Fun in the kitchen, any day of the the week

Photo: Contributed

Sunday is most people’s day of rest and often, indulgence.

Having worked in the service industry for decades, Chef and I are used to our rest day activities happening whenever we have a day off. Since Spring Break is upon us, I thought I’d offer some of my Sunday-type ideas. Items like baked goods for treats or brunch and sumptuous dinner ideas might work any night if the routine is different.

Sunday brunch and Sunday dinner often involve a complex combination of lovely dishes but many of them are rich, or take a great deal of prep time. I’m offering up a bunch of examples that might fit as part of a Sunday spread, but they’re just as wonderful on their own.

Let’s start off easy. A fun item to add to any breakfast or brunch is a muffin, and I have a great, healthy (and also tasty) recipe – Banana Bran Muffins (link: . Leftovers are great to take to work with coffee, too.

I made Chocolate Coffee Cake this week. A friend posted this popular recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens blog. I thought why not? It’s an all-afternoon project with dough that needs rising, but if you don’t mind the start-and-stop, the result is wonderful. Martin, my husband, loves coffee cake, and this one passed his standard.

Cookies are always good to have on hand, and fun to share at the office or with friends. One of my favourites is a recipe I made up on a whim—Tropical Delight Cookies. If you are feeling down about not getting away to a more exotic destination, these might help lift your spirits. This is an easy recipe that the kids can make, too – just in case they are driving you crazy being underfoot at home.

If you’re more the savoury type, but you still want to feel that exotic sense of wonder, how about chicken with cinnamon and dates? It’s a great way to jazz up any night’s dinner. For something still a bit exotic with fresh flavours, I like a pasta dish – my pasta with chickpeas, lemon and parsley is a winner for vegetarians and omnivores alike.

A tradition that we had when I was growing up was for each of us kids to cook one meal a week. Spring Break is a good time to start that if you haven’t already (Sundays work well, too). Kids can start out chopping veggies or assembling salad, and then as they get older (and taller) they can work their way up to preparing dishes for the oven, or cooking at the stove. Carrots with coriander and caraway is a great first recipe for kids—simple, fast and tasty.

Even something as straight-forward as flavoured popcorn can be a family cooking experience. If brunch or dinner seems too much, try just getting everyone together for a pick on Netflix and then adding a bit of zip to your popcorn, pretzels or nuts. Spice blends are fun to play with too. You can try the ones in your cupboard (Cajun popcorn or pretzels? Smoked salt on toasted almonds?) by just adding a drizzle of butter or olive oil.

Toasting nuts a bit first really brings out their flavour – about five minutes at 400 F will usually do it. If you don’t have any mixes, think of flavours you like. Spicy hot? Herbs? (Rosemary popcorn is fun). Cheese is a fun addition too – the powdered parmesan you get works great (look for real cheese, not the processed stuff in a can). You can mix it with other flavours or just add it on by itself. Nutritional yeast flakes also have a cheesy kind of flavour, and they add a dose of vitamin B12 and essential amino acids as a bonus.

Any effort you make in the kitchen is worth some quality time – it might just be a moment with a cookie and a glass of milk or a cup of tea, but that can be a wonderful way to unwind. You might even get to read a few pages or meditate. And, if you can share that moment with a friend, you have a chance to connect and catch up. In our busy world, that’s worth a few calories any day, if you ask me.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.