Sunday 24 June 2012

I'm sure there's something else I should be doing

My culinary skills have left a lot to be desired today, I have failed miserably in the kitchen department. I think lapse of concentration has something to do with it. I put a pan on the cooker and left the room to do something else, I hate waiting around for things to cook. Half an hour later the smell of burning drifts past my nostrils and I rushed into the kitchen to turn the gas off under a very hot pan. I had to open a window to get some fresh air in. Good job it was in a non stick pan and came out in a solid lump. I hope hedgehogs like the taste of burnt porridge. Oh well, toast for breakfast then, at least that pops up when it is ready.

Same thing happened again later, only it was the veggie sausages under the grill this time which went a very dark shade of mahogany. They looked like those tough meaty dog chews you can buy. Too expensive to throw them out for the hedgehogs, so I ate them, they were rather crispy, ha ha.

The trouble is I am always multitasking, with several jobs on the go at once. I am planning in my mind what I am going to do next, and forget what I am doing at that precise moment, hence I find myself walking from room to room in a daze and forget what I went in for. I think I need to make a list.

I have different jobs going on in different parts of the house. I can't sit still and just do one job before I move onto the next. I am wandering around doing a bit here and a bit there, then I end up with a load of jobs only half finished. It's very frustrating. My concentration is all over the place. Oooops, sorry, I've got to sign off, the kitties need feeding, the bins want putting out, the pots need washing, and I've got to get a bath. No time for a long post. Toodle pip.  

18 comments:

  1. Ilona, I have the same lack of concentration. I'm so pleased it's not only me. I find it difficult since retiring to focus on things. I put something on the stove and go upstairs and just like you ... King Alfred burns the cakes! All I can say is, it's a good job we don't cook chips.

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  2. Hi Ilona, I use a clockwork kitchen timer with a bell to remind me about pans on the hob. I just set it for the required time and when the bell rings I go back and check the pan is ok and set the timer again if necessary. Helps stop my veg turning to mush or pans boiling dry!
    Ed

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  3. I'm with Ed, I'm lost without my timer. I'll bet the veggy sausages gave your jaws a good work out!!
    Jane x

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  4. We all have days like that. I burnt the chilli the other day. OH called it BBQ chilli because it had a burnt flavour to it. He pretended that it tasted nice. Pan was an awful mess, ended up having to boil it up with boilogical powder. Good to know you are human after all.

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  5. Hi ilona I love this blog it's great! I have started reading it from the begining. I can remember seeing you on telly me and my hubby will always remember the '2 for a pee 3 for a poo' he he we thought it was great. There are some great ideas on here that i am hoping to try out. The smilie face teas are brill my son said oooo mum can we have that for tea tommorrow! Result! I love your attitude to life too it's fantastic some of your post have made me laugh. Keep Blogging but not while you are cooking too he he x

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  6. Same here I use a timer, And I love chips. I have to keep alert when the chip pans on, what with living in a wooden wagon!

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  7. You are going to fill your bath tub?

    I find that I now have to stay in the kitchen and, when a thing is cooked, move the pan to a different, unlit hob, for safety.

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  8. I used to regularly flood my kitchen in the days before washing machines were properly plumbed in. If my neighbours heard me screeching they used to run round with towels to help me mop up. lol

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  9. I use to multi task too, until the day I almost burned my kitchen down! Now, painful as it may be, I wait when I'm cooking something that takes a few minutes. I like the timer idea suggested above! As always, love reading your blog :)

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  10. Love your blog. Thought you might like to see this.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oHBG3ABUJU
    about age=related attention deficit disorder. Very funny but scary because I see myself doing all these things!

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  11. I remember years ago. My grandmother put the lunch on the go, then remembered to do something in the garden, quick. Her quick time ended up being half an hour and lunch was burnt to a crisp. We all have moments like this, I guess. Wanting to do too much at the same time is going to be our downfall. Slow down and just do one thing at a time.

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  12. Why not try micro-waved porridge? I always do mine this way. It takes only 2 minutes or so, comes out perfect, only one dish to wash. And you can't over-cook it.

    Yes, I think we all suffer from this attention deficit syyndrome.

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  13. Now you know I like to copy a lot of your meal ideas, so I can get fit and slim like you, do I have to burn my food as well? Is that the secret to a healthy lifestyle?!

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  14. I have learned that I cannot leave the kitchen if there is something on the stove top I am cooking. I don't have the ability to multi task while cooking. I stay in the kitchen and busy myself with either cleaning something or reading something while it cooks. If it is something in the oven, then I set a timer or make a note of the time I put it in the oven. Otherwise, it will be a disaster. You're not alone, believe me.
    At least you ate the sausages and didn't have to throw them away and you didn't burn down your kitchen!

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  15. Its ok you are not the only one I managed to explode an egg in the microvave today you would think that by the age of 52 I should know better ! Enjoy your blog very much by the way ,

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  16. Oh dear, burned porridge is a regular dish on our dogs menu :-O

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  17. heehee Ilona...I do the same all the time...i'm so glad it's not just me:-) I now do the porridge in the microwave and try to remember to set the timer if there is something in the oven...fail at least once a week:-)

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  18. I am a dab hand at burning carrots and swede , had the odd pan of boiled eggs explode all over the cooker, like a few more I use the microwave a lot more these days.

    Danneke

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