Hello, Lovely People!
Just popping in to say "hello" and let you all know that we are settled into our new house! I still have lots and lots of boxes to unpack, but we're home and it feels like home!
Showing posts with label Epic Disasters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Epic Disasters. Show all posts
Update + An Old Favourite!
A Very Nesty Christmas - Me, Panic?
Hello, Everyone! It's 1:41 AM here in Kitimat, British Columbia, and I'm up! Why, you may ask? Well, it's the most wonderful time of the year, and I've reached the point where there seems to be more items going on my "To-Do" list than coming off.
It'sthemostwonderfultimeoftheyearit'sthemostwonderfultimeoftheyearit'sthemostwonderfultimeoftheyearit'sthemo-
Hm, sorry, what's that? Sorry, I was
The celebratory Delusions of Grandeur, well, any aspiring Martha will understand. I have yet to perfect the timing of my visions. For example, I decided to decorate my kitchen in a "Cookies & Gnomes" theme. When it was pointed out to me that perhaps summertime would have been a good time to purchase gnomes (some foolishness about garden centers and end of season sales...) I explained that I didn't think of the theme until November. Does nobody appreciate my genius???
And Mailing Deadlines...sigh. For many, many years I was lucky enough to have all my gift recipients within driving distance, so we never had to mail a thing. Last year was the first year we had to mail gifts, and - it did not end well. After paying an exorbitant amount to an organization that will remain unnamed, and receiving their guarantee that, in exchange for said exorbitant amount my parcels would arrive well in advance of the holidays, they in fact did not. They arrived well after, and having the exorbitant amount refunded to me in the New Year did not quite make up for the disappointment of not getting our gifts home on time.
But, I'm getting better. My current state of panic is being calmed by contingency plans. One of my Big Ideas of Delusional Grandeur this year was to make a lot of homemade gifts, and I did great. However, the last few are dragging their feet coming across the finish line, which brings up my old friend MAILING DEADLINES!! And that, my friends, is why courier services were invented. For a fee (exorbitant perhaps, but I'll pay for reliability) I can actually BUY TIME!!! It's like a miracle!!!
The great news is that once the gifts go off with the miraculous courier service this week, I'm back on track and only have to do "my" projects. Baking, crafting, and more decorating are all on deck, as well as planning for our Christmas Party and Christmas dinner. However, there is nothing on that list that will send me into a panic if it doesn't get achieved to the extent of my glorious visions. Baking, crafting, decorating? What gets done, gets done. The party will go ahead whether I manage to carve an ice sculpture of my dogs (tee hee!) and roast a swan, or if I just remove the dog hair from the furniture and open a few bags of chips (I was never a big fan of swan, anyway...) And Christmas Dinner is safe in the freezer, so even if the clouds open up and it snows until New Year's, we'll have plenty of good stuff to share on Christmas Day!
Me, panic? No way!!!
A Good Cow
This week we observed the end of something we had become very fond of. It was reliable, convenient, versatile, and, well, delicious. I'm referring to, of course, our cow.
Not a whole cow mind you. Those of you who have been reading along since the beginning will remember my post about purchasing a half a side of beef last Fall. Well, this week we finally ate the end of it. Now, if we hadn't experienced the Great Beef Thaw of 2010, last year's cow would probably have gotten to room with this year's cow. With that in mind, we've decided to purchase less beef this year and will be getting an eighth instead of a quarter.
A few weeks ago I took stock of what was left of the cow. We had consumed almost everything I'd prepared during my Beef Cookoff, or as I like to refer to it "Iron Chef - Battle Thawed Cow." (To briefly summarize what I'm referring to, last June my freezer somehow got turned off. By the time I discovered it, the contents had thawed, including A LOT of beef. Thankfully it was still icy but I had to cook for several hours and refreeze all of that. The grand finale was a Prime Rib feast with our friends, since I couldn't bear to see those cuts fried and re-frozen.) Now, almost 6 months later, we were down to a container of beef and onion broth, a freezer bag of cooked stew meat, and a container of meat pie filling.
