Tower and Town, December 2014

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Karen Osborne Cooks With A Broken Arm

This time last year I fell on black ice and broke my right arm. In case anyone has the same bad luck this year, I now have a few tips to pass on about how to produce tasty meals with only one arm over Christmas.

I had a good start, as my freezer was full of soups and other dishes I had cooked in advance of the festive season. John, my husband, discovered the ready made meals at Cook in the High Street and proudly served up Partridge with Pear in Wine Sauce on Christmas night as if he had conjured it up himself.

But after the festive season we felt like simpler fare and John felt hungry enough to have a go at improvising in the kitchen. Excellent though he is at washing up and other chores, he had to brush up his elementary knowledge in the art of cookery, and needed my help. This was one of our combined efforts:

Cauliflower Cheese

First catch a husband, stand over him and instruct him in the art of breaking a cauliflower into small florets. (“What’s a floret?” he asked.) Show him how to peel and chop up a clove of garlic into small pieces without cutting himself.

Throw all this into a roasting pan and sprinkle with cumin (generously) and salt and pepper and pour over some olive oil. Make sure that husband gets his fingers in the trough so that all the cauliflower is covered in the oil. Then put the dish in a pre-heated oven (200 degrees) for about 30 minutes. After 20 minutes add a few small tomatoes cut in half (by husband).

Meanwhile preheat an oven-proof dish, and transfer the roasted ingredients to it. Add a few chopped olives and some small pieces of cooked ham (left over from weekend lesson of baked gammon – tricky for husband but worth doing as it produces several meals). Add a few tablespoonfuls of crème fraiche and mix it all together. Sprinkle the dish with dried breadcrumbs and cover with some grated cheddar cheese. Return to the oven and cook for about 20 minutes. Get husband to serve.

We both agreed that this was tasty and worth repeating with two arms, or by an unsupervised husband.

Karen Osborne