The Writer's Pen

I was cooking supper the other night. Bruce came into the kitchen and asked, "What's that smell?"

"Oh," I said. "I thought we'd have something different tonight. I call it broiled plastic spatula. A new taste sensation."

I thought that was a good story to post on Facebook. One friend wanted the recipe. I said it was similar to roasted Tupperware. One wanted to know why it was in the oven. Well, you know how it is: Somebody's coming over and the kitchen's a mess, and you quickly hide things in the oven. This time it was the frying pan with the spatula in it.

All my life I have never had enough cupboard space and have had to store things in the oven, usually my large frying pans. There are always pans in my oven and I always take them out before turning it on. Well, almost always. It burned the handle on the frying pan a little and even though the spatula was in the frying pan and melted, the pan was non-stick and the broiled spatula lifted right off.

The Tupperware incident, a long time ago, was a little different in that it was borrowed. I had to get a replacement and when I returned it to the owner, she was surprised that it was brand new. I told her what happened. We both had a good laugh.

It's been a long time since I've had any baked or broiled kitchenware. Every so often, though, I seem to have to burn a pan just to keep things interesting. One time it was my good five-quart stainless kettle. But, all's well that ends well. I think, though, that I will be a little more cautious when I turn on my oven from now on. Sometimes we just need a little reminder.

Janet Branson is a former resident of Hartley, having lived here for over 40 years. Her husband was pastor of the Baptist Church and she was a school cook for 27 years. They now live in Adrian, Minn., where Bruce is pastor of First Baptist Church.