My friend, Jennifer, shared her most recent kitchen fiasco here, so I thought I'd share "ours." I will not identify the guilty party...under threat of punishment!
Last night, I went to my favorite local haunt, Barnes & Noble, to read for a while...you know, for a change of pace. :) I made some progress on Bondage of the Will, but I also read the first couple chapters of My Grandfather's Son - Justice Clarence Thomas' new autobiography - which was fascinating enough that I will purchase it soon. (While I was there I saw this gorgeous new "illustrated" version of David McCoullough's 1776...it is fabulous! I put one of those on hold.)
But, I digress. On arriving home, I found the doors ajar, windows open and the whole-house fan running full-blast...it was after 10 PM, mind you, and the children are SUPPOSED to be in bed! Anyway, one of the Shaffer males had attempted to hard boil some eggs, which can be tricky, you know...all that boiling water and stuff. Well, the aforementioned Shaffer male went in his room to watch Saints & Soldiers (good movie, btw), and promptly forgot about the eggs...until he heard a strange "pop." As he headed toward the kitchen, he was greeted by clouds of smoke and a raunchy, choking smell...yep, the water was dried up, the bottom of my GOOD Swiss-made pot was scorched, and the portions of egg that were not permanently affixed to the bottom of said pot, had splattered all over the kitchen...the stove, counters, microwave, floor, and yes, even the CEILING were all dotted with egg-particles.
When I walked in shortly thereafter, the smell was horrendous! Have you always thought that hard boiled eggs smell badly? Trust me...SCORCHED hard boiled eggs have to be the smell of Hades. The smell lingers even now, but should dissipate by day's end - I hope! Thank God for whole-house fans!
8 comments:
Oh my. Next time, send the family to Barnes and Noble, and you can stay home and read in peace and quiet!
Yep, been there, done that, too! I actually "slow-cooked" mine ALL DAY!! (Fortunately a lid was on the pan to retard water evaporation). And, the smell does "linger" (an understatement). I think the small town where this occurred (Orangeburg, SC) had considered renaming the place "Retardsville" (in my honor).
OK, that was a Shaffer male cooking fiasco. Let us hear of a Lori Shaffer cooking fiasco. Certainly you have had one or two in your vast cooking experience? 40 hour projects brought out the best in our cooking abilities. Really it was a matter of not turning the stove off completely before leaving the house and burning lamb to a crisp or to carbon. Joanie
I have hear Justice Thomas interviews regarding his book. I think it also would be a must have. Joanie
Ugh. What a mess. But if said male was a young one, I am impressed he tried to make boiled eggs. I just haven't released the reigns on children in he kitchen yet.
Re: the illustrated version of McCullough's 1776, I saw it at B & N today. It is really beautiful.
Angie - I can't bear the thought of them going to B&N without me, although it would be much cheaper that way!
Joanie - The only one that springs to mind happened when I was in high school (not because other fiascos don't exist, but because I have learned to block memories of my failures!). I was making cornbread for dinner and used 1/2 c. baking soda instead of 1/2 t. My siblings said it tasted like monkey-puke...
Jenn - both my guys are pretty handy in the kitchen, actually. They don't have free reign, but there are several things they can do without any input from me.
Ok. I just re-read my comment. That's reins, not reigns.
Jennifer-I love that you corrected yourself on your own post!!:D While we are correcting-I think you meant 'the kitchen' not 'he kitchen';)
I couldn't help myself!
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