Home-made

(based on suggestions from @GretasTARDIS, @realnixwilliams, @lucyrogue and @notcharming)

The first step is always

double the cheese or

double the chocolate.

Double my heartbeat to eat it.

I am not fond of recipes

that say ‘meanwhile’ when

you’ve already whipped the

first part to soft peaks

and tipped a farmyard of

of egg yolks down the drain.

‘Keep warm’ is not very specific.

In the oven? In my armpit?

Hover the lamb backstrap

next to my cigarette?

A lesson in gourmet weasel words

I’ll film my own Posh Nosh:

pompadour the lemons

flat-top the tomatoes

and mohawk the lettuce.

Quiff salad pour deux.

‘Cool on wire racks’ is all very

well if you can get the bugger

out of the pan. I greased the tin

but forgot to grease my patience.

If I plant a trail of sticky snacks

to my front door like Hansel

I figure I’ll eat the nearest oftenest.

Surviving on one piece of toast

is hardly the reef and beef or

surf and turf rock of Calpe.

My favourite instructions

are missing all the numbers.

Scribbled down from a Greek

grandmother, proportions for

a family of ten. Freedom in food

handed down through men and

women allows my mind some

space to bake. Make it mine.

Pass on my love of ginger

Deliver parmesan portions

Name myself: melted, satiated,

calm and delicious.

___________________________________________

Today's poem is based on suggestions from four peeps:

• @GretasTARDIS: “Quiffs! Cigarettes! Surf rock!”
• @realnixwilliams: “following and not following recipes”
• @lucyrogue: “Oftenest nearest. (this is something I learnt today about planting the foods you use the most closest to the door)”
• @notcharming: “surviving!”

I am a great non-follower of recipes. That's not enough cheese! That's far too much chicken! What the hell is cilantro? Etc. I also love handed down/passed on recipes - I have a great one for biscuits from a Greek grandmother where you have to quarter the proportions to bring it back to a minimum 50 biscuits. Also my recipe for Jon's Magic Ginger Cake orders "Bake in the oven until cooked" (no temperature, no time. Best.)