12.10.08: Goulash with mixed leaf salad and leftover black bnz

On the last night of eating apart, He decided to visit his ma's and dig into some hearty beef goulash with white rice and a mixed leaf, olive, cucumber and red onion salad.

HE SAYS: It's been a while since I've eaten beef, and I really enjoyed tucking into the slow- cooked chunks that melted like butter on the tongue and the fantastic tomatoey, peppery gravy surounding them. The mixed veggies, including carrots and celery (much like a soffrito base), help create the intensely flavoured roux. Not a big fan of plain white rice but didn't mind that much. The salad was okay, red onions are a treat as She hates them in salad and they also make my breath stink like red onions, funnily enough.

Meanwhile, She was immensely grateful to arrive home (hungover and fragile) to the readymade bowl of black bnz and cheery salad accompaniment he'd prepared and put away the nite before.

SHE SAYS: Really perfect food to come home to, esp as my last couple of evenings were far too free of legumes and raw veg. Agree with assessment from last nite that it was not as flavourful as some batches, but it really didn't lessen my enjoyment of the creamy spoonfuls punctuated with juicy, silky corn kernels. Crunching down on radish and crisp leaves was rather a relief as well.

08.06.08: Mum's Hungarian goulash

A taste of home for Him: His mum served up her speciality, goulash, featuring carrots and braising steak, over rice, plus a leafy salad with generous helpings of cucumber, avo and red onion, for a family Sunday nosh-up.

HE SAYS: I haven't had me mum's goulash for a while, was always a crowd pleaser, and it hit the spot again after a long absence. The beef was like buttah, so tender and moreish, and the roux was tomato-ey thick and very well spiced with authentic Hungarian paprika. I wasn't too pleased with the salad (my mum has the annoying habit of dressing it in the bowl, eradicating any control you may want over the matter). Apart from that and the white rice, it was very nish.

SHE SAYS: Very tasty and wholesome, though I don't normally eat beef - no big reason, I've just never liked it much. But the plentiful amount of beef in the sauce was kind even to my tummy, being tender and slow-cooked. The sauce had lots of good tang, and I was pleasantly full. Picked out the red onions from my salad - again, simply not to my taste - but enjoyed the leafy freshness after the hearty meal.