(not) preparing for the move

I had great intentions of packing up the apartment this weekend. We are moving next Saturday and not a single thing has been packed yet. We did manage to get all the boxes, bags and tape we need for the move. Now I feel even worse because I can see how many boxes and bags we still need to fill.

J and I are very different in that I like to plan and be organised, he hates to plan and likes to live in the moment. Well damn him, his lack of organisation has rubbed off on me and the worst bit is I still have the guilt about not having everything sorted in advance. Tonight ... I’m definitely getting started on the packing tonight. I’m going to start with the things I know we’re not going to use before next weekend. Maybe if I pack all the pots and pans we can eat out every night this week.

I am incredibly excited about moving into our new house. I love it and it’s going to be fantastic to have so much space to live in. There is even a garden where I can at last release my herbs from their little pots. My one and only concern is that we are moving from a small kitchen to a tiny kitchen. We have plans to extend the kitchen but I have a feeling they may take a few months to materialise and in the mean time I am going to have to get used to surviving in a wincey little space. I’ll take a picture after we've moved in so you can see what I’m talking about.

We’ve become soft since living in the apartment. For the last four years we’ve had reverse cycle air conditioning to keep us warm in the winter (and cool in the summer). We’re moving to an old Victorian house that I have a feeling is going to be pretty cold until we get some form of heating organised. In anticipation of this I’ve been familiarising myself with meals that have the added bonus of heating you up. This weekend I made a lovely Beef pie from this months Donna Hay magazine. My good friend, H, very kindly gave me a years subscription for my birthday back in May. The pie was excellent and I can just imagine the two of us huddled around the pie dish in the new place trying to keep warm.


One of my favourite gadgets in the kitchen is my mandolin. I love how thin it slices. Last year I gained a new found respect for how thin it slices. We had my parents staying with us and I was all excited about some meal I was cooking for them. I was doing my prep work and talking to them at the same time. I was distracted and forgot to use the little plastic guard thing when I was slicing an onion. Before I knew it I had sliced some of my thumb off. God, it makes me feel weak just thinking about that. It took me months before I could pluck up the courage to use the mandolin again. Thank goodness I did get over my fear because I’d never be able to cut slices as thin as it does to layer on top of my pie.


Beef and potato pie

1kg (2 ¼ lb) beef, diced
Plain (all-purpose) flour for dusting
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 brown onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
250g (80/4 oz) button mushrooms, quartered
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons seeded mustard
3 cups (24 fl oz) beef stock
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
600g (1 ¼ lb) desiree (waxy) potatoes, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat the oven to 180C . Dust the beef in the flour. Heat a large heavy-based saucepan over high heat.
Add half the oil and cook the beef in batches for 4-5 minutes or until browned. Set aside.
Add the remaining oil, onion and garlic to the saucepan and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the onion is softened.
Return the beef to the pan.
Add the mushrooms, bay leaves, mustard, stock, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for a further 30 minutes or until the beef is tender.
Place the potato slices and olive oil in a bowl and toss to coat.
Place the beef mixture in a 4-cup (1Iitre/32 fl oz) capacity ovenproof dish, layer with the potato and cook for 45 minutes or until the potatoes are golden.