Lack of attention

I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to boil, scrape and soak blackened food from the bottom of a pot. I blame this entirely on my ancestry, and in particular the genes which my grandmother passed on. They consisted almost entirely of forgetfulness, but fortunately included a good dose of creative abilities, and perhaps that is what caused the forgetfulness in both of us. We, and certainly I, spend a lot of time thinking of other things than the task at hand. I can flit from one activity to another, under the mistaken illusion that I will remember to go back to the original before the water has boiled away, or the bath filled and spilled over, or the paintbrush rendered ‘throwaway’ by leaving the paint on too long.

I have told you about her leaving pots on the stove and going out for the day, or not turning off the iron before going shopping. Some of the most exciting times resulted from her forgetting to put the handbrake on when she parked her DKW in the garage. The slight slope meant that it would roll backwards across a quite busy road (for the 1960s) and over the edge into the garden of the old Homestead in Clovelly. There was never enough momentum to propel the car further once the back wheels were in the air, and everyone would rush out to help haul it back up!

I have had similar experiences with the automatics I have owned, and still laugh when I picture myself running down the road, snatching at the door of my large and extremely heavy old BMW as it slid gently backwards down Erica Rd in Kommetjie, having neglected to place in Park position. It happened twice, proving that you do not necessarily learn from experience, but in both instances I was able to jump in and retrieve the situation. More recently, my Toyota eased itself forward while I was outside talking to a friend, and it was only great good fortune that some serious damage was not caused to the other vehicle. Driving is definitely one of life’s activities that require our full attention and no daydreaming. Or maybe parking, anyway.

To get back to the burnt pots, an essential item in my kitchen is now a simmer plate, which you place under the pot, turn the stove low, and you are guaranteed to have sufficient time to come back inside after quickly hacking back the shrubbery, and still have edible rice! This was my most likely food to burn, and I probably threw away 50% of what I have cooked over the years. Some people never learn. A kitchen tip: if you have tomato in the recipe, that is the bit that burns.