And that’s why Holly insists sometimes a one pot meal will do just fine for the family, and we’ve no reason to feel guilty about not whacking out the food processor at every meal time.
Read her second Closer blog post here, and see her delicious One Pot Bacon & Pea Pasta recipe below, too:
Holly Bell: ‘My perfect cakes are no reflection of home life – it’s chaos!’
“I got asked in an interview recently about how I manage my life, given I am such a ‘perfectionist in all areas’. Oh how I laughed. My buttercream piping might be uniform, but my house, less so.
“It’s not dirty, it’s just that I gave birth to three little people and they took over my world.
“My tolerance for the sea of plastic runs on a four-five day cycle. My irritation builds, I stand on some Lego, I skid on a train, I sit on a stray DVD sandwiched between the sofa cushions.
“I raise my voice. They clear it a little - just enough to placate me. Then it infects the kitchen. Paper aeroplanes on the shelves, school bags slung by the fridge so it’s un-openabe, felt tip pen accidently coloured onto the dining table.
“So I ask then calmly and kindly to clear THE PLACE WHERE WE EAT AND WHERE MUMMY WORKS. And they do. And then later at bedtime I find all the detritus from the kitchen hidden behind the sofa. And that’s when the cycle ends.
“Nothing can happen until every toy is put away and the house regains some kind of order... Until the next day. After approximately about seven minutes of tidiness, I stand on some Lego, I skid on a train…
“And all this would be fine if I just accepted that the cycle will never end. The plastic paraphernalia will continue to build over four days, my irritation levels will continue to ascent to crescendo, and we will beat it back in it’s place ready for the next cycle to unravel.
“But I feel guilty.
“I look about the house and realise in the not too distant future the mountain of primary coloured plastic toys left lying about the kitchen will be replaced with tiny tablets and phones.
“That their joy in leaving a monster train track snaking around the sitting room ready for another days play will be gone.
“In its place there will be grunts and secrets and retreating to bedrooms for privacy. And less sticky handed cuddles and dry Play Doh on the carpet,.
“And I will miss them running around my legs and tripping over their toys in the kitchen while I’m trying to feed them.
“Given I exist stuck in this sea-of-plastic-mess cycle, you’d guess right that I am pretty intolerant of any recipe that creates excess washing and tidying day-to-day, when I’m up to my knees in family life.
“I love my gadgets as much as the next person but using the food processor, the mixer, the oven, the hob and 7 bowls on a Wednesday night is a step too far for me.
“I don’t feel guilty about this. In fact I revel in it.
“I do feel guilty though when I rage against the daily sea of toys, because, as a wise friend once said to me, when it comes to parenting, the days are long, but the years are short."
So this week, don’t get bogged down by pots, pans and processors, instead, try the one pot pasta dish (we promise!) and allow yourself to forgot about the mess and stress of family life for a moment, and cherish the reminder of children all around you.
Try Holly's recipe today:
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BLOG 1: Recipes From A Normal Mum: ‘Of course I find cooking stressful at times, doesn't everyone?’
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