After much ado, we finally purchased an electronic cook top (and not just any cook top– a prestige easy cook electronic cook top) for our almost finished kitchen, took it home and went about cooking the traditional Indian meal of chicken nuggets. But no matter how hard we tried, the easy cook electronic cook-top proved very difficult to cook with.
It turns out we didn’t have the right pans (note to readers: cheap, mass produced aluminium cookware is not compatible with a prestige easy cook electronic cook top). Our chicken nugget dinner was replaced with maggi noodles and Shaun, suffering from chicken nugget withdrawal beat up the box in which the pans arrived.
Rest assured, we now have compatible cookware. Chicken nuggets have been consumed. Husband is happy. Life is good.
...Except that I no longer have an excuse not to cook. This presents a major obstacle in my journey to become the ultimate house wife. It’s not that I don’t want to...it’s just that I’m not really sure what to do with the unidentifiable ingredients used for cooking purposes in India...and thats before we even get to the issue of no oven (how can I save the world one cupcake at a time without cupcakes!?)
Go to any supermarket in India and you will be able to purchase all types of spices/flour/lentils. Most of which are completely unidentifiable by appearance and all tagged with the elusive Kannada script. I stand hopelessly in front of a shelf of food products while the Kannada speaking shop assistants giggle at my questions and scrutinise every item I pick of the shelf.
I work six days a week – two days at the office of Enable Child, an NGO that aims to provide street children, child labourers and other underprivileged kids English and computer skills. My job is to write curriculum, make policies, produce lesson plans and trial new lesson content (that’s the official phrase used for “playing computer games”!). The other four days, I am at school, up to my usual geographical antics...or playing football.
Shaun, however, has only a two day week, so spends the rest of his time playing house.
I think I am the only wife in all of India who has her very own house-husband! Alongside his university subjects: Education Law and Transitional Justice, Shaun has learnt a skill vital to his development as an Indian Lawyer: Handwashing. Not only can he remove even the toughest of tough stains, he can also wash my tacky 100rs Kurtas without the colours running! (Who needs NapiSan when you have Shaun!?)
On my way home from work, the Landlord met me in the lift and asked if I had made Shaun his evening meal yet? I laughed and said He can organise his own dinner! The landlord looked at me in disbelief...What’s the point of a wife who can’t cook!? (I somewhat redeemed myself a little later when he specifically came to ask me where would I like the washing line hung? Instead of deferring the decision to my husband, I replied in my meekest, most submissive housewife voice: on the balcony closest to the kitchen please.)
It’s just lucky that I married the only man in the world who prefers two minute noodles and microwave popcorn over gourmet three course meals. It means I can adequately save the world and be a housewife all at the same time.
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/falling-apart-at-the-seams--welcome-to-the-shame-games-20100801-111fs.html
You, of course, know that they'll get there in time...
...Indian time!
Posted by: Adam | 08/02/2010 at 03:36 PM