Cooking, repairs and improvements�

2007-02-20

What with the whole eating more vegetarian meals, cooking at our house has gotten a lot more creative. I've been printing recipes off the web at a record rate.

The thing is, I don't really make stuff according to the recipe. It's more like a starting point and I then adjust things to suit myself.

The other day I made a potato and leek tart. The recipe basically said cut potatoes, sweet potatoes and leeks, layer in pie plate, cover with foil and cook. That sounded sort of dry, in the literal sense. I added vegetable broth, garlic and some mozarella between the layers and on top. It turned out great.

I've been doing that with a lot of recipes, from stuff I just read about to old family favorites. Now I need to back and make note of how I actually cook the stuff.

Had a lovely surprise this weekend. The water heater started leaking. Well, it wasn't really a surprise. I've kind of been waiting for it. We've been in the house for 13 years and it wasn't new when we moved in.

Long delayed home maintenance is catching up with us now. In the space of 3 weeks we've had a new furnace and ac, a new waterheater and trees removed from the yard. Yikes! Good thing I've been saving my pennies. Along witht the quarters, nickles, dimes and every other demnomination that comes my way.

Next I am planning on redoing the downstairs bath. I'm going to try to do as much of the work myself as possible; drafting the Wonderful Spouse only if absolutely necessary. I AM the one with the 4 day weekends after all.

I'm also trying to do something I haven't in the past. Plan. Pick the stuff that I want. Measure, make sure it will fit. Price it out, make sure it's in my budget. Find out what tools are needed to get the job done. The very first thing I did was order a book on home improvement.

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