houston, we have a winner.

in keeping with the latest charlie sheen inspired craze of "winning," i'd like to share with you my winning experience.  and shock of all shocks, it came in the KITCHEN.  i know, the very beast i complained about previously and will complain about in the future gave me a W just now.

inspired by a friend of mine who always bakes delicious cookies, i decided to yet again procrastinate my homework and try my hand at baking cupcakes.  even though my hamburger helper was a major bust last night (and again for lunch today when i tried it one more time in hopes that the fridge would have worked some magic), i was drawn back to the kitchen like a moth to a flame. or a ladybug to my window sill.  or edward to bella.  or me to justin bieber.

maybe i really am a masochist.  maybe i just like failing at things.  maybe i hate my homework so much that i'm willing to try anything.  or maybe, just maybe, i'm so stinking stubborn that i refuse to believe that an oven/stove can stop me.  whatever the motivation, i took to the kitchen and tried my hand at cupcakes.

i followed the recipe just as i should, put the 24 little experiments into the oven, and said a silent prayer to the cooking gods to please not set off my fire alarm.  the neighbors do that enough and as i was reminded by my cookie-baking-friend, it'd be the worst type of karma for me to set off the alarm tonight.

the icing step will come next. wish me luck!

when the timer on my microwave (my oven is lame and doesn't have a timer so i use my microwave's) went off 18ish minutes later, i hesitantly crept towards the kitchen, noting mainly that it wasn't filled with smoke and it didn't smell like ruined cake mix.  much to my delight, i opened the oven door and saw 24 beautiful little cupcakes looking back at me, begging to be taken out of the cooking machine.  i gladly obliged and only burned my hand briefly as i used a dish towel to pull them out instead of an oven mitt. apparently dish towels are not as thick.

i am happy to report that while i'm far from being rachel ray, i definitely won tonight.  the score might be stove - 1, megan - 0, but so far i'm one up on the oven.  i can't promise that the cupcakes taste good since as soon as i saw them i came to brag about it via blog, but hey - they look pretty and that has to count for something, right?  

 

green peppers are the gifts that keep giving

it's no secret that i'm not much of a cook.  my idea of a fancy dinner includes lightly toasting my bread before i slap the peanut butter and jelly on it.  i know, i know.  it's a classy establishment over here.

despite my lack of cooking skillz (yes, with a z), i find myself pretending every now and then that i know how to do things.  when the mood strikes me as i'm waltzing through the grocery store (which is the MOST overwhelming experience for someone of my cooking level), i buy all kinds of crap.  that's right.  crap.  half the stuff i don't even know what it is, the other half i at least recognize the name despite not knowing its purpose.

on my latest adventure into the land of edible fear, i decided i'd buy a few green peppers and see what magic i could make happen.  unlike some of my other purchases, i at least knew what this one was.  when i got home, i washed and sliced the pepper (which is no easy task for someone that doesn't touch food - another thing that can wait for another post) and put it into a container to save for later.

so, umm, i forgot about it.  it happens to the best of us, and the forgetful bug surely got me about those pesky little peppers.  they were sitting all still and quiet on the bottom shelf and they just slipped my memory.  when i finally did see them again, i decided it was probably for the best if i just threw it out.  chances were high that even if i thought they weren't bad/rotten/whatever happens to vegetables, i wouldn't eat whatever i put them in anyways.  so i tossed them out (wasteful, i know) and went about my day.  by that evening, i was smelling something strange in my kitchen and for a second thought maybe i had a dead mouse or something equally as lovely.  upon opening the garbage can to toss something out, i found the culprit - those pesky little peppers were reeking up a storm.

i quickly took out the bag and tied it tightly hoping to capture that lovely scent inside the bag so it wouldn't be able to invade my nose anymore.  upon waking up the next morning (yes, i could have gone that night, but safety should always trump reeking green peppers), i took the bag to the dumpster, trying my hardest not to breathe as i walked the short distance.  seriously, the stench was that bad.

i didn't really think much more about it after that as i went about my day running errands, physically attending class even if my mind was absent, and going to work.  i assumed that once i got rid of the vegetable's version of a stink bomb, i'd be able to inhale deeply without feeling like vomiting.  wrong. wrong. wrong.

apparently, green peppers don't just stink for a hot second.  apparently they don't just stink while they're physically in your home rotting.  apparently their horrid smell seeps into your walls, carpet, hair, etc. because seriously, the smell won't go away.

and no, there's not actually a dead mouse somewhere, and no, the smell is not coming from my sink or garbage disposal.  it's those darned green peppers.  and although i do appreciate the fact that they're trying to stay with me even though i discarded them (what a thoughtful vegetable), we'll see if i ever buy them again (unless of course it's for someone i don't really like...).