mutteringhousewife

It’s a bit rude. We’re staying in a caravan park some kilometres from the nearest takeaway, and here is the cooking equipment with which our apartment is supplied:

A microwave that can fit a small breakfast bowl into it and a tiny electric frypan.

Last night we had broccoli pasta. I generally only use my microwave at home for defrosting meat if I’ve forgotten that at some point I’ll need to cook dinner that day. If you want to cook broccoli pasta in a miniature microwave, this is what you do. Half fill a small breakfast bowl with dry pasta, then pour some boiling water to come up just under the level of the pasta. Slosh a tiny bit of olive oil over the top and add a little bit of salt. Place a layer of chopped broccoli over the top. Microwave on high for five minutes. Stir and let it cool for a couple of minutes unless you want your lips to fuse together. Top with Parmesan shaved with the Microplane you’ve had the foresight to bring from home. Repeat for the number of people you’re attempting to feed. You won’t be eating all together, but that’s a given because there’s only four chairs in the apartment.

Tonight it’s a meal that has become quite popular with the kids. Deconstructed sushi. I started making this after realising that there must be some kind of secret Japanese glue holding bought sushi rolls together, because I can’t do it. I serve a couple of bowls of short grained rice seasoned with mirin, with bowls of chopped up cucumber, carrots and capsicum, also a bowl of shredded seaweed for that sushi effect. I’ll generally also serve some chopped stir fried salmon or sliced Japanese style omelette, which is just regular omelette with a teaspoon of sugar and a splash of soy sauce. Everyone helps themselves and a jolly time is had by all.

I don’t have any salmon, because when we stopped at the nearest IGA on the way down here, they hadn’t restocked with that kind of thing after Christmas. I do have eggs, but I’m going to have to do them two at a time, because there are no mixing bowls, they’ll be stirred up in coffee mugs. That’s OK, because I don’t think the frying pan will fit anything bigger in it.

I think I may have reached the limits of my creativity. Tomorrow night we’ll have to go to the Fisho’s, and then perhaps we’ll have to resort to two minute noodles. When we get home I’m making a roast. Or possibly a soufflé.