Prayers

Feb 13, 2016

So, I Exploded a Cake Pan........

Live and learn.......this concept will never get old for you, and you can take my word on that.  I speak only from my personal experience.

Last week I had not only my own boys to feed but a couple of others that were traveling through.  Well, maybe not boys.....men.  

A quick trip to the store to get the makings for spaghetti got us home just in time for the guys to start watching the Superbowl.  This left me in the kitchen alone, which has always been fine with me due to the peace and quiet.  Plus I always learn so much from hearing males talk when they think no female is listening.  If you know what I mean.  Ahem.

I had made a lemon cake in a glass 9x13 pan that was sitting on the stove.  I had planned to make a jello cake out of it with raspberry jello and throw some whipped cream on top.  This is a method that works for everyone regardless of age, gender, or diet, from my past experiences.  To my regret, I had not gotten the jello mixed up and added and had it in the refrigerator already.

In my hurry to get water boiling for spaghetti and simultaneously get an onion chopped up to add to the meat, I inadvertently turned the front burner on instead of the back burner.  In my defense, the pot I was going to boil the water in was a stockpot, so I couldn't really see which burner I was turning on due to the height of the stockpot.  I know this not a good defense but it's the only one I have.

I was chopping my onion, timing myself and worrying about such a big pot of water taking too long to boil, when I smelled a funny smell.  Kind of a burning smell, but as I could see everything on the stove, had nothing in the oven, and rarely doubt myself, did not stop to investigate further.

This was my mistake.  Go ahead and doubt yourself.  Double check, even.  Just do.

A few seconds later, the glass cake pan exploded all over hell and creation, sending both square safety glass pieces and shards in all directions as well as freeing the cake, which was already burnt black on the bottom, to rest on the burner with no barrier and smoke quite impressively.  I tell you this so that you can avoid it, but it also occurs to me that it is an excellent, last resort way in which to get everyone's complete, undivided attention.  I just hope your life never leads you to this point, but you never know.

My first thought was that someone had shot at us and hit the cake pan.  I will blame that on shock........lol  There was complete silence not to mention no movement for 5 full seconds while we all just stared in shock.

The next hour or so was spent trying to clean up glass all over the floor and stove top without disturbing anything that was cooking and carefully checking the meat for shards of broken glass. 

One flying piece of glass did graze one shin with little damage and only one shard got stuck in my finger during clean up.  This was removed by one of my Babies, who has good enough vision to still see.  How will I ever live without them and their good eyes???

By the time I got supper on the table it was half time.  The rest of my evening was spent with an LED light in the dark kitchen tracking down glass shards.  Not that I minded missing the game, if I need to say that.

Since then I have mopped and gone over the floor on my hands and knees several times, but have yet to move out the stove and tackle all the glass in the crack between the stove and the counter.  

I continue to tell everyone to leave their shoes on, with some success except for the more stubborn individuals who will just have to learn their own lesson.  Probably.

More importantly, I have had to endure much ribbing about how you have to watch me because I exploded the cake pan.  I guess I will never live that one down, but again, that is how memories are made. I am certain no one who witnessed this will ever forget it, to my eternal embarrassment.  

So I exploded one thing, one time, in all these years.........

As my mother would say, "Oh well".

I told them it was meant as a lesson.  Sadly, they are all too old to believe this.

The moral of the story is: pay attention, for no amount of time saved while multi-tasking will ever make up for all the time you will spend on your knees afterward, should you forget.  And I hope you don't!  Learn from my mistakes, people!

What I learned was that glass pans can even explode. I must admit, I did not even know that was possible.  But hey, maybe it wasn't in the world I grew up in.  No doubt this cake pan was made in China! In any even, now I know what I did not know before.

Just to show them, those whom have teased me about this for a solid week now, I haven't made them any cake, jello or otherwise.  That'll show 'em.  heh heh heh.......

Just had to share that, for your own good.  Safe cooking to you all, and be safe in there!