Baby, It's Cold Outside

In the last few days I have been registered and oriented at my university.
I would have taken some pictures of the grounds, because for the most part it's a beautiful campus full of old worldly charm, but firstly, I didn't really think of it and secondly, I would have had to have taken my hands out of my coat pocket and that would have been unpleasant.


I'm resolved not to be one of those people who perpetually states the obvious and moans "It's cold!"  so I've been putting on my best stoic face and responding to anybody who complains in my vicinity that the weather is fine provided you dress appropriately.
This dressing appropriately has seen me wearing 2 thermal tops and a t-shirt underneath a woolen jumper with a thick woolen coat over the top, thermal leggings and thick knee high socks under my jeans (which don't fit so well with the thermal leggings underneath - or possibly my thighs and stomach since eating ribs and discovering my love for American candy - gym opens this week, I'll be there), beanie and ear muffs (which don't fit well with my glasses meaning I have to sacrifice my vision for the sake of warm ears) and then my leather gloves.
In all that garb, it is still possible to be cold.
It's -19°C outside right now.


I get the feeling that in the warmer months this is going to be a great little town to get around.
I'd like to get a bicycle and just scoot about the place. At the moment however, this is one town where you need a car and being neither the owner of a car or a person legally entitled to be in control of a car, I'm a bit screwed.


I ran out of dinner type food yesterday and knew that would mean I had to walk to the supermarket or order in something greasy and the size of a steering wheel to be delivered.
You will be pleased to know that I chose the former.


Donning an additional thermal layer for safety, I headed out into the brisk air and as I was walking the 1.2 miles to the supermarket, it was crystalising in my head that I wanted something warm and stew like and quick to cook.
Once in the warmth of the supermarket, I saw these 

Mmm... Sausages.
Being Australia Day this week I have been thinking about sausages and the people I usually share them with on that day and it has been making me feel a bit sad.


So with my handy handheld scan as you go scanner I scanned them and popped them in my shopping bag.
A few aisles later and I came across legumes and I decided to make Sausages and Lentils.


One thing I have to show you, is how I bought my carrots.
I fear that these carrots might incur the wrath of my dear sister, who would disapprove of something so natural being so processed.
I'm sticking to them though because you cannot buy loose carrots in the supermarket so my options are these or a bag containing enough carrots for a family of 12.
And I like carrots (as you might be able to tell by the bag already being opened before getting home) but not enough to devote myself to an entirely carrot diet. Plus, whenever I go to the fridge, I tend to shove a few of these in my mouth which is healthy and fills me up and stops me eating more Reece's peanut butter cups. For at least 5 seconds.


Now that we've cleared that up, back to the Sausages and Lentils.
Sausages and Lentils is a dish we thought was dreamed up by our brother Nick until it appeared all fancified in the recipe book Apples for Jam but this could also just be a case of universal consciousness.
We were in disbelief that a recipe so simple could be so totally delicious.
The recipe is so simple in fact, that when your brain is partially frozen and you blank on some of the key ingredients and then you're distracted by taking photos of your cooking and miss a few steps, it still tastes delicious!


Lentils and Sausages

Good sausages	Olive oil
Tin of brown lentils (or cook 1-1 ½ cups green / brown lentils)	1 garlic clove
½ onion finely chopped	Tin chopped tomatoes
(optional) chopped carrot, celery	herbs of choice – parsley & oregano are favourites

That's the official ingredients list.
Here's what I ended up with in my addled state;

Good sausages	Olive oil
1-1 ½ cups of the only lentils in the supermarket. Look like puy.	0 garlic cloves (forgot to buy them)
3 spring onions - forgot to buy brown onions	What I thought was a tin of   chopped tomatoes but was actually stewed tomatoes so contained sugar and bell peppers and other stuff
chopped carrot and celery	herbs of choice – parsley & coriander were what was in the fridge

Step -1. Drain and rinse lentils, put in a pot with enough water to cover, bring to the boil then simmer 10-15 minutes until tender

Spring onion, not brown onion

1. Fry off vegetables. 

2. Separately cook sausages in a fry pan.

3. Chop up all your herbs

4. Throw them in the pan with the vegetables

5. Throw the lentils in too

6. And the tomatoes with a bit of stock or water

7. Once the sausages are cooked, slice them up

It was important for me to check the flavours at this stage (gobbling up pieces of sausage)

8. And chuck them in with the veggies

9. And then you eat it

Don't know why I'm wasting my time studying writing when clearly my talents lie in food photography!