My current challenge is my kitchen. Well, not just my kitchen but also my small appliances. And my large appliances. And the grocery stores. It's a conspiracy!
Have I told you about my kitchen here? Like the entire complex in which we live, my kitchen is ultra-modern, all gun-metal grey mirror tiles and a paint job and hidden appliances, and a microwave and convention oven sunken into the wall. All the small kitchen appliances came with the house, too, like a rice cooker, toaster, blender, etc. And all the large appliances are also space-age. The stove is a flat-top ceramic with "buttons" that aren't really buttons but pressure sensitive spots. And the fridge and the oven and the microwave and the oven hood and the stove all beep to let you know you've left them open or on or what have you. It's all very Jetsons and chic!
But I HATE it all! For example, the stove top is out to get me! Last night, the stove started beeping at me again while I was cooking dinner, boiling water for macaroni and cheese and browning ground chicken. I tried to figure out what the issue was but the beeping continued and then, without any more notice, the burners I was using shut down. Umm, I'm trying to boil water here! And feed two hungry kids who were already whining about dinner. Those burners never did come back on that night; I eventually got one other burner to come on and got the water boiled and then browned the meat later. It worked but it really slowed me down! And in past days, the oven's beeping has continued even after we've shut it off, and we have no idea why. So very frustrating!
Then, the day before, I tried to make stir fried vegetables and rice. The rice cooker cooked along nicely...and produced uncooked rice! What? It's a rice cooker. It has one job! Meanwhile, the stir fry, made with the soy sauce I bought at a local grocery store, was sooo salty it was almost inedible. Oops, I forgot that I have only ever used reduced-sodium soy sauce. Fortunately, I finally did find the reduced sodium variety, after going to multiple stores and looking in all the obvious and not at all obvious places (I found it in one of those, by the way), but not before several meals had been ruined.
Listen, I am not a gourmet cook, by any means, but I am a better cook than this! I promise! Am I going to win any food awards? Nope, unless the award is for ability to make semi-edible meals in less than cooperative circumstances, but that's not an award I want to win, dang it!
Have I told you about my kitchen here? Like the entire complex in which we live, my kitchen is ultra-modern, all gun-metal grey mirror tiles and a paint job and hidden appliances, and a microwave and convention oven sunken into the wall. All the small kitchen appliances came with the house, too, like a rice cooker, toaster, blender, etc. And all the large appliances are also space-age. The stove is a flat-top ceramic with "buttons" that aren't really buttons but pressure sensitive spots. And the fridge and the oven and the microwave and the oven hood and the stove all beep to let you know you've left them open or on or what have you. It's all very Jetsons and chic!
But I HATE it all! For example, the stove top is out to get me! Last night, the stove started beeping at me again while I was cooking dinner, boiling water for macaroni and cheese and browning ground chicken. I tried to figure out what the issue was but the beeping continued and then, without any more notice, the burners I was using shut down. Umm, I'm trying to boil water here! And feed two hungry kids who were already whining about dinner. Those burners never did come back on that night; I eventually got one other burner to come on and got the water boiled and then browned the meat later. It worked but it really slowed me down! And in past days, the oven's beeping has continued even after we've shut it off, and we have no idea why. So very frustrating!
Then, the day before, I tried to make stir fried vegetables and rice. The rice cooker cooked along nicely...and produced uncooked rice! What? It's a rice cooker. It has one job! Meanwhile, the stir fry, made with the soy sauce I bought at a local grocery store, was sooo salty it was almost inedible. Oops, I forgot that I have only ever used reduced-sodium soy sauce. Fortunately, I finally did find the reduced sodium variety, after going to multiple stores and looking in all the obvious and not at all obvious places (I found it in one of those, by the way), but not before several meals had been ruined.
Listen, I am not a gourmet cook, by any means, but I am a better cook than this! I promise! Am I going to win any food awards? Nope, unless the award is for ability to make semi-edible meals in less than cooperative circumstances, but that's not an award I want to win, dang it!
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