MrsBrown's philosophy of life and stuff

 I have a new induction stove.  Many of my favourite pots don't work on the induction surface and the ovens (there are 2) are smaller than my roasting pans.  The large oven has 5 shelves and the small oven has 2.  Assuming a roast height of 15cm, there is room in the large oven for 4 roasts and one in the small oven.  I can cook up to 7 trays of cookies or pies in the 2 ovens.  The instruction manual says that the maximum roasting tray size is 37cm x 32cm and the max baking tray size is 35cm x 25cm.  I don't understand the discrepancy as there is air circulation space at the back of the ovens.  I can also fit my existing square cookie trays (3no) in the big oven, as long as I put the oven shelves at the top of the shelf supports, leaving about 1cm either side of the tray.

Here's the shopping list;

• up to 4 cookie sheets (I like the perforated ones)
• silicon sheets to fit
• 4 baking/roasting pans
• 2 crepe pans
• cooking pot replacement for heavy pasta pot
• another saucepan

Having done a bit of shopping, maybe the cookie sheets could have more lip and perhaps double as roasting pans?  Something like this;
www.chefshat.com.au/product/8292-baking-sheet-rolled-340x255x25mm-alum.  I still have one large and 2 small pans with a 5cm lip.  I've had a look through the perforated pans I can find and they all seem to be larger than my oven will fit :(.

I looked at the non-stick versions but the product has a guarantee of 20years and the non-stick coating only 5 years.  I think I want something that will continue to be functional for longer than both of those times.  I wonder how long the silicon sheets are meant to last?  OTOH, if I use them and they stop being useful I will still have all of the energy invested in the aluminium trays.

Crepe pans; we used to have non-stick aluminium ones, but we had to replace one because the non-stick scraped off.  I really like our well seasoned cast iron pans, but they're too heavy and deep for happy pancake making.  So I'm thinking that we should just buy a couple of these steel ones - www.chefshat.com.au/product-group/51810-crepe-pan-blue-steel-de-buyer-fb/product

The heavy pasta pot is about 6L.  The thing closest to that, in the style I want is this one.  www.chefshat.com.au/product-group/51858-saucepot-w-lid-18-10-ci-elite/product.  And I think I like that style enough that I would just get a suitably sized saucepan from the same range - probably 3L or 4L.

I will certainly be buying the 6L pasta pot and the crepe pans asap.  The other stuff can probably wait until we are given them, or next year when we have more money.

I'm a bit about the bright, new and shiny.

when I have to be especially productive when working at home, I have to go and find a new place to work.  It needs to be somewhere I don't associate with sitting around reading the internet.  So far in my working at home regime, I have worked; on my bed, at the kitchen table, standing at the laundry bench (that was pretty good) on the far couch and on the near couch.  I have also worked with beanies, scarves and blankets for heating.

I've been getting sick of making bread.  It helped for a little while when I had finally finished off the wholemeal spelt flour and could start on the atta flour.  But unfortunately, 4 months is too long to store atta flour and it had gone rancid.  Does anyone else want to join me in an order from Hindustan Imports?  Or will I just head to the D'souza's at Preston Market?

Yesterday I found a new video on making bread and it might be the bright, shiny and new thing I need to get me going.  It's an almost no knead method where you make a wet dough and leave it for ten minutes.  then you cover the top with olive oil and form the dough into a ball, pushing the olive oil surface to the underside of the ball.  You give it a few kneads and you have beautiful, springy dough that's not sticky.  I'm giving it a second proving because I don't quite have enough sourdough for a good flavour and then I'll put it into a tin.  the other new thing is cooking it when it has only increased in size by 50%.  Yesterday's loaf rose to it's expect height with no problems.  I need a better dough slashing device though - maybe for my birthday?

While I'm on birthday wishes, I'd also like a new set of kitchen scales to hang on my wall.  My mum's old tupperware ones have a stretched spring and I don't trust them anymore.

I've had a lovely morning.  I finished my Georgette Heyer novel and then roamed around  my usual haunts on the internet.

Then I sat up, opened my computer and was inspired by shu_shu_sleeps to take a look at http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/.

I'm nearly ready to get out of bed so I can start on the crinoline, the full gathered skirt and the bolero.  I'm a bit torn by the fact that most of this retro gear appears to need substantial underwear and I'm too much of a modern woman to constrain myself like that.  I don't think I will, but later today I might make a tunic style overshirt with the silk I bought in Adelaide.

I might not get to that though, I also want to:

Clean Rose's bedroom and set it up for her to work on craft stuff.
Plant basil, lettuce and cooked greens seedlings (that will require a trip to Bunnings, or somewhere similar)
Perhaps I'll also have a go at planting my own seedlings, to replace the lettuce and basil when we've eaten this batch of seedlings.

And a virtuous wife would head to the market for vegies, to allow her husband downtime before his trip to the country and gig. (Also, I might not get any if I don't - he appears to be working on armour)

btw, I'm very inspired by the pictures at American Apparel showing the workers and their conditions.

Also, a tailor's ham just hit my wishlist.

Hah! the way to virtue is to work out what's in it for you - I got my seedlings at the market.  That way we got vegies and I supported a small business, as well as avoiding the use of a car.  Just as well, I only realised on the way to the market that mr-bassman will be taking the car today so home based activities will be the easiest option.

Can I please have this cake?

I woke up with a headache, and I collapse with delight back onto the couch whenever I get up and wander the house.  I'm probably just overtired and stressed and my body is making me take it easy, but Sneetch did have the 'flu on the weekend.

I've also just read about pressure cookers.

I want one.

Just saying...

Thanks, wenchilada

I reckon owning a copy of Where's My Cow? would be great.

Thankyou sui_001!!

Everyone else! Look what I got!!

This might be for Rose more than me, but I'd really like to own some They Might Be Giants kids music.

I went to Amazon to take a look at what the name of the album was.

Now I want This one, and this one, and this one

We spent the morning rearranging the kitchen and laundry. It feels good. Next (that is, next week 'cos we're off to a family party this afternoon) we'll pull apart the family room and have an amazingly tidy house for our christmas holidays. I really like having an organised, tidy house in time for christmas. It's so much nicer having people over when it's tidy. Then we can mess it all up again in the new year.

On the weekend, I commented to mr_bassman that it would be nice to replace the water jug we use at SCA events with something nicer and more period. He replied that we should wait until our current jug broke.

Then, as I picked it up to pack it after Monthly Bash it broke. I wasn't trying.

Anyway, now I want a new one and I'd really like such a thing for christmas. I'm looking for the sort I want and I've also found a few nifty sites while I'm at it. They're at the bottom.

I'm looking for a 15th century style jug, like these ones



On the other hand, unbreakable would be good and only € 99.00


Contiuing with the unbreakable theme; take a look at the jug in the background of this painting , I like the sticky out bits.
There are some jugs in the background here too and Salome's dinner presentation of St John's head has some too, but I need to look at the picture in my book for that one, the ones on the web are crap.

Aren't these nifty, they're/it's from Memling's painting, "Virgin and Child Enthroned" and "Flower Still-life"



And there are some more metallic jugs in "January" by the Limbourg Brothers

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Here's the stuff I found while looking for jugs.

This site sells real medieval stuff, including broken pottery

So does this one, the key word seems to be "antiquities". I like this jug, but I don't think I'd ever be game to use it. sjkasabi, Is this the sort of cooking pot you've been talking about? Also, I think this would look great in the middle of the Abbotsford campsite.

I also found a thesis which includes a chapter of medieval clay floor tiles

You could spend a very long time looking at pottery stuff here, It's the Museum of London ceramics and glass collection