I chose a tried and tested recipe for Monday’s evening meal. Simple and unfussy tomato and thyme cod, it’s one of those dinners you know you can rely on. Beautiful flakes of white fish served with a herby tomato sauce – nothing finer.

However I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so gruelling. I always used to think I wouldn’t last five minutes cooking in the extreme pressures of a professional kitchen. But I wonder if a chef could turn out a decent meal if they were dealing with half of the stuff that goes on in the space of 30 minutes in my house.

Cooking in the face of adversity

To give myself a bit of breathing space I set Sam up in the garden with one of his ‘experiments’. I gave him different pots of ingredients, a big bowl and a wooden spoon and let him make a mixture.

This distraction lasts approximately three minutes and then he’s inside wanting more and more indredients and then it ends abruptly with the ingredients being dumped all over the kitchen floor.

Arlo then starts climbing to the top of the slide and Sam ‘helps’ him down by pointing him head first towards the paving slabs.

Arlo then tries to scale a folded step ladder, and when I take him off it he unexpectedly takes his very first steps! 🙂

Take a deep breath

The celebrations of this landmark moment are cut short by a phonecall from the local garage with a lengthy explaination as to why they’ve not fixed our car, which I know I’ll have to relay to Matthew when he gets in from work.

I’d be taking notes but both boys decide I shouldn’t be on the phone and both start yelling at me.

Only then do I remember I put the onions on to soften when Sam started his ‘experiment’, and of course when I lift the lid of the pan they are now soot.

So I take a deep breath and start again. Clean the pan and chop another onion.

Five O’Clock Flashpoint

Arlo is now head-banging the floor out of frustration that his tea’s not ready, he’s getting four molars through at once and he’s absolutely exhausted coz he didn’t have his afternoon nap.

Sam has inexplicably taken off all his clothes and is throwing our camping equipment in the paddling pool.

It’s a miracle there was any food on the table this evening. But thanks to Matthew returning from work the situation was instantly diffused. I hold my hat off to anyone who does this alone.

The ‘five o’clock flashpoint’ as I like to call it should be a new challenge on Masterchef! Anyway, here’s the recipe for what should be a super simple fish supper!