The trouble with holidays

For me, a real holiday is one where the only thought I have to give food is what to order from the menu. No planning, no cooking, and no clearing up. But I do have one major area of disquiet that chips away at my unfettered enjoyment - the children's food choices. Given free rein at the buffet or menu they choose stuff that makes me cringe. Sometimes it's the combination, sometimes it's the bald lack of respect for their own bowel function. On a trip to France last year Child 1 proudly chose an "all-mollusc meal" (squid followed by snails).

Returning home from holiday recently, I was obsessed with redressing the nutritional balance. I cooked pasta sauce full of tomato seeds and red pepper skins, muffins with blueberries and lemon, and - today - sweetcorn fritters. They went down very well with a simple prawn and avocado salad and a dollop of sweet chilli sauce. Super-quick and delicious for all ages.

Sweetcorn fritters and prawn & avocado salad

Sweetcorn fritters

2 eggs

5 tablespoons milk

knob of melted butter

85g plain flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

330g can sweetcorn drained (I used 250g frozen sweetcorn, cooked for a couple of minutes)

a couple of finely sliced spring onions

Whisk the eggs, milk and melted butter together. Add the flour, salt and baking powder and whisk a bit more til smooth. Tip in the sweetcorn and spring onions and mix. Shallow fry large spoonfuls in hot oil for 1-2 minutes each side until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and keep them warm in the oven while you cook the rest. This made 10.

Prawn and avocado salad

An avocado

A couple of handfuls of cooked prawns

A squeeze of lime (optional)

2 teaspoons dark soy sauce

2 teaspoons cold water

½ teaspoon caster sugar

a few drops of sesame oil

Cut the avocado into chunks and sprinkle over a little lime juice. Mix together the soy sauce, water, sugar and oil and pour it over the avocado and prawns. Serve with a few shredded mint or whole coriander leaves. Serves 2

Freaky chicken breasts

Hey, well-known-supermarket, when did you start selling chicken breasts in packs of 3? Have scientists secretly bred a 3-breasted bird? It's very inconvenient for the nuclear family.

Roast chicken with creamed leeks

Tonight we are eating roast chicken breast, creamed leeks, carrots and corn on the cob. You can do most of that without my help, but if you've never had creamed leeks before I'll talk you through it.

I used 3 medium leeks, a good size knob of butter, a tablespoon of flour and some milk (any kind). Put the butter and finely sliced leeks into a pan and cook slowly until bright green and tender:

Keep the heat low-medium, add the flour and stir well. Gradually add the milk, stirring all the time, until it boils and the mixtures thickens to your desired consistency. You can also add some grated cheese if you have a bit that needs using up.

This will be enough to liven up what would otherwise be a dreary meal. Your family will be so delighted with the cheerful combination of bright green, yellow and orange on their plate that they will eat it all, without complaint (no guarantees).

For pudding, tempt them with some fruit served with a dip made of creme fraiche and maple syrup.

Fresh fruit with maple-syrup cream

Simply mix together some creme fraiche and maple syrup until it is nice and sweet, and serve in individual ramekins with a plate of cut up fruit. Put it back in the fridge to chill if you have time.

That's Monday done.