Tuesday, 27 August 2002  
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What's cooking?

If today, my column seems a bit disjointed, its because I'm doing two things together, writing and cooking! "Cooking!" my friends are going to exclaim. "What's Bob doing in the kitchen? Keep him out of there, he doesn't know a stove from a gas cylinder!"

"Sure, I don't, but Ashley does"

"Who's Ashley?"

"An alcoholic who wants to kick the habit"

"An alcoholic? What's he doing in your kitchen?"

"Teaching me something I don't know. Just imagine I've gone through life without knowing how to prepare a meal. That if I was left alone with raw vegetables, rice and a gas stove I would still have starved to death, either because I wouldn't have known how to put everything together or by poisoning myself. But here's this guy in my kitchen who I've always looked down at because of his addiction, who knows more than me about the most basic of fields; not knowing how to cook is like not knowing how to breathe, right? What ever made me think that I was in any way better off than him?"

"Now if you'll excuse me I need to go back to the kitchen and start my training". I'm back. Man oh man, I just mucked up something in there. Ashley told me to boil the eggs. I took four of them out of the fridge and put them in the boiling water. The eggs cracked. Didn't know I had to bring the eggs down to room temperature before boiling them. He then asked me whether I would like to cut the vegetables. I watched him do it and tried, we would have been cooking till the cows came home if I had gone on with it. He just grinned, took the knife from me and went chop, chop, chop at breakneck speed. His fingers were still intact when he finished." Now I need to peep into the kitchen.

"I've come back crying. Never thought a grown up like me would shed so many tears. No I haven't cut my fingers. Just that I tried to cut the onions. Those fellas had a go at me and made me weep. I couldn't manage even one, believe you me I tried, but after some time the tears were flowing like I was at some funeral. Haven't cried like this ever(sob). Will never look down on cooking ever again. You're asking me what happened to the onions? Ashley took over. No, he's not crying. Some guy huh?"

Let me go in again. I'm sure those smoke bombs are out of the way by now.

"Three pinches of salt, not four, saffron before the rice is cooked not after, otherwise the rice won't give the yummy colour we all love ,okay. Five pieces of a strange looking leaf, I didn't want to ask its name, after all which professional wants to be disturbed when they are at work?. Ashley, I think is getting a little annoyed at all my questions and is wondering why I keep running out of the kitchen. I mean when a pro is teaching you something, you don't indulge in some silly thing like writing a column do you?"

"The smell from the kitchen is enticing!"

"Its ready, the delicious food is prepared, my taste buds are working overtime, I have never tasted anything so delicious! We sit down to eat and I look at Ashley with new respect. I shudder to think that I ever thought myself superior..!"

 

HNB-Pathum Udanaya2002

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