Thank goodness it’s Friday.

Seems a strange thing to say when the weekend will bring much of the same ok same ol – staying at home!

But it has been a big work week. My brain, if not my body, is exhausted. It’s always a bit challenging heading back to work after leave, but in these circumstances even more so.

TODAYS POSITIVES

• I am in a lovely house with a lovely outlook and have great company. If I had to get ‘locked’ anywhere, with only one person, this would be my choice.
• Reduced wastage. Even though we are at home more than usual, and I’m cooking more, our bins are less full. Hypotheses on that welcome 🙂
• Who doesn’t love a parcel arriving in the mail! My dear friend Sandy posted me some ‘High Ridge’ Saffron, which is grown Triangle Flat, in the cetral west of NSW.  I cant wait to use it.

• TODAYS NEGATIVES

• Lots of people are calling for a full-lockdown in NSW. While I don’t disagree, the timing could be bad if it happens before the end of our self-isolation next Wednesday. Just a little drive would help my isolated mind!
• Each day I write this blog later and later in the day. My brain is tired and my day is full. The weekend might see better performance.

I found this on social media – sums it up IMHO.

FOOD – after all that’s what it’s all about (especially this blog).

The lamb shanks are nearly done. 30 hours cooking is a long time – but imagine how tender they are going to be! When they are finished, we have actually decided to put them in the fridge then finish them off for tomorrow night’s dinner. It’s one of the great things about this method of cooking – you can prepare the meal for all but finishing it off, in this case by putting them into a hot oven for 10 minutes to caramelize. It’s one of the reasons you see a lot of sous-vide cooking in restaurants. Chefs can really reduce wastage and also the amount of time it takes from order-to-service.

Last night, as usual, we sat outside to eat dinner. We each had ‘steak and veg’ and I simply chargrilled the remaining two sirloins that we got from Blake Street Meats last week. Again the cryovac machine came in handy… I’d vacuumed sealed the steaks when they arrived last Friday. Thanks to the removal of air, they were still completely fresh when I cooked them nearly a week later. Vegetables of choice were more brasied cabbage (I’m now addicted!), creamy potato bake, glazed carrots and steamed broccoli. That’s pretty much my favourite range of vegies. ?

After yesterdays blog, someone asked me what I meant by ‘braised cabbage’.

The recipe I used was just as my grandmother did for me 40 years ago; I shredded the cabbage (like you would for coleslaw) then put it in a small frypan with a tablespoon of milk, some butter and plenty of salt and pepper. Cooking just took a couple of minutes over hot heat, covered with a lid so it both fried and steamed. So simple, and so so tasty. And very very cheap – you should all try it!

Thanks to Dave, the raised veggie garden beds are set up and filled with a combination of organic soil and mushroom compost. He has also started to make little walkways around the three 1.2m x 60cm beds, with some gravel that matches the other stones in our garden. We have had vegetable gardens before, and I am very aware they take time and effort, but I think this is going to be lots of fun, and a good way to help the food security of this household, if even slightly. And no puppies to dig them up, as may have happened at previous locations 😉

I’m going to finish today’s post with a little video of my all time favourite dog, Darryl. For those of you who have met him you will know what an incredibly gentle dog he is, especially for a big dog. He was a rescue dog, so I have no idea what made him so very gentle, almost timid.  At the end of dinner, we gave him the scraps of meat that were left. Darryl patiently waited beside Dave for this – knowing he is far more likely to have off cuts then me (I love the fatty part of a steak!). What dog would take tasty meat from a human’s hand so gently!

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Take care everyone!

Sara x