What your bodge skill is
Pixabay: Pea Soup
Here in the UK, they call something that you throw together, a bodge job. Depending on the outcome of the particular project, this can either be good, or bad. For myself, I am reasonably able to bodge together a decent meal out of most things. Bit of cheese, some yogurt and some pasta and a few vegetables, maybe a sausage or two, and usually something good occurs. Onion and garlic in most things. Tomatoes also widely used.
Using up all the leftovers is a skill, I’ve discovered. As the world continues to grapple with higher prices, everything edible is a more precious commodity. For example, the United Nations FAO Dairy Price Index recently reported an increase of 2.4%, its fifth consecutive monthly rise, with the steepest increases registered for skim milk powder and butter. Reduced export availabilities from Western Europe and below-average expectations for milk production in Oceania in the months ahead contributed to the tightening in global dairy markets, as did processing and transportation delays linked to Covid-19-related labour shortages. I suspect this is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, my spouse can usually fix household items and patch. So, for example, we had a hole in our kitchen ceiling from when the upstairs bathroom decided to leak. He has quite adeptly patched it up and replaced the coving. It is a very tidy job.
However, there is probably a limit to my bodging outside the kitchen. Over the weekend, I decided I would make a cold frame for seedlings. I had glass, I have these metal clip type things, I even have wooden supports. I collected the equipment and set to work.
Well, I went into the house to get my coffee and came back out to find the glass panes had smashed in a gust of wind. I took this as a sign to just go online and buy a mini greenhouse instead. I picked up and disposed of the glass first, of course. I think for future projects I will leave these to my more capable other half.
I went inside and made green soup, which is basically everything green in the fridge and freezer (spinach, broccoli, peas, plus onions and garlic), a blob of yogurt for some creaminess at the end, and some grated cheese to top it. Made some nice bread to go with it. Sometimes, it’s about knowing what jobs you can and can’t bodge.
- Suzanne Christiansen, editor, Dairy Industries International.
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