I was so proud of myself for: getting the big kids snacked, pottied, socked, and shoed after nap (by myself), cutting, bowling, and covering the pineapple and putting it in the car, making a huge pot of tomato sauce to be used for a dinner later in the week and frozen for later dates, and waking F from nap to whisk her to the car and get to the party on time. We were all happy, the kids and I, jamming to our favorite celtic jams, during rush hour traffic, and we were almost to our friends house when I remembered:
I had left the burner on.
I had every intention of turning it off as I was leaving the house. I really did. That was one of the last things on my mental to do list: get F up, change her diaper, turn off the burner, lock up the house, get in the car... woops. I had forgotten it. We were 20 minutes from home in traffic. Sorry kids, we are going to be soooo late for this party. I was looking at at least 40 more minutes before we got to the dinnertime party, and I was stressed. Because I had just left 12 cups of sauce simmering at home. By the time I got home it would have been simmering for well over an hour. We had to go back, there was no choice. Plus, the gas tank was so close to empty.
We drove back to the house in tense silence, well I was tense and silent and anxious and annoyed at myself. The kids switched between laughing and joking with each other and peppering me with questions about whether or not the house was on fire. And then they suggested we pray for the house and the sauce, which was really sweet, and the right thing to do. So, we said some prayers. Traffic was slow. I was still worried.
We finally made it home, and I ran into the house. A rich smell of delicious sauce hit my nose as I walked in back door. I saw that the burner was indeed still on, but only felt a thin layer of burnt at the bottom as I stirred the sauce. It was too hot to taste, so I turned off the sauce and headed back to the party, taking the time to fill the tank on the way. The party was fun. The kids were dirty from the sandbox.
And after we got them bathed and into bed, we were left with this one hot mess:
 |
| Ugh... wish I had bought that Norwex scrubber... |
As it turns out, the sauce ended up really tasty and I still have some in my freezer. I think I will simmer my sauce for longer amounts of time, but with me at home...
 |
| This is not the sauce in the freezer, but in the refrigerator waiting to be put in the freezer... |
And I will be linking up super late to last week's link up of One Hot Mess hosted by Blythe of The Fike Life:
This is like the time I took the kids to the library, where providentially, there was a book on fire safety displayed on the top of the bookshelf. I selected it, and was obliviously reading it aloud when all of a sudden it dawned on me that I may have left the damper on the woodburning stove open. We raced home (luckily only 5 minutes away by car), to find that the damper was indeed open. Phew. Disaster averted. And then there was the time I happened to go back inside and upstairs before leaving for a long excursion, only to notice a funny smell. There was a sippy cup burning onto a lightbulb! Yeah. Our guardian angel has saved us many a time!
ReplyDeleteThis happened when we lived in New Hampshire, where my husband taught philosophy at Magdalen College.
ReplyDelete