Bubble and Squeak’s been in the news lately, for all the wrong reasons. I decided it was time I made some if only to see what the fuss was all about.

My usual approach to cooking is just the one pan if at all possible, (being of a lazy disposition). This was quite different; I seemed to need most of the pots and pans the kitchen possessed. This had consequences which I’ll come to in a moment.

My Bubble and Squeak contained the usual potato and cabbage. To add depth I included carrots, parsnip, onion, basil, bacon, and the remains of a jar of truffle pesto I found hidden away in the back of the fridge. I also fried some sausages. The trick to Bubble and Squeak, according to Jamie Oliver is that you want to end up with lots of crusty crispy bits, brown rather than black. (If you split the sausages lengthways down the middle into a butterfly effect, you can get them more crispy.)

This was turning into a rather more complex operation than I was used to with my normal one-pot system. I had to use 2 frying pans; one overbalanced on the stove and the sausages ended up on the floor. Bringing the 3-second rule into play I sorted that situation quickly. Then I somehow managed to distribute the contents of a large saucepan of water onto the floor. It’s not easy to do this, but I managed it. I dished the meal out surrounded by all the towels and cloths I could lay my hands on. As any self-respecting chef would, I gave myself the crispy black bits and Anita the crispy brown bits.

Anita, watching Pointless, knew nothing of these dramas being played out in the kitchen, my cries of anguish being masked by my iPad from which Zach Williams and Dolly Parton were loudly reminding me that in all our tests and trials ’then there’s Jesus’.
The meal was actually a success. Anita briskly took charge of cleaning up the kitchen and didn’t press me too hard on why it was awash with water.

So what did I learn from all this? Clearly, I still need to work out how to slow down. A bit of mindfulness in the kitchen won’t come amiss.

A Prayer for Mindfulness

Lord, bring your peace into stress-filled and anxious lives,
that gentle calm into our busyness.
A moment’s rest to stop, re-focus, feel your presence,
hear your whisper,
and reconnect.

(John Birch)