BLOG – LETTUCE IN THE KNIFE DRAWER
Many years ago I was a Girl Guide and along with fun and friendship we were supposed to learn some life skills. First Aid, Knot-tying and Fire-lighting were some of them. Fire-lighting was one of the trickiest to achieve because a fire had to be laid using found sticks, then lit using only one match. This was difficult and some of the guides in my patrol helped things along by tucking a fire-lighter in amongst the kindling; I did not do this because I was a girl who played by the rules.
Our badges were sewn onto the sleeves of our tunics and if you were a very industrious guide then you ended up with sleeves covered with badges; I did not. One of my favourites showed a bee, a creature that makes something from nothing and so was the badge for Thrift.
I like to think that some of those guide virtues have stayed with me, although my nod at thrift these days is limited to making what I call ‘left-over soup’. I use all the cooked vegetables not eaten at previous meals plus any left-over veg I find in the fridge: broccoli stalks, bendy bits of celery and so on. I add herbs, cook and blitz. It tastes good but the best thing is how virtuous I feel for not wasting food.
The other day I foraged in the fridge and lurking at the bottom of the salad drawer found a cos lettuce, wilting at the ends. I cut these off, chopped them up and threw them in the pan along with other past their best-before vegetables and put it on the stove.
My DH was emptying the dish washer later when he stopped. “What’s this?” he asked and pointed. There in the knife drawer, nestling amongst the assorted knives, skewers, whisks and so on was … a lettuce!
I must have put it there. I have obviously lost the plot!
I want to write another Cris and Minty story involving a holiday in Scotland, grandparents and thieves who steal valuable stamps. But I’m concerned – if I’ve lost the plot with my own life how will I ever untangle a make-believe one?
