OMG - I just lived up to my reputation . . AGAIN

I am still not sure whether I should laugh, cry, sheepishly wave, giggle, joke, stare off nonchalently at nothingness, pretend it didn't happen (when I know full well it did) and well - there were those horrible things called witnesses. . .  I probably shouldn't even blog about it but there is that humorous element to the whole situation too.

Here I am telling the story. It was a dark and stormy night. The best stories always seem to start this way and in this case it was true. The snow was blowing and the roads were sheet ice. I arrived at work exactly on time and headed it to be met by the coat rack. Frantic footsteps morphed into the body of my delightful boss who asked me to be the welcome mat for the event. However, that job was a bit slow so I was transferred to the kitchen.

I am the first to admit that I am surrounded by a host of talented, well palletted cooks. Some are even chefs. In the kitchen, we were slicing bread and prepping appetizers for an evening social gathering. The food was running a bit late and the guests were getting restless. Finally, it was all ready and the plates began leaving the kitchen. And then, my culinary talents came to the forefront. I reached into the oven with the tea towel that was subbing as a pair of actual oven mitts. I turned to put the platter on the stove and began turning the appies with the spatula to even the browning. My other hand was holding the tea towel. Apparently, I even waved the tea towel while working at it.

The towel
was
on

FIRE!

The staff are alternately stomping on the tea towel that had been struck from my hand. I looked a bit dazed and so did the rest. I have no idea HOW I did it. All I know is that once again I have managed to inadvertantly catch a kitchen object on fire. Thank goodness my insurance company doesn't know about it. I have mentioned that I am not a natural in the kitchen and this isn't the first time I have managed to catch something on fire that I was cooking. There is a reason that I was doomed to dishes as a child and then as a roomie. A) Everyone else was a better cook. B) How much trouble can you get into with water? On second thoughts, don't answer that.

End result: I am once again banished from helping in kitchens of any kind and any size. Hopefully, this banishment doesn't include my own or I will have some very hungry children in the house. . . but it might take a couple of days for people to forget about this wee adventure. It is definately going to take longer to get over the embarrassment.

On the other hand - if you had seen their faces. ... heard the shocked gasps and bewildered faces and the resignation of my coworkers . . .

As of this moment - I remain Queen of the Campstove, which is actually meant to have flames! This is my kitchen . . .(so what if they had a campfire ban.. . )

Seriously? Why did no one tell me that?

Seriously? Sometimes life is designed to make you feel that you are completely foolish. This moment is definately one of those moments. You see, one of the joys in life that I have is really deliciously made London Fog. I happen to be rather particular about the qualities of my London Fog. My London Fog is made with one shot of vanilla flavor, skim milk and one Earl Grey tea bag. Sounds simple, but it really isn't.

I love the one that I get from Coco Jo's downtown. One of my luxuries is to go downtown to get a London Fog and relax for a bit. Meanwhile the girls like to get a hot chocolate. The difficult part is that the drive takes 20 minutes through mad chaotic traffic and that is just one way. This means that you have to have a reason to be downtown in the first place. To be honest, I will not drive downtown for just the London Fog.

The only other place in town that I knew that made a London Fog was Starbucks. Trust me, what they make cannot be classified as a London Fog in my opinion. It just doesn't suit my tastebuds. When I couldn't get to the real London Fog, I sometimes settled for a Tim Horton's Steeped Tea. Now, that appeals to me on some levels, but it really cannot be considered to be up to the standards of a true luxurous beverage.

So, now imagine my surprise and disgust when I discover via a friend that SUBWAY has a drive through and sells coffees. I looked at her with mild disbelief and just thought to myself that it was like the regular coffee shops in town. She insists that it is a "real" coffee place that is run in conjunction with SUBWAY. I was willing to indulge her and went for a drive through the drive-thru. To my great astonishment, they sold a London Fog. So, I ordered one. It was even better than Coco Jo's. I was completely floored.

But to tell the truth, the worst part of the whole situation was that this place is two blocks from my house. I am so completely disgusted that this place has been there for over a year, and because I don't eat at SUBWAY, I never found it. Still shaking my head over the whole scenario.