Perspective

 

Todays list of advantages and disadvantages:

Plusses

1. My kitchen is only two metres from my ‘home office’. If I need a cup of tea or a pot needs stirring or I want to be distracted by looking aimlessly through my pantry; I don’t have far to walk.
2. We are getting jobs done around the house.

Minuses

1. Did I tell you I’m missing my kids? Well I’m also missing the other people I regularly hug in Wagga. My sister, my beautiful niece and nephew, my friends, my work mates. For a person who hugs people a lot, this is tough. Dave and Darryl and even Velcro the cat are getting even more affection then they are used to, and normally it’s a lot!
2. I’m missing grocery shopping.

Yesterday I ordered a small lot of grocery shopping online through Woolworths, for Dave’s Mum. For an almost 88-year-old, my mother-in-law is nothing short of amazing. Self-reliant, capable and both physically and mentally on top of her game.  She lives in a retirement village in Sydney, with her unit right next door to her sister’s, who is also an amazingly capable woman (for instance, she will go online and read this daily).

The first step in ordering was to register for ‘priority assistance’, which is available to older and other potentially vulnerable people; like those with a disability, or those needing to self-isolate. I have registered and set up accounts for both Dave’s Mum and Aunty and also for ourselves.  Both Grandma and us are getting an order delivered tomorrow morning, and if all works out okay for Grandma, I’ll order Aunty some things to be delivered later this week.

This morning I have an order coming again from Arnolds in Wodonga with fresh fruit and vegetables, and I also have a small delivery from our local butcher, who is now providing a home delivery service as well. So the risk of us going hungry is pretty small.

But unlike a few others I know, I actually quite like grocery shopping. It’s of my ‘third spaces’ (read more by clicking on the link), to help me separate work and home on my way home from the office. Its also a place full of food, ideas, challenges and information. Seeing what is on special and looking and smelling great in the F&V section is often my place of inspiration.  I’m generally pretty across what’s in season at any given time, but what’s on special is another great indicator of what’s in abundance and therefore at it’s peak.  When fresh food is at its peak is when it tastes best, and who doesn’t want that!

Work yesterday was good. I was busy in meetings from about 8.30 through till 6, plus a call or two after that as well. I did have a few breaks during the day, and being served lunch at my desk from Dave is another plus I forgot to mention above. He makes a good toastie!

Given the COVID-19 situation at work, there’s more going on then ever. TAFE (like the supermarkets) have many needy and vulnerable clients, not least of which are a significant number of indigenous students, students with a disability, migrants, refugees, the unemployed, the homeless and other groups at risk. The simple option at the moment would be to shut down classes and ‘worry about it all later’. The reality on the other hand is these groups need our support now more than ever, not least the ballooning number of unemployed who need training both to upskill to prepare for a change of industry (eg from hospitality into retail)  or simply to keep people’s minds active and occupied and connecting with others when either formally or informally isolated.  I moved from teaching into management roles a few years ago now and for the past 2-3 months I’ve been working for TAFE Digital, which is TAFE NSW’s ‘online’ delivery arm. It was already a large part of our business, but this situation means it will probably be even more so. But there’s work to do to make sure we are meeting the needs in this rapidly changing environment, but also taking care of our staff, who amaze me with their capability and dedication every single day. Our staff are also facing their own COVID related issues, just like everyone else. School teachers are getting mentioned in the media a bit at the moment, and they are most certainly heroes in all of this (love you Trina x), but so are TAFE teachers, who are putting the needs of others ahead of their own. My hat’s off to them.

I feel like the sourdough starter is a young child I am rearing 😉 It needs feeding, watering, keeping warm, and it might not need hugs, but it definitely needs lots of love and attention! It’s progressing very well though, and for Day 3, my job is to again remove all but 125g of the mix, add 125g more of water and 125g of plain flour, stir well, scape the sides and pop back in its warm (but not too warm) spot for growing.

The recipe calls for ‘discarding’ the content that you remove, but I’ve been doing a bit of research on that. (Hey, who needs sleep anyway 😉 ). It seems wasteful to throw something out, especially in our current situation. I’ve seen online that some people use the ‘discarded’ portion to make, among other things, pancakes. So tomorrow, I’ll make Dave pancakes for breakfast. I’m not sure when Dave has had such variety in his diet ever before!

And to my biggest achievement in the kitchen this week, the lamb roast…

What can I say? Delicious, tender, flavoursome… all suitable adjectives, but somehow don’t seem quiet enough. Delectable,  soft on the inside, crisp and caramelized in the outside. Lean, but  juicy, moist… the list goes on. If I had to choose a single word it would just be yum. Yum times ten actually! It was well worth the 24+ hours cooking time. I’m pretty sure that the waiting, and watching it cook on my bench each time I was in the kitchen added to the enjoyment. Anticipation sure is an appetite enhancer, isn’t it!

I served thick slices of the lamb with pumpkin (I still have 2kg at least to use!), crispy roast potatoes (hints here), roast carrots (your pic inspired me, Katy) , peas and buttered broccolini.  I also made a gravy with the juices from the Cryovac bag. The beauty of cooking Sous-side is you don’t lose any moisture or flavour – and the flavour the juices, and the garlic from the bag added to the gravy was nothing short of sensational! Sitting on our back verandah, looking over the hills, eating lamb roast, for that few minutes all seemed well with the world, but of course, it’s nothing but that. It’s one of the reasons I love food so much, it can remove you from reality, if only briefly.

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Thanks all for your feedback on the blog to date. Feel free to comment on it anytime. It’s really helping me get through this situation in a cathartic sort of a way. Getting things into perspective at the moment is really important for me. While staying inside for 14 days is frustrating, it’s nowhere near what others are enduring. My word for Sunday was ‘slow’, but today’s word is ‘perspective’.  I just need to keep reminding myself.

Have a good day everyone.

Sara x