Cooked Lunch

Lil Missy had fully recovered from a bout of HFMD and being sequestered at home. She was ready to hang out. For many reasons, we avoided venues that would be filled with children. Chilling out at my home meant that Lil Missy would be entertained while remaining in a safe environment. She's comfortable at my place and will be content to let her mom and I chat at length without needing our specific attention 95% of time. We made a tentative date for lunch.

Cooking for children is always dicey. It all depends on what they feel like eating at the moment. At least I'm up to date with Lil Missy's preferences. I also know her mom's. Lunch won't be just about cooking for the little one. Importantly, it's about cooking for my girlfriend. :) Certainly, I don't do fancy stuff like what the man prefers. My standards are not as pristine. So long the food is edible, it should do all right.

The girlfriend didn't care about the menu. "Whatever convenient!" She reminded me. Okies. The menu was planned without her most dreaded garlic. Heh. Pasta was bought, along with a basket of Roma tomatoes. Pasta sauce must be made from scratch. Late in the night, I set about pan-frying salmon and making the tomato sauce. NOT DIFFICULT. Don't raise your eyebrows. There're very very very few reasons that would entice me to actually cook, you know that. Anyway, in the morning, just before the guests arrived, once I boiled the pasta, I left it to the helper to sort out the rest of the planned dishes. 

Lil Missy had scoops of apple yoghurt first. Told the girlfriend not to bother prepping any food, and just bring some drawing pens or toys. I had prepared the snack box to be taken along for our afternoon outing. Lil Missy was thrilled to have her own tiny fork and spoon, and a pint-sized bowl, and her own seat at the table. Of course, little girl, of course! She was interested in the brown rice, and the steamed ikan kurau with shallots. The girlfriend didn't mind the pasta, its sauce, and the fried cod fish. Yay! A more or less healthy spread, I hope. Lots of fish and vegetables.

The little girl wasn't too intent on watching the television programmes, but enjoyed the tunes coming out of it on iConcerts. She happily danced to Vampire Weekend's 'Oxford Comma' (Although I didn't want her to know the lyrics.) and other singer-songwriters. Great melodies. Y and I chortled when the segment ended and Beyoncé came on, and the little one broke into a frown and demanded for the earlier shows to be brought back or we listen to something else. I absolutely approved of the little girl's discerning music taste. Then, there was a jam session of sorts, where I was told to play the guitar to complement whatever she was playing. I learnt songs (with proper words) to tunes we made up on the spot.