I did it again

I decided to try a new flour. And a new recipe. In a new oven with a new feature (cooking pizza using fan and steam). And I decided to tweak the recipe I've never used because I'm an idiot. I used a pizza pan I've not used before. And I dusted it with a new flour I've not used before. And I overloaded the base with toppings.

The taste was OK (pizza toppings and cheese - how could it not) but it was soggy and took forever to cook.

Later today I will bake bread with the new flour (it's cheaper and more available if you want to know). I will NOT use the bread baking feature on the oven that I have not used before. I will follow the recipe. I will use a tin I have used before. 

I will let you know how it goes.

****

It looks like bread, smells like bread, sounds like bread (hollow when tapped) and should taste like bread but we won't be cutting it until dinner. 

Which is a roast we've not cooked before etc etc etc. 

But we aren't using the fancy schmancy settings on the oven. I could have cooked it longer on a lower temp considering the cut but we will follow the instructions (marinated beef roast from Aldi). And by we I mean, as always, Himself. Roast spuds with peas, carrots, aspargus and gravy.

Tomorrow I plan to give the peanut butter cookies another go. I will follow the recipe TO THE LETTER!

So William and Kate and their kids are selfish and snubbed the Sussexes because they turned down an invitation to Harry's kid's first birthday to go to Wales on what would have been planned for ever as part of Her Maj's jubilee shindig. Please, please, please send the self-indulgent wannbes back to the US and revoke their UK citizenship and any royal connections. Normally I don't give the royals much of my energy or thought processes but this made my blood boil.

F-f-f-f-freezing

It is cold and wet today. A good indoor day.

Two and his lot were going to pop in but the kids have head lice so no visit from them. He dropped by to pick up some bit and pieces I had for him. It was lovely to have some mum and son time with him. He holds a special place in my heart. All my boys do, of course, but he and I share the same battles with dealing with people.

I am trying a different, less expensive, flour for pizza dough this evening. Hopefully it will be fine.  It is still a strong flour - I would never use cake flour for bread or pizza.

I really must stop finding new safe places to keep things. I thought I had lost a particular charger which would have meant my portable speaker and my kindle would be useless and I rely on both frequently. It turned up but then I  had to look for the speaker as I had put it down somewhere in my search for the charger.

Petrol prices are soaring again. Once the government puts the excise back up we could be looking at nearly $3 a litre. No wonder everything is so expensive.

I think I could be a bear

I do love Winter. I love it when it rains and blows and all you want to do is hunker down indoors which is exactly what I did today. Hibernating should be encouraged.

Himself slept in. He's not been well and I think it's a combination of mental health issues that he won't address, late nights (see first point), a potential allergy to all the animals sleeping on the bed (his choice!) and mental health issues. I know he's struggling when he says the doctor and the psychologist can't help him. That's when he needs them the most. 

Anyway, when he finally got up he took the dogs for a run in the park and they came back happy and wet. At least the dogs get him out in the fresh air and interacting with other people.

He went shopping. Cat food and shitty litter from the pet shop and groceries from Aldi. Toilet paper is scarce again. He bought a quiche, a marinated roast and some frozen veg for Three and took them over with a couple of bottles of aldi wine. I hope they use them - the food, not the wine. I know that will be used!

While he was shopping I baked a double batch of sugar cookies and added cocoa powder to make them chocolate. Oh my, they are good. I sent some over to Three with Himself and got a text saying they were awesome.

I spent a decent amount of time crocheting. I had to frog the cardigan from hell yet again. The pattern has a mistake and I thought I had fudged it but it didn't work when I tried it on at craft yesterday (the best thing about making a top down garment is you can try it on as it grows). So I decided to fudge it a different way which meant taking it back to where the sleeves divide from the body. If this doesn't work it will be going in the naughty corner for a very long time.

Dinner tonight is chicken and corn soup from the freezer and some rolls that are currently baking. The fire is going, the house is quiet and content and life is pretty damn good right now. I'll take it when I can.

Chris has damaged her hand and can't bake. I suggested she have a go at a melt and mix recipe so here is one I hope she tries and likes.

Melt n mix shortbread

250g butter melted,

1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/4 cup caster sugar (55g)

1/3 cup icing sugar mixture (55g)

1/3 cup cornflour (50g)

2 1/3 cups plain flour (350g)

Beat cooled butter, essence, sugars and cornflour in a small bowl with electric mixer until thick. Stir in sifted flour. Press mixture over base of greased 19cm x 29 cm rectangular slice pan, smooth with spatula, mark into squares or rectangles, prick lightly with fork. Bake in moderate oven about 25 minutes or until firm. Cut shortbread where marked. Cool in pan.

