A Cautionary Tale...

Once upon a time, a well-intentioned young lady decided to host a 3-generation Mother's Day luncheon. She invited her mother, godmother and grandmother. She got to work on a delicious and crowd-pleasing menu: chicken souvlaki, sweet potato salad, mango and avocado salad, homemade cornbread and pea soup. Always a well-prepared cook, she got to work on her menu early, preparing ahead of time. A few days before the event, she got to work on her pea soup. She decided, as usual, to wing this recipe, starting with a yummy broth made from smoked pork hock and the decision to use frozen peas instead of dried, a decision, she later found out, that would have eliminated the need to puree the soup had she chosen dried peas.

The soup was seasoned and simmered, and it was time to spoon the hot mixture into her blender, something she had done many times before. There was the roasted cauliflower soup, and the goat cheese and broccoli soup, both of which had turned out smooth and delicious. But alas, that was a different time and a different blender. The pretty, nay, stunning chef had just received a new blender the previous Christmas, and hadn't as yet run it through the gamut of its responsibilities. In fact, the only action it may have seen was a batch of blended margaritas.

Logic would dictate that "whip" would be on a high speed, while "blend" would be a lower speed. Sadly this was not the case. You can see where this story is going, no? Piping hot soup...mistaken blender speeds...

Needless to say, once the button marked "blend" was pressed, all efforts to keep the lid on the jar were found to be in vain. Boiling hot soup gushed out of the blender, onto the floor, the counter, the front of her clothes and worst of all, her uncovered arms, leaving severe burns and causing severe pain.

What can we learn from this tale?

1 - When making something for the first time, you don't necessarily have to follow a recipe, but take a gander at one.
2 - Make absolutely sure you know how to use your kitchen appliances before you load them with napalm.
3 - Keep a fully stocked first aid kit handy. You never know when making dinner will anecdotally be referred to as "the incident with the [insert kitchen appliance here]"

Writer's note: I have graciously opted not to post pictures of my injuries. My intention with this blog is to whet your appetites, not cause you to lose them.