The Christmas and New Year holidays have given us all the opportunity to spend more time at home with our families. This is, of course, a wonderful thing, with one exception; it means greater opportunity for unwanted and unwarranted interference in the kitchen while cooking.
I know for a fact I’m not the only person that enters a special mental state when cooking. An unscientific poll among friends and acquaintances reveals the overwhelming majority of people also experience this.
On one occasion during the holidays Mrs Adams had the audacity to interrupt me while I was hard at work on the hob. She wanted to inform me that it would not be necessary to add peas to the dish and to ask about a trip to the cinema with our eldest child.
This was too much. I just couldn’t compute what she was talking about. Could she not tell that I was cooking stock? Was it not apparent to her that the corn flour was forming lumps and this needed to be dealt with urgently? How could she not see the stock was the wrong shade of brown? Was it not obvious I was concerned about the lack of Bouillon powder?
I was polite, but I told her that she must leave the kitchen immediately. It was just as well she interrupted me before I discovered that we had no bouquet garni because I’d have suffered a major sense of humour failure.
As it happens we did have a small falling out over the bouquet garni. I was going to dash to the shops and take Helen (our eldest) with me but it clashed with her bed time and Mrs Adams did not approve. We soon got over our disagreement and had a lovely meal of chicken casserole despite the bouquet garni being added to the mix too late and the complete lack of Bouillon powder.
I know that I can be a complete culinary prima donna. Luckily, Mrs Adams adopts the same temperament when she enters the kitchen. If she is in the midst of cooking I will often put my head round the door and ask “can I come in or should I bugger off?” before even entering the kitchen. The answer, by the way, is always “bugger off”.
3 thoughts on “Do not disturb, I’m on the hob.”
I usually cook with three children in the house, I can’t remember the last time I was able to cook without being interrupted at least a dozen times.
And what of the peas?
Good question. I always add them to chicken casserole but my wife didn’t want me to on this occasion. An improved diet with more fruit, salad & veg is planned for 2013.