We’re having the weekend to ourselves in the building site.
Before our Men arrived last Monday to begin demolition, we needed to get our fridge to safety; somewhere it could still be used. Francine and I emptied it and managed to walk it the length of the house and over the door still into the conservatory. If/when the sun hits the conservatory the temperature climbs and the poor fridge sounds as if it’s struggling a little but it works.
The wall we were going to lose was the wall with our range cooker backing onto it, pretty much in the centre. The wall contained both the electricity supply [the oven is electric] and the gas supply pipe [the hob is gas] so the oven was the first major piece of kit that was lost irredeemably.
In planning for the project, we bought a single portable induction hotplate to supplement our collection of barbecues, to be used if the weather was suitable, and our bottled gas Cadac Carri Chef Grill, rehomed from Spain. Both the hotplate and the Cadac also fit the conservatory and could be used there if the weather proved inclement.
After Men had left on Friday, the weather was set fair and we declared the weekend to be here. I carried the Carri Chef out onto the patio and started on one of my favourite meals, a paella. [Just don’t call it a Paella Valencia ‘cos I love putting chorizo in it.]
After our initial shock and feeling unsettled by the sudden change on Monday, this was beginning to feel comfortable. My vegetable content was artichoke hearts – bottled rather than the beautiful fresh, small ones available in Spain – but we also had a handful of courgette flowers which I added near the end.
There was even room on the lower part of the patio, away from the construction zone, for our garden dining table. The not Paella Valenciana was very good, though I don’t think either of us noticed the courgette flowers.
After a bit of a hiatus for some of the weekend, since the sun has now returned, we’re finishing off the weekend with a hickory-smoked chicken on the charcoal Weber.
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