The Knives Are Out

When I was young I was always told that blunt knives are more dangerous than sharp ones in the kitchen. As a result I have always made sure that I have a good steel in the drawer and my knives are always sharp.

I've done plenty of stupid things during my cooking:  I'm never allowed to forget the time when I forgot to turn the oven on so the leg of lamb was a little pinker than anticipated.  Radio4 is my loyal companion during chutney making and occasionally the afternoon play is so gripping that the fruit/vegetable peel has gone in the pot instead of the more traditional flesh.  But Friday night was just plain clumsiness.  I was cutting up a lettuce for crying out loud.  An ordinary lettuce, cut fresh from the garden and all slugs removed.  There was nothing complicated about it at all.  Radio4 was meer background noise. 

Suddenly there was the most awful stinging in my left thumb.  Really, really bad stinging.  The sort that tells you that it's not going to be pretty.  I managed to remove the thumb before the green salad became red salad but only just.  Then the scramble to find the plasters.  Oh, and the scissors to cut them with.  I have been told endlessly by my second son that all the scissors in the kitchen are blunt (well, they are scissors and not knives and I still don't know how to sharpen them!) and I think now I really must do something about it.  Still, I found something that sort of cut and managed to apply plaster to thumb.  Five minutes later I realised the wooden spoon I was using was turning red so I had to apply a plaster to the plaster.  This also turned red but I decided to ignore it. 

This morning the throbbing has at least stopped but any upholstery will be interesting.  I'm stuffing an armchair today which means plenty of dirt will be available for open wounds;   and of course plastered thumbs make manipulation more complicated.  I hope it heels quickly.  I have a chair all ready for its top fabric and the client is unlikely to want any additional red spots!

Comments

[Judy M]

Ouch! That sounds painful. To sharpen scissor, fold over some kitchen foil and use your scissors to cut it in strips...