I made the meat pie a few weeks ago. Isn't it pretty?
This week I decided to use the broth and the beef to make a stew. However, by the time I would have thickened it, the soup looked and smelled so great that I decided not to thicken it. It was wonderful, especially with the sourdough rolls my husband picked up at the store.
And so, adieu Good Cow! We enjoyed having you around, and we look forward to meeting your tasty replacement!
Not a whole cow mind you. Those of you who have been reading along since the beginning will remember my post about purchasing a half a side of beef last Fall. Well, this week we finally ate the end of it. Now, if we hadn't experienced the Great Beef Thaw of 2010, last year's cow would probably have gotten to room with this year's cow. With that in mind, we've decided to purchase less beef this year and will be getting an eighth instead of a quarter.
A few weeks ago I took stock of what was left of the cow. We had consumed almost everything I'd prepared during my Beef Cookoff, or as I like to refer to it "Iron Chef - Battle Thawed Cow." (To briefly summarize what I'm referring to, last June my freezer somehow got turned off. By the time I discovered it, the contents had thawed, including A LOT of beef. Thankfully it was still icy but I had to cook for several hours and refreeze all of that. The grand finale was a Prime Rib feast with our friends, since I couldn't bear to see those cuts fried and re-frozen.) Now, almost 6 months later, we were down to a container of beef and onion broth, a freezer bag of cooked stew meat, and a container of meat pie filling.
I made the meat pie a few weeks ago. Isn't it pretty?
And so, adieu Good Cow! We enjoyed having you around, and we look forward to meeting your tasty replacement!
A Post (Not) About Campfires
Gentle Readers,
This was supposed to be a post about camp fires. We've been having a lot of them lately, and I thought you'd enjoy hearing about them. That was my plan, and we had planned to go to the river last night and have another fire, and I charged my camera up and everything, just for you! But then it rained. And then I felt a little bit "rainy day-ish." So much so that when my husband came home for lunch, he suggested that it was the perfect day to forget about housework, turn on the "fireplace" and curl up on the sofa with a warm highland blanket, a cup of coffee, and the new Everyday With Rachel Ray. I decided he was right, and as soon as he left I gathered my stuff, switched on the electric fireplace, and snuggled in. When he called to check in a little while later, he mentioned that this would be a great night to cook the homemade lasagna I had stashed in the deep freezer. I also agreed with this; nothing is easier than having something cooked and ready to pop in the oven, especially on days when you are feeling less than inspired.
I spent the first little while reading blogs. It was nice. The rain was falling gently, the dogs were snoring softly in front of the "fire," and I was warm and happy. Time for a second cup of coffee and my magazine! As I crossed the room to the kitchen, I checked the clock and noticed that it was 4:00, the perfect time to pop a frozen lasagna in the oven to eat around 6:00. I jogged down the stairs to the freezer and breezily reached down to pick up the lasagna. I stopped. I felt my eyes widen, blink, squint, and then go really wide. No.
The entire contents of my deep freezer had thawed.
I gasped. I felt faint, then sick, then faint again. I grabbed the phone and called my husband and squeaked out something about "Freezer....meat....thawed....ackkkkk...wah...no!"
There are many times when I am particularly grateful that my husband is a law enforcement officer. Often those times are because he is trained to STAY CALM whereas I AM NOT!!!! Through my wheezes and squeaks, I heard him tell me to "STAY CALM, I'll be home soon, everything will be fine. Just go check the meat."
Check the meat, check the meat! As some of you will recall, this winter we purchased a quarter of a cow. And although we have eaten a lot of it, there was still quite a lot left in the freezer. Including most of my better cuts, which I had been saving for the grill. I took a deep breath, and went back to the freezer.
I started unloading, and relief flooded through me. Ice! There was ice between everything!! The phone rang again; it was my husband checking in. Upon the news that the remainder of our cow was OK, he was happy too. We had a quick conference, and decided that the best thing to do was start cooking. He would be home shortly to run and buy ingredients and storage materials.
