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Cleaning off burned-on macaroni is not my idea of a good time…

November 19, 2009, 9:17 PM

Trust me, cleaning the remains of burned-on macaroni is not my idea of a good time. I was cooking pasta for lunches last night, got sidetracked, and forgot about the macaroni until smelling the distinct smell of burned food. That’s when I remembered the macaroni, a bit too late, though. The box of macaroni only cost a dollar and some, but cleaning the pot was no fun. And needless to say, the next day’s lunch was ruined.

Most of the macaroni came off easily. Then a good amount of it came off with some coercion from a cooking utensil. Then I went to Giant for ammunition. I came back with a gallon of vinegar, a box of baking soda, and SOS soap pads. A soap pad used by itself got some of it off, but there was still a bit left to do. I put about an inch’s worth of vinegar in the pot, and let it sit for a bit. Then I came back and scrubbed the hell out of it. That finally got it, and now the pot is clean, and now it’s in the dishwasher getting washed along with all the other dirty dishes.

My advice for all is to watch your pasta carefully. Last time I burned pasta was in 2006, when I accidentally left a pot of spaghetti on the stove for too long. That time, I put it on, and then went upstairs. I started talking to a friend online, and ended up getting so distracted that I forgot about the spaghetti. Once I realized I hadn’t checked on the spaghetti, figuring it would be a little bit too soft but edible, I went to check. Surprise: I came out of my room (I was still living at home at that time), and was greeted with the smell of burned food. I was able to salvage enough of the rather well-done spaghetti to make a meal, and put the pot with the burned-on noodles in the sink with some water in it to soak while I ate dinner. The plan was to eat dinner, and then clean the pot. However, my father got to the pot before I did, and he cleaned it, which made me feel guilty. I fully intended to clean the pot, but he got to it before I did. After all, I burned the food, and I should have been the one to clean it up.

Meanwhile, my nails are now disgusting, with the remains of charred food and soap pad residue under them. Simple soap and water didn’t get rid of that. Makes me wish I’d waited to today to cut my nails. It certainly would have been easier to scrape if I’d had nails. And yes, I do take some pride in how my nails look. I like having nice nails, since it kind of completes the look. And now my nails just look bad. Sigh…

Web site: How you're supposed to clean burned on food. Too late now, I suppose. But my method worked, and didn't require cooking or overnight soaking.

Song: Describing a large donation to Scientology from "Anonymous", but not that Anonymous...

Quote: The whole thing for some reason brings a joke to mind: A man's going skydiving. He jumps out of the plane, pulls the ripcord, and nothing happens. He pulls his reserve chute, and nothing. He's just falling straight down. Then he sees this lady flying straight up. He says to her, "Hey, do you know anything about ripcords?" She says, "No, do you know anything about gas stoves?"

Categories: Food and drink