Hoppo Bumpo (n): A children's game. Played by folding one's arms and hopping on one leg. Aim is to bump opponents, so that they lose their balance. Last person standing wins.


October 28, 2008

Stand-back-and-throw while the MOTH's away ...



The man-of-the-house (MOTH) is away.

Mr Hoppo Bumpo departed on Saturday on an overseas jaunt a business trip for three and a half weeks. Even as we waved him off at International Departures, I was finalising my mental checklist. Now, its not that we want Mr HB away for extended periods, but I have say its a good opportunity to vary the usual Hoppo Bumpo family routine.

Here is what I have in mind for the next several weeks:

  1. Get out all my old dolls
  2. Watch Australian Idol and The Little Princess
  3. Play Abba quite loudly on the stereo
  4. Do silly dancing
  5. Play dress-ups ... with lipstick
  6. Spread my sewing all over the house
  7. Prepare dinner out of tins

Actually, I'm not sure who I am kidding about #6 and #7, as these is already a common occurrence in our house.

So without further ado, grab your can opener and throw open the pantry - this week's stand-back-and-throw is Tuna Mornay.


Tins are your friends

To make the mornay I melted some butter over low heat, then added an equal amount of plain (all purpose) flour. I stirred this and cooked it over low heat, until the mixture was pale and resembled fine breadcrumbs. Little by little I stirred in some hot milk until I had a suitably thick white sauce.

Next I tossed in the posh ingredients: a little black pepper, dried chives, garlic powder and a handful of grated cheese. Then stirred. Finally I cracked open and drained a can of tuna, one of sweet corn and then something a little bit special. I chose tinned mushrooms, but you might like to use something exotic like tinned peas or carrot. So then I hurled everything in and stirred again. If you are feeding this to children - like I was - be sure to break up all the tuna until the mornay has the consistency of slop.

Et voila dinner is served - bon apetit!

Now if I could be excused, I must go and turn up Dancing Queen. Oh ... and does anyone know the best way to remove a shade called Frostiest Mauve from small boys mouths?

12 comments:

  1. Hey, i just bought a tin of mushrooms yesterday so i could make a tinned fish mornay thingy. I hadn't considered using something exotic like tinned carrots or peas- I guess that's why you're the published chef ;)

    My mum adds some sliced raw celery, but that might add too much crunch to the consistency you mention.

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  2. ...and unfortunately my little boy and Mr bell are dairy intolerant, so it all takes on that consistency in the end ;)

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  3. 3 1/2 weeks that is quite a jaunt, I mean intense business trip. I think it is impressive tht you aren't just resorting to the microwave - goodness knows that's what I'd be doing.

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  4. I LOVE tuna mornay! It's my favorite 'dinner from a can.' It sounds weird but tinned crushed pineapple (juice removed!) is a yummy addition too.... but maybe not with mushrooms....

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  5. My favourite way of removing lipstick from a small boys' lips (by small boy I only mean Ollie) is to kiss it off!

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  6. So while the hubby is away the family will play - love it!
    PS: we regularly eat food made mainly with canned food in our house. If the toddler had his way he would eat sweetcorn from the can EVERY day.

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  7. Tuna mornay is a fave over here - made it for Maddie the other night and ended up eating most of it myself!

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  8. I think that slop would be yummy with some pasta!

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  9. I don't do canned food like that. But..I sure like my Kraft Mac and Cheese. :p

    And I won the battle a long time ago on Idol. Two nights a week of Mom screaming at everyone to shut UP so she can hear got everyone in line. Ha! :D

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  10. Unbelievable. I was just this morning thinking that I would like to find a recipe for Tuna Mornay and here you are serving one up. How perfect. I will be giving it a try post haste.

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  11. Sorry, for me tinned mushrooms are right up there with tinned asparagus and should never be touched! But I definitely like the concept of tinned meals.

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