In the Kitchen, But Not.

“It’s OK to just cook, when you are cooking, you know,” my husband tells me. “Cooking is a worthy activity, and it might be helpful to just concentrate on cooking while you cook.”

Except that I don’t really enjoy cooking that much. So, while I’m waiting for the water to boil or for the pot to simmer or a whatever I’m cooking to actually . . . cook, I usually end up doing something else. Perhaps I decide to play a Bach fugue on the piano, or practice the flute in the kitchen, or unload and reload the dishwasher. It just seems like a better use of time, right?

Yesterday, while the hamburger was browning in the cast iron pan on the stove, I decided to vacuum the piano room. The sun was shining bright in the windows, and I could see the dust and dirt in the corners. I think things would have turned out alright because it doesn’t take long to vacuum one small rug, except that I forgot I was not using the pan that I usually use for the hamburger, and this one heated up a little faster than I expected. Plus, I forgot to turn down the burner like I should have. This meant that I almost burned the hamburger (but I caught it just in time so the meat was just fine to eat in the long run . . . especially if you enjoy very well done browned hamburger, like I do). It all ended up just fine! I didn’t even have to discard anything.

That is, however, how I ended up with a house filled with hazy air on the coldest day of the winter so far. It wasn’t really smoky, just a light haze smelling of very well done browned hamburger.