Nuts in the Kitchen can be considered a metaphor, I was thinking not long ago as I was rolling fat, delicious cod fillets in a blend of ground nuts, flour, a pinch of salt and some hot paprika. It’s one of my kids’ favorites, and the way I first got them interested in eating fish. I love it too – it turns out nice and crisp, it’s light and delicate tasting, and wholly satisfying. Any reluctant fish eater will gobble it up as if it were chocolate chip cookies.

In any case, there I am rolling the cod fillets, sauteeing a little green cabbage with some shallots and some grated cauliflower with garlic, and thinking how lovely this moment is. My kids are both home, they’re busy now in front of a movie but we’ll soon have supper together, a fire is burning in the fireplace, the edge of chill is off the kitchen. I’ve just put brownies in the oven, and the smells are intoxicating. I’m not sure what makes me look up from my tasks, but when I do I see, standing in front of the fire, those two kids I thought were in the dining room. They’ve got on goofball glasses that make them look like têtes à claques.

They’re just standing there, casual as can be, talking with each other. I dissolve in laughter as they started dancing around to the Blues Brothers that Fiona inserts into the CD player. A couple of nuts in the kitchen. What’s the metaphor? In my world, at least, all of life is in the kitchen.