Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Gingerbread!

Monday, November 16, 2009

In Ireland you can not access hot water after the sun goes down. The sun goes down at 5pm. So, if you want a hot shower it better be during the day; however, two showers cannot operate at the same time from the same water tank. Beware the ghost shower!

I seem to be unable to sleep till noon these days, so I woke up at 9:30 and finished Un Lun Dun. Debba saved the world! Yea! I couldn’t get a shower last night thanks to the frigid temperatures, so I took one this morning. It was wonderful for about 2 minutes. Then Zach evidentially decided he wanted a shower too. My shower started hissing and spitting till it just turned itself completely off then sprout back to life only to die down again at random intervals. The temperature would go from scalding to freezing with no adjustments on my part. I had to laugh. It was like a ghost was controlling my shower. Thankfully, I had not just watched a horror movie, so I chocked it up to European inefficiency.

I didn’t go out of the house today. I have also been in strictly work clothes, lounge clothes and an apron. I haven’t put on normal clothes in over a week. I feel like I live in an apron.

Today I used it because it was gingerbread day!! I wasted hours of my life on Facebook and YouTube ogling like a zombie. Lady Gaga seems to have done it again. Just after I thought her music videos couldn’t get weirder Bad Romance takes the cake. But after that Monica came over about 2:30 and Marta and Paula followed soon after. Mom couldn’t find her gingerbread recipe to send to me, so I pulled one off the internet (I can do that now!!). The internet is revolutionizing baking. It makes it so easy. Monica and I both just pull up recipes and set the computer in the kitchen. Don’t even need a cookbook anymore, but I still like to write my favorites down. Someone told me that there is a web site where you can just type ingredients in and it lists what all you can make with that particular item. Say you have an abundance of lettuce you want to get ride of. It will pull up a bunch of things that use lettuce. As for the gingerbread, the dough seemed really grainy and fell apart easily, but Monica beat it down and whipped it into shape. She uses it as a stress reliever.

Paula and Marta went out for the ornamental treats and Monica and I got resourceful by using a red wine vinegar bottle in place of a rolling pin. I had cut out patterns for the house earlier in the day and we used those to cut the six pieces of the house.




Marta and Paula got back and Jordi and Roberto came over. We all were getting hungry so Monica took Roberto and Jordi to the grocery with her to carry back ingredients for lasagna alla Monica. While they were out, Paula Marta and set up the house with the icing I made from powdered sugar, egg whites and almond essence. It was set!...or so we thought. When Paula and Marta started lining the top with marshmallows before the icing dried the house started falling apart! “Quick! Zach, go grab my hairdryer!” As Marta said, she and I were slaves to the house holding it up till the icing dried, while Zach swept over it with the dryer.






We let the house set up for awhile, and started on dinner. Marta, Monica and I chopped, browned and simmered produce and meat to bake in the oven. We added mushrooms and celery in addition to all the stuff she and I used last time. It was delicious. We also had a salad of mixed greens and sweet corn. Monica prepared a dressing of sugar, lemon and oil. It was delicious! I need to get the measurements from her.

While we waited on the lasagna to bake we all had wine and bread. We moved the house to the table and continued to glue on pieces of candy. Marta had craftily created a gingerbread man and woman and I cut out a dog to go with the house. The house is complete with a marshmallow snowman, Christmas bush, chimney, sled, fence, light post, two doors and four windows (2 round, 2 rectangular).










We ate the salad with the lasagna and everyone loved it. I still uphold that is my favorite, and with less noodles and cheese it has to be better for you.

After dinner Paula had to leave, but Monica, Jordi, Marta and Roberto stayed and we watched episodes of Father Ted, an old Irish sitcom comedy about a priest.

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