With one eye on the situation in Queensland (and hoping more rain holds off for a few weeks), life continues to move onwards here.
The turkey that I forgot twice and took longer to defrost than expected, finally got baked on Tuesday. Here is my plate before I tucked in. Yum! My heart was sick with dread that day as the flood closed in on Brisbane. Though sleep came slowly, I still had an appetite.
Both the gravy and the cranberry sauce were made from scratch (only a stock cube helped with the gravy). Both were easy and yummy. This week the cranberry sauce doubled as an addition to sandwiches and plain yoghurt. It is amazing what you can do when you don't have easy access to things in the shops.
Since then I've made five more meals with leftovers and we aren't quite finished yet. I've got a pot of stock made and a few bits of meat left for our "catch" meal tonight.
Yesterday, I killed two birds with one stone and it didn't involve a turkey. I baked and heated the house at the same time. Temperatures are well under 10 degrees Celcius during the day now and it eats up the kerosene. Our large gas oven does a good job of cooking food and heating the living area too.
We tried out some new biscuit (cookie) cutters that I bought on Christmas eve. They are Lego minifigure-shaped, I found them at the Lego shop while the boys were looking feverishly for their own presents. I was concerned that they wouldn't particularly look like Lego, but the tops of their heads and their hands really portray their true nature. And, of course, they meet all the criteria for a success. Not only do they look cool, but our eight-year-old, the fussiest sweet-eater in our family, loves them (they're chocolate after all). And they will be able to go to school in lunch boxes because they are nut-free in accordance with the school's policy. In fact they are so wildly popular that we didn't even need to decorate them! Good purchase Wendy!
My resolution for this evening is to try to stay away from the sadly addictive photos and videos of the floods in Queensland. They are hindering my sleep, haunting my dreams. I don't want to forget, but I do need to sleep for life hurtles onwards.
Love the multi-function oven/space heater! One reason I don't often cook here is exactly that - it's too hot!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the Qld floods Wendy. My heart has broken for the people whose homes and businesses were flooded, for those farmers whose crops have been decimated after so many years of drought, and for those who have lost family members. At the same time, my heart is warmed and encouraged by the resilience of so many, and by the way so many have volunteered to help out those who are affected. I've seen very little "woe is me", and lots of "it's tough, but we're Queenslanders and we will come through this". We can only pray it turns those people who are hurting to God for comfort. Thanks for your great posts Wendy.