"Leggo Bock Mushy Gleeth Goo"

It's 6pm on a Friday and boy, am I exhausted!

The week gone by - and what a busy one it's been - has just caught up with me and really all I want to do is sit on my couch with a glass of wine and a particularly bad chick-flick for company.

WHICH, my friends, is exactly what I was going to do…right up until a little person decides to tug at my expensive silk shirt (definitely not meant for tugging) and declare, “leggo”

“Leggo?” I ask in incomprehension.

"Leggo." I get with a nod. And a definitive one at that.

“You want to play with your lego?” I ask, incomprehension turning quickly to clarification.

“No lego.” Comes the prompt reply back. “Ba-bye lego”

OK. Got it. Leggo, but NO lego.

That's done then. 

But...as you would expect, in keeping with the heart-stopping, nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat pace of my previous posts, this particular story can't quite end here. 

And, I'm happy to report, it doesn't.

Because I have barely tucked in my expensive silk shirt so tightly that it cannot be tugged, when the little person decides, instead, to tug at my hair.

Now, lookie here: Im going through a very sensitive phase in my life with respect to my hair. Because, you see, half my hair is falling out and the other half is turning grey. And so naturally, you will forgive me if I tell you that this quite innocently intended act of attention-grabbing-hair-tugging drives me, rather unfairly, to extreme annoyance.

“What?” I (nearly) scream, prying the (exceptionally strong) little fingers away from my beloved hair.

“Leggo!!!” comes the stock reply back, albeit with a distinct note of impatience this time.

In fact the note is a note so distinct that I turn around in amazement to look at the speaker of said distinct impatience.

And it’s only when I turn around and take in the entirety of my 2 feet something speaker, that comprehension floods me like the lights of Madison Square Garden during an exceptionally wonderful performance. Because, you see, my speaker has, clutched in the grasp of his free, non-tugging hand - his pair of shoes, socks and all. 

“Leggo” = “let's go”

Ah. 

Now we’re talking.

“Okay,” I say. “I get it, I get it. Let's go where?”

Bullseye.
It's the right question to have asked.
Because the answer, my friends, comes pronto. Chop-chop. Lickety-split.
“Leggo bock mushy gleeth goo”

Now, I don’t consider myself a genius or anything, but I actually totally get that. I mean, now that I've figured out “leggo,” the rest is a piece of cake. 

“Leggo, bock mushy gleeth goo?"

A perfectly constructed sentence. Indeed, as perfect as they come.

Because (in case you didn't get it...) “leggo, bock mushy gleeth goo” means:  "Let’s go to the Mexican Restaurant called Wahaca where I can eat black beans (bock mushy) and guacamole (green/gleeth goo).”

Don’t you just love the nuances of communicating with a two-year old?

I'm so thrilled that my child has spoken a full sentence (and a perfectly constructed one at that), that right now I'll do anything.  

Except go out, that is.

The combination of chilled Sauvignon Blanc and "Gone With The Wind" is much too much to give up. Even for a perfectly constructed sentence.

But, what's life without a little compromise?

And I, my friends, am the Queen of Compromise. (Ask my husband.)

And compromise, in the present, pressing moment, means only one thing. It means that I've got to create some "bock mushy gleeth goo" right here on my very own chef’s table! And all without any “leggoing” at all! It's win-win!

So without further ado, here’s Wahaca style Black beans and Guacamole. Absolutely delicious with tortilla chips! Even for grown-ups!

Black Beans

This is a kiddified and adapted version of Thomasina Miers’ recipe, but it’s delicious all the same, each mouthful a burst of surprise!

Here’s what you need:

- 250g dried black beans

- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smushed

- 4 bay leaves

- Pinch, anise seeds

- Pinch, cumin seeds

- 1 onion, roughly chopped

- Salt to taste

- A fat pat of butter. This is necessary.

Here’s how you do it:

Place the beans in a large sauce pan and cover with cold water. If you have the time (I obviously didn’t) you can soak the beans overnight, which will really speed up the overall cooking time.

Add the garlic, herbs and onion and bring the water to the boil. Cook the beans until they are mashably-soft, topping them up with boiling water if the water looks like it is boiling off. 

Drain the beans and discard any big pieces of garlic and onion that have not dissolved. Add the fat pat of butter and mush up the beans with a fork to the consistency you want. Or in other words, until it's a huge bowl of creamy, buttery, delicious BOCK MUSHY!

Guacamole

Here’s what you need:

- 3 avocados

- 3 red onions

- 12 tomatoes

- handful coriander leaves

- 1 green chilli (skip if your kid cant take fire, mine can!)

- Juice of 1 lime

- Salt, to taste

 Here’s how you do it:

Chop up equal quantities of onion and tomato and roughly chop the coriander, discarding the stems. Add all three to a bowl.

Slice the green chilli in half. Scrape out and discard the seeds (feel free to leave them in if you really want some heat). Chop the rest of the chilli finely and add to the bowl above.  Pour in the lime juice, season with salt, mix everything together and set aside.

Now, halve the avocados lengthwise. Discard the pits and scoop out the flesh inside the shell into a bowl.  Mash with a fork until you get the avocado to the consistency you want.

Finally, stir in the tomato-onion-coriander-chilli mixture and stir well until it's all one big tasty GLEETH GOO!

Enjoy!