Easy Peasy Fish Paella

Nia loves her rice but her mummy sometimes run out of ideas for dishes so on Saturday she took a short cut and made paella instead with whatever she could find in the fridge!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup long grain rice, soaked for a bit
• 1/2 a small eggplant, diced
• 1 tbsp frozen mix vege
• 1 small tomato, diced\
• 1/4 of a red capsicum, diced
• 1 large white mushroom, sliced thin
• pieces of deboned fish (any kind, I used Kurau, I think it's threadfin in English - but I stand corrected)
• 1-2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1/3 of a lemon
• 1 clove garlic, chopped fine
• 1 shallot or half a small onion, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• butter
• pinch of pepper
• herbs

Method:

1. Heat butter in a small wok or pan, add the fish pieces and cook through, this will take about 2 minutes. Remove the fish and set aside. In the remaining butter add garlic and onion then add all the veges, mushroom & capsicum.

2. Add in the drained rice, chicken stock, tomato puree, top with enough water to cook the rice and finally squeeze the lemon juice and stir to mix them all up. Reduce fire and let the rice cook for a few minutes

3. Before removing from fire, add the pepper (optional) and throw in some herbs, add the cooked fish and cover the pan/wok. I let it sit until the bottom of layer of the rice is a little burnt - that's the best part of paella!- and it's ready to go!
Believe me, this takes less than 10 minutes to prepare, something I'd usually make when I'm in a hurry or when I can't think of anything else to cook. I served this with some steamed carrots that I could distract her with.

Oh yes, we are now at the stage where feeding time is becoming tricky! Nia insists to feed herself but would end up feeding the carpet, the floor, the tv, her clothes, her daddy and at rare occasions, her mummy. So, instead of creating stress for both of us by denying her the independence that she's trying to exert, which sometimes turn into a crying match - first Nia followed by mummy - I found a way to work around it! I now have steamed vegetables like carrot, potatoes and brocolli ready to keep her busy while I feed her. Problem solved. Nia gets to feed herself, mummy gets to feed her too! No crying, no fighting, best of all no more having to clean the whole house after every lunch and dinner!