the joys of homeownership – post flooding

My house is a shambles.

There is flatpack everywhere.

More importantly part of my bed is blocking the thoroughfare from the kitchen to the fridge. Needless to say, that made dinner a very awkward exercise, having to straddle a piece of flatpack to get between the oven/sink and the fridge/the rest of the house.

And of course it ended in disaster.

I burnt the vegies, burnt myself on the casserole dish I was cooking the vegies in, dropped the lid of said ($80) casserole dish (thankfully it just smashed the handle and I didn’t cut myself), and the gravy didn’t thicken.

But the lamb was still delicious.

I put together a chest of drawers and an underfloor box, J put together the wardrobe and a spare cupboard.

And tonight we get to assemble the bed. And then that’s it.

I am really looking forward to not sleeping on a mattress on the floor.

The lady at Ikea who put the wardrobe order through put through 2 x cupboard doors when we only needed one, but thankfully they’re going to come and pick them up (and give me a refund).

And then (hopefully) my house will be back in a controlled state of dysfunction, not the uncontrolled.

I will be so glad once this has all been sorted and my house will be back to normal.

I am so grateful that I had insurance and RAC sorted it all out (I’m not one for product placement but credit where credit’s due).

They paid for the hotel (that we witnessed the incident leading to the dead body being found, but that’s not their fault), we got all the money back for the clothes, furniture, carpets, and peripherals that got damaged.

Now if only my strata would actually fix the plumbing problem.

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The flatpack was all between the kitchen and the fridge.

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Wine is essential when putting together flatpack.

 

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A completed chest of drawers/bedside table.

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The lamb roast.

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And the failed gravy. More corn flour next time perhaps. And less flatpack.

hot food for a cold day

I love a spag bol. Or any variation on a tomato-ey pasta sauce.
From discussions with work ladies I’m not sure that what I make is a bolognaise (they couldn’t agree between themselves), but it’s delicious.

With a bit of a tweak from my partner in crime J, who saw that I had bought chorizo (he has a not-so-secret obsession with chorizo) and decided what my tomato sauce lacked was said chorizo.

So in the chorizo went, with some chopped onion.
The beef mince was browned.
Once that was cooked some grated carrot and celery was added to the pot to sweat.
Then mushrooms, tinned tomatoes , bbq sauce, salt, pepper and dried Italian herbs for some flavour.

The tinned tomatoes are usually rinsed out and that water is put in to thicken the sauce a bit too (does everyone do this? Or is it just something that’s been handed down in my family?)

That then simmered away whilst I cooked the pasta (and made ringtones in iTunes)

Then a roll of the dice decided which season of How I Met Your Mother to watch (season 1), and bobs your aunty.

The pasta was dishes up with some fresh spinach and parmesan cheese

Hot food for a cold day.

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Chicken!

Monday. The start of the week.
I’m always a little bit more enthusiastic on a monday – well as ado an as i get home from work.
Mondays at work are never productive but Monday afternoons seem to be.

So full of gusto, I cleaned the bathroom, started cleaning the kitchen, and decided to tackle a nice veggie filled dinner.

The veggies were boiled.
The carrots went in first, then the cauliflower. The bok choy and snow peas went in at the very end just to blanch.

The chicken was grilled in a little bit of butter (mmm butter). Then once that was cooked some sauvignon blanc (I’m getting better with my wines) went in to deglaze the pan. After that had boiled off, some chicken stock and cream went in to make a sauce. Some fresh parsley and chives topped off the sauce and that was it.

And the best thing was, after eating it I don’t feel bloated and stuffed.
Great way to start the week.

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I heart wooshter sauce

It may not have been the prettiest dish, but after not keeping anything down for two days it was just what I needed.

Steamed rice with shaved carrot and celery.
A dash of vegemite in the water which the rice was cooked, and finished off with some worcestershire sauce.

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steak – nigella style

last night loml (love of my life) came home from work and told me that there was half a nigella episode that i had to watch.
He wanted me to watch her mussel linguine recipe but we ended up drawing inspiration from her bbq steak. The essence of the recipe is that the steak is charred on the outside but still bloodied in the middle.

And to go with it was potato. Well mashed potato, with carrots, bacon, cheese, spinach, mushrooms, and fresh parsley and chives.

simple. and delicious.

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what to do with chorizo

this

so so easy.
cook pasta
cook chopped onion, chopped chorizo, and chopped mushrooms in fry pan
break to help boyfriend put up shelves in spare room
add tinned tomatoes (to chorizo, not pasta)
add cooked pasta to chorizo

serve with chives, cheese, and olives (on the one for me – my boy doesn’t like olives)

om nom nom

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