- You get time, when at home, to look out of the window and notice Shamus's Heavy Showers. This does not seem to happen when you are working full-tilt in an office or factory.
- You forget to make yourself sufficient cups of coffee during the day as there is no-one around to ask if you want one. You can make up for this lack of hydration in the evening with bottles of cider.
- You become the 'house husband' and are expected to do things like water the runner-beans (that were planted too late, surely, for their own good?) because you are at home all day. Runner-bean watering is not usually a task I associate with myself.
- Even though you slave away at a hot computer and telephone during the day, she gets brassed off when she gets home as she starts peeling potatoes.
So: With an amazing sweep of dexterity I have this early evening stuffed a Dead Chicken (he had had a nice life - he was fed organic things and ran around fields in Waitroseshire all his life) in the oven on a bed of onions (sourced locally) and blue-green herbie leaf things pinched from the Odd Job Lady's garden. Carrots have been peeled and chopped and runner-beans trimmed and sliced. (That should be interesting as who knows how much you have to take off the edges of runner-beans? Your father doesn't tell you things like that - nor did school, come to think of it.)
This must make me a NEW MAN. I have heard about these creatures. They are pale and never make it down to the pub and are chained to the cooker in their pinny aprons. When you hold them up to the light you can see their ribs - rather like an X-Ray.
So this will be a rare treat for Lynnie.
How long does a chicken take to cook?
if its black and smoking when you take it out its had too long
ReplyDeleteI feel that your culinary prowess may have been exaggerated Mike...
ReplyDeleteOddly, the chicken was very tasty and the runner-beans (do they need a hyphen?) were not at all stringy. Having said that, I did cut away about three quarters of them.
The wine was jolly good though!
Alan. There is a Very Old (the capitals are important) saying, when cooking if it's brown it's done, if it's black it's b******d up, or some such word!
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to take the tough edges of if you pick them when there're young, Alan.
ReplyDeleteAnd the same goes for runner beans too.
I thought all chickens came ready roasted from the supermarket? Perhaps thats why some of them can be a little too chewy at times?
ReplyDeleteWow, I hate it when that happens! I typed a load of stuff and the bloody machine just ate it all! So, I'll summarise:
ReplyDelete1. I like crispy wings best;
2. your page is looking charming;
3. now you're a New Man, I'll expect you to do all the washing up on the Challenge next year :)