The Back Burner

We've all used or heard the phrase "On the back burner" but have we been using it wrong all this time?

When I have heard other people say "on the back burner" it's usually to say that whatever that thing is, it's dismissible, not as important as other things, or that thing that keeps nagging them that they can't bring themselves to take care of. No doubt, I have used the phrase the same way myself.

As a hobbyist cook, and wannabe foodie, I love being in the kitchen, and don't do many one pot wonder kinda meals. When I do have a Saturday, I may do a one pot meal, but you can bet I'm cooking other things that day. I've come to love my back burners.

I love my back burners so much, because that is where I will likely be putting things that take all day. Often whatever I put on my back burner was probably why I started cooking in the first place that day. Allow me to explain. There are a number of meals I like to cook for my family, because what I make from the leftovers are my favorite meals, two examples of that are; roast chicken, and ham. I love these meals because the soups I'm gonna make with the leftovers are the purest versions of comfort food that are addictively satisfying, and they save money. In either case, when I have my ingredients started for soup, the foundation for me, is my broth. I don't care how right you think the rest of your ingredients are, if your broth isn't right then you're serving meat and noodles (or whatever you're dishing out) in hot water, you have no depth of flavor and the soup falls flat. A good broth generally takes a while, but also requires minimal attention, but just because it requires minimal attention, doesn't mean it's not as important. For me, it's the most important, it's the thing I'm thinking about while I'm doing everything else. The back burner isn't where I put things just so I can walk away from them and do something more important. The back burner is a space designated, in my kitchen, for something I'm gonna spend all day adding bits of love to. I'm gonna nurture it, and nurse it along till the things on the front burners (or off the cutting board) are ready to be added to it, either to compliment, or complete the dish.

The back burner is not for procrastination or laziness, in the kitchen both of those things spell nasty food. The back burner is for your most planful dish, a place purposed for keeping something until just the right moment, the product of which will demonstrate the mastery of your craft.

So now I ask myself if I am putting something off because I don't want to do it, or because it's not the right time. If I don't want to do it, I have learned to do that thing first, saving my back burner for things I love, things I think about, things that motivate me, and need to be done right.