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Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Pressure coo... HOLY CRAP!

People often say "I feel like I am in a pressure cooker," or something along those lines. This is a saying that has been ringing true in my life recently, except I have a very vivid picture in my head of what that means for me.

When I was twenty I lived in India for a summer. Before that summer I had never seen a pressure cooker, let alone used one, but it is commonly used there so it quickly became a normal part of my life. When I was taught to use it the instructions went something like this - fill the pot with water, clamp down the lid, boil on the stove, when it's done spin this little top to release the pressure, duck and cover because you'll probably lose an eye. Check. Got it.

One night a friend and I were standing in the kitchen, using the handy, speedy little kitchen gadget, when it all went wrong. The stove we were cooking on had a glass cover that could be pulled down, so that when it's not in use it can provide more counter space (genius!). I reached over, twirled the pressure release thingy, ducked and covered, and boy howdy am I glad I did.

That sucker EXPLODED. To this day I have no idea what happened technically. What I do know is that one minute I was standing happily in the kitchen waiting for my potatoes to be done and the next second I was under fire. Not only did the cooker explode boiling potatoes all over the kitchen it somehow managed to shatter the glass cover in an explosion of alarming magnitude.

What happened next was a reenactment of the scene from Boondock Saints after they shoot the cat - lots of scrambling, screaming, checking for mortal wounds, and then shocked staring. No one was hurt but that kitchen will never be the same.

I'm hoping this blog will be a place to relieve a little pressure form life, and if not, at least a place to be able to stand in the middle of the kitchen covered in potato and laugh hysterically about it.   

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