This isn’t how it was meant to turn out

The contents of my fridge which I hope will magically morph into the dinner I wanted to make

One of the things that I am loving most about not working full time (okay not working at all) is that I have more time to cook for my family. As dorky and housewifey as that sounds – it’s true.  I love cooking for my family even though my son doesn’t really like eating and my husband would gladly eat whatever was put in front of him.

I have gone back to cooking with a new wave of excitement, it’s like a whole sphere of creativity has opened up for me and I can just well, create anything.  I have been poring over recipe books and making lists of ingredients that I would never usually buy because I was always in such a hurry.  My fridge is bursting with exotic herbs (where basil and parsley are exotic), my kitchen bench tops are a mess and I am “borrowing” garbage bin space from the neighbours.  All signs that there is much cooking going on in this home.

Friday nights are always family nights in my house – one week at my sister and the next week at me. My sister has morphed into this brilliant cook and, to be honest, it’s getting out of hand. I was always meant to be the good cook in the family but now she’s showing me up with brilliant meals and cakes that belong in cake museums or wherever they display cakes of spectacular beauty.

So now with all this time on my hands and a wealth of amazing recipes on my hand (and the fact that my sister is at work and I am not) I decided I would spend today cooking up a feast for my family who are coming for dinner tonight.

I went shopping really early this morning. Too early it seems because half the things on my list were not on the shelves, including the ribs around which I had based my main meal.

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Undeterred I went on to make chocolate cases for the other dessert I was making. It seemed ridiculously easy to paint cookie cups with melted chocolate and let them set. The concept is that you do this painting the cookie cup thing, let the chocolate set in the fridge – peel back the cookie cup paper and bingo you have chocolate cases.   I have chocolate cases. The “walls” are about 1mm high and paper thin. With holes in them. There is nothing that can go in these cases – unless air counts as something. (Also Little Pencil has eaten three of them already so there aren’t enough).

I had also decided to make what looked like a stunning barley and pomegranate salad. Two hours after I had finished extracting the last seed from the pomegranate (yes it felt like it took that long) and mixed the salad ingredients together I was stuck. The next step was to taste the salad and adjust the seasoning. I hate barley and celery which are the two non pomegranate ingredients of the salad so there was no way I was tasting it.  Why I have made something I hate I have no idea either.  I do know however that I will always be reminded of it because the top I was wearing today is now pomegranate coloured and my hands are raw from trying to restore their natural colour)

On that note I also made broccoli soup which I am too scared to taste.

I have forgotten where I read the recipe for the pumpkin I wanted to make and I have run out of steam to do anything else.  There are a thousand salad ingredients in the fridge, some meat which I hope prepares itself and a few bottles of wine.

I don’t think it’s too early to open them.