What fortnight that was! Just over six weeks ago I was sitting in the Huxley Building at Imperial Colllege, not quite believing that that would be my last day there. It would be my last day of sitting in the office on my own, staring at the wall while waiting for inspiration to jump out at me, my last day of drinking weak, overpriced coffee and eating nasty, overpriced sandwiches in the common room and my last evening spent sitting in the grotty and overcrowded student bar.
I actually felt a little sad. I have no idea why.
My new working environment is so much better than what I had before. It’s true I’m working a lot harder. But it is, on the whole, enjoyable and it’s nice to have some structure to the day.
That’s quite enough rambling. I’m here to tell you vaguely what happened in those weeks when I went awol from the blogging world. Let’s start with the new flat. Despite being in a bit of a silly location, it isn’t too bad.
We have a HUGE kitchen,
a nice lounge,
and a rather grotty balcony.
Goon has been developing his cooking skills too.
Goon is the only person I know who requires a chair and instructions pinned to the nearest flat surface before he starts to cook. You have to admit it is a unique cooking style. Just before we moved I set him a challenge to make a moussaka, complete with cheese sauce topping. It was a joint effort in the end but he didn’t do badly at all.
A few days later he followed suit by making a nice roast chicken risotto. Since we moved he got even better. Recently he proved he can make a passable penne carbonara, a decent puy lentil sauce to have with sausages and quite an impressive spaghetti bolognese.
I had one or two good moments too. On our last night in the old flat I had a flash of inspiration and produced this ridiculous looking plate of ’sushi.’
Thats lime and ginger marinated wild salmon and spice crusted king prawns which we ate with loads of wasabi, pickled ginger and soy. We also had a big bowl of noodles in miso soup and I made a point of digging out sushi plates and chopsticks.
The first weeks in the new place left me with a dearth of food inspiration. Dinners were mostly old ideas rehashed and a lot of pasta was involved. Going from total flexi-time to a job where you’re life is dictated by a bell is quite a big adjustment and I spent most of this half term totally exhausted. The good news is that things have become much more managable and, with only four teaching days left until half term, I think i can start to have a life again and to blog more frequently.
What fortnight that was! Just over six weeks ago I was sitting in the Huxley Building at Imperial Colllege, not quite believing that that would be my last day there. It would be my last day of sitting in the office on my own, staring at the wall while waiting for inspiration to jump out at me, my last day of drinking weak, overpriced coffee and eating nasty, overpriced sandwiches in the common room and my last evening spent sitting in the grotty and overcrowded student bar.
I actually felt a little sad. I have no idea why.
My new working environment is so much better than what I had before. It’s true I’m working a lot harder. But it is, on the whole, enjoyable and it’s nice to have some structure to the day.
That’s quite enough rambling. I’m here to tell you vaguely what happened in those weeks when I went awol from the blogging world. Let’s start with the new flat. Despite being in a bit of a silly location, it isn’t too bad.
We have a HUGE kitchen,
a nice lounge,
and a rather grotty balcony.
Goon has been developing his cooking skills too.
Goon is the only person I know who requires a chair and instructions pinned to the nearest flat surface before he starts to cook. You have to admit it is a unique cooking style. Just before we moved I set him a challenge to make a moussaka, complete with cheese sauce topping. It was a joint effort in the end but he didn’t do badly at all.
A few days later he followed suit by making a nice roast chicken risotto. Since we moved he got even better. Recently he proved he can make a passable penne carbonara, a decent puy lentil sauce to have with sausages and quite an impressive spaghetti bolognese.
I had one or two good moments too. On our last night in the old flat I had a flash of inspiration and produced this ridiculous looking plate of ’sushi.’
Thats lime and ginger marinated wild salmon and spice crusted king prawns which we ate with loads of wasabi, pickled ginger and soy. We also had a big bowl of noodles in miso soup and I made a point of digging out sushi plates and chopsticks.
The first weeks in the new place left me with a dearth of food inspiration. Dinners were mostly old ideas rehashed and a lot of pasta was involved. Going from total flexi-time to a job where you’re life is dictated by a bell is quite a big adjustment and I spent most of this half term totally exhausted. The good news is that things have become much more managable and, with only four teaching days left until half term, I think i can start to have a life again and to blog more frequently.
Moussaka is one of few dishes my bf can make too, maybe its a guy thing! Loved the look of your sushi - the salmon is so red I thought it was beef! Here’s my effort http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x295/schmoofaloof/IMG_0007.jpg of tuna two ways, all to myself. sooo much tuna that I’ve been sushi free for a bit!
Comment by Schmoofaloof — October 15, 2007 @ 12:28 pm
I’m also guilty of thinking that salmon was beef, it looks like one enormous entrecote that you’ve cut into portions! The new kitchen looks great, and Goon looks terribly funny in that chair at the stove. I sometimes sit down at the dining table to prepare stuff on the chopping board etc. but I suppose his height means even though he’s sitting stirring a pot he’s still taller than some people.
Comment by Trig — October 15, 2007 @ 1:08 pm
Glad to hear the job is going OK and that you’re happy in your new place.
D xx
Comment by Dale — October 16, 2007 @ 9:25 am
That tuna looks amazing, Schmoof. I think I might have to go out and get sushi now!
Hi Trig, I think you might be right. Even sitting down he’s taller than some people I know. I don’t blame you for thinking the salmon was beef. It was beautifully red to begin with but then my camera adds an extra rosy tint to things when I turn the flash on.
Hi Dale. Apologies for being rubbish at keeping in touch. I intend to make up for it at Christmas. I hope everything’s going well at Mountview.
Comment by ros — October 25, 2007 @ 12:13 pm
Oh look at the size of that kitchen!! You lucky thing. Bit dubious about the wallpaper in the lounge but I guess we can’t have it all! I love the pic of Goon sitting by the stove, stirring. If I did that I’d never be able to see ANYTHING I was doing on the stove. He’s a true original
Comment by Jeanne — November 15, 2007 @ 3:36 pm