Crisis (somewhat) averted, I loaded a basket with meat and hauled it up the stairs. I went back and grabbed the lasagna. I walked it upstairs. And then I stood there for a few minutes, trying to figure out how, exactly, to start cooking an eighth of a cow. I stared at the brown paper wrapped packages. I sighed. I grabbed my Betty Crocker Cookbook, with all it's wonderful cooking charts, put it on the table, and stared at it. Then I turned around, turned on the oven, and put the lasagna in. Right about then, my husband came in the door. I may have been flapping my arms. At the sight of me floundering around my sea of meat, he took over and we headed back to the basement to clean.
Not for the first time I was happy we decided to buy an upright freezer because I don't know how one would clean up after this kind of mess in a chest freezer. Working together, we got it cleaned up very quickly, and then we headed back upstairs to make our plan of attack.
I had had the presence of mind to sort the meat. We had:
It was like our own version of "Kitchen Stadium." "Battle: Thawed Beef," I thought to myself as I simmered, stewed, roasted and braised. I mixed, stirred, chopped, and patted. I chopped many, many onions. The house started to smell like The Keg. The dogs were thrilled, especially when we sent them out into the yard with my soup bones. The neighbors dogs got a few, too, and soon the night air was full of the sound of dogs ecstatically snacking. At one point I heard my husband laughing hysterically and, when I went to see what was going on, he pointed out our diminutive Yorkie trotting across the back yard, holding aloft a beef joint that had to weight as much as he did. And throughout the evening, any time I sat down, one of the bigger dogs would come over and lick my arm. Apparently, I tasted delicious.
Yup, it was a wacky night. I was reminded of Wednesday's post, where I noted how virtuous I was feeling about making a plan to eat well, and how great I've been feeling since eating a lot of vegetarian dishes. Well, this should serve as a cautionary tale to anyone who gets a little too big feeling on their blog. The silver lining, aside from the fact that we caught it in time, was the fact that I do love to cook and this was as big a cooking challenge as I've faced in awhile. At the end of the evening, I had prepared the following:
By midnight it was all done. I had used my Foreman Grill, my Crockpot, 3 roasting pans, 5 loaf pans, and all 3 of my dutch ovens, twice. All that was left to cook were the three Prime Ribs. We had recruited our neighbors to come for supper the following night to help us eat them; I had shed a tear as I cooked my T-Bones on the indoor grill, there was no way I was cooking and freezing Prime Rib. I actually think there are laws against that, at least there are in my world. Then again, my world has talking salt & pepper shakers in it, so the laws are shaky.
My sweetie was a wonderful sous chef. He ran up and down the stairs more times than I can count, took garbage out to the barn, corralled the dogs when they got too enthusiastic about Meat-Fest, and even ran to the store to keep me in sugary snacks and fizzy drinks until the job was done. He cleaned the freezer, did laundry, and tidied the rec room. He cheered me on when I got tired and waxed enthusiastic at everything I pulled out of the oven and ladled into freezer bags and plastic tubs.
After a hot shower to wash away the beef smell that had seared and steamed itself into my pores, I finally collapsed into bed with my magazine. However, Everyday only made it as far as my bedside table. Eight hours of non-stop cooking caught up with me, and I needed to sleep. But tonight, tonight is looking good...
Oh, what's that? What happened to the freezer? The switch on our power bar mysteriously flicked off. We're blaming the cats. That's our story and we're sticking to it. They're pretty strong and good with their paws. They could do it! Especially if the dogs helped! It certainly wasn't one of us! After all, they made off like bandits from all this; they ate better than most people did last night! All joking aside, we've decided that it doesn't really matter how the switch got flicked; we caught it in time, it won't happen again, and all's well that ends well. As my honey pointed out to someone who wanted to know who's fault it was, no one wins when you play the blame game.
Now, how many of you are going to go check your freezers RIGHT NOW? I know I'd have to! Have a great weekend!
Today I'm linking to Fabulous Nest Friday and Trendy Treehouse Follow Me Friday.
