As I got out of the shower this morning, Eileene informed me that plans to visit her parents, sister, and her sister's friend had changed.
?They [Ella and Sarah] are coming here instead. For dinner.?
?Oh!? I replied. This would require rethinking my plans for the day, and working out a menu.
?They're going to help cook.?
?Uh,? I pointed out, pensively poking my tongue into my cheek.
?Sarah's a vegetarian.?
?Uh,? I added.
This presents me with a minor problem, in that I generally cook by ear. Typically, I create the menu by seeing what ingredients are in the fridge, and fine-tune the inevitable variations on the basic dozen or so recipes I use by intuition, often while the ingredients are already in the pan. If we're out something, I need to come up with a quick substitute, or rework the dish entirely. (Can I use yellow onions in place of scallions?) If I'm trying something new, I have to watch carefully and see how things are progressing, tinkering the whole way. (Does breast meat have enough fat to keep the dish savory, or do I need a shot of olive oil?) We're not vegetarians, and despite Eileene's new low-fat diet, I have as yet only gotten the kinks out of one vegetarian dish. That means that whatever I make tonight will be something new.
Coordinating a kitchen staff is tricky enough when they don't know their way around, when the kitchen is small, and when your helpers are inexperienced. Doing so when you don't know yourself what comes next borders on impossible.
Now, I could shoo them away, claiming it's all under control, relax, you don't need to do anything, make yourself comfortable. But Ella may be looking forward to a cooking project; she's still in college, and so hasn't yet learned to cook, but is interested. I think my kitchen is a particular draw because she generally prefers western cooking to the Filipino dishes she gets at home. Shooing her off, even tactfully, could still be rude. I need to work out a menu ahead of time, no surprise ingredients, and a carefully chosen item to give to my assistants.
Of course, if they have a particular plan in mind, or bring particular foods to cook, that will pretty well disrupt any menu I work out ahead of time. Puts me in mind of a song I learned as a child:
?And some kind of help is the kind of help
That helping's all about,
And some kind of help is the kind of help
We all could do without.?
--Shel Silverstein, ?Helping?
Postscript: Certain persons mentioned in this column may well read it later. Please take no offense; I'm more than willing to share my kitchen. I just don't know if sharing it would be especially helpful.