Lunch time today I decided to bake some damper using organic products, rather than buying a loaf of bread down at the supermarket.
Home Cooking can be Fun
Because I couldn’t even remember what damper had in it, I reefed through my plethora of recipe books (brushed a few cobwebs aside) and found the recipe book from school. Yes, of course it had a damper recipe in it.
So, I got out my bowl, flour, bi carb, cream of tartar, and filtered water and began stirring.
And what feedback did I get from LTSH (Long Term Suffering Husband)?
LTSH: “OMG, what are you doing now?”
“Making us damper for lunch.”
LTSH: “Please don’t make a mess!”
Groan! Now, that was something I hadn’t considered – I was going to need to wash atleast one bowl and a spoon. I assured myself that surely two more washing items wouldn’t impact the environment too much, so I continued.
1 minute later:
LTSH: “OMG! How long is it going to take?! I’m starving! There’s nothing to eat!”
“If you wait 25 mins I’ll have some damper for you.”
LTSH: “OMG! I can’t wait 25 mins – Look, I’ll pay you $20 to just go down the shop and buy a loaf of bread.”
“But think of all the rubbish that’s in a loaf of bread – non-organic flour, salt, sugar – ”
LTSH: “So what?! All that damper’s got is flour and water with a bit of Bi Carb.”
Hmm, I thought, he knows more than me! I had to look it up the ingredients in a recipe book. Mr Smarty-Pants!
“And what are we supporting then? More product that uses non-environmentally friendly practices – ”
LTSH: “Yeah, yeah – ok! I got it!”
Damn! I was full of facts and research to support my argument – but for once LTSH wasn’t interested in debating.
I put my masterpiece of kneaded flour and water into the oven and turned the timer dial, and it flicked back to zero. Damn! Now I remembered LTSH had busted it a few months earlier when he kept twisting it to time his work-out of isometrics.
Hey! That’s ok, I assured myself, I’ll just use the little battery timer that we use to time our shower sessions. Perfect! As they say: Where there’s a will… there’s a hell-bent Sustainable Living Nut.
25 minutes later:
Ding! Ding! The shower timer went off. And guess what?
Damper with a bit of butter and organic tomatoes is bloody delicious!