Kitchen Fiascos #87 & 88

Juiceboy has gone veggie on me again, a full three months earlier in the year than normal. I'm okay with it though, as I can get meat at lunchtime and it's not a bad thing for me to be cooking healthier meals.

For dinner last night I was going to use up some of the 25 cups of brown rice I'd brought home from work (leftovers from an event). Since I've been having problems cooking rice, I was quite glad to take the white and brown stuff off their hands.

On the menu was absolute peasant food: cabbage soup and hot and soup broccoli. The soup was fine, though dull. I'll noodle out the recipe some more and when I perfect it, I'll post it.

For the broccoli, I was to get oil in the pan smoking hot, then brown a slice of ginger, which I did. Then I was to add cider vinegar, soy sauce, chicken broth, cayenne, etc. I started with the vinegar.

SHPLOOOM! BANG! HIIISSSSS! BLANG!

Uh, duh.

Never put vinegar into a pan of hot oil. First, mix all the ingrediants called for, and add them in a large quantity, and maybe, just maybe, let the oil COOL DOWN before adding it.

I'm just lucky I don't have a gas stove. I only had minor burn spatters on me, though the surrounding area of the stove sure got a good covering of grease.

After all was said and done, the broccoli was pretty bad, any way. Too much cayenne, which I don't like as a result of trying that ridiculous colon-cleansing recipe. Cayenne lemonade, indeed!

Tonight was much more successful: a variation on the Barefoot Contessa's Crunchy Noodle Salad and fried rice. I'll post these throughout the week.