Today

Actually a little after the event, but a treatise on recipes and cooking. Last week it was Shrove Tuesday. I decided not to go to choir but to make some pancakes. Easy - one ounce of flour per pancake, one egg and enough milk.

Mixed away merrily, made four lovely thin pancakes, which I filled with a scrummy garlic mushroom and creme fraiche filling, topped with melted cheese and dinner was done.

Becky phones - "can I just confirm the recipe for pancakes - I've got Charl, Shona and Cat coming round soon". "Yes - 8 oz flour, 1 egg and a pint of milk will give you 8-10 pancakes".

The next day we have the post-mortem - "I realised that we didn't put in enough eggs", says Becky. "You won't need more than 1", says I, "how did it go?" "Well, we had a lot of failures, but eventually did get our pancakes....."

In My Day

My sister was married at the tender age of 18, to a man 7 years' her senior who expected to see his dinner, hot, ready as he walked in the door. A domestic goddess she was not.

Decided to make a chicken casserole one day. Gave me a call - "how do I start?" "well, I suggest you chop and brown some onions". "OK". A bit later "what do you mean, "Brown"?" I explained. She phoned every few minutes to ask what to do with the chicken, the stock, the vegetables, the oven temperature, the cooking time. I've no idea whether Dave ever got his first home-cooked meal on time. Perhaps it was a symbol of their marriage, that she accidentally threw an entire (piping hot) spaghetti bolognese into his lap on a later occasion.

I have a staple recipe called cottage cheese loaf which I make again and again. My sister gave me the recipe. A year or so ago she called. "Can you give me the recipe for cottage cheese loaf?"
"Well, you gave it to me", says I "but here it is."

I think that Mamma and my school between them gave me what I would describe as a repertoire for cooking. The rest comes with actually reading the recipe and having an ability to imagine flavours so that you can combine them well.

Anyway, my sister still doesn't do domestic goddess, but has found herself a husband who cooks and cleans.