How I Almost Had A Heart Attack
September 6th, 2008 | by Loretta |So it was circa lunch time and I had plans to be diligent today with my cooking, since it is Saturday after all, and actually whip out the pan to make a grilled cheese sandwich.
I had my bread ready and went to the kitchen to get my beloved pan that Dad fixed up and it has survived many years of cooking with my brother.
I was really confused. This was my pan, wasn’t it? I looked through all the cabinets and thought hard. Really hard. Trying to remember where I put the pan Mom told me to bring.
How could this be? Black burn marks and deposits of pure carbon were stuck to it. I was confused. And upset. And looked the pan backwards and forwards to make sure it was the one Dad had fixed up. It had to be it– this was where I left it, wasn’t it? Oh geez.
My apartment-mate may have mentioned using it and trying to clean it. Okay. Okay, she said she tried. That counts.
If there’s one thing I’m pretty anal about, it’s maintaining a clean kitchen with clean hardware.
I made a tawdry sort of sandwich with the toaster and at in disappointment. While eating, I consulted a therapist. We talked. I calmed down. Took a deep breath and went back to the kitchen to clean up the dish that held my mediocre cheesy sandwich.
Took another look at the pan.
A jolt of optimism came.
I sprinkled my favorite kitchen cleaning agent– baking soda– onto the pan and mixed with water to make a paste. Then i went to find and new pair of lovely orange gloves– the same kind that got me through H2SO4 spills in organic chemistry– and scrubbed the paste onto the pan.
The carbon bits, fortunately, dissolved. After some rinsing and another dose of baking soda with scrubbing, a usable pan re-emerged.
The surface is a little scuffed up, but at least it’s usable.
It looks like I’m getting a side PhD in Housewifery Skills.