Post-Renovation Dinners and In Defense of Smelly Fish

I may have mentioned this before, dear reader, but we are in the process of redoing my bedroom. It is the culmination of a house-wide redo that has been going on for approximately the last three years. When I was living in New York, I would come home once every month or so and play the super fun "what's different" game. I also got really good at emerging from the shower, realising that there were workmen downstairs, and sprinting, dripping and towel-clad, down the hallway towards the modesty of my bathrobe.

I did once, and only once mind you, crack my feminist exterior and make chocolate chip cookies for the housepainters. And then packaged them up and wandered around the house simpering and handing them out. In my defense, they were Irish. With accents. I defy anyone with an ounce of estrogen not to go completely gooey in the presence of a man who not only has a LILT, but is HANDY. It can't be done.

My bedroom was left until last, presumably because I wasn't living in it and therefore renovations weren't necessary. Now that I am home, though, I'm starting to tire of sleeping in the guest room, and I'm very much looking forward to having . . . Virginia Woolf pun coming . . . a room of my own.

So, dear reader, here is the first installment of BEETLE BEDROOM RENOVATION UPDATE!

• Walls, having been given two coats of primer, have now been given their first coat of proper paint
• Same goes for the ceiling
• Side note: the ceiling required extra spot-patching with primer, as we had to eradicate my 7th grade decision to cover it in purple glitter shooting stars. Amazing at the time. Not really the look I'm going for at the moment. 
• The bookcases (of which there are 5) have been primed, and are ready and waiting for their probably only one necessary coat of semi-gloss
• Same goes for the doors

But Beetle, you ask, what is your colour scheme? Well, thanks for asking, dear reader! My colour scheme is what I like to call "Scandinavian Country Estate."

Kind of like this. 

Or this. Except, you know, not in an 18th century estate in the Norwegian countryside. 

The ceilings and walls and trim will be White (not "scary white" but "normal white"); the floor will be something called "Jekyll Clubhouse Yellow", and the bed and doors will be something called "Filoli Dark Iris". Both, incidentally, are those neato-pants National Trust Heritage Colours, which a) good historical stuff and b) perfect if the above photos are what you're going for. ANYWAY. I'll keep you guys posted on the developments, which, if nothing else, will actively prompt me to HAVE developments by token of projected shame.  

Beetle Painting Lesson Of The Day: If you are wearing gloves that are covered in Eggshell-Gloss Off White, do NOT pull your yoga pants up without first removing said gloves. Otherwise . . . let's just say you shouldn't ever really have to turpentine that particular part of your body. 

MOVING ON. 

So yes, baking happened this week, but since a lot of time has been spent upstairs with a t-shirt wrapped around my head, the cooking has been kept to things that are quick and easy, healthy and yummy, and that can be made without doing a store run. HENCE. 

FAST EASY YUMMY AND HEALTHY DINNER SLIDESHOW

Spiced Tomato and Potato Soup

Spinach Salad with Lentils, Mushrooms, and Fennel

Mushroom and Fennel Broth for use in many things later on

Green Soup with Noodles and Fish

SPICED TOMATO AND POTATO SOUP

This one is crazypants easy and can be made in 20 minutes in one pot. Apologies in advance to all my Indian friends because imma use curry powder and various spices in the next few sentences and please don't judge and/or cut me off because I know I'm desecrating your food. Please remember how much you love me. Please.

Pretty, pretty, pretty. 

All you need for this is a few tomatoes (or a can of diced or chopped if you're desperate), a few potatoes, some vegetable broth and/or water, some olive oil, and a few curry-making spices. If you HAVE an onion, go ahead. If not, no worries.

And also oh so delicious.

We are lucky in that our handyman grows his own awesome tomatoes, and he brings us bags and bags of them whenever he comes to caulk or plaster something, which is . . . every day at the moment.

Chop up your tomatoes and potatoes and put them in a saucepot. Pour enough broth or water in so that they are JUST covered, then add a few tbs of olive oil and some salt and pepper. To this mixture I added 2 tsp of Turmeric, 2 tsp of Cumin, and 2 tbs of Curry Powder.

