Late this afternoon I heard a scratching, shuffling sound coming from within my walk-in pantry. As I peered around the door, I expected to see either Tara our Springer Spaniel secretly sniffing about (she is forbidden to enter this area but tries to sneak through on occasion) or one of the children desperately hunting for hidden Christmas gifts. Instead, I came face to face with my four year old son Luka, perched high on a stepping stool, stuffing vanilla biscuits into his mouth, the empty container further evidence of his raid on the stash of sweet treats. Through the mouthful of biscuit crumbs he insisted that, “It is actually a good idea to eat these biscuits because I am so, so hungry and I think it is time to make dinner.” Actually is one of his favourite forms of expression. 

Luka was of course correct. It was certainly time to make dinner and it needed to be snappy. Sometimes the most simply meals are the most satisfying and the dinner we enjoyed this evening was an excellent example. 

Chicken Tenderloins in Cumin, Cayenne and Smoked Paprika with Cinnamon Rice and Avocado Citrus Salad – plenty for 8 people with appreciative appetites. 

I tossed together 1.2 kilograms of chicken tenderloins with 1 heaped teaspoon each of ground turmeric, cumin, smoked paprika and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper with sea salt to taste and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. I left this to marinate while the barbecue was heating. 

I also combined 5 cups of long grain rice, 5 cups of water, 50 grams of unsalted butter and a good shake of cinnamon in the rice cooker and turned this on. Once the BBQ plate was hot, I neatly arranged the marinated chicken tenderloins, making sure there was space between each one to allow them to cook evenly. 

While the chicken was sizzling, I made the Avocado Citrus Salad.  I cut up 4 large, ripe avocados into bite sized pieces and spread them out onto a wide platter. To stop them from turning brown, I squeezed over the juice from a lemon, sprinkled over 1 cup of finely diced coriander leaves and 2 diced oranges. 

Even before they had finished dinner, my children were asking when I would be able to make this meal again. With 62 days of school holidays the chances of repeating this dish are very high.