Domestic assistance

This is my grill pan / roasting dish / baking tray.

It came with a chicken in it a long time ago. I feel uneasy about the quantities of packaging we churn out, so I try to re-use and recycle at least some of it. This has been a good one.

But recently we grilled some bacon in it. Then the rest of the packet of bacon the next day, then some beefburgers.

We used the fat that came off the meat to fry the onions, tomatoes, courgettes and peppers we were eating with the meat, but there was a lot of stuff left burnt on to the pan.

I thought it would be too difficult to wash off because, though it’s robust enough to cook in, basically it’s only aluminium takeaway-ware, and a good scrub would probably bend it out of shape or go right through it.

So I put the fox’s kibble and meat out in it at dusk.

The next morning, the food had gone but there was still quite a bit of burnt on brownish-blackness left.

Oh dear, I thought, I’ll probably have to put it out for recycling. Even the fox can’t clean it.

But I brought it in again last night and used it once more for the fox’s supper.

Also last night, one of us had a fish-and-chips take-away, which she didn’t finish up. So she left the cardboard container on the deck of Komorebi for the night animals to find.

This morning, sure enough, the last remnants of fish and chips had all gone, the box still in place but with some greasy little pawprints beside it on the deck.

My grill pan was upside down on the grass, so I picked it up – and lo! It had been cleaned to perfection. Nothing to wash off but a faint whiff of fox.

They are so helpful, the night animals. So tidy and clean. Nothing ever goes to waste, nothing unappreciated. What the fox and badger and crow won’t eat the seagull is usually game to tackle. What no animal will eat can go in the compost. And the fish and chip takeaway box makes excellent kindling for the fire.

Perfect.