What I cooked last night.

Extract: English literature and expression were lazy, wonderful journeys into other times and places with Mr Johns; along with Mr Forster, Mr Lawrence and Mr Eugene O'Neill. Each of these literary sojourns was brought to a sudden end by the thrumming electric bell and echoing crash of locker doors in the corridor outside as students swapped books for the next period. Wednesday sport still provided mid-week relief from the classroom. Until later, when we were thrown headlong into the workforce's unbroken week, we little realised the benefit of this. Some of us found that getting out for a run on Wednesday afternoons was the perfect way to clear our heads of jargon and the scaremongering futurology of Alvin Toffler. Alternating between running and boundary umpiring, I'd be on a bus for cross-country at Bundoora or Mentone one week; the next I'd be taking a sly peep under my arm before trying to fling a football directly into ruckman Simon Madden's arms. I needn'

Late in the evening, an almost empty larder turns up a can each of red kidney beans and diced tomatoes. Not a lot you can do with that. Let's see. Spice can fix anything. * Heat the kidney beans and diced tomatoes gently in a pot. Add a teaspoon of paprika, half that each of cummin powder, salt and chili flakes - or a little less of chili powder. Cook and reduce a little. Take an avocado - I had one in the refrigerator where it possibly should not be stored - slice and add to bean mixture to heat through. In another pot, cook some polenta. When done, place polenta in a bowl, add bean stew, top with sour cream, grated cheddar and splash on some chili sauce. I used Tabasco Habanero. The stuff is delicious. You can drip it on just about anything. Tick, tock, midnight. Must go shopping tomorrow. The cupboard is bare. * The end of eastern summer time has this household's body clock in confusion. The children are waking at 4.30 a.m. for breakfast and demanding lunch at ni