Overall, I have survived on the simplest meals...mac n' cheese, three-story peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cereal, etc....but there has also been glimmers of hope along the way. I have made a few different pastas with meat and even cooked a pizza or two in the oven. I acknowledge that these cooking achievements are small steps for most, but they are giant leaps for someone who aimlessly wanders around a kitchen like he has never seen one before. By exaggerating these glimmers throughout the semester I had been thinking maybe....just maybe....I will be able to be the next Food Network chef. However, last night all hope was shot down, run over, stepped on, and finally spit on. I hope you enjoy my embarrassing story...
It is currently final exam time. In the midst of studying, I decided to take a quick dinner break to make some mac n' cheese. I began by using a kettle-like tool to boil the water more quickly than in a pot on the stove. (this kettle is plugged in to the wall and not heated on a stove like traditional kettles) As I waited for water for the water to boil, I figured I would also prepare for the next step. I turn on the flame of one of the burners on the stove. I left the flame low and set the pot I would soon be using on the off-burner to its right. The kettle took a couple minutes longer than expected, but I finally heard the water boiling and was ready to pour the lava-hot water into the pot. This is where the incident occurred....I grabbed the metal handle of the pot with my left hand. However, the pot's handle was even hotter than the lava-hot kettle water! I thought I could overcome the heat and grabbed the handle a little tighter...I was wrong, it was waaay too hot. I flung the pot into the air and my right hand spilled the boiling kettle water all over the floor.
For the next 3 hours plus, I iced my hand. When the ice was on my hand, I felt fine. But within 10 seconds of removing the ice, the unbearable throbbing, hot pain would start again. As the approached 11 o' clock, I became concerned about about being able to sleep at night. I didn't want to toss and turn all night as the ice melted or fell off my hand. (keep in mind, the incident led me to forfeit an evening of studying for an exam and I didn't want to also forfeit quality studying time the following day due to lack of sleep...such a good student I am!) This is when I went into "College Student Survival Mode" (CSSM). Without the proper medication to assist in a situation like this, I needed a more feasible plan. My roommate then told me a similar story when she burnt her fingers on a Saturday night. The pain was great but she still went "clubbing" that night with ice on her hand. The alcohol from the evening soon took her mind off the pain and she was fine the next morning. After hearing this story, I decided this was a feasible option --not to go clubbing, but to use alcohol to take my mind off the pain. My other roommate Carlos jokingly handed me a bottle of wine. I ignored the line in Billy Joel's song "Piano Man", and started drinking alone for the night. By midnight I was feeling pretty tipsy and by 12:30 I was asleep with a bag of melted ice on my hand.
Here I sit the morning after....with blisters on my hand, a mustache on my face, and an embarrassing story of how I was injured by macaroni n' cheese. However, I am glad that my CSSM sunk in and the "bottle of wine strategy" was a success. I got a full night of sleep and I will be able to study all day. Still, I know the incident has severely hampered my dreams of becoming "Bobby Filet" or the next food network star. The kitchen is a dangerous place for me. I will just have to stick to my three-story peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the time being...
Heard a guy on the radio talking about buying "Shake and Bake" which is similar to a box of mac and cheese from Kraft. Actually Kraft makes Shake and Bake, anyway you open the box put the purchased chicken in a bag, and mix in the Shake and Bake seasoning and right into the oven. He believed the tiny box on the shelf with the all of the other dry noodles included the chicken. He went so far as to take the defective box back to the store and wanted a rebate on his $.98 cent investment. Sounds as if he should be your roommate. Maybe pot holders should be in your Xmas stocking. Or Oprah's personal Chef needs to move into your building. I expected you to duct tape the ice to your hand to get through the night. Butter on your paw can assist with the pain. No one ever listens but vineger takes all of the heat out of any situation. Nothing works better on a sun burn than vineger. Sure you smell similar to a walking ceasar salad, but the pain is gone. A few croutons to toss to your detractors and you are on your way to a new fad. How is the nutella ?? I have always wondered but have never given it the poor college student orientation.
ReplyDeleteThis "shake n' bake" individual would make a great roommate for me. I could even show him the aisle at Food 4 Less where a similar product exists to the one he was looking for. Last semester I discovered a packet of hamburger helper that does have the meat (or fake meat?) included in the tiny bag. Thus, all you have to do is pour the contents into a bowl and microwave it! Everything needed for hamburger helper is in the bag. Genius!
ReplyDeleteNutella is amazing. It is basically chocolate frosting that people try to create the idea that it is good for you. I think this is doubtful though, nutella tastes way too good to be healthy. Unfortunately, the nutella in the picture is not mine, it is my roommate's. I was out of jelly and nutella fit as a nice replacement. Personally, I will not buy nutella in Australia. It is pricey and peanut butter is superior as it can serve more purposes.