Cooking in plastic ...

... sometime last week a twerp, @becford74, mentioned oven bags and how she'd seen an advertisement for some. Ms @Becford74 believed she may have been feverishly hallucinating because nobody cooks in plastic bags, that would be madness!
Aha, fellow twerp @Reemski and I chimed in. Our mothers used to do it although we couldn't remember why. I tweeted I'd give it a go, should I find one of these magic bags at the 5th circle of hell that is Coles, at the weekend.
Find some I did, a packet of four. Not the same as those mentioned by @becford74, those came with "flavour sachets", something I'd not use anyway, so no loss. I popped them into the trolley, adjusted my weekly menu and went forth to score myself a mid-range, free-range chook. (Why, yes, I DID oil the baking dish, I was on automatic pilot, I rinsed and dried and started again, rest assured.)
Well, if it failed horribly it would be a $20-odd failure rather than a $35+ failure. One must be pragmatic about these things.
I read the package carefully, following the instructions fearfully, and then made a quick call to the mother just to be certain. I'm sure the manufacturers know their stuff but mother knows best. Really, she does!
Spoonful of flour shaken all about - checkPunch a few holes in the bag - check(ish) (Mum said she always put the holes at the twist tie end, I'd punched them all over. I feared the worst, exploding bag "splattering hot juices" all over the shop. "It WON'T explode" quoth the Mouse Mother!)
Bag tied shut with bit ripped off the bag - checkStuffed full of real life flavour enhancers, rather than chemical packet stuff, into the oven it went. (I'd forgotten you could put the spuds in the bag too, so the jacket potatoes and an eggplant for baba for later went into another tray. I'm nothing if not thrifty McHousewife, me!)
"But will it brown Mum?"
"Oh yes, it's a clear bag. It will brown beautifully."
"WHY did you cook in a bag?"
"It made the most wonderful terrine."
Yes, apparently if you cook a little over the recommended cooking time, despite the DIRE warnings on the box, the meat falls off the bones. You just wait until it's cool enough to touch, pull out the bones and pour the meat and all the juices into a terrine mould. When cool the gelatin in the juices holds it into a wonderful terrine, or brawn or whatever. That's my next trick!So, did it brown? Why yes, amazingly the skin was parchment dry, crisp and gobbly good.Were there juices? O my, yes, and easily poured out of the bag into the saucepan for cooking down with a little flour for the most wonderful gravy!
Was it good? Why yes, it was moist, even the breast meat and full of flavour (I'd have been pissed if it hadn't been I'll admit).
Will the Brown Mice do it again? You know, I think we might, the two smallest, furriest members of the household certainly think we should. Tummys full as butcher's kittehs!.

True devotion ...

... … this morning I watched a woman vomit on the train.
She was terribly neat and discrete about it, getting everything in a plastic bag, no mess, no fuss. But what I noticed the most was how terribly sweet her husband (one assumes) was about the whole thing. He found her the plastic bag, tied it with a knot after the deed, found her tissues for the little mop up, gave her a little cuddle and generally fussed and took care of her. I thought it a lovely example of true devotion, when it counts. Flowers and dinners out are all well and good but when you are puking on public transport, that's when a beloved really needs to come to the fore.

Soap Nuts ...

... I ran a little laundry experiment this weekend.
I thought I'd give soap nuts a try.
I'd dismissed as snake oil the laundry ball idea, because they were fuck-me expensive and plastic and I'd actually done a little research and found a lot of comment saying they were basically hokum. No different from washing in just water.
So, ever hopeful, I ordered me up a bag of soap nuts. Now yes, there was a bit of comment out there in the interwebs saying they weren't much use but ... I'd read they were full of mother nature's soap, saponins, and it all sounded so green and wonderful and they were a lot cheaper than the laundry balls and were natural-grown-from-tree things and could be composted! I convinced myself, I ordered them.
Anyhoo, my green laundry dream is not to be.The soap nut wash got our I-wore-this-so-I'll-pop-in-in-the-laundry-bag stuff, you know, once worn and just-for-the-evening-in-front-of-the-tv t-shirt or a frock worn to work on a non-hot-and-steamy day (we've had a couple of those recently) "clean". However, I suspect if I'd just put that classification of laundry through Sven with just water I'd get the same result.
The stinky, sweaty, filthy actually dirty stuff, like Mr Brown's french cuffs (I think he dips them in printers' ink), stuff worn on a hot day or when exercising, on the other hand, total soap nut fail.
I'm typing this as Sven, dosed up with laundry liquid and tea tree oil, gives those things a second whirl.
The nuts, well, at least we can compost them. Why yes, they do look disgusting (a little like caramelised sheep poo I think). And, according to Mr Brown how approached me yesterday, nose-awrinkled, asking "what IS that in that bag in the laundry" they smell pretty funky too. (Because yes, he did stick his nose into a bag of unidentified wrinkled brown things.)

Disaster ...

... that eye thing came back this morning. No suitable drugs in the house.
So this afternoon, on the way home I stopped at the chemist and bought the big, monster box, to be safe.
I hacked a great chunk out of my finger, trying to open a plastic bag with a knife, this evening. No band aids in the house, Mr Brown sticky-taped a kitchen towel to my finger! It was huge and made typing very difficult indeed Later, I found 1 lonely band aid, in the shoe cupboard.
Tomorrow I'm off to the chemist, again. I'll be buying 16 different kinds of band aid!
And now I'm tired, off to bed with a cold eyepack pressed to my peepers.
I have no idea why I felt the need to share this, no idea at all.

How scary ...

