Staying at home with my parents has its advantages I must say. But with my mom gone away for two weeks, it is tough filling those ‘mommy’ shoes.

One thing I don’t mind being challenged to do is taking up the role of being the cook in the house. Thankfully, I can rely on all the classic dishes my mom taught me. These two happen to contain green vegetables.

Creamed spinach is my ultimate favourite for spicing up a boring chicken and veg dish. (I really enjoy Swiss chard for this one.) First, I braise some onions and add loads of garlic to that, which matches perfectly with the spinach flavour. When making the sauce that goes into the spinach, I boil the milk in the pan with the onions, garlic and spinach, marrying the flavours. I never forget to add some fresh oregano. Some cheese to round it off, and I’ve eaten half of it before dinner.

Another dish my mom makes that always has me begging ‘more please’ is her green beans and roasted cherry tomato combination. I think she came up with this one because I wasn’t the biggest green bean fan…until she delighted me with this. With the cooked green beans and roasted tomatoes she reminds me to add feta cheese, sliced and braised brown mushrooms, and ground black pepper. The colours are amazing!

Maybe when my mom comes back from her break away she’ll come up with more ingenious ways of sprucing up those green vegetables. But for now I think green beans and roasted tomatoes is in order as a side for grilled fish tonight.

Kelly