Last Updated on February 20, 2014 : :

Simply Take:
1 whole chicken cooked in a casserole dish
1 large cast iron casserole dish  (with chicken casserole)
1 deep set range cooker
1 Brown Roan Spinone called Hector (although any Spin is welcome to give this a shot)
1 small baby boy called Algy needing a bath (although any small boy needing a bath is welcome to give this a shot)
2 curious neighbours

Method:
Cook organic, free range chicken casserole in large cast iron casserole dish.  Add veg, stcok, all sorts of good things into this wonderful one pot meal.  Cook for ages, preferably watched by the adoring “cupboard love” eyes of Hector and “assisted” by vigorous stirring/ mashing/ mixing by small boy.

Feed small boy a small(ish) portion of casserole then place lid on cast iron dish containing rest of casserole and push it to the very back of the range cooker (about 4 foot back and about adult waist height).

Take now very full small boy upstairs to bath and bed time.

Return about 1 ½ hours later.

At this point you should now have 1 small boy asleep upstairs; 1 Hector asleep on sofa downstairs; 1 tired Mum in need of a glass of wine and portion of chicken casserole…. BUT …. (here comes the good bit)…. WHERE OH WHERE IS THE CHICKEN!!!

On the floor will be 1 cast iron casserole dish and lid which are both completely clean, so clean they look like they looked the day they came home from the shops and have never looked since they were first used to reduce a tomato sauce.  There is also one dent on the wooden kitchen floor but NO CHICKEN OF ANY SORT – not a scrap.  Not even a carrot from the casserole.

There are however two neighbours standing outside peering into the (basement) kitchen …. who then come in and explain how they have watched*  Hector wriggle and wiggle and shimmy and slither himself up and across the range cooker and with infinite and never to be under estimated Spin patience and determination and finesse hooked the casserole dish with his paw pulling it bit by bit and ever closer to the edge of the cooker until WHAM – whole thing down, eaten, licked, chewed and relished.

Of course Hector sleeps peacefully for about 6 hours, shows absolutely no ill effects from eating the entire casserole and is ready to go go go again when he next wakes up.

Mum is grateful that there is still wine and that she has the phone number for take away…

1* in neighbours defence they did also ring door bell, but bath time was clearly too noisy!