Mother's Love

                                                           Bert awaiting his operation

This blog is nothing if not random. Essentially a 'recipe blog' I do try to stick to food related topics and information but hey, I'm not Mary Berry or Delia Smith. Donna's Pink Kitchen is something of an on line diary and some of my very kind readers have said they follow me as much for my recipes as my personal stories and anecdotes. 

One critic commented that he didn't like my photos of friends and family, my wittering on about nothing in particular and advised I keep my posts more slick and professional, (boy would he hate the above photo and indeed this next post!)

I seem to be appealing to a varied audience and I honestly endeavour to share as much of my food related knowledge..... (don't you know it! I've lectured quite a bit lately about my biggest bete noire: processed food.) But too many facts and statistics can get quite exhausting......for me...... let alone you!

We all love a bit of insight into each others lives, take lovely Nigella, all that spoon licking, luscious loveliness in her fairy lit kitchen was compelling viewing for foodies and I suspect, a few red blooded males, but it was her bitter break-up from Charles Saatchi that really raised her public profile. 

Far from being all beer and skittles, (or in Nigella's case, Marsala wine and petit fours,) life's tough a lot of the time. Marvin Gaye famously said: 'I wish that being famous helped prevent me from being constipated.'

Anyway, I digress, the point is I've had a stressful couple of weeks and far from swanning around in fabulous restaurants and writing food reviews or assembling recipes in my pink kitchen, I've been looking after Bert who unfortunately smashed his collar bone to smithereens in a football accident. 

There is no greater anxiety for a mother than seeing her child in distress, no matter how old they are, our children will always be our babies. When I realised that Bert would have to undergo an operation, naturally my anxiety increased further. 

But here's my chance to tell you that having worked in special needs education.....not in a high profile career or doing anything celebrity worthy.......I have witnessed many children braving endless operations and procedures, I have seen parents stoically, more than that, heroically, watch their babies being taken off to theatre and coming back scarred and bandaged. This a world away from the glitz and glamour of The X Factor or The Baftas. We're all caught up in the current craze of celebrity and status and cause celebre, we jostle our way up the social ladder, even Andy Warhol said of his original quote ('In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes') to: 'I'm bored with that line. My new line is: 'In 15 minutes everybody will be famous.' Fame and fortune are no guardian against your loved ones being in distress or danger, ultimately we're all in this together and we all have our stories to tell.

In our family pasta has always been a comfort food. When I brought Bert home, still woozy from the anesthetic and painkillers, the last thing he wanted was food, however, he hadn't eaten for a couple of days so I made this easy on the stomach dish and not surprisingly it went down very well. 

Comforting pasta

Recipe

Butter, for greasing

250g dried pasta

1 onion, peeled and chopped

3 free-range chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon olive oil

For the sauce

50g butter

50g plain flour

750ml hot milk

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (or English mustard)

100g Parmesan cheese, grated (or Cheddar)

2 large tomatoes, deseeded and cut into cubes

Preheat oven 200c/gas mark 7

Cook pasta according to packet instructions and drain, refresh in cold water and leave to drain in colander

Coat chicken in paprika and season with salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large frying pan, quickly fry chicken over high heat for 2 minutes, transfer to a plate and set aside

For the sauce, melt butter in a saucepan, add flour and stir for 1 minute, very gradually add the hot milk, stirring continuously until smooth, as sauce thickens, add mustard and half the cheese

Add the pasta and onion to the sauce and stir

Spoon half of this mixture into a ovenproof dish, arrange the chicken strips over the top and cover with the remaining pasta and sauce

Scatter remaining cheese on top and bake for 20 minutes

Scatter fresh tomatoes on top, season and serve whilst piping hot

'The only love that I really believe in is a mother's love for her children.'

- Karl Lagerfeld

Love Donna xxxxxxx