Caught With My Apron Down
Labels: she cooks
Sunday, July 01, 2007
My Modus Operandi when it comes to cooking and housekeeping, is to make the process and finished product look effortless.
When my husband walks through that kitchen door after work, all he sees is a spotless kitchen, gleaming counter tops and his dinner neatly set aside. All that is required is a quick zap with the microwave or a couple of minutes in the oven. Like a magician pulling out meals from air.
And when he goes into the living room with his beer to wind down while I reheat dinner, he'll be greeted with fluffed up cushions neatly arranged on the couch. Everything is tidy, with nary a clutter in sight.
What he doesn't see is all the backstage work. The hours of arm and back breaking prep work and cooking time; the kitchen and living room looking like three hurricanes or one boy (same difference) paid a visit. No, no. He doesn't see all that because I don't let him. Unless it's the weekends when he's home the entire day.
The reason why all this illusion is possible is because my husband normally calls me the minute he steps into the car on his way home. The commute is about one and half hours so that gives me plenty of time to work my cleaning up magic. I put the finishing touches on dinner, clean and wipe the entire kitchen - stove, counter tops and all. While I'm busy with that, I hustle my son to clean up his mess on the coffee table or the floor or wherever his latest spot of mass destruction was.
See? Easy peasy.
However, a bubble's got to burst at some point or other. Mine did some three weeks ago. I decided I wanted to make Chicken Cordon Bleu for dinner and some other dish which I can't remember now. It's messy work, Chicken Cordon Bleu. All that stuffing and crumb coating. Not to mention the frying. Earlier that afternoon, my son decided he wanted to stage a major road accident with his cars, trucks, helicopters, planes and goodness knows what. While I was busy frying the chicken filet, he was working out the final technical details of aforesaid crash. To say it was one huge mess is akin to saying Donald Trump has a couple of loose change to spare.
At this point of chaos, who should breeze in unannounced but my dear husband? Not only was he early, he didn't even call. Talk about getting caught with my apron down! Well, at least my hair and make-up were still in place.
Thank goodness for small mercies.
Ay.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 5:28 am
Now in Italy, he's only 5 minutes by car away. It's going to be difficult cooking and cleaning up like magic...More Communist planning will have to be in the works
