chapter 7 between series 1 & 2

Amy did not want to stop baking. She enjoyed doing it so much! She enjoyed seeing her husband enjoy what she had made as well. However, she could see how much his recent weight gain had upset him, so she promised not to bake as often. He said he wanted her to only prepare healthy things, but she knew he didn't really mean it! He loved the creamy sweet treats she made and he never refused them when they were offered.
Nevertheless she respected him too much to go against his wishes, so she restricted her baking to a Saturday afternoon, when he was out at the football.
The rest of the week, she took more interest in what was going on in the kitchen. She had to learn how to chop without cutting her fingers. She had to learn how to prepare meat, poultry and fish. She slowly started taking over from her husband in the kitchen, experimenting with different herbs and spices. She tried out different ways of cooking vegetables. She used vegetables that Robert had seen, but had no idea how to cook.
She looked beyond the supermarket for her ingredients. She visited farmer's markets and delicatessens so that they could try different things. She came home with things such as guinea fowl, partridge and venison. She tried out different cheeses made from not just cows' milk, but from sheep's and goat's milk as well.
She was careful with her portions. She did not want to get wrong for over feeding her husband. She deliberately tried to keep the fat and sugar levels down when she cooked during the week.
Robert started going to the gym every day. He ate only at mealtimes and he only ate healthy food.
When Amy baked on a Saturday, he invited his mates in the house as well, when they got back from the match,so that he was not tempted to eat all her wares himself.
In the first couple of weeks, he lost six pounds! He was pleased with his efforts. He should have kept the regime going for longer, but working out in the gym was boring. He hated having to shower twice a day. He hated coming in from work so late every day. In his third week of his new regime, he decided to give himself an occasional day off. 'Occasional' started off as meaning one day a week, which became two days a week off, which then became every other day off. Soon after that, his days at the gym dwindled even more, until he stopped going altogether!
By this time, though, Robert was feeling much better about himself. He had lost one and a half stones in weight and had gone back down one size in clothing.
Amy continued to experiment with her baking (one day a week only). She really wanted to be a contestant on the show, but she was such a novice, she had a lot to learn and a lot of techniques to practice.
During the week, she'd make things like duchess potatoes so that she could practice her piping. She'd make a large plain loaf of bread on a Saturday, slice it and freeze it. Then they could take only what they needed out of the freezer at a time and they did not have to buy any.
She started making her own pickles, chutneys, relishes, jams and curds to make everyday meals into something amazing.
She cooked all her meals from scratch. She made her own sauces, mayonnaise and gravies. She refused to buy any processed food ever again.
She even ventured out into the garden and started to grow her own fruit, vegetables and herbs. She was convinced that the food she grew herself tasted so much better than the supermarket. But aside from that, she could grow varieties of crop that were not available in the supermarkets.
When she looked back at her life before 'bake off', it seemed like it was in black and white. Now she was living life in colour! Purple potatoes, yellow and scarlet tomatoes, dark red beetroot, orange and purple carrots, blueberries, blackberries, rose hips, green celery, spinach and all kinds of herbs. Orange, yellow, pink, red, edible flowers.
The presentation of her meals improved no end. Every plate had an edible garnish, which was not just a sprig of curly parsley on the side.
On Saturdays she perfected various icing techniques... piping, smoothing, pouring and moulding. She practiced using different kinds if icing. Fondant, buttercream, royal, and water icing. She spent hours learning how to melt and temper chocolate. She had lots of failures too, but she didn't let them go to waste. The lads were always game to try even her worst mistakes.
She felt like she was always trying to catch up. Some of the contestants in 'bake off' had forty or more years practice. She enrolled in cake decoration classes at the local community centre.
In the summer, they visited Italy. Amy participated in a cookery course, while Robert sat relaxing by the pool in the sun, sipping on the occasional cocktail.
He through her life revolved around food these days. She dreamed about trying out new flavour combinations. All her conversations revolved around food. She woke up in the morning thinking about what to prepare for dinner that day. He thought it wasn't normal to be that obsessed. How could it be?
Soon he was sure, she would get sick of all the hours she put into gardening, cooking and baking. She would run out of steam sooner or later. She would get sick of cooking all the time. She would start buying sliced bread again. She would buy her pasta sauce in a jar. Then she would start allowing him back into the kitchen.
Life would go back to normal. He would lose the last few pounds he'd put on last year. They had managed perfectly well before 'bake off' they could do so again.