Cooked a three course meal for mother and family last night (mothers day) and she didn't complain even once about my making a mess in the kitchen, she even complimented me on my cooking skills and said that I should do this more often!
This comes from the woman who normally complains if I so much as make a glass of orange juice that I've not left everything as she wants it and moans that anything I cook looks funny and bans the likes of curries and anything involving the use of spices in the house as they are simply too smelly (if I buy fish and chips on my way home at 22:00 after a meeting I am made to sit and eat them in the garden regardless of wind rain and snow).
My Mediterranean dishes provided a wonderful change from my parents normal diet of
Meat: roasted
Vegetables: boiled and unseasoned
Gravy: thick
(I'm serious - they have that EVERY DAY without fail. It's even a joke amongst my friends now that my parents are being a bit exotic if they spot anything other than beef or chicken being used).
BUT and this is the best bit - I LOVED DOING IT!!! I can't wait until I get my own kitchen again (fingers crossed for that happening this summer!) So that I can cook away once more to my hearts content. I realised just how much I missed making my own bread and ice cream (the old fashioned way - no fancy machines here) not to mention flicking through the BBC Good Food website for inspiration (though I have now book marked enough meals to ensure I am never going to loose any weight).
As an aside - no one seems to have died or suffered massive stomach upsets so it's all good