This was supposed to be a post about camp fires. We've been having a lot of them lately, and I thought you'd enjoy hearing about them. That was my plan, and we had planned to go to the river last night and have another fire, and I charged my camera up and everything, just for you! But then it rained. And then I felt a little bit "rainy day-ish." So much so that when my husband came home for lunch, he suggested that it was the perfect day to forget about housework, turn on the "fireplace" and curl up on the sofa with a warm highland blanket, a cup of coffee, and the new Everyday With Rachel Ray. I decided he was right, and as soon as he left I gathered my stuff, switched on the electric fireplace, and snuggled in. When he called to check in a little while later, he mentioned that this would be a great night to cook the homemade lasagna I had stashed in the deep freezer. I also agreed with this; nothing is easier than having something cooked and ready to pop in the oven, especially on days when you are feeling less than inspired.
I spent the first little while reading blogs. It was nice. The rain was falling gently, the dogs were snoring softly in front of the "fire," and I was warm and happy. Time for a second cup of coffee and my magazine! As I crossed the room to the kitchen, I checked the clock and noticed that it was 4:00, the perfect time to pop a frozen lasagna in the oven to eat around 6:00. I jogged down the stairs to the freezer and breezily reached down to pick up the lasagna. I stopped. I felt my eyes widen, blink, squint, and then go really wide. No.
The entire contents of my deep freezer had thawed.
I gasped. I felt faint, then sick, then faint again. I grabbed the phone and called my husband and squeaked out something about "Freezer....meat....thawed....ackkkkk...wah...no!"
There are many times when I am particularly grateful that my husband is a law enforcement officer. Often those times are because he is trained to STAY CALM whereas I AM NOT!!!! Through my wheezes and squeaks, I heard him tell me to "STAY CALM, I'll be home soon, everything will be fine. Just go check the meat."
Check the meat, check the meat! As some of you will recall, this winter we purchased a quarter of a cow. And although we have eaten a lot of it, there was still quite a lot left in the freezer. Including most of my better cuts, which I had been saving for the grill. I took a deep breath, and went back to the freezer.
 |
| You know it's good when your butcher draws a smiley on it! |
I started unloading, and relief flooded through me. Ice! There was ice between everything!! The phone rang again; it was my husband checking in. Upon the news that the remainder of our cow was OK, he was happy too. We had a quick conference, and decided that the best thing to do was start cooking. He would be home shortly to run and buy ingredients and storage materials.
Crisis (somewhat) averted, I loaded a basket with meat and hauled it up the stairs. I went back and grabbed the lasagna. I walked it upstairs. And then I stood there for a few minutes, trying to figure out how, exactly, to start cooking an eighth of a cow. I stared at the brown paper wrapped packages. I sighed. I grabbed my Betty Crocker Cookbook, with all it's wonderful cooking charts, put it on the table, and stared at it. Then I turned around, turned on the oven, and put the lasagna in. Right about then, my husband came in the door. I may have been flapping my arms. At the sight of me floundering around my sea of meat, he took over and we headed back to the basement to clean.
Not for the first time I was happy we decided to buy an upright freezer because I don't know how one would clean up after this kind of mess in a chest freezer. Working together, we got it cleaned up very quickly, and then we headed back upstairs to make our plan of attack.
I had had the presence of mind to sort the meat. We had:
- 10 packages of ground beef
- 2 packages of stew beef
- 6 soup bones
- 2 T-Bone steaks
- 2 Sirloin Steaks
- 2 Tenderloins
- 1 Large package of short ribs
- 4 Cross Rib Steak
- 1 Sirloin Tip Roast
- 1 Round Roast
- 2 Standing Rib Roasts (aka Prime Rib)
- 1 HUGE Standing Rib Steak
 |
| Ladies, start your Crock Pots! |
It was like our own version of "Kitchen Stadium." "Battle: Thawed Beef," I thought to myself as I simmered, stewed, roasted and braised. I mixed, stirred, chopped, and patted. I chopped many, many onions. The house started to smell like The Keg. The dogs were thrilled, especially when we sent them out into the yard with my soup bones. The neighbors dogs got a few, too, and soon the night air was full of the sound of dogs ecstatically snacking. At one point I heard my husband laughing hysterically and, when I went to see what was going on, he pointed out our diminutive Yorkie trotting across the back yard, holding aloft a beef joint that had to weight as much as he did. And throughout the evening, any time I sat down, one of the bigger dogs would come over and lick my arm. Apparently, I tasted delicious.
