a training diary that I will update regularly culminating into, what I hope, will be a race medal. I have scheduled a very haphazard training plan that revolves around our new born and our 2 year old and any energy they grant me.