Mexican Beans

Everyone has a tomatoeee bean recipe but the secret of this one is cumin seeds (thanks Alison Holst). We love these beans served on plain nacho chips and topped with plain greek yoghurt or cheese or guacamole or all three - but could just as easily be popped in tacos, tortillas or just over rice. Check out my kid-friendly nachos - Maia finished all of hers and then asked for more.

2T olive oil
2 chopped onions
4 cloves chopped garlic
2 large carrots diced
2t cumin seeds
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
2T tomato paste
2T tomato sauce
1T balsamic vinegar (or wine vinegar)
salt and chilli sauce to taste

Heat oil and sauté onions for about 5 mins and add garlic, carrots and cumin seeds. Continue sautéing until carrots and onions are well cooked (about 15mins),

Add remaining ingredients and simmer for at least 20mins.

Taste and adjust salt and chilli to taste.

Pad Thai

This one won't win an prizes for beauty and I'm sure it's not authentic in the slightest but it was easy to make and for a change it passed the fussy 2.5yr old test.

I'm not going to get to specific with the ingredients here cos one of the beauties of stir fry type dishes is you can use whatever you have to hand. I would also add chilli to it if it wasn't for the toddler in the house (although it is quite cute when she tries something hot and says 'spicy' and tries to pull it off her tongue).

For this one I used tofu - I tossed this in cornflour, sesame seeds and salt before I shallow fried till crispy.

Sauce - mix together:
1/4c rice vinegar
1/4c white sugar
3T fish sauce
2T tomato paste
1 large kaffir lime leave (sliced) - optional

Rice noodles (any width) - cook as on package

3c sliced veges eg carrots, courgettes, spring onions
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1/2c peanuts or cashew nuts
Protein eg shrimps, prawns, tofu or chicken
Bean sprouts and coriander - optional

Heat oil in wok and stir fry veges.

Add sauce, protein and nuts and stir fry till protein is cooked.

Mix in noodles and bean sprouts / coriander and serve.