 |
| Fat & Happy Dogs |
Yup, it was a wacky night. I was reminded of Wednesday's post, where I noted how virtuous I was feeling about making a plan to eat well, and how great I've been feeling since eating a lot of vegetarian dishes. Well, this should serve as a cautionary tale to anyone who gets a little too big feeling on their blog. The silver lining, aside from the fact that we caught it in time, was the fact that I do love to cook and this was as big a cooking challenge as I've faced in awhile. At the end of the evening, I had prepared the following:
- Five meat loaves
- A pot of stewed beef chunks
- 2 batches of Italian seasoned ground beef (for pasta dishes)
- A large batch of pasty filling
- A batch of Molasses Mustard saucy ribs
- A roast beef
- A pot roast
- 2 grilled T-Bones
- 2 grilled sirloin steaks
- 2 roasted beef tenderloins
- 4 braised cross rib steaks
- Beef and onion broth (from the braising) that will become French Onion Soup
 |
| Meat loaves, ready for the (now running) freezer. |
By midnight it was all done. I had used my Foreman Grill, my Crockpot, 3 roasting pans, 5 loaf pans, and all 3 of my dutch ovens, twice. All that was left to cook were the three Prime Ribs. We had recruited our neighbors to come for supper the following night to help us eat them; I had shed a tear as I cooked my T-Bones on the indoor grill, there was no way I was cooking and freezing Prime Rib. I actually think there are laws against that, at least there are in my world. Then again, my world has talking salt & pepper shakers in it, so the laws are shaky.
My sweetie was a wonderful sous chef. He ran up and down the stairs more times than I can count, took garbage out to the barn, corralled the dogs when they got too enthusiastic about Meat-Fest, and even ran to the store to keep me in sugary snacks and fizzy drinks until the job was done. He cleaned the freezer, did laundry, and tidied the rec room. He cheered me on when I got tired and waxed enthusiastic at everything I pulled out of the oven and ladled into freezer bags and plastic tubs.
After a hot shower to wash away the beef smell that had seared and steamed itself into my pores, I finally collapsed into bed with my magazine. However, Everyday only made it as far as my bedside table. Eight hours of non-stop cooking caught up with me, and I needed to sleep. But tonight, tonight is looking good...
Oh, what's that? What happened to the freezer? The switch on our power bar mysteriously flicked off. We're blaming the cats. That's our story and we're sticking to it. They're pretty strong and good with their paws. They could do it! Especially if the dogs helped! It certainly wasn't one of us! After all, they made off like bandits from all this; they ate better than most people did last night! All joking aside, we've decided that it doesn't really matter how the switch got flicked; we caught it in time, it won't happen again, and all's well that ends well. As my honey pointed out to someone who wanted to know who's fault it was, no one wins when you play the blame game.
Now, how many of you are going to go check your freezers RIGHT NOW? I know I'd have to! Have a great weekend!
Today I'm linking to Fabulous Nest Friday and Trendy Treehouse Follow Me Friday.
The Great Vinegar Incident
As you know, we have been working on "greening" our nest over the past few months. The Great Green Spring Cleaning Challenge has evolved past a one time challenge into an everyday practice. We're not perfect; paper towels still have their place (although greatly reduced) and air fresheners have worked their way back in (although again, in a greatly reduced capacity). I do aim to use "natural" air fresheners as much as possible. Now that the weather is improving we can indulge in one of the best; opening the windows. There's some blustery weather blowing in today, and so we have several windows open in order to make the most of the crisp, rain-drenched breeze that's blowing down off the mountains. Although it's sad to see the sun go, it's the sort of day that gets into your blood and really makes you feel alive.
