Sausage Casserole and Mouldy Cheese

Home alone again – well during the day that is. J has gone off to see her mother and stepfather and other members of the extended Hellon family in Manchester, leaving me to look after the sprogs. The weather in the UK has been particularly cold this last week or so and she headed into the airport dressed as if she was going skiing instead of visiting relatives.

The weather here has also changed from being really sunny last week to being more unsettled. Monday started off with light rain which prevents the continuing job of clearing up the millions of oak leaves carpeting virtually everything in sight. And a strong wind last night meant that I was met this morning by a selection of knickers, boxer shorts and socks hanging in the bamboo down the garden.

The menagerie of animals also don’t like the change in the weather. Shadow hates the cold and the rain, and after his morning stroll, he comes into the house to lie in front of the fire. The cats are similarly lethargic, changing chairs, on which they sleep, every 30 minutes or so, only rising to wander into the kitchen to look for even more food.

So, under normal circumstances, with nothing much going on around the house and the weather preventing any outdoor work, you would think I would get bored – not at all.

I love it when J is away because I have full rein in the kitchen and delve into the freezer to see what she bought several years ago which hasn’t been touched. Problem is, when meat is old and frozen, it’s very difficult to determine what it is and so I look for fish and vegetables, herbs and clearly determined shapes, like sausages. So this evening the kids will return from school for some ‘goutet’, which translated, is a ‘taste’ or a snack. Then I will ‘surprise’ them with one of my specials – a sausage casserole, which has already been prepared and is simmering in the oven. The sausages were soooo frozen they took about 20 minutes to defrost in the microwave and didn’t look too appetising when they softened up, but into the pot they went, along with a variety of frozen vegetables and ‘fresh’ ones which had started to sprout in the bottom of the veggie drawer. Barefoot Contessa – eat your heart out!

Then there will be complaints when I get into the cheese section and force them to eat all the cheeses which J buys on a whim and which lie festering in the drawer. France has 365 different varieties of cheese and I think we have one of each, clogging up otherwise valuable space in our fridge. I don’t usually worry about a little bit of mould on the cheese as many varieties already come with a healthy dose of green growth on them. The kids however, will complain loudly and threaten to call their mum. It’s only the first day of my all embracing parental duties however and so, reluctantly, they will fall into line. They’d better, otherwise they’ll be sent to bed without supper….which, in their view, might actually be a more preferable option!