Tower and Town, February 2019

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Cooking With A Broken Arm

Four years after my last accident, I have again broken my right arm. This time it was a few days after Christmas and so fortunately we were well stocked up with seasonal left-overs and the contents of a hamper. Kind friends have kept appearing on the doorstep with offerings of home cooked dishes, and so we have lived well.

But there came a time when tired-looking vegetables stared at me from the fridge, for which the only solution seemed to be either to throw them away or to capture my husband once more. I went for the latter.

We concocted an emergency broth from:

1 onion, 2 potatoes, 4 carrots, and 1 leek.

I checked first that there were no rugby matches or quiz programmes on TV that would distract my husband, and stood over him while he peeled and chopped the veggies, suggesting, for example, that it is easier to peel the onion if he cuts it in half first, and that it is a good idea to cut off the ends of the carrots and the leek.

We then heated some oil in a large saucepan and added the onion, followed by the veg. We found some cumin in my spice rack and added a teaspoonful, before pouring on a generous pint of chicken stock. When boiling we put in some salt, a generous handful of dried marmalade orange peel (brought back from Iran), chopped parsley from the freezer and some dried thyme (from Bulgaria). We then simmered this for 30 minutes, allowing husband a well-earned rest. You can see that I was feeling creative, but that husband was getting restive.

Once the broth was cooked, I introduced husband to my portable liquidiser and set him to work. He liked this bit and did a good job. We added some pepper and a bit of milk as it was rather thick, and, with a topping of crème fraiche, served it with nice bread and a glass of wine in front of University Challenge for a perfect evening.

The marmalade oranges should be in the shops now. I wonder….. .

Karen Osborne