... is your part of the world?
And now for Wednesday night's pizza. This time, the construction of it. First the sliced mushrooms & rocket (last of the weekend harvest, it keeps well if washed, dried, wrapped in paper towels and popped in a plastic bag). There's nothing on the base before the mushrooms because they release so much mushroomy juice to soak into the bread. Then prosciutto, local (though I suspect not within 100km of home, I did not dig deep). And then the cheese, semi-hard mozzarella, expertly grated by the handy Mr Brown. No final shot, we were hungry and House was about to start.

A tale of 2 parcels ...

... (apologies in advance for the crap photies, the battery was on it's very last legs and died before I could do better).
So, cat vomit was not the only thing that greeted me on my home coming this afternoon. On the front porch was a wee parcel containing the teeniest wee bottle of perfume, Flower by Kenzo (one of my favourite smells - mermaid for scale).

It took me a while, but I remembered filling in one of those on-line survey jobbies, and this was a thank you.
Then, a bit later on, Mr Brown came home. He brought inside another parcel. One of those post bags, all plastic and (reasonably) well sealed.
He plonked it in my lap. "Oooh, goodie," I thought, "wonder who's sending me a parcel?"
Well, I picked it up and my lap filled with BLOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sticky, red, and quite a bit of it. "Shit" I thought, "What the fuck" thought I. My mind raced, who on earth disliked me enough to send me something dead and bleeding in the post? Mr Brown was horrified (mostly, I believe, because some of the red stuff made it onto his beautiful ,and very expensive, white shirt).
I rushed to the bathroom and put the parcel in the sink. I cut it open.
Turns out it wasn't blood, but hibiscus juice.

My brother, OJ, and his lovely wife had sent me a late birthday pressie, including a jar of hibiscus buds in syrup. The lid had had come loose and leaked to buggery.
Bummer, still, I'm sure if we buy champagne tomorrow we'll still be able to make use of the flowers.
Also included a (very stained) card, Merlot chocolate and gingerbread bebes. Mmmmmmm, tar you 2.
EDITED TO ADD - OOh lucky they came in a cellophane bag - Love to eat them Gingerbread bebes. Gingerbread bebes what I love to eat. Bite they little heads off. Nibble on they tiny feet.
With apologies & thanks to B Kliban.

An odd sort of meme ...

... via H&B.
What kind of soap is in your bathtub?
We don’t have a bath.
Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator?
No, everybody knows watermelons turn into vampires, particularly at this time of year.
What would you change about your living room?
Fresh paint job (hint, hint Mr Brown).
Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty?
We don’t have a dishwasher, just a dishwashing fairy, who’s been this morning. What is in your refrigerator?
Fresh veg, butter, king island vanilla yogurt, fruit, jars of stuff (jam, mayo, curry pastes, pesto …) bottles of stuff (pink lemonade, tap water, milk, lemon juice, white wine), stuff like that.
White or wheat bread?
Sonoma Bakery olive bread – on top of the fridge, not in it. Sliced whole meal, whole grain Helgas, in the freezer.
What is on top of your refrigerator?
My lunch bag, the bread, dust.
What color or design is on your shower curtain?
We don’t have a shower curtain, it’s a plain glass screen.
How many plants are in your home?
Inside, none, the cats eat them or dig them.
Is your bed made right now?
No.
Comet or Soft Scrub?
I don't use either, nor have I any idea what they are.
Is your closet organized?
Sort of, I like to hang the shirts by colour, things go back in the same spot, mostly.
Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home?
Glass.
Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now?
No.
If you have a garage, is it cluttered?
Hahahahahaha, no garage.
Curtains or blinds?
Curtains in the lounge, roman blinds in the other rooms. I ripped out all the Luxaflex-style blinds upon moving in, they gather dust and are a HUGE pain to clean.
How many pillows do you sleep with?
Three, I nest.
Do you sleep with any lights on at night?
No, but we leave the blind up a wee bit for air to come in and moonlight sometimes follows.
How often do you vacuum?Mr Brown takes the vacuum for a burl about once a week.
Standard toothbrush or electric?
Standard.
What color is your toothbrush?
Red, colgate brand.
Do you have a welcome mat on your front porch?
We have a mat to wipe feet on, it does not say welcome.
What is in your oven right now?
Bugger all.
Is there anything under your bed?
Dust, cat hair.
Chore you hate doing the most?
All of them, but cleaning the bathroom probably tops the list.
What retro items are in your home?
The house is 105, it’s retro.
Do you have a separate room that you use as an office?
Yes, we call it the shit room.
How many mirrors are in your home?
Do mirror walls count? The last owners put in a big mirror in the kitchen (to make it look bigger one assumes) and a whole wall in the bathroom is mirror (for the same reason I suspect), and there’s a wee one above the fireplace.
What color are your walls?
Blue, green, bright yellow, pale yellow, a sort of minty aqua green & white.
Do you keep any kind of protection weapons in your home?
Knives in the kitchen, golf clubs in the shit room, killer cats …
What does your home smell like right now?
Rain.
Favorite candle scent?
L’Occoitane Lavender & Amber.
What kind of pickles (if any) are in your refrigerator right now?
Capers.
What color is your favorite Bible?
We don’t have a bible. Oh, no wait, there’s a little red Gideons one I got at school, I wouldn't call it a favourite though.
Ever been on your roof?
This roof, no. Last house, yep.
Do you have a stereo?
We have a CD player.
How many TVs do you have?
One.
How many house phones?
Three.
Do you have a housekeeper?
No, sigh.
What style do you decorate in?
Dusty? Paper/Book/Magazine strewn?
Do you like solid colors in furniture or prints?
Solid.
Is there a smoke detector in your house?
Yes, it’s the law.
In case of fire, what are the items in your house which you'd grab if you could make only one trip?
Cats, handbag, any pictures I could grab and carry, Mr Brown would surely be able to leg it himself.
I have no idea what this tells anyone about me, other than I'm not a spectacular housewife.