There are some odour challenges, however, that call for the big guns. Smells like fried food, sour milk, and fish. Fish in almost all it's forms can leave a lingering smell, the memory of which can be enough to deter an individual from wanted to prepare it. "Smells like low tide" is an East Coast way of explaining the lingering smell of seafood.
A sure-fire way to neutralize household odours, including fish, is to bring some white vinegar to a boil and let it simmer. Yes, your house may smell a bit like pickles, but the offensive odour is gone and the vinegar smell fades away quickly and leaves the air fresh and neutral. I've relied on this many, many times with good results. However, like many things one comes to rely on, occasionally it will let you down. And sometimes, it takes your friends with you...
It was a quiet summer day in Kitimat, and my dear husband had just returned from a day of fishing with a friend. They brought back a couple salmon and gave them to me to prepare for the freezer. I had been trying a few different methods of preparation, but for the most part I had simply been wrapping the whole, gutted fish in several layers of tin foil and plastic wrap. This day, however, I wanted to try my hand at filleting.
I had queried several people about the best method of filleting, and had checked out videos and how-to's on the internet, so I had a pretty good idea of what to do. That is, at least in theory. However, what works in theory does not always translate in practice, and things got sloppy. I managed to get the job done, but my filleting would not win any awards. No matter, I now had a lovely pile of packets of de-boned salmon fillet-y things in my freezer, ready to be placed into stews and other tasty dishes. I also had a lovely pile of friends coming over for the evening, and my kitchen was covered in blood, bones, and scales. It also smelled like blood, bones, and scales. If cooked fish smells like low-tide, then raw fish smells like...well, there really are no words for what raw fish smells like. Not exactly fishy, but...cloying, and very metallic. Not at all welcoming.
No matter! I had lots of elbow grease and vinegar! I set to work cleaning, and before long I was scraping the last of the scales off the kitchen counter. All that was left to do was simmer a little vinegar. My buddies were arriving as I was doing the last of my work (filleting the salmon took a little longer than anticipated) so my husband entertained while I finished up in the kitchen. I poured some vinegar into a saucepan, put it on a back burner, and brought it to a boil.
When I purchased this vinegar, all that was available was a vinegar that claimed to be "extra strong." Well, nothing wrong with that! As I was wiping down the counters with "extra strong" vinegar, I started to hear a few muted coughs coming from the living room. "Someone has allergies!" I thought to myself. Then another cough chimed in. "Must be something in the air" I decided as I reached for a tissue. Now why were my eyes burning...?
The coughs were becoming more persistent now, as were the mumblings and snickers. Coincidentally, I was developing a tickle in my throat, too! How weird! I was just about to comment on it when finally my husband exclaimed "What are you cooking out there?"
Ahem. While the house may not have smelled like raw fish anymore, it now smelled like brine day at the pickle factory. Funny, when I'm eating a dill I've never stopped to think how the cucumber felt as it stewed away in its juices. Suffice to say, the "extra strong" vinegar was doing an "extra good" job of clearing the air, and taking everyone's breath away with it! I removed the vinegar from the stove and made a mental note to only use it for cleaning from now on. We ran around opening windows, and eventually the air cleared and we all had a good laugh about the incident. However, it has become one of those stories that keeps popping up, and no doubt will continue popping up at least as long as we're in Kitimat.
As a result of The Great Vinegar Incident, I have explored other options for naturally freshening the air, ones that aren't quite so breath taking! My favorites include simmering lemon slices, or oranges and cinnamon sticks, or even a few drops of essential oil in water (read warnings first). When all else fails, the vinegar is still there, but now I dilute it with some water before turning on the heat!
Some of our best lessons in nesting are born out of disasters, and I've had some doozies! I have found as I've grown older that having the grace and good humour to laugh at yourself makes these lessons much easier to learn! I've got a couple of these stories I'm willing to share, and I'll dole them out from time to time. If you haven't already, one of my best ever epic disasters is detailed in an early post called Mental Note.
So, the next time an attempt at nesting perfection comes crashing down around you, just remember this; One, you're not alone, and two, someday, it'll make a great story!
