Day 6 & 7: Cook, Clean, Clear and Create

Yesterday's clean and clear was mostly getting ready for our family meal.  Here's the dining room (tidy-ish) with the table set for 7.  I am very guilty of using my dining table as a dumping area for 'stuff.'  Sadly it's just been stirred elsewhere in the house for another day to clear.

Cook was a Chinese meal for 7 people. This is all that's left from last night!!  The 5 spice pulled beef was AMAZING!! I will definitely make that again. The chicken was simply marinated in honey and Tamari and stir fried.  The prawns were marinated in sesame oil and chilli, also quickly stir fried.

For dessert I made lemonade fruity jelly.  Instead of adding cold water I added cloudy lemonade.  If you let the hot mixture cool a bit before adding it, the bubbles set in the jelly.  For posh meals with just grown ups I've used sparkling wine.  The fruity bit is blueberries and raspberries.

The birthday cake was a banana cake.  Recipe HERE.  Best GF banana cake recipe I've found so far!  I baked it in a bundt tin as my oven doesn't distribute heat evenly. Cakes take longer to bake in the middle and start to burn on the edges.  Having that hole makes a big difference.  To serve I filled it with blueberries and raspberries and dusted it with icing sugar instead of the cream cheese frosting.

My create last night was stitching a few more squares together.  I'm finding my eyesight doesn't like knitting or sewing in artificial light now so only managed 3.

Tonight's cook was a really easy leftovers stir fry.  Tasted better than it looks!

My create today was stitching yet more squares together.  I've now got 3 long strips to stitch to the main blanket.  Thank goodness!! Then I can get one with a different project.

My clean and clear was to totally strip my bed including the zipped on mattress cover.  It got washed and dried outside and after a struggle OH and I managed to get it back on.  Tonight I'll be sleeping in a bed with my new duvet, pillows and bedding.  Lovely! 😴