This is one of those dinners that you can finish painting, go downstairs to the kitchen, start it going, go back upstairs, wrap up your paintbrushes, rub turpentine all over your arms and hands, take a shower, put on your pjs, and come down to dinner being done. Which is kind of what all dinners should be like.

SPINACH AND LENTIL SALAD WITH MUSHROOMS AND FENNEL

This takes a bit more preparation, but really isn't that bad, and makes enough for a few nights. Think of it as an investment.

• 2 cups baby spinach leaves
• 2 cups mushrooms, washed and sliced
• 1 large fennel bulb, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 can Lentils
• Olive Oil, salt, pepper 

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Fennel? I have? Oh. Well. I still love it. 

This is yet another take on my summer obsession with grain salads, and the concept of mixing cooked vegetables and carbs with leafy greens. It's an infinitely adaptable meal that really can involve anything you have in your fridge or cupboards.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the chopped Fennel and Mushrooms. Cook them until they're good and browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan into a bowl and set aside. In the same pan, add more oil and the chopped onion, cooking for about 7 minutes until it starts to go brown. Add the lentils and stir them around for another 3 minutes or so, then transfer them to the bowl containing the Fennel and Mushrooms, and combine, adding a bit more olive oil if you need to.

In a large bowl, toss the cooked veggies and beans with the baby spinach, and serve warm. 

SIDE BEETLE PROJECT: I steamed 1/2 a cup of the sliced Mushrooms and some of the Fennel, reserving the cooking water, and pureed them in a food processor. Adding the cooking water and puree together makes a Mushroom-Fennel soup that is not only amazing, but Beetle-Friendly too. Huzzah all round!

Number of times I asked Mum "so how do you feel about Mushrooms?"
Conservative estimate: 7 million

OTHER USES FOR MUSHROOM BROTH

My current guilty food habit is those Tofu Noodles you can buy with the rest of the veggie proteins in the grocery store. This is a mis-categorization, as they don't actually have any protein to speak of. As a matter of fact, they don't really have any nutritional content to speak of. As a matter of fact, they don't really have any TASTE to speak of. HOWEVER. When you add them to a Mushroom Broth thickened with Pureed Mushrooms and Fennel, and add to that a few handfuls of leafy greens (Kale, Spinach, Arugula in this case), it goes all awesome and delicious and turns into an earthy and mellow Bright Green Soup of Wonderful, and you end up burning your tongue because you're trying to eat it too fast because it's just. that. good.

In a very Thai-cuisine move, I added fish to the top of this. The fish happened to be sardines. I LIKE SARDINES YOU GUYS. AND I'M NOT ASHAMED TO ADMIT IT. I know, I know, I'm a weirdo, blah blah blah. Just pass me all of yours, AND all your pickled herring. I will give you all of my avocado and we'll never fight again, ok? Ok.

For the record, it was DELICIOUS. So there. And I imagine it would be delicious if you added a "normal person" fish like salmon or tuna or what have you.

Beetle Acquired Taste Note: Tofu noodles are not for everyone. I just think of my bff Liz looking at me when I order regular tofu in a restaurant and going " . . . it just doesn't taste like . . . anything." I can only imagine what she would say if I made her try the noodle version. They definitely need to be added to something. But if and once you do, you may be pleasantly surprised. Like tofu, they take on the flavour of whatever is around them. If that happens to be really yummy green soup, so much the better.

As for Sardines being an acquired taste . . .

Whatever. More for me. 

I will end this with a particularly lovely-looking loaf of Beetle Bread that happened on Monday. Like the Baking Powder Biscuits of last week, Beetle Bread is something that happens on a weekly or sometimes twice weekly basis, and as such is normally made in 20 minutes and I don't remember to stop and photograph it because I'm just doing it before folding the laundry or taking out the recycling or running outside to yell at the Bastard Cat next door or whatever. But when it comes out looking like this, I feel the need to share.

This particular loaf is Whole Wheat Rye, btw.
It's my current fav combo, although I did make Whole Wheat Five Grain Cereal on Sunday, too.

I'm getting better at scoring the top so it looks all cool and craggy like that. 

Dude I am TOTALLY drawing a Beetle on there next time.