We've got +30°C today and the humidity is evil. Usually when it's around 30°C humidity is around 30-40%. Today and just recently, it's been 60-70%. Right now, it's 74% so I'm cooking outside. I don't need something boiling in the kitchen for an hour, heating up the entire house
and increasing the humidity inside .
So, my setup is in the shade on the veranda. We were given (via
www.freecycle.org a fantastic way of recycling unwanted anything) the camp stove and gas bottle, along with a grill/griddle to go over both rings, 2 stools, a gas lamp, extender and splitter for the gas pipe (so you can cook in the light when camping! ) and 2 excellent camp beds. I also picked up my BBQ from the same site and various other bits, but the gentleman who I was picking up the camp beds from, once we got chatting, realised I was genuine and also had a bad back like him. He and his wife (both in their 70's) were giving up camping because it was becoming too much for them, so offered me all of their old kit. His wife had even made custom bags for everything to stop them rattling and damaging each other in transit and storage. The result is that everything is in fantastic condition. All I needed to do was to switch out an old gas bottle for a new one... Much cheaper when you start with an empty spare and so many Australians have them lying around everywhere.
So what's that all to do with today's cooking I hear you ask?
Well, our evening meal, that's what.
It's meant to be a cold soup, outs going to be a warm one because I made a dyslexic mistake and misread the method. I find it very difficult to follow one line to the next. Always have done. Reading is easier with a ruler. It's why I put lots of line breaks in.
Anyhow, I read line 1, followed to what I thought was line 2, so added the first 5 ingredients. Topped up with hot water and simmered for 30 minutes until cooked. Then because it was lunch, I turned everything off and left it outside. The recipe says cook for 40 mins but I sliced the cabbage very finely and was counting on it continuing cooking whilst cooling. I've done a double batch because we accidentally had twice the ingredients and they'd perish before we'd use them.
Talking with hubby over lunch, I mentioned that I wasn't yet done with the ingredients list because I knew I hadn't added the Apple cider vinegar, the red wine or the palm sugar. Which was odd because I thought I was done with the cooking... he read the method and well, let's just say I'm adding the extra ingredients now and hoping to see most of the red wine alcohol evaporate between now and this evening! It's already had 30 minutes simmering, so I'm giving it another 10 and then we'll just not drive anywhere until tomorrow! Lol.
(Given there are about 12-16 portions by the recipe guidance, the 300ml of red wine will be spread thinly anyway! )