Friday, February 27, 2009

Microwaves

As I nuked my syrup in the microwave this morning, I took a moment to enjoy the wonderfulness that is instant warm food. Aren't microwaves the best invention? Love the things.

It reminded me of the first microwave my family got when I was about 7. My dad worked in a furniture store, so he was able to get one for less than $1000 when they came out. It was a behemoth of a thing, sitting there resolutely on our countertop.

I was fascinated by it. The food went in cold, and came out (seemingly instantly) hot.

The next day after school, I was hungry. We had some rolls left over from dinner, and I thought it would be really yummy to heat it up in the microwave and put some butter on it and have it melt. Mmmmmm....

I put the roll on a plate, and carefully placed it into the microwave. My 7 year old brain then calculated that it would most likely take 20 minutes to heat up. I set the timer, pushed start, and then went off to play.

After the fire alarm went off, my mom found a black hunk of charcoal in the microwave. Her new toy, not even a full day old yet, now had smoke and burn marks all over the inside.

The amazing thing is that it didn't kill the microwave. Mom had that huge box on our countertop for close to 20 years, permanent burn marks and all.

14 comments:

Grant said...

Common sense should tell you that if you're going to microwave a roll for that long, you should wrap it in aluminum foil first.

My first attempt at cooking was to reheat toast on the stove top in a plastic container. I didn't fare much better.

Peggy said...

My 1st experience with the microwave (maybe 10ish?)...I really thought that ice cream would melt yet still stay cold, thus, a milkshake. My family still makes fun of me!

Anonymous said...

the best micro-wave we ever had was in a holiday rental in Cornwall. It cooked a chicken very quickly then turned into an oven and crisped it...brilliant.

Anonymous said...

the best micro-wave we ever had was in a holiday rental in Cornwall. It cooked a chicken very quickly then turned into an oven and crisped it...brilliant.

La Yen said...

Our first giant microwave--I made a frozen burrito, but it was still cold in the middle. So I put it in for the same time. And when I bit into it the bottom fell out and landed on my legs and gave me third degree burns. Good times.

And I swear we have that exact model in our church kitchen. I am the only one who knows how to use it.

Suldog said...

My favorite microwave story involves the grandmother of a friend. She really didn't know about how they worked, so when her granddaughter said she was going to cook a baked potato, she didn't realize it would only take 5 or 6 minutes. When her granddaughter came out of the kitchen in 6 minutes, eating the potato, the poor woman asked her daughter to take her to the hospital. She thought she had blacked out for an hour or so without realizing it!

Otter Thomas said...

That's funny. My dad still has issues with the microwave after all these years. He once tried to microwave the squeeze butter container to have butter for the popcorn. That butter was never the same again.

Beth said...

Oh my! You just reminded me of the story where my grandmother put a coconut in the microwave. I need to write about that one day.

Great story!

Casey said...

Isn't it amazing that something that cost $1000 can now be bought for $50 or even cheaper at a yard sale?

One of my first experiences with a microwave landed me in the ER. Spaghetti sauce burns. I'm glad you didn't blow yours up with the burnt food!

DJ Kirkby said...

20 years for under a $1000 is a great bargain. When I started reading this I thought you were heating soup and I couldn't figure out why you would want to eat soup first thing in the morning...then I read it again. Doh!

AS Amber said...

That's too funny! We used to microwave marsh mallows in ours. And sometimes forget. Oopsie!

Wayfaring Wanderer said...

I was waiting to hear about the tin foil! haha Great story.

jfrancis said...

Seven year old green jello
is lucky to be alive today.

Joe said...

I remember what a miracle they seemed to be when they first came out. Now it seems like a long wait when it takes 2-3 minutes to heat something up.