Vowels are optional

Charlvll (my good Queenslander friend tells me that when pronouncing Queensland town names the vowels are optional) has a really great IGA. In fact it's the best IGA I've come across since leaving Canberra. I was so excited at the sight of fresh basil that I bought two bunches of the stuff. Along with a whole heap of other things I probably didn't need.

And before anyone asks, no I didn't buy a vowel.

My two bunches of basil inspired me to be a bit more creative with my dinner and I decided to whip up a pasta dish I used to make when I was stationary and had a kitchen. I found some beautiful fresh mushrooms, a packet of locally sourced bacon, some parmesan, fresh Australian garlic and pine nuts. All set.

The thing is, cooking in Loretta is a bit of a process. It takes a long time and planning is essential. It goes a bit like this:

1. remove cushions from the "dinette" seat to get into the storage space underneath where the stick blender is stored;

2. shoo a Labrador away from the cupboard where the olive oil and garlic are stored;

3. step over the other Labrador to get to the fridge and the cheese inside it;

4. retrieve the chopping board from the grill, where it's stored;

5. shoo the first Labrador away from the drawer where the sharp knife is kept;

6. trip over the second Labrador when plugging in the stick blender;

7. kick both Labradors out of the van and shut the door;

8. whizz all ingredients to make the pesto, lift up the bed to get to the Tupperware tubs that are stored underneath it, squash the pesto into a small container then remove a pretend beer from the fridge to make room for the pesto and leave it there until it's time to cook;

9. wash and dry the dishes and replace everything in their allocated storage spaces to make room for the next part of the process.

A whole packet of bacon is about nine tenths more than the amount of bacon I need to make this dish. I don't eat bacon very often so I decided to separate the rashers and freeze them in packs of two for future bouts of creativity. This involved removing the cushions from the "dinette" to retrieve the environmentally friendly biodegradable foil (no plastic, remember) in which to wrap the bacon. Then I had to eat the ice cream that was in the freezer to make room for the bacon.

It's an effort, but worth it every now and then.