settling in

I’m still slowly getting used to the new stove, the burners I’ve figured out. I’m still learning to accept the fact that my “favourite spot” has the lowest BTU. That really might not be a bad thing, as I tend to uhm.. over cook things a bit when kitchen life gets harried.

The oven, however, I seem incapable (despite daily practice) of turning on. E has no difficulties, which is good, but I’ve had to plan meals based on when he is or will be home.

With some large discounts to a certain maroon-coloured big-book-store burning a hole in my pocket, I picked up a new cookbook. I had budgetary approval to buy The Flexitarian Table but decided in the end to purchase The Gluten-Free Vegetarian Kitchen: Delicious and Nutritious Wheat-Free, Gluten-Free Dishes by Donna Klein. Much of my vegetarian fare over the years has relied on wheat gluten. Ms Klein has included MANY varied recipes in her book. I made cornmeal pizza and a variation on glazed snow peas with rice as I only had a peas and carrots mix in the freezer. Both came out quite good and were not difficult to make. I like that each recipe has up front what type it is (lacto-ovo, vegan, egg-free, etc). I may be having a renewed reaction to dairy, which would not be good. I don’t really want to be vegan. (I’ve tried. Being vegan isn’t for me. But if I have to, I’ll feel bad for E!)

Lastly, this announcement should come as no surprise to anyone. ;)

Sadly, I did not make it to the green market this week. I have a game I play with myself on Fridays as I work from entirely home. If I complete all my major work before 9:30am (I start at 6), I am allowed out. If not, I must stay in, with sunset early these days, I have a strong incentive to get my work done. Yesterday I didn’t, which meant no green market. It did mean that we’re continuing to clean out the fridge, freezer, and pantry. Meals should become interesting as I am trying not to load up on anything as we’ll have to clear it all out to do the renovation. While our Brooklyn apartment is much larger than many of a similar “calibre” in Manhattan, it is small. The main living area will become the pantry and storage/staging area during the renovation. The new flooring came this past week. It will look really nice when everything is complete. That said I’m off to clean the stove-top. I made a mess.