And an update to favourite meals, chicken soup and a tuna tortilla!

Following on from my last post on favourite meals....

My eldest son, Elijah, just 8, says that it would either be a home-made pizza (with a big crusty base, a tomato sauce, some chilli flakes, some spicy sausage, red or green peppers and light on the cheese) or a big bowl of his mother's home-made chicken soup (warms the heart, this). Made thusly.

Elijah's chicken soup. Son, momma loves you.

You have the remains of a roast chicken. Perhaps you have some chicken stock, too. If you don't, it's not the end of the world. Right, strip the carcass with your fingers, missing nothing. Then put the chicken into a deep pan. Cover with cold water and then twice as much water again. Add a finely chopped onion, five roughly chopped carrots, a head of broccoli, torn into pieces, five potatoes, chopped (whether you peel or not is up to you, but I would -- unless they were newies), two chopped parsnips and, perhaps, half a large swede, chunked. Bring this lot to the boil and then add about a tablespoon of marigold bouillion powder for depth and savour. Just simmer slowly for about forty minutes and it is ready. Check and correct the seasoning. Elijah likes this with a big hunk of bread for dipping, but sometimes not.

Two points: the only way that this soup will be superlative is if you use a free range chicken. So much more flavour for your money and we like chickens. I don't need to go on about the alternative right here in a recipe. Just check out --amongst others-- Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall on the subject. Secondly, don't waste the remaining bones. make them into a stock for the next soup by simmer them long and gently with a few peppercorns, a piece of onion and perhaps a little celery. Or nothing at all. Or make the stock first, having stripped away the meat, and use it as a bases for this soup. It's just that I had a vat of it which I wanted to use up. Oh and finally, do keep some of the Marigold stock powder in your cupboard. It's available in low salt and organic varieties and provides a flavoursome stock. Although I wouldn't use it for every soup I make.

Tuna in a tortilla a la Ned. (You rock)

And a thought from Elijah's father. This is, perhaps, an odd sort of thing to have as a favourite, but it makes him happy, so that's dandy. I like it, too. Just take some tuna in spring water (if you can get it. I say sunflower oil, but we allow him his preferences), drain it and then add it to a frying pan on a moderate heat. Your aim is to cook the tuna until you have dried it slightly and given it a little bit of crisp here and there. Then, add plenty of hot sauce. May we recommend another favourite ingredient in our household? Encona Hot Chilli sauce. It's the best. Just mix in as much as you dare -- it's hot and piquant-- and then toss your tuna into a warmed tortilla. That's it! I might like to add a dollop of Greek yoghurt or some mayonnaise and, maybe, some chopped coriander? Possibly some spring onion, too. But I see that this may be taking away from the somewhat basic but very satisfying original (I mean the sandwich, not the husband).

Isaac's (he is 5) favourite ingredients are: tomato ketchup, rice, sausages, mangoes, kiwi fruit and lollipops! Oh -- and watermelon. His father's son. More on this later!