Sometimes readers ask me how I keep going and why housework isn’t boring for me. It is boring sometimes but boredom doesn’t stop me from doing anything. I keep going because of the rewards I get from doing my house work – it gives me the life I want. There are a lot of things we have to take responsibility for when we’re adults and one of them is creating a home that you feel comfortable in. If you don’t have the drive to regularly do the work that gives you that home, push yourself. If you keep at it you’ll see the benefits and the work you do in your home will change you. It did that for me. It made me slower, more generous and thoughtful and I’m glad for that.
Cleaning up the kitchen.
When you get stuck in, you’ll be surprised that it doesn’t take much to make a really warm and comfy home. Nothing has to be perfect, it just has to be to the standard that makes you feel comfortable. And remember, housework never ends. So when you have enough, stop and come back to it the next day. The sky won’t fall in and you’ll feel better for it.
I think you’d be surprised at how much you can get done in a short time. For instance, when I’m waiting for the kettle to boil or the toast to cook, I clear the kitchen bench. If I still have time, I wipe the bench too. If the bench is already clean but the kitchen bin is full, I empty it. If you have 15 minutes to spare, empty everything out of the fridge, wipe the shelves and put it back in. It’s a good habit to get into the day before you do the grocery shopping.
I’ve got a couple of meal ideas for you today. I had these two meals this week and they’re ideal for one or two or five or ten. If, like me, you’re living alone, the ravioli bake makes four portions, the omelette makes two.
Ravioli Bake
This will take less than an hour to cook. You can put it all together and have it ready to cook in the fridge and just heat it up when you come home from work. It will be ready in about 20 minutes. Just enough time to make a nice salad.
When you freeze the leftovers, put it in a container already cut into portions but without them touching so you can remove them easily if you only want one piece. I had one on the day of cooking, the second portion the following day and I froze two portions for next week.
Buy a bag of ravioli or make a batch of ravioli. I bought a bag because I wanted this to be a fast meal.
Make a tomato sauce. I made mine with a 400ml bottle of tomato passata that was on special that week. I fried off an onion, half a capsicum/pepper, diced two sticks of celery and added oregano and parsley from the garden. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 20 minutes.
Add the uncooked ravioli to a small oven-proof dish and pour the tomato sauce over it. Sprinkle on some cheese if you like it. and bake in the oven at 180C until the top is golden. Mine took 20 minutes.
Spanish Omelette
This recipe takes two eggs per serve. I used four eggs and it served me for two days.
Peel a medium potato and slice it into thickish slices. Microwave for four minutes and cool.
Use a non-stick frying pan you can put in the oven. Add a tablespoon of olive oil, sliced onions, capsicums/peppers, garlic and any vegetable you have in the fridge or backyard. I picked baby silverbeet/chard and added that after the onions and peppers were cooked. Remove the vegetables and keep the pan on the stove.
Break the eggs into a bowl, add salt and pepper and about a quarter cup of cream. If you want a spicy version, add some chilli flakes. Pour that into the frying pan, add the vegetables – potatoes and onion mix – making sure they’re distributed well over the top of the eggs.
Cook on the stove top on medium heat for five minutes then put the pan in a preheated oven at 180C. Cook in the oven until the top is golden and the eggs are set.
I used a small frying pan – 150mm and I cut the omelette in two for two meals. I like this when it’s cooled rather than hot from the oven.
Here is my constant companion. Gracie and I sit out on the front verandah most afternoons and watch the world go by. She’s an easy dog to live with. She likes to stay by my side but does go a bit mental running around the house with a lamb fleece in her mouth. It’s her seventh birthday on Wednesday. How time flies.