Playtime is Cooking Time

Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?

Yes,I am a player in my daily life.Playtime to me means getting messy in the kitchen.

Not the heat of the oven or the firey hob for me. They are quite scary and need to be watched over. A necessary evil

I get my kicks from mixing ingredients without technology. My favourite implements are whisks and my Pyrex Bowls. Nothing I like better than lining my bowls up on the kitchen surface and then using my ancient weighing scales to allocate the necessary ingredients to each bowl.

When I first try a recipe,I will measure accurately,and hopefully will have all the ingredients.(That I’m afraid is not always guaranteed,however,it can be fun trying to find a substitution in my cupboards).

I love using the basics ,such as flour,eggs,milk,butter, sugar, and salt.What beautiful foods,such textures ,colours,and flavours.

I love “creaming ” butter and sugar together to make all sorts of cookies and doughs.

As I say ,when I first try a recipe, I will follow the instructions exactly and have great success.Subsequently, I might tweak the recipe out of necessity(usually ran out of something) and the results might not work as well. It is fun to experiment.

Recently,I’ve been infusing to make a non-alcoholic gin. Largely based on cucumber(love cutting and slicing the cucumber). Then I add loose chamomile flowers,cloves,peppercorns,juniper berries, cinnamon, and anything that might give me that “gin”character. Infuse in the fridge for five hours, and then it’s ready. Sieve the liquid and then add your favourite tonic and a slice of lemon. Infinitely experimental.

Would I want to run an International Food Company making popular products.No.The individual loses their ingenuity and creativity.Do I mind clearing up and washing dishes?No ,not at all ,now I’ve got discipline and a system.

Is it playtime in the kitchen for me every day.Yes!