Day 11

Real snow today. Almost icing sugar fine, but lots of it. This was the first time I’ve ever walked in snow…and on it. I hope I can continue to stay upright.

I was in bed asleep at 7.30am when the buzzer buzzed. My emergency supplies from Australia!! Clothes, flat fur lined boots I hope will get me through winter. Vegemite. Ah….Vegemite. Now I can enjoy toast again.

I suspect there is a lot to know about snow, what type it is and how to respond to it. There was a small section of path on my way to and from food shopping that was almost impossibly slippery and I don’t know why. I surmise it was the nature of the surface of the path…the snow seemed the same as all the other snow.

The last time I had a kitchen to myself, a kitchen I felt I could cook in, was about a year ago.

I half wondered if I would have forgotten how to cook, but if the secret is to make something you like, I’m okay.

Manor chicken with potatoes on the side. (What’s in a name? Something like this has probably been made a million times, I hadn’t quite done it before, so I’ve given it a name.)

Gently warm a mixture of butter and olive oil, add finely chopped onion and after a while chopped garlic can join this. Put heat on high, throw in some white wine and burnt it off. Add chicken wings and when heated to boiling, turn to very low, cover and simmer.

I now peeled some small potatoes, sliced in half, fried in butter. They are going to take about as long as the chicken. Turn now and then.

When the chicken and potatoes are cooked, turn off the heat under the chicken. There should be a thick sauce/residue left, if not turn up the heat to reduce. Add juice of half a lemon to the chicken and lots of chopped parsley. Stir. Serve with the potatoes on the side and freshly ground black pepper and good salt. Maldon salt is SO cheap here, half the price of Australia. Brilliant.

Potatoes could be orzo, or rice or even bread. The potatoes were small and oblong shaped, lovely and nameless for now. I will endeavour to find out.

Chicken wings could be anything except breast. The juices of the chicken in part make up the sauce. To use breast meat would be a travesty.

I wondered what a little creme fraiche would be like stirred in at the end. It was so nice I’m glad I didn’t, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.

Today’s lunch. And I ate so much, let’s say today’s dinner too. Mm.

Total spend: $255
Average per day: $23