Category Archives: Humor

True Confessions of Kitchen Mistakes

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Cooking, Baking and Life sometimes result in Mistakes. Life Lessons I’ve Learned: 1. Don’t bounce a check. Only write checks you have money to cover. It will cost way more than you can imagine! 2. Tell you children the truth as often as possible. If you think that telling a toddler that “bad dreams are caused by wearing socks to bed” will help them grow up to be well adjusted, they will come back and tell you the same answer when they are 27 years old. 3. Disclose all facts to your a) doctor, b) lawyer, c) financial adviser  and d) the guy at the bungee jumping station when he asks your weight. 4.  Know how to prepare one really impressive dinner, even if it is a simple dish. There will come a time when you need to serve dinner to somebody important and you don’t want to call for take-out. 5. A cuppa tea will help solve all the problems you face. The time it takes for water to boil, tea to steep and then to drink your cuppa gives you a chance to reflect on the problem and usually a solution will appear. Kitchen Lessons I’ve Learned: 1. Rolls … Continue reading →

The Importance of a List

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I’ve always been a list maker. You know … things to do, places I want to see, chores around the house, groceries, “must remember”, what to pack for a trip, Christmas ideas and gifts, etc. Some people hate lists and others work very well with lists. I’m one of the second group. I like to make lists for the sense of accomplishment I feel when I’m able to cross things off the list. I also seem to be getting to that point in life where I can’t remember things … so if I write ‘em on the list, I will remember! I don’t think I have memory loss problems, so much as I have too many things to remember. I think my brain is full of trivia such as “Oreo cookies are 1 and 3/4 inches in diameter” and “Seattle Slew was the last Triple Crown Winner in horse racing – in the late 1970s”. That’s why the important things get written down. My kid’s birthdays. My passwords. The family cookout next weekend. My husband’s request that I pick up a book for him. The schedule for the kid’s baseball games. You know. I also work better from a list. … Continue reading →

How *Not* to Melt Butter

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I’ve learned some lessons about melting butter that I should share with you. Many of the recipes I’ve been making require the addition of butter or margarine. Since butter from the fridge is difficult to mix into banana bread dough or cake batter, I like to soften the butter prior to using it. In the last month or so, I’ve tried some different ways to melt butter and had some stellar messes. 1. I placed the stick of margarine in a small saucepan on the stove top. Turned the heat to low and left the margarine to soften while I accumulated the rest of my ingredients. In my distraction, I forgot to monitor the softening process. I heard a loud “bang”. When I inspected the stove area, I discovered melted margarine everywhere. I have to guess the heat built up in the completely melted margarine and created a pocket of heat and pressure that exploded the heated grease over the entire stove top. There was margarine coating the tea kettle, the stove controls, the bottom of the cupboard, the neighboring counter top and the stove vent. I think I’m still cleaning up the residue from that explosion. 2. The next … Continue reading →