Before I moved in with Martin, he used to have a curry night on a Saturday, when he would order a takeaway, have a bottle of beer and watch a good film. When I arrived, we turned Saturdays into a sort of ‘date night’, when we would put down our computers, have a nice meal and watch a film. The trouble these days, is that there is so much choice!
We have the normal TV channels, Netflix, Disney, Amazon Prime to name but a few. Martin usually starts looking for a film at about 5. He scrolls through all the channels, playing the previews and I have to make a decision quickly. The trouble I have is that so many of the films seem the same, or they preview the funniest bits and then, when we watch it, the rest of it is boring.
We have similar tastes, in that I don’t really like girlie films or romcoms, I hate horror films and suspense films although Martin likes them.
When we first moved in together, I found out that he likes cartoons. (I was never allowed to watch them before.) We loved Ice Age and the Despicable Me series. The makers are so clever these days in that although they are for children, there are adult jokes in them as well.
Usually, we settle for a drama or crime thriller. We have our meal and then settle down with a glass of wine to watch the film. We have quite a large TV and we have lights round it so it looks like a cinema screen. The only thing is, no one sells popcorn or brings the ice creams around!
(Showing my age now, when a trip to the cinema meant seeing two films with an interval and, oh, the double seats at the Tivoli, great for courting couples!!)

Ingredients:
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 onion Chopped
Clove of Garlic
1 red pepper chopped
400gm Beef Mince
400grm Tinned Tomatoes
1 tsp chilli powder
½ tsp ground Cumin
Seasoning
400grms Kidney Beans

Method:
Heat the Oil in a large saucepan
Fry the garlic and onion gently
Add the red pepper and stir for a couple of minutes
Put in the mince and cook until the mince is light brown
Add the tinned tomatoes, chilli powder and ground cumin and seasoning
Bring to the boil on a low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally
Then put in the kidney beans and simmer for 20 mins
If you are not eating straight away, then after cooking for 30 minutes, leave and then add the kidney beans 20 minutes before you serve.
You can serve with rice or pitta bread.