Those nagging voices in the back of your head? They're there for a reason.
After about two minutes she saunters over to us, looking rather concerned. She nods her head in the direction of the microwave and says, in a very small voice, "I think something's wrong".
[parents everywhere are nodding grimly, knowing that this is most often the understatement of the year...]
I get up from the table to see acrid smoke billowing out of the microwave. Before I even get to the microwave, I hit the industrial-strength kitchen fan we installed with our JennAire range - the one that can clear out a small forest fire. Open the door to the microwave, and it looked like a very small but powerful thermonuclear device had detonated inside, laying waste to the tiny island nation of Macaronistan. It turned a simple macaroni and cheese cup into this:
Mac 'n' cheese of DEATH
Apparently BabyGirl G. forgot one critical step in preparing this Mac&Cheese cup - she forgot to add the requisite water to the bowl before putting it in the microwave. It took less than two minutes for the plastic to melt and the macaroni to char; which is frighteningly fast for an appliance that doesn't use open flame, gasoline, or Coleman's fuel...
It took a few minutes to clear out the smell of melting plastic, and we had to pony up another macaroni & cheese, but eventually we got things back to normal. It turned into a good learning experience - we got a chance to go over the fire drill rules again (and both kids nailed them perfectly); we stressed the importance of paying attention to what we were doing; and the kids got to see their boring ol' dad dashing around the kitchen being a "hero" ("Dad! You could have been all burned up!")
They both expressed worry that Mrs. G. or I could have been hurt or even killed by the flames (there were no actual flames, I relayed to them after the fact); so we had to reassure them that this was not a life-and-death situation or anything like that. There was no actual fire, just the plastic melting; we were able to get the fans circulating and windows and doors opened fast enough so that the fire alarms didn't even go off (which was a minor miracle unto itself).
Macaroni and cheese dinner: $2
Electricity used to cook Mac&cheese to a blackened lump: $0.05
Look of wonder on my daughter's face when she realized that I had "saved" her? Priceless.
Just keep an eye on them, folks - before they burn your kitchen down, too...
That is all.
9 comments:
I usally use Smoked Gouda or Chipotle peppers to give it that smokey flavor, but I guess that works too.
FYI as a good Itallian family you'll like this one.
I was on my first offshore research trip when around dinnertime the captain looked at me and said:
"You Hungry?"
I was.
"You like Italian Food?"
I do.
"How about we have Getyerowni for dinner."
I frowned and had a turkey sandwich.
"Getyerowni" is "FFY" in my house!
Those easy mac cups will get ya. Back when I lived in the dorms during college, everything was evacuated three times (twice during the same week) because of that same problem.
Weerd,
"Getyerowni". I like that...
Bluesun,
Back in my day (when the earth was young and dinosaurs roamed the earth), it was Chef Boy-r-Dee left in a sauce pan too long. Same same...
Behold the Power of Cheese! And macaroni.
Life's little lessons... you never know when they are going to pop up... or when Super dad will be called into action! My recent dad heroics involved scaring a bear back into the woods while carrying a bat, mind you he was already heading that way and there was a fence between us, but still the kids think I'm the bravest.
When she's a little older you may want to remind her how you saved the entire family from death by a blazing chesse like proccessed substance.
Save that card for her tween years.
The entire paragraph before the pic that culminated in "Macaronistan" had me falling out of my chair. It's a shame no one else is in the office to hare it with today!
tweaker
Sigh.......
I just sit here and shake my head because a mere two and a half hours ago one of our keyboard kommandos at work managed to do something similar with a Tupperware of leftover curry.
You want to talk about God awful odors...
I didn't even open the microwave's door. Just elbowed my way through the crowd, looked through the window, unplugged the thing, and carried it back to the kitchen.
Lord save me from code monkeys...
BGM
Fire response knowledge is important, not just for the kids but spouses.
A few years ago I'm sitting in the living room and hear my wife calling my name softly from the kitchen.
As the volume of her voice increased from barely audible to a normal speaking tone as she just kept repeating my name; I rolled my eyes, sighed and went to see what was the problem.
She had managed to set a kitchen towel on fire on the counter top next to the gas stove with the burner. I just grabbed it, threw it in the sink and sprayed it down with water.
When asked, she couldn't explain why she just kept calling my name. I lectured her and our daughters that in a case like this a loud call of "FIRE" would be the most appropriate phrase to use.
Rich
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