procrastinamatating.

This week in the adventures of the overstressed and underslept:

• Went to the embassy to check in - got told to use the internet.
• Bought some wool at the Bon Marche. My credit card flinched. No more treats for a while.
  
• Went to the Australian shop (it was open, but there was no beer. Renamed it the un-Australian shop).
  
• Went to the Australian picnic - met some cool people, but was a bit overwhelmed by the huge crowd.
• Went for a run, and utilised the wifi in the park (not simultaneously).
• Went to the Musee d'Orsay - saw the Degas bassoon painting (it's smaller than my print).

• 

This is all not very interesting, so (to continue the theme): here is my new favourite dinner. It looks like the world's most depressing, boring meal...and ok it is a bit depressing that I'm sharing this and not getting excited about some grand weekend-sucking cooking scheme like I used to, but look, it's actually really delicious, it has all of the food groups (except chocolate), it's reasonably cheap, and it fulfills my (other) current cooking goal, viz: it's fast to prepare (10 mins), so I'm out of the 2m sq kitchen (and out of the way of my housemates) as quickly as possible. Thus:

Ingredients:

• 1 carrot
• 1/2 small head of brocolli
• handful of pasta (I use brown, because that's how I roll kidlets, but in this case I actually think a more strongly flavoured pasta is a good idea anyway)
• 1 egg
• 1 tomato
• cheese (I am using emmental, because that's the cheap supermarket cheese here, but cheap cheddar would also do the trick. This is not the place for your fancy pants fromagerie cheese).
• 1/2 lemon (you can use balsamic vinegar instead)
  
• good olive oil
• salt & pepper

Method:
Boil the kettle. While that's happening, start chopping up your carrot into thin rounds, and your broccoli into little florettes. When the water has boiled, put it in a saucepan and begin cooking your pasta. Put a saucepan with holes (what are those called?), or in my case a metal sieve on top, and steam your veggies at the same time. Meanwhile, fry an egg and roughly slice your tomato into the pan as well. Take the veggies off the steamer when they are fluorescent and only just cooked. Undercook the egg a little so the yolk is still runny. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, and mix everything together (breaking up the egg to help make a bit of a sauce) with a dash of olive oil, a good squeeze of lemon juice, salt and copious amounts of freshly ground pepper, and some grated cheese.

You can add other random things that you have if you like - maybe some avocado, or perhaps some nuts.

Eat. Yum. Finished? Good.

Now is the time for your fancy pants fromagerie cheese: dessert. Of course, you could instead have some lovely fresh fruit from the street market nearby, or some chocolate. Or if you're like me, you can have difficulty deciding and have all three. Vive la France.