Don’t waste a warm oven

Don’t waste a warm oven is my new favourite phrase. A friend of mine always says when someone gets up that they shouldn’t waste a stand up which when said in a Caribbean accent sounds completely different but the principle is a perfect one.

I decided to apply that same principle to the time spent in the kitchen. One of the interesting side effects of my stroke is my challenge with focus. Once I leave the kitchen I often forget what I was doing in there, which as you can imagine has created a whole host of interesting experiences.

It, therefore, makes perfect sense to do lots of things while in the kitchen, that way I am present from the beginning to the end. I’ve realised that this actually means I am also making the most of my time, time management gurus eat your heart out. (I have a theory about time management. There is no such thing. We can’t actually manage time we can only manage how we use it. )

On this particular trip to the kitchen, I was planning on repeating my previous success of the spinach and cashew ricotta cannelloni (this was so delicious, a complete surprise as I really don’t like spinach) so my challenge was to decide what would share the oven with this dish. I surveyed what I had in my cupboards and fridge and decided on the following:

• Apple and oat crumbs
• Sweet potato bread
• Chocolate cupcakes
• Vegan meatballs – This didn’t happen as I got tired of chopping. Maybe next time!

I have long since discovered that recipes are simply suggestions, a starting point for you to blend your own seasonings and spices and mixtures to. Again that’s my theory and I’m sticking to it.

My mother, who was with me for 32 years would quite literally be turning in her grave (if the coffin was big enough) as throughout her short time with me she tried so many different approaches to get me to eat and to like food all to no avail. It took me 53 years to actually develop a relationship with food that I could live with and actually enjoy and I only discovered through sharing with others that I like food (well some of it ). Who knew that it would involve vegetables!