Sunday 29 January 2012

Six dishwasherfuls later...

That has all gone well.  As I said yesterday, the new dining room is a complete success and it ties the house together - rather than it being a purposeless room at the end of the house, it now is a lovely room which suits its use very well.  In fact, everyone spent the morning in there (except me, I was in the kitchen) and didn't want to leave.  The children spent their time in the sitting (ex-dining) room and upstairs in their 'den'.

I seem to have prepared a lot of food.  After last night's meal, I cooked sausages, bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms and a lot of toast for breakfast today, and then cooked pot-roast shoulder of lamb Provençal with pommes boulangère, carrots and courgettes for lunch.  I was nearly undone with the potatoes.  Stupidly, I forgot that tinfoil seems to completely exclude all heat in the Aga and left it on top of the dish, with the result that it barely warmed up after half an hour.  The dish was too big for the microwave, so I hastily split the quantity in two and gave each a ten-minute blast, then a couple of minutes under the grill and lunch was only ten minutes late (this so goes against the grain, I tend to produce a meal at the minute I say I will).  We had eaten all the eggs, so I was slightly stuck for a pudding until it occurred to me that I had all the ingredients for trifle (yes, bought sponge, you got a problem, darlings?) and that was quick and easy.

To fill the ten minute delay, I hastily got out champagne from the fridge and I don't think anyone minded...

After lunch, the family looked at some of the things I've fetched out that had belonged to my mother.  Several items have either been borne away happily or else left with us for safekeeping, to be fetched at another time.  Other things will be sold or given away.  So a start has been made, at any rate.




7 comments:

Unknown said...

I, too have a dishwasher........Dad. I can frequently hear him cursing!

kippy said...

What about posting a photo of the "new" dining room?
Even though it was a bit delayed, your Christmas with the family sounds like perfection.

Pat said...

Yes photos would be nice.
I ask myself was I ever that efficient, and the answer - sadly - is no.

Anonymous said...

I try - normally rather successful - to have the meal ready at the proposed time - and could start to scream when people do show up ten minutes late. The meat is cold, the sauce has developed a thick skin and the vegetables turned into one fine glop ... why bother with cooking if I can slap it into one damn mixer whenever one has the grace to drop by?
Need to store a bottle of champagne for when I cause the delay.
Good to hear that the new room is accepted so fast and well!

Liz said...

Dishwashers are marvellous, aren't they? Possibly not as marvellous as champagne though.


Mmmm, champagne.

Z said...

I'll see what I can do about a picture. A couple of movies coming up tonight, anyway.

I've also got dishpan hands from all the saucepans and glasses, John!

I observed myself shifting into ultra efficient mode while cooking breakfast, Pat, and fortunately it lasted long enough to get lunch underway too.

Mmm, champagne, Mago and Liz. I recommend.

luckyzmom said...

It is great that the new arrangement works so well and was worth all the hassle.