This afternoon, we were hit by the tail end of Typhoon Begonia which landed in eastern China yesterday. The typhoons never make it this far inland, but we still feel the effects. The temperature dropped 10 degrees C over less than a minute. (From 35ºC to 26ºC), the sky darkened and and we were blessed with monsoon-like rain. There are no drops of rain. It is a wall of rain.
Anyway, that put paid to any plans for going out, so I spent a happy afternoon sharpening all my kitchen knives, except one. Only 5 knives:a Chinese cleaver, a cook's knife, a paring knife, a cheese knife and my beautiful Xinjiang slicing knife, a gift from a Muslim restaurant owner who was retiring. I was told that it is a great honour to be given the chef's own knife. I use it as a bread knife mostly. It isn't serrated, but I've never met a loaf it couldn't get through when sharp. Its blade is 29 cm / 11.4 inches long.
The knife which didn't get sharpened is what I call my blunt knife. It is a super cheap "cook's knife' which I only use for testing the doneness of potatoes etc. This is an echo from my childhood.
When I was a boy, my mother had what she called 'the sharp knife'. I now know that it wasn't sharp at all,but was used for any task which a dinner knife couldn't cope with. My brothers and I were indoctrinated about the dangers of this knife and were sure that if we were so foolish as to touch it (or even look at it too closely) we would be instantly maimed or worse.
I'm now in my 60s , but I remember the day my mother said to me "Bring me the sharp knife." Real rite of passage stuff. I wasn't sure if she was testing me or something, but my father nodded and raised his eyebrows in approval. I went to the kitchen (a place my father had never visited. I'm not sure he knew where his dinner came from) and with shaking hand picked up the sharp knife and carried to my mother. I must have been about twelve. Thereafter I was an adult with full 'sharp knife' using privileges.
Years later, I deliberately reversed the practice. I keep all my knives sharp except the 'blunt knife'. My mother knows this, but she has long been convinced that common sense passed me by.
So, that was my afternoon. Fortunately, I had food which I had bought in the morning, so dinner was OK.
Pan-fried duck breast with a lemon (zest and juice), garlic, chilli sauce. New potatoes and a baby bok choy salad with a simple olive oil and white Chinese rice vinegar dressing.
I have had baby bok choy with the last three of four meals I have posted. This is not lack of imagination. I just really like it and it is at its best right now. Soon it won't be so good, so I am making the most of it while it lasts.
