Tuesday, November 18, 2008

pieces.


I haven't fallen off of the cook.eat.think. wagon here. I actually had a Pyrex explode into a million tiny pieces in my oven. I have a thing with glass. It always breaks no matter how careful I am. And, it always gets stuck in my fingers or feet, no matter how obsessively I clean it up. And it stays in my feet sometimes for months - even with my attempts of digging it out with sharp objects. So, this was a big thing.

So, I left it for a few days. Cleaned the floor 120 times (yes, it blew up just as I opened the oven, and glass literally flew OUT of the oven at my head, and landed up to four feet away). Put a rug in the kitchen. Let it sit for a few days. Bought big giant thick gloves. Pulled out the big pieces. Let it sit for a few days. Wondered how in the world I would ever get all that glass out of my oven. Looked for a shop-vac rental. Tried to sweep it out a little. Let it sit a few days. Wished I could just get a new oven (ha!). Let it sit for a few days.

I don't know when I will feel that I got enough glass shards out of the oven to EVER feel that I can cook in it again, but here's hoping. The holidays are coming. And a big birthday for a four year old is only 9 days away ... hmmm ... maybe I should order a cake...

So while I have been cooking a lot, it has been in the slow cooker on my counter. Big long all day soups and stews. Bread in the bread machine. Beans soaking on the counter. Panini's on the counter top grill. Now if I could just make this oven disappear and a new one magically appear in its place, I'd be set! ;)

12 comments:

Penelope said...

We've had this happen with Pyrex....twice! And we're not alone, I also have two friends who have had similar experience. The only thing that we all had in common was the age of the Pyrex - around 10 years old. Maybe it has a life span??

I'm sorry to hear that this happened to you. Thank goodness you weren't hurt.

Anonymous said...

That's terrible! Not only have you lost a good piece, but there's the mess too.

Shawna said...

I've had some glass blow up on me too! Only it wasn't hot or cold. Just out of the cabinet! Very scary. I'm glad you're okay.

I love my slow cooker. I use it so often I rarely use my oven anymore, which is too bad bc it was new with our home and extremely nice. I dont' know when I'd feel safe to use one with a glass explosion either.

I'd love to hear what you're putting in your slow cooker. I frequently use Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker cookbook and I put up my own slow cooker recipes on my recipe blog (shawnasrecipes.blogspot.com). Let's exchange!

Leanne Pizio said...

Yuck!!!! I am sorry you have had this happen to you. This may be a good reason to use pottery. :) ( i am not at all biased ). Because it doesn't tend explode or shatter on it's own. And when it breaks it typically breaks in larger pieces and because they are colored they are easier to find.

At Home Depot and Lowe's hardware you can purchase a small shop-vac for around 40.00. I use one in the house as a vacuum (6 furry animals) and it is a great tool to have.
Hope you get all that glass out of your oven. Have a great birthday for the little one!
Leanne
ps. I would be interested in your slow cooker recipes too. I bet they are amazing!

Linda said...

I am so sorry this happened to you! I am thankful though that you, and the boys! weren't hurt.

It's scary to think this is even possible.

Lisa said...

Oh my stars!!! What a horrible, awful mess!!! I can only imagine and hope to never have this happen to me.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Oh denise, What a catastrophe...

You sure do make it sound like you have all the bases covered to cook and feed your family without an oven though.. you are such a smart girl!!!

Happy birthday to your son...

oh I remember back when i was using my wood oven and I was cooking a blueberry cobbler.. I was using a pyrex dish .. I made the mistake of using my frozen blueberries.. it never exploded but snapped in pieces and all the blueberry goo went all over the oven mixed with the glass..

I can't imagine what an explosion would have been like though.. I'd be freaked about using pyrex ever again... I mostly use old metal cake pans or small roasters now...

once burned ... twice shy... take care, gwen

Jodi Anderson said...

I collect vintage Pyrex and a few other items, like certain FireKing stuff. I've had two explosions. I'm trying to make it work because life is too short to collect too many things that you can't use. ;)

Still, there are a few items that are just for display.

Barbara said...

Denise! Have you recovered from your oven tragedy yet?

denise said...

Barbara - Thanks for asking! I had a friend read this and offer to loan me her shopvac! Yay!!! So it is clean and clear. Just started cooking again in the past two days after being sick. I have a lot of new stuff to post! :)

Anonymous said...

I have a thing with glass, too. Oh the insanity. I heard some silly story about a restaurant customer swallowing a piece of glass plate 15 years ago. Ever since that day the thought haunts me. When I am about to drop something made of glass I naturally close my mouth out of fear it will somehow jump down my throat during its downward spiral to the floor.

Anonymous said...

Whoah! *throws out all Pyrex*