Recipe: Nut brittle

JPs’s are not supposed to be superstitious. However, I have never met one who would walk under a ladder on purpose, who doesn’t go into a Princess Panic when her compact mirror breaks, or one who doesn’t study men’s noses and hands with avid interest. Nudge, nudge; wink, wink.

So I decided — as I was preparing my recipe to appear in the Friday 13 edition from the safety of my bed, tucked up under my duvet, wearing a red ribbon in my hair (well a girl can’t be too careful) and throwing salt over both shoulders with gay abandon (I couldn’t remember which the correct one was) — that I was going to investigate how many other superstitions there are. So gingerly climbing out, on the correct side, with my slippers safely on the floor, I came down the stairs (luckily no-one was coming up otherwise I would have had to cross my fingers to stem any disasters). Then, avoiding the cracks on my hall tiles, I Googled “superstition”.

Isn’t it great, you can ask Google practically anything and up pops the answer — even “When is the Selfridges sale?”. Well, I can tell you I was shocked: I found out that every part of your body can give you a hint of your destiny, from the moles on your face (right side is lucky) to the soles of your feet — if they are itching, start Googling holiday destinations.

As for cooking, which way you stir your sauce can land you in trouble — you should always go clockwise — and even how you store your utensils. My Google results advised to always leave one cooking utensil in the oven — my advice is make sure it is not made from plastic. Of course, I don’t really believe any of it; however it was interesting to find out that diamonds stop you going insane. Now I know why we need extra large ones when we get engaged.