No, but I was in the Scouts & when camping, we were expected to take our turn cooking meals. And my father died when I was 8 years old, so when my mother was confined to bed with a slipped dick a few years later & while I was still at the village primary school. I was going home at lunch time to sort her lunch out. Plus I had a younger sister to look after too.
And when I was a residential social worker we were expected to behave like “normal parents.” And do all those things that normal parents do. So some housework, cooking, laundry, giving medication etc etc.
Pancake day in the childrens home was great. We made them to order for supper. We mixed up medium sized batches, with help, over a protracted supper time. While the younger kids got ready for bed & we then make pancakes fresh for each person.
I always cook our family meals. So I cook Christmas lunch & must admit I am always very careful about hygiene with a meal like chicken or turkey. So prior to Christmas & Easter. I deep clean the kitchen with my steam cleaner & I always buy at least 2 bottles of antibacterial cleaner & make sure we have plenty of sterilising fluid.
I do not think I go over the top. But I do make sure things like chopping boards, the sink area, meat thermometer & kitchen knives are cleaned thoroughly both before & after use. It adds a few extra minutes to the time I spend in the kitchen. But I have not killed anyone… Yet.
Yesterday, l called to my son’s place to see my granddaughter. His partner was in the kitchen cutting up strawberries. She said, ‘We are having pancakes with lemon and strawberries and cream tonight’.
I said, ‘Have you made the pancake mixture yet?’
‘Oh no’ she replied, ‘l have got this’, as she waved a packet of pancake mix at me!
Well, me being a person who would never use mixes of any sort, nearly had a relapse!
I was in shock and said, ‘…but pancakes are so easy to make and l give you lots of my hens’ eggs that you could use to make them’.
‘Oh, l can’t cook’, she replied. ‘This mix will do’.
I was in shock and the thought of my poor ‘little soldier boy’ being deprived of proper pancakes and filled with artificial, chemical ridden pancakes worried me all night!!
We usually buy ready made pancakes and just heat them up, but this year I presented Mrs Fox with some Tesco pancake mix…It was crap! We don’t do much frying now so we only have a little frying pan with all ridges on the bottom and it was impossible to flip them over. We ended up with roadkill instead of pancakes. A spoonful of sugar and a squirt of orange juice and they were passable.
As I said, I accept that there are lots of reasons why some people use mix or ready made. But I do find the level of use of these ready made options strange. TV is full of cookery shows, some of which attract big audience & high salaries. Plus, cook books seem to be big sellers. So why are so many people not cooking the basics?
Life’s too short to mess about in the kitchen all day Gee, I just do enough to keep it fresh and wholesome. I’ve got other hobbies in which to invest my time.
My mother was, without doubt, the worst cook on the entire planet - probably because she had never had to do it for herself until quite late in life when our circumstances took a dive. She really hated anything to do with cooking or kitchens - and would have lived on raw food if she could. I was in my teens before I discovered that sprouts were not meant to be liquid. But - she loved cookery books! She could sit and read one - cover to cover - like anyone else would read a novel !
