Entertaining by the skin of my teeth
Feb 17th, 2008 by Dani
My Father in Law is in town for a month. That’s a good thing in case you were wondering. It does mean lots of impromptu family gatherings. Which is also a good thing. A little difficult to manage on a Sunday night though. Difficult because I have one extra, maybe three. I won’t know how many extra until dinner time. Also difficult because tomorrow is food shopping day so I’m down to the dregs. Me being me cannot possibly pop down to the shop and grab something extra. Oh no, it has to be a challenge to feed everyone well with no waste. Of course it’s a good opportunity to truly empty the fridge in anticipation of shopping too.
So, I found a chunk of topside and 4 chicken drumsticks in the freezer. In the fridge I found half a red onion (and another in the pantry), 2 zucchini, some beans and 2 corn cobs. I also had some eggs and plenty of pantry stuff. There was also a smidge of green salad and meatloaf left from last night.
So, the kids are eating earlier than us, we’re waiting for the boys to play a late nine holes. That makes that easy, meatloaf and salad for the kids.
Now the tricky bit, spreading everything else amongst potentially five adults. It’s a hot day so the barbecue is appealing. It has to be kebabs. Small drama, I have only 6 skewers left. Easily overcome, I’ll make six kebabs and I’ll also cook the drumsticks. If any one wants more they can have the chicken. If not, or if there are only 3 for dinner, the drumsticks can be taken to work/kinder/creche for lunch. The beans can be blanched and served with mayonnaise. I have walnut oil and tarragon vinegar which will make a divine mayonnaise. Perfect. I’ve got it covered.
I even found some frozen fruit in the freezer so I can whip up a fruity dream for dessert, I’ll have egg whites for that from the mayo and the remaining egg whites can be cooked for breakfast in the morning. Not a scrap of wastage and an empty fridge.
Such acts of successful domestic management make me disproportionately happy. I must be odd.
I love being domesticated.