Author: gochugaru girl

 

 

It has been a difficult December. A week ago we were not sure if the kitchen would be ready for Christmas. Then there was the worry that the government would bring in tighter restrictions on social gatherings, perhaps by limiting numbers.  Lateral flow tests are a regular part of our days.

But it was all good in then end.

The goose which arrived last Tuesday, a generous gift from Investment Banker Friend and Shoe Lady, was roasted on Wednesday. The builders left at 5pm so we only started cooking an hour later after deep cleaning the kitchen. Now I understand why restaurants have soft openings, where they warn the customers that work is still in progress.

 

We served a plate of cured meats, olives and cheeses whilst the rest of the meal was being prepared

 

Besides potatoes we had roasted cauliflower, and green vegetables in a tahini and soya sauce dressing

 

Dessert was a chocolate and olive oil cake served with chestnut ice cream, all home-made but not in my home (thank you Junior 1), and served on a salad plate as we had not unpacked our dessert plates

 

Our new oven which is able to accommodate multiple trays at the same time

 

Our Christmas dinner…but I seem not to have made a dessert!

 

Post-Christmas glazed ham and a vegetable hot pot (recipe in a separate post)

 

This time I managed to make a cake, which was an achievement given the disruption

 

We have had other smaller meals as well, and the new kitchen is already being used constantly. Now I just need to unpack the rest of the boxes and find homes for everything. At one point today I said to the children that I wished I could talk to the utensils, crockery, pots and pans to ask in which cupboard or drawer they wish to reside, because I am finding this a bit tricky and time-consuming.

 

Update 03 January 2022

I thought about this recently and remembered that we also had scallops with the goose. It’s just that we were so busy with cleaning the kitchen that I forgot to take any photos of this. But here are the regular suppliers for our Christmas meats and fish:

Goose from Goodman’s Geese via Fortnum and Mason

Scallops and crab meat from Rick Stein

Fish from the Fish Man whose real name is Glen and who has been coming round every Monday night to sell us fish for over 25 years

Turkey and ham from The Ginger Pig

Bread from Sally Clarke, Gail’s or our local farmers’ market

All vegetables and fruit from Waitrose or our local farmers’ market.