Munns David - Fays family food: delicious recipes where one meal feeds everyone, whatever age!

UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia

India | New Zealand | South Africa

Michael Joseph is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.

First published 2009

Text copyright Fay Ripley, 2009

Photography copyright David Munns, 2009

The moral right of the author has been asserted

Cover photography: David Munns

Colour reproduction by Altaimage Ltd

ISBN: 978-0-241-39471-7

For Dan, Parker and Sonny, my family, my life

It seems to me that our relationship with food changes according to our circumstances.

Here are mine

First, I was the single woman about town. Grabbing food on the run or at work (Cold Feet: great show, food fit for your dog). With money to burn and time to indulge myself, eating out was the norm and not a treat.

Then came a boyfriend (Dan), and with him came cosy nights at home, cooking and pretending to be husband and wife. The longer we were together, the more we shared our love of all things edible.

Then, after I had cooked a particularly good lamb shank, he popped the question Will you give me that recipe? Oh, and will you cook for me for the rest of our lives? (Or words to that effect.) On a sugar high from the raspberry souffl, I said yes to both. Very quickly, a small human started to grow inside my body (I still dont really understand how that happens). I stopped cooking and started to eat liquorice.

When our new baby flatmate arrived (a little girl called Parker), Dan took over the cooking (barbies played a big role; hes an Aussie). Whilst I was left feeling like an old overworked dairy cow, longing for the time my daughter would want something on the menu other than me

When that moment came, I read every book on the market, watched videos, scoured the internet, all to discover the secret of producing a good eater (not to be confused with an anteater). Finally I came to the conclusion that the best route through this maze of advice was to wean her on fresh, organic produce, varying the tastes as much as possible. Even at an early stage, I introduced her to loads of herbs, rye and spelt breads and wonderful tastes that made her little mouth open like a baby birds.

And what do you know? It worked. She loves food (well, most of it). Luckor judgement? Not sure, but it does make sense, I guess.

Now, while I was busy turning my daughter into a foodie, I had totally neglected my own culinary needs. Dans favourite lamb shanks were a thing of the past, as the last thing I wanted to do after preparing Parkers meal was to start on ours. Poor Dan, his dream of a 1940s domestic goddess was in pieces.

The next couple of years saw us working, travelling, moving and, just as Parker hit an age where we could all enjoy the same food at the same time, bang! Another human bun in my not-so-human-any-more oven (a baby boy, Sonny).

And thats when the real journey began. The realization that I wanted us to enjoy the same food and eat it together, where possible. It made sense for them and, more to the point, for me.

So I started working our meals out around all of us. Not separate ingredients, age dependent. For some reason, in this country, we have lost the ability to eat together. We all shout Theres no time!, but its a flawed argument. We have to eat, right? So eat something tasty. It doesnt have to take long, but at least you feel good afterwards. The other excuse we make to ourselves is that its easier to just grab the same old thing or a packet of something bland, but I know so many people who hate shopping from their dull grocery list because they are not looking forward to cooking it. They are bored and cant think what to buy everyone for the week ahead. Monday: pizza for Parker, jars and some fishfingers for little Sonny, a takeaway for us. Well, meatballs for everyone sounds so much easier to me. Also, I reckon its cheaper to all eat from the same proverbial pot. Live off the leftovers and the smiles that inevitably come your way after a good meal.

Look, the Italians do it. Why cant we? In fact, the whole of the EU seems to have clung on to their ancestral dining habits. So stop the clock and bung a chicken in the oven. Its time to eat, talk and be merry!

Food brings people together. I am not suggesting that a moist muffin turns a mad, dysfunctional family into the Von Trapps, but food makes us happy, healthy and full.

Now, I get that none of us have any spare time. That money is a constant issue for most people. That not all kids eat well (or indeed anything). That pre-prepared jars seem easier and that doing it the cookbook way seems frankly unrealistic.

But this book is meant to offer suggestions and inspiration. You dont have to do it every day. Its there to get you in the swing; to get organized, write lists and find fifteen minutes to knock something up that you are proud to see go into your kids naughty little mouths.

Food as fun, not fuel. And here is the bonus: it can be delicious not only for them but for you, your family and your friends too. (For really impressive grown-up recipes, please feel free to use proper cookbooks from the big boys.)

The idea is to cook food from which you can remove your babies and kids portions if needs be, before adding the more challenging ingredients for yourselves; or better still, all tuck in together. One delicious meal for all of you.

I am living this. Its easy. I have kept it simple. Sometimes I get it wrong. Sometimes I have to throw pans away (multi-tasking can lead to burnt food). But it is always exciting to see my family and friends get stuck in to great grub that I have put together.

Fay x

PS The other day someone asked Parker (five) what she wanted to be when she grew up. She replied, A chef. The same question was put to Sonny (one). He replied, A truck. Im working on him.

Spelt is one of the first grains to have been grown by early farmers, as long ago as 5000 BC , and is now gaining popularity at an incredible speed as an alternative to the overprocessed, bleached flour used in so many products today. The grain is naturally high in fibre and contains significantly more protein than wheat. It is also higher in B-complex vitamins and both simple and complex carbohydrates. It has less gluten and is much easier on the digestive system.

I discovered spelt when, after a really bad bout of food poisoning, my doc told me to lay off the wheat so that my stomach could recover. Searching for an alternative, I came across spelt bread, which tasted great, and I have not looked back. I am wheat-intolerant but the rest of the family all love it too. So I tend to buy spelt pasta and bread for the kids as it is so much kinder to their stomachs, and I always bake with the flour. It behaves the same as normal flour, as I have indicated in the recipes. White spelt flour is like plain white flour and spelt flour is like wholemeal flour. There are more and more products available. You can already buy bread of all types, biscuits, cakes, pastas, croissants, cereals and more. I mainly have to go to wholefood shops or specialist stores, but some supermarkets are starting to supply it. So keep an eye on the shelves.