Experimental Coolery 2024: Fruit Tacos

As the father of two young children, it is of course my duty to wind them up with all sorts of nonsense and japes. So it was with huge amusement that I was able to launch a successful double bluff: I spent the day telling them we were having tacos for dessert, secure in the knowledge that they'd think I was joking, only to roll these out at the key time. Huzzah!

The basic idea for these came from the Tesco magazine, but they're really simple enough that they barely warrant a recipe - take some warmed taco shells, add some chocolate spread, ice cream, fruit, and various toppings. Then eat them.

These were a triumph. Not only will we definitely have them again, Funsize has already insisted on having them again. So that's a win.

#15: "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Race Against Time", by Frank Cottrell-Boyce (a book for Funsize)

#16: "Surrounded by Idiots", by Thomas Erikson

Experimental Cookery 2024: Smoky Sausage Skewers with Tomato Rice

Another belated experimental cookery, this one was actually cooked in the over but would have been ideal for the BQ. This one came from the Tesco magazine, but is almost certainly available in the online archive.

This one was a much more successful effort than the previous - it involved in cutting things into big chunks, placing in a bowl with a spice mix, threading on skewers (which Funsize and Surprise! enjoyed helping with), and then baking. Messy, but all rather easy.

And the results were very nice. There's no surprises here - if you like the things that go on the skewers, you'll probably like the result; if not, you won't.

We'll no doubt have these again, though possibly without the rice and probably cooked by BBQ.

Experimental Cookery 2024: Courgette and Halloumi Skewers

This is a much-belated "experimental cookery" - we had these some months ago. The method comes from Tom Kerridge's "Outdoor Cooking".

I'm always on the lookout for good things with which to expand my BBQ repertoire, and also for good vegetarian options. So the possibility of a vegetarian BBQ option was rather enticing.

Unfortunately, this one just didn't work for us at all. I think I probably did something wrong, but the bottom line is that after a big fight trying to get chunks of vegetable and cheese onto parallel skewers (which wasn't fun), and after what seemed an age on the grill, they came off and just weren't nice at all. The tastes were basically okay, but the texture was just... no.

I really can't imagine having these again, and I'm not at all inclined to try inflicting them on any guests. Very disappointing.