Day 8: SM gets over-ambitious with a Salmon Teriyaki with rice

Feeling ambitious tonight, just as a stock-take of what we've achieved, I decided to introduce many new flavours this evening to see how the gang coped. What I used (taken from Annabel Karmel's website, and made approximate since I didn't weigh or measure anything...) 80 ml (3fl oz) soy sauce 100 ml (4 fl oz) sake (Japanese rice wine) I didn't have this... 50 ml (2fl oz) mirin (sweet Japanese cooking wine) or this.... 2 tbsp caster sugar (or this...used brown sugar and honey) 2X large thick fillets of salmon, skinned Olive oil  button mushrooms, sliced 200g beansprouts red peppers asparagus spears (my own addition) baby sweetcorns (ditto) finely sliced onions 200 g basmati rice What I did? Boiled the rice and threw everything else together in a pan. The children pretty much ate it -- even four-year-old boy, mainly because nine-year-old girl was in disgrace and he saw a way of getting ahead on the league table.  They asked questions and quibbled a bit, but ultimately all did a pretty good job of trying everything and at least two plates were almost cleared entirely. DH arrived in from work early so I took the opportunity to zip to the shops (via the Cellar -- I know, I know, it's only Monday, but in English that means Tuesday, which is nearly mid-week!) but I felt a little deserving having fallen over this morning, with the baby in my arms--not drunk I might add--it was too early for that: I slipped in the pool of water left by four-year-old after his bath. My children aren't big on finding towels following baths (and being a bad house-wife, there are rarely towels in the bathrooms...), preferring to dry themselves au naturelle, something which will cease instantly the second they hit Irish soil (and more to the point, air) once more. Tomorrow I promise I will make the sneaky chef purees....

Day 8: Shame and loathing in Carrefour...

So, off I marched into Carrefour, full of self-righteous defiance; ready for a fight. Handing over the box containing the offending blender, I thrust the receipt up on to the counter for good measure in order to leave the young man in Customer Service in no doubt that I was not someone to be trifled with.

Not wanting to appear too anxious, I nonchalantly examined my nails as he pulled the blender jug, base and various other accessories out of the box and assembled them.  As I glanced up to express my disdain at their inferior product, I was dismayed to see the blender whizzing away merrily while he stared at me as if I was stupidest woman he'd ever encountered, his co-workers sniggering away behind him.

I didn't put the lid on properly.

Not knowing where to look, I shoved the box back into it's bag and mumbled 'thanks' before fleeing the scene of my shame and humiliation.  The worse thing is, this isn't the first time I've taken a blender back to the shop because I hadn't put it together correctly and therefore couldn't get it to work. Having strapped five-month-old and four-year-old boy back into the car, I jerked the bag containing the blender out of the bottom of the buggy; the blender came flying out of the box and hit the tarmac, sending little crystals of plastic shards flying as it landed.  'Oh bloody hell!'  I spat, 'the sneaky chef is the devils work!! '

So the blender is damaged but thankfully is working.

Feeling rebellious, I sliced up a chocolate cake for the children as they arrived in from school.  A friend had given it to me and I thought it churlish to refuse.  I do have to be careful of not leaning too far in the other direction: I have a tendency to go to extremes whenever I decide to do something and besides,a slice of chocolate cake is no harm in moderation.

Salmon for dinner, although I haven't decided what to do with it yet... I should be whizzing up my vegetable purees at this stage, but I feel a little hostile towards the blender and the sneaky chef at the moment, and need some time to adjust.  I think I shall sit down now and watch 'Cat in a hat' with four-year-old boy.