Fishfingers anyone?

I am failing miserably on the creative side for supper tonight, though I do have the excuse that our fridge/freezer is suffering an identity crisis and has transformed itself into a slow cooker with fairly dramatic results on the milk and meat front. In my thrifty mode I am trying to use the contents up before I am forced to concede they have passed the safe date – top tip when the cottage cheese lid starts bulging it’s time to admit the fridge is no longer working. The girls, or the two girls currently in residence, the middle one being at school camp, didn’t seem too thrilled by the various combinations of left overs I’ve suggested so far.

I think I am feeling particularly inadequate on the catering front as late yesterday afternoon a friend rang up to invite us to an impromptu supper for six that she then presumably just threw together. In the same circumstances I would be staring at the cupboard considering how to do a loaves and fishes on 4 fishfingers and 3 potatoes. In contrast our hostess whipped up a sumptuous meal incorporating all kinds of little touches like olives. Just gazing enviously, and greedily at the feast she produced was enough to remind me of some of my more embarrassing impromptu hostess nightmares. Aside from the occasion as a student when I thought seven lamb chops would stretch round eight people, there is the time I got carried away over drinks with a couple whom we had just met, and invited them to stay on to supper. As they enthusiastically accepted the offer, I suddenly remembered supper that night consisted of two corn on the cobs. Amazingly our friendship survived, though I am sure they must have dined out on the story of how we all solemnly sat there, politely pushing minute pieces of corn around our plates.