Woke up early and hungry the other morning, so I sleepily made my way to the kitchen to fix my usual breakfast, some McCann’s Quick and Easy Steel Cut Irish oatmeal. I've been buying the fast cooking kind because it has the same amount of fiber as the regular and it's much faster to prepare.
I flicked on the switch and the light bulb came on, made a "pop" then went out. (and that always startles me, even though it's not a loud noise...must be something to do with my innate fear of electricity) I had some light bulbs, but couldn't see them because it was dark. (much the same way when I look for my glasses after laying them down somewhere. It's hard for me to find them because I can't see without my glasses!)
That was OK, though, because I've made the same thing hundreds of times before and the light from the lamp in the next room was just enough to let me barely make out what I was doing. By feel, I flicked on the hot water kettle, got a bowl and put in exactly 1/4 cup of the oatmeal, sprinkled a little Splenda and a dash of cinnamon on top. The kettle boiled, then clicked off and I poured enough water to cover the oatmeal. I didn't need to measure because, as I said, I've done the same thing plenty of times before.
I gave it a stir, covered the bowl with a saucer to keep in the heat, then grabbed a handful of blueberries from the fridge and a banana from the bunch I had just purchased. I put the blueberries in a coffee mug, then poured some hot water on them to rinse, poured out the water, then covered them again with hot water so they would be warm when I added them to the oatmeal.
Coming back into my bedroom, I got on my computer, checked my email and such, giving my oatmeal about five minutes to absorb the water and get soft enough to eat. After the required time, I went and retrieved my breakfast and the cup of blueberries and banana and brought them back to my computer desk. I dumped in the berries, then cut up the banana into tiny slices and added them to the bowl. (I like to have a bite of banana with every spoonful)
Giving a quick stir to my breakfast, I filled up the spoon for my first food of the day. My nose gave me a second's warning, but my reflexes aren't so great in the a.m. and I shoveled a heaping teaspoon of the oatmeal into my mouth.
Did you know chili powder and cinnamon look an awful lot alike in near darkness?
I flicked on the switch and the light bulb came on, made a "pop" then went out. (and that always startles me, even though it's not a loud noise...must be something to do with my innate fear of electricity) I had some light bulbs, but couldn't see them because it was dark. (much the same way when I look for my glasses after laying them down somewhere. It's hard for me to find them because I can't see without my glasses!)
That was OK, though, because I've made the same thing hundreds of times before and the light from the lamp in the next room was just enough to let me barely make out what I was doing. By feel, I flicked on the hot water kettle, got a bowl and put in exactly 1/4 cup of the oatmeal, sprinkled a little Splenda and a dash of cinnamon on top. The kettle boiled, then clicked off and I poured enough water to cover the oatmeal. I didn't need to measure because, as I said, I've done the same thing plenty of times before.
I gave it a stir, covered the bowl with a saucer to keep in the heat, then grabbed a handful of blueberries from the fridge and a banana from the bunch I had just purchased. I put the blueberries in a coffee mug, then poured some hot water on them to rinse, poured out the water, then covered them again with hot water so they would be warm when I added them to the oatmeal.
Coming back into my bedroom, I got on my computer, checked my email and such, giving my oatmeal about five minutes to absorb the water and get soft enough to eat. After the required time, I went and retrieved my breakfast and the cup of blueberries and banana and brought them back to my computer desk. I dumped in the berries, then cut up the banana into tiny slices and added them to the bowl. (I like to have a bite of banana with every spoonful)
Giving a quick stir to my breakfast, I filled up the spoon for my first food of the day. My nose gave me a second's warning, but my reflexes aren't so great in the a.m. and I shoveled a heaping teaspoon of the oatmeal into my mouth.
Did you know chili powder and cinnamon look an awful lot alike in near darkness?
5 comments:
Sorry little brother, but I couldn't help but laugh at your story. get you a flashlight for the next time that happens!
Do you remember how Mother used to put paprika on the top of her potato salad or on top of the deviled eggs to make them look pretty with the extra color? Sandy had made a huge batch of deviled eggs to take to a church luncheon. She remembered the paprika Mother used and thought she would try it to make the eggs look fancier. She hunted around in her cupboard til she found the paprika and then sprinkled it all over the eggs. She turned around to get some plastic wrap and noticed the top of her eggs "moving!" Apparently her paprika was old and some sort of bugs or those mealy worms had set up house in her paprika. She ended up having to throw away all those eggs and try to find something else to take for the luncheon. So, as bad as your oatmeal must have tasted, hopefully it was bug-free!
Be that was a shock!
Sis, that's OK...I laughed a little bit, too. I dug the fruit out, washed it off and made another batch of oatmeal. (the fruit was too expensive to throw away)
Never knew about Sandy's paprika, but I've done the same thing w/ sugar (ants) and flour. Just a while back I found some Hamburger Helper that was past the use date, but not too bad, so I went and got some hamburger but when I opened up the pkgs., both the noodles and cheese sauce, they had worms in them.
I think about you nearly every time my milk gets close to the expiration date and I smell it to make sure it's OK. A couple of months ago I had bought milk on sale and was a little lax about using it up. I poured some into my coffee and it sorta splashed in. One whiff of the jug let me know I hadn't used it up quickly enough. Sometimes milk sorta smells funky and it's still good, though.
I really hate to waste food.
To be honest, the oatmeal didn't taste all that bad since it doesn't have much of a taste, anyway. But, Barb, it WAS a shock, mostly from expecting the taste of cinnamon and getting chili flavor instead.
Little annoyed at Amazon. That McCanns used to be 25 bucks for six cans, now it's something like 37. I may have to start buying the regular sort at the store because it's 7 bucks for a can or go back to eating the cheap, slimy regular kind. It's not nearly as good as the steel cut and nothing near the fiber.
I am such a stickler about not using out of date food, but especially milk. Mother used to get aggravated at me smelling everything. She'd say "I just bought that!" I didn't care...I still smelled it all. Amanda got me started buying organic milk. It tastes the same on my cereal and in my baking/cooking, but the half gallon I normally buy lasts about a month. It's more expensive, but up to now I have not wasted any or had it go bad before I finished the carton. I hate to waste food, too but since I live alone I've found that a loaf of bread and stuff like that goes bad/stale before I eat it all. That stuff is too expensive not to use it all!
Was only last night G and I were about to make some Hush Puppies and we opened the box and couldnt decide If the little black specks were bugs or spices , it wasn't out of date but maybe the pack hadnt been sealed up after last use so well and , well , we just wer not sure , after both of us trying with out old eyesight we used a magnifying glass but still couldnt see so , we passed on the HP's and threw the mixture away.
think I have only ever mixed salt and sugar up once at a church after service coffee time , can't remember who it was that gagged when they got the first cup :O )
Thanks for sharing your stroy Mike it gave me a smile.
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