The wedding

 It was a lovely wedding. It was cold but the rain stayed away and there was an open fire in the venue. In fact it got quite overheated so we stood near the door and kept popping out for some coolth.

Sally was delighted to find there was a dance floor.

She stayed off it long enough for the bride and groom to have their first dance and then she was away.

The canapes before dinner were amazing. The meal, as is so often the case in these situations, was less than inspiring. I loved the fact that the kids (and there were plenty) got chicken nuggets and chips and a little bag with coloured pencils and a puzzle book with "love from Emma" on the front.

The speeches, again as is so often the case, were awkward. Not least because my brother and his ex wife were asked to talk about their son who nobody really knows - including his parents judging by what they said. Either that or he is just a bit boring. But I love him anyway. Current sister in law looked mildly pissed off - there is no love lost between the two women and I thought they both showed great dignity and restraint.

It was lovely to catch up with Two and Mads. And to hear that they are expecting their third child in November. It wasn't meant to be announced then but the dietary restrictions sort of gave it away and then, in hindsight, the way she was covering her tummy. The groom already new because of said dietary restrictions.

We left after dinner when the music started.

Sally ended up "borrowing" the bride's tiara and they all partied until the end at 10. 30

We were well home in front of the telly with an open fire. The bridge and groom were fine with our early retreat as they understood our concerns about leaving the dogs for so long.

Friday

And finally after 2 years and 4 attempts my nephew and his bride will tie the knot.

I was talking to One before and my suspicions were correct. They aren't coming because his mother in law has booked a weekend away. I would have thought that a family wedding would count more but it's not their family, so no.

Hey ho.

I am looking forward to seeing Two and Mads and Three and his lot will be there. I am still not happy that they are taking the kids but not my call.

Lord, I am grumpy today.

Himself has asked me to pick a shirt for him to wear so I will go and do that and iron it. It's been years since he wore a suit.

I will then have a shower and try on my wedding beanies. Or throw some product in my hair and call it a day.

At least my boots have been polished.

I'll be back tomorrow in a better mood!! 

Duh!

Who decides to get a hair cut at a cheap salon she's never been to before the day before a family wedding.

That would be me.

Himself is obviously not impressed judging by the questions he's been asking me. Sally, bless her heart, says it looks lovely. Not the time to teach her about lying!

I asked for a whispy pixie cut as advised by someone who knows these things. I look like I escaped from Dame Phyllis Frost Correctional Centre.

The Langwarrin General Store - a boutique grocer/cafe opened today and we were his first customers. I hope they do well. They have a lovely range of cheese and charcuterie as well as fancy dips and crackers. They will have ready made meals to take home and a small selection of fresh fruit and veg. They are right next door to a primary school and maternal health centre so should capture that crowd.

I am in the middle of making chicken and corn soup and baking bread whilst chugging down a chardonnay I bought after the debacle at the hairdresser. At least the wine is good.

Winter

In the past the first day of winter was often a glorious clear day with blue skies and a promise of things to come. Today the things to come were already here. It has rained on and off since the early hours and I, for one, am loving it.

Himself came with me to pick Sally up from school. She proceeded to inform us that trees that lose their leaves in winter are called deciduous (not bad for a 5 year old) and those that don't are called forevergreen. Which is what I will now call them.

He has now taken her to her mum's work and will go to the supermarket on the way home. We are having left over curry from the other night and I will make a chicken stock with the carcass from last night and tomorrow it will become a chicken and sweet corn soup. With some home made rolls tomorrow night's dinner is sorted. Friday is the wedding so I won't have to think about meals til Saturday at the earliest. I don't mind cooking - I just hate the thinking about it.

I used to think my mother was a bit weird. She planned a six week menu which she repeated. We knew what we were having for dinner (it was on the fridge) and she didn't have to think about what to cook. It also made budgeting easier. I used to do something similar when the kids were little but with just two of us I can't be bothered and someone who shall remain nameless but shares the bathroom won't eat if it's not what he feels like.

Me: "What do you want for dinner?"

He: "anything is fine by me"

Me: "Spag Bol"

He: "Nah. Don't feel like that"

Me: "Chicken"

He: "Nah"

Me: "Well you can bloody cook then"

Someone got a head massage last night (hint - it wasn't me)