Scorched

Ok, the caption on the photo isn’t quite right. The above is what happens when you let your mind wander and you don’t set a timer.

Once, many years ago, I forgot a pot on the stove at my mother-in-law’s house. I was reducing some sauce and headed out the door in a clueless moment without a thought to what I was doing only a few minutes before.

Then I remembered I had left it on the stove and I tried to call someone at the house to see if they could take it off the heat. By that point it had already been found by another family member, all dried out and in a rather bad way, sauce-wise.

Incredibly, I actually managed to resurrect it. I felt rather fortunate about dodging that bullet.

And my luck went downhill after that. I remember my mother reminding me to crack the oven door a little bit when I was broiling things as it gets rather hot in there rather quickly, and before you know it your broiling will turn to charring.

But the oven door let out too much heat, I argued. When I had the opportunity, I broiled with the door closed. Things certainly moved more quickly, that’s for sure. So much so that after clearing all the smoke out of the main floor of the house, I promised myself that I would set a timer every time I broiled anything. Same for anything I was cooking, especially if it was over high heat. I kept nattering on to my kids about not turning their back on a pot on the stove, set a timer, pay attention… You don’t want to burn anything.

And I took my own advice right up until I didn’t. Mercifully, I had more pine nuts in the pantry and no one else happened to be in the kitchen and had to know about my hot pan oversight. But you see? This is what happens when you get cocky. Your perfectly browned pine nuts end up biting you in the ass. It was the stove version of a marshmallow over a bonfire. I spent a ton of time and effort getting a perfect brown char all over and then in a moment of inattention I set it aflame.

Secretly, I’m always a little relieved when I make a mistake like this. It was relatively harmless (although pine nuts are horribly expensive) and it reminded me to be careful and pay attention. When a lesson like that comes along I always try to heed the message. At least a little bit.