Melanie Safka

Have you ever played the game where you are with a group of people and everyone has to think of  something that is exclusive to yourself. For example you may say that you have never been to a football game and if everyone else in the room has been to a game then you score a point. Many years ago I read an interview with Melanie Safka who said that she was playing that game and she won by saying that she had never wondered what the time was.

Up until a couple of days I'd never watched a cookery programme on TV but on Wednesday I actually sat down and watched Masterchef and really enjoyed it and have been watching it every night since.

My latest effort (with a huge amount of help - thanks Emma) was Lasagne which was a recipe hand-carried over from South Africa and I particularly liked the subtle touch of leaving the sheets of pasta off the list of ingredients and then slipping in "add sheets of pasta" in the very last instruction. Nice try Jean but fortunately my lovely assistant spotted your skullduggery and we didn't fall for it !

For anyone wondering who Melanie Safka is then click here or to see her singing click here

Where's the tuna ?

After a break from cooking duties (short walking holiday in Germany) it was back to the grindstone and slaving over a hot stove. We have a BBC "101 Fish and Seafood Dishes" recipe book and the Tuna and Pea Pasta had some of my favourite foods - Bacon, Tuna, Tomatoes, Peas, Creme Fraiche, Pasta and Onions.
As usual, I had all the ingredients laid out, measured, prepared and ready to start cooking for when The Consort arrived home.  Everything went as it should and I even had two processes running at the same time completely disproving the theory that men can't multitask.

It all came together as expected and the main meal was served with fresh grated carrot and peppery water cress. We sat down to eat and it tasted really good - I was very proud of my efforts and The Consort was suitably impressed.

After the meal I went into the kitchen and to my horror rapidly leading to great amusement I found that the Tuna and Pea Pasta was actually just Pea Pasta as the full tin of Tuna was still sitting on the work surface.

Guess what ingredient the next meal will have ?

The Consort is revolting

It had to happen - the honeymoon period is over ! After 4 weeks of non-stop appreciation and praise for my efforts the first "helpful suggestions" have been received. It followed my second back to basics meal shown above - a delightful combination of Pasta in tomato and herb sauce with carrots and Leeks (inevitably). My meals can apparently be improved by improving the quantity of vegetables and reducing the amount of pasta/meat. It was also suggested that rather than going to the shops before each meal I could plan in advance and shop for multiple meals. Now while I can take on board the vegetable suggestion, the advance planning idea is clearly ridiculous. It takes all my effort, powers of concentration, blood sweat and tears to pull one meal together but to also plan for several meals in advance is way beyond me.

So the next day it was Vegetable gross out - Cauliflower cheese, leeks (of course) and carrots. The Consort's usual arriving home time came and went and eventually I got a call to say she was delayed at the office and would leave in 5 minutes. Much later she eventually arrived home full of excuses about last minute meetings, unexpected calls, the boss wanting additional work done etc. I tried very hard not to but I couldn't help it - it just slipped out. "You treat this place like a hotel. I work my fingers to the bone slaving over a hot oven and this is the thanks I get. You just take me for granted. I sometimes think my only role is to supply you with food". What fun :-)