There are some odour challenges, however, that call for the big guns. Smells like fried food, sour milk, and fish. Fish in almost all it's forms can leave a lingering smell, the memory of which can be enough to deter an individual from wanted to prepare it. "Smells like low tide" is an East Coast way of explaining the lingering smell of seafood.
A sure-fire way to neutralize household odours, including fish, is to bring some white vinegar to a boil and let it simmer. Yes, your house may smell a bit like pickles, but the offensive odour is gone and the vinegar smell fades away quickly and leaves the air fresh and neutral. I've relied on this many, many times with good results. However, like many things one comes to rely on, occasionally it will let you down. And sometimes, it takes your friends with you...
It was a quiet summer day in Kitimat, and my dear husband had just returned from a day of fishing with a friend. They brought back a couple salmon and gave them to me to prepare for the freezer. I had been trying a few different methods of preparation, but for the most part I had simply been wrapping the whole, gutted fish in several layers of tin foil and plastic wrap. This day, however, I wanted to try my hand at filleting.
I had queried several people about the best method of filleting, and had checked out videos and how-to's on the internet, so I had a pretty good idea of what to do. That is, at least in theory. However, what works in theory does not always translate in practice, and things got sloppy. I managed to get the job done, but my filleting would not win any awards. No matter, I now had a lovely pile of packets of de-boned salmon fillet-y things in my freezer, ready to be placed into stews and other tasty dishes. I also had a lovely pile of friends coming over for the evening, and my kitchen was covered in blood, bones, and scales. It also smelled like blood, bones, and scales. If cooked fish smells like low-tide, then raw fish smells like...well, there really are no words for what raw fish smells like. Not exactly fishy, but...cloying, and very metallic. Not at all welcoming.
No matter! I had lots of elbow grease and vinegar! I set to work cleaning, and before long I was scraping the last of the scales off the kitchen counter. All that was left to do was simmer a little vinegar. My buddies were arriving as I was doing the last of my work (filleting the salmon took a little longer than anticipated) so my husband entertained while I finished up in the kitchen. I poured some vinegar into a saucepan, put it on a back burner, and brought it to a boil.
When I purchased this vinegar, all that was available was a vinegar that claimed to be "extra strong." Well, nothing wrong with that! As I was wiping down the counters with "extra strong" vinegar, I started to hear a few muted coughs coming from the living room. "Someone has allergies!" I thought to myself. Then another cough chimed in. "Must be something in the air" I decided as I reached for a tissue. Now why were my eyes burning...?
The coughs were becoming more persistent now, as were the mumblings and snickers. Coincidentally, I was developing a tickle in my throat, too! How weird! I was just about to comment on it when finally my husband exclaimed "What are you cooking out there?"
Ahem. While the house may not have smelled like raw fish anymore, it now smelled like brine day at the pickle factory. Funny, when I'm eating a dill I've never stopped to think how the cucumber felt as it stewed away in its juices. Suffice to say, the "extra strong" vinegar was doing an "extra good" job of clearing the air, and taking everyone's breath away with it! I removed the vinegar from the stove and made a mental note to only use it for cleaning from now on. We ran around opening windows, and eventually the air cleared and we all had a good laugh about the incident. However, it has become one of those stories that keeps popping up, and no doubt will continue popping up at least as long as we're in Kitimat.
As a result of The Great Vinegar Incident, I have explored other options for naturally freshening the air, ones that aren't quite so breath taking! My favorites include simmering lemon slices, or oranges and cinnamon sticks, or even a few drops of essential oil in water (read warnings first). When all else fails, the vinegar is still there, but now I dilute it with some water before turning on the heat!
Some of our best lessons in nesting are born out of disasters, and I've had some doozies! I have found as I've grown older that having the grace and good humour to laugh at yourself makes these lessons much easier to learn! I've got a couple of these stories I'm willing to share, and I'll dole them out from time to time. If you haven't already, one of my best ever epic disasters is detailed in an early post called Mental Note.
So, the next time an attempt at nesting perfection comes crashing down around you, just remember this; One, you're not alone, and two, someday, it'll make a great story!
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