Locomotive love

Q: What do you do when you have a four-year-old who’s mad about trains, but you live in a city which has no trains to speak of?

A: You take her to the one place in town that not only has trains: they have kid-sized trains that she can ride on as many times as her heart desires (and her mum can pay for).

Last weekend, that’s what we did: took a jaunt with some friends to the Kingston Miniature Railway, where two Sundays a month train enthusiasts large and small can pay to ride on miniature trains pulled by real, working, miniature steam locomotives (and some petrol-powered ones too). The railway is run by a club of model train engineer enthusiasts and is, as far as I can tell, a labor of love. We ended up chatting with the wife of one of the engine drivers, who told us that the club members not only put up and run the miniature railway, but also actually built the tiny engines. It costs nothing to get in, the train rides are pocket change, and there’s even a picnic area (with, yes, working gas barbeques) if you want to settle in for a meal or throw a birthday party for your favorite Thomas the Tank Engine fan.

It might be constructed on an old rubbish dump, but the Kingston Miniature Railway seemed like a magical place to me: everyone there was enjoying themselves, from the people running the whole outfit to the smallest kids standing (or in Miss B’s case, jumping up and down) in line, patiently waiting for their turn to ride on a real steam train. And yet there was no hassle, no crowds, and no exorbitant costs. It was just a simple recipe (trains + love + kids) for a memorable day out.

Portable refueling ideas for trainspotters of all sizes
Since food, in my opinion, improves almost any occasion.

- Bacon and egg pie
- Cold pizza
- Flapjack
- Turnovers

Quick fix

I mentioned recently how solo parenting, among other things, was messing with my kitchen motivation. It’s kind of embarrassing to acknowledge that sometimes, much of the thrill of cooking is about audience reaction. When the audience, worn out from preschool and the prospect of no dad at dinner yet again, saves her most enthusiastic response for a box of Annie’s Mac and Cheese (imported by the management at colossal hassle to the invaluable crew across the Pacific), is it any wonder I’m going for the quick and easy options at the moment?

Pasta with sauteed zucchini and bacon
If you have a few minutes earlier in the day, chop the zucchini, sprinkle it with coarse salt, and leave it to drain in a colander (see photo). Rinse and shake well before using. It’s not essential but it speeds up the cooking time and intensifies the flavor of the zucchini. The angel hair pasta isn’t essential either, but it cooks in two minutes. What more could you want when you’re trying to get dinner on the table?

2-4 pieces bacon, chopped into small pieces
4 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut in chunks
1 clove garlic, minced
250g/8oz angel hair pasta
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Lots of grated pecorino romano or parmigiano reggiano cheese

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil for the pasta.
2. In a large frying pan, cook the bacon on medium heat, stirring regularly. When it starts to crisp and render fat, add the zucchini. Continue stirring regularly, but let the zucchini rest for a few minutes at a time to get brown. If it starts to look done and the water hasn’t boiled yet, turn the heat down to low and keep stirring.
3. When the water boils, add a good handful of salt, and then the pasta.
4. While the pasta is cooking, add the minced garlic to the bacon and zucchini and stir again.
5. Before draining the pasta, take out about half a cup of the cooking water and reserve. Drain the pasta and return to the hot pan.
6. Drizzle olive oil over the hot pasta and toss—this is so it won’t clump. Throw some black pepper and cheese on too.
7. Add the bacon/zucchini/garlic mixture, and more pepper and cheese to taste. Also pour in a few splashes of the pasta cooking water to bring everything together. Keep tossing.
8 Serve immediately, with more black pepper and cheese at the table.

Served 1 adult and 1 child with ample leftovers.

Whole grains

Today is June first, which means that the first official day of winter in Australia is less than three weeks away. The weather has been seasonally chilly in Canberra (even occasionally grey), the heat is on, and the wool sweaters are out, all of which have turned my thoughts to the kind of food that sticks to your ribs. Which really means that it’s time to start eating oatmeal for breakfast again.

I don’t think I ever ate oatmeal, or even oats, the entire time I was growing up. In fact, I would venture to say that my mother has never kept oats in the house, doesn’t know how to make oatmeal, and can probably count on one hand the number of times she has eaten oats in any form. (They’re not really part of the Italian-American culinary repertoire. My mother’s idea of a hearty breakfast is an egg. Every day. But that’s another story.) So when I took notice of oats, I was already an adult, and brought no prejudices of any kind to the encounter.