Feasts!

Well, not quite, but sadly (though probably not so sadly really) we are waving goodbye to our regular curry night. Sometimes there's nothing better than crashing in front of the telly with a takeaway, when you can't be bothered cooking, or just fancy a treat. We have developed a rather frivolous habit of having a takeaway, usually on a Saturday night, just for the hell of it, made all the more easy by Just Eat and the ability to order a curry or a Chinese from the comfort of your computer chair (or even the armchair, if you have an ipad or laptop) and not even worry about going out into the rain to get some money from the cash machine. Damn you Just Eat! It's all too simple, and makes short work of £15 for the two of us. And the worst thing is the amount of food that gets left behind! 

I am due to start Fat Leave in just over a week, and then the money goes down. (Surely I should be on full pay for the duration, given the amount of pain I am going to be in in the next couple of weeks, as just reward for my part in the continuance of our species. But apparently not) So cost cutting exercises have to start now. Including our regular takeaway. With that in mind, last night was the first (of hopefully many) forays for the Gallerys into the world of Saturday-takeaway-that-isn't-a-takeaway. I made a very simple mushroom fried rice (which, to be fair, I have made before) with a couple of tweaks (cos you can do that with your own recipes, and are not in breach of copyright or anything, no-one will sue you!) I fried my onions and mushrooms in chilli oil, added garlic, and perfectly cooked basmati rice (it's taken me nearly 40 years to discover how to make perfectly cooked rice, and I didn't have to resort to a rice cooker or some other fiddly contraption, or measure everything to within a decimal point, or rinse the rice in maiden's tears or any such nonsense... Just plenty (and I mean plenty) of fresh boiling water, over the rice, lid on and leave well alone just above simmering for 12 minutes. No stirring, no peeking, no messing. Leave it alone. Never fails.) I even managed to add the egg. It was lovely. No clean plates, but that's simply because I need to get my serving size down from feed 50 to feed 2!
Next week Himself is planning a mushroom korma. Watch this space!

And I've just pulled a large chicken out of the oven, let's see how many meals I can get out of it! I think my mum managed to feed a family of 4 on 1 chicken from Sunday to Thursday. Obviously they must have been bigger chickens in the 70's but we'll see how many meals for 2 I can make (Of course, I don't eat meat so that makes it a bit easier to make it stretch!) I have several cookery books, collected over the years, and flicked through from time to time. Amongst my favourites (obviously) are my Nigella books, if only for the lovely way she writes and makes her food sound so delicious and easy to make. I have made few meals from these books. But with the imminent strain on our finances, I am enthusiastic to see what I can come up with on a budget. If I can succeed to make delicious and appetising meals, on a fraction of what we spend now, surely that would be a step up towards Domestic Goddessness!

In other more crafty news (tho this is supposed to be my journey into Domestic Goddessness, and if the Great Goddess herself, Nigella, were to read my blogs I'm sure she would be tutting at my lack of foodiness) I was in receipt of my Big Shot die cutter (and also a Sissix Texture Boutique) on Monday, and much fun has been had with that. I have made 3 cards but since they are all for other people (who may read this blog at some point) I don't want to spoil their surprise by posting up photos. Suffice it to say I am well impressed with what can be created, particularly with the embossing folders. Looking forward to experimenting with both machines in the future, and coming up with more than cards alone.

Don't forget to have a trip over to see Wendy's blog, and Handmade Monday's offerings from crafty people around the 'net. Til next time!