Okay, I'll before continuing my blog of shame, I need to redeem myself in saying that I have stopped putting some things down the holy garburator. Like banana peels. No-no. And really fibrous stuff like artichokes. But, most kitchen scraps, hey, what's the big deal? It's not like I'm shoving ribs and chicken bones down there!
Alas, I ate some humble pie last week. But, again, I need to qualify that I was having one hell of a stressful day - make that a few stressful days in a row. I thought I'd do something productive and began cleaning out my cupboard with grains and beans. I stumble upon some whole-wheat couscous, gave it a smell, found it was rancid, and tossed it... yep, down the sink. Okay, again, a qualifier. I was on the phone, guys, and along with chatting to my girlfriend about all this stuff that had been going on, I also had toddling trouble distracting me, and my mind was all over the place. Which is why I really didn't think about this...
Couscous doesn't really need to "cook". Add some boiling water to it, and it does its thing. Guess what it did in our sink then... yeah, it fluffed, it puffed, and it clogged our sink to the high heavens. We tried all kinds of do-it-yourself techniques off the internet, but there was no saving this clog. We had to call in the heavies, Mr. Rooter. Two hours and $300+ later (I did ask if they had a shitty-day discount - nope, but was worth a try), I'm wallowing in self-pity while my husband, I'm fully certain, is getting some twisted satisfaction. He wasn't upset, not at all. He was very understanding, and tried to make me feel better. All while sporting a grinchy-told-you-so grin.
So, I thought I'd share this "profound" kitchen wisdom with you today. That's what you come here for, right? Tips on making green smoothies, how to make some raw brownies, tasty bean burgers, and why not to toss couscous down your
p.s. Don't expect to see any couscous recipes in my next book.
"I'll Be Back"!
I understand the convenience the garbage disposal provides for you, but have you considered composting your green waste? It makes such a BIG difference in the world if you just take that one step . Think of the nutrients you could be providing for organic vegetables, and, by enriching the soil, you protect the earth from the horrors of even more chemical pollution.
ReplyDeleteanonymous, we haven't dismissed composting, but right now we do an immense amount of recycling, and with cooking from scratch and three kiddos and a small garden - composting is one more job I cannot assume right now. Though, our municipality is starting a compost collection program, which we will take part in.
ReplyDeleteAnd, I do hope that if *you* are speaking about environmental difference that you are speaking as a vegan - there's no such thing as a meat-eating environmentalist. I'm trusting you are also vegan...?
We got our composter from the city (Toronto)during one of those eco days and it's easy peasy! I keep a container under the sink for veggie/fruit scraps. You can even put stale bread and coffee filters in there (unbleached of course). Oh, and yard waste too. Leaves, dead trimmings from the garden, etc during the fall. We just dump the scraps into the composter and let it do it's magic. No work at all. We have green bins here which are awesome too. I think you'll like those if they start to offer that in your area. We dispose of all the used cat litter in there.
ReplyDeleteThat said, it's just my husband and I (and our 3 cats) so we're not nearly as busy as you. ;)
I feel your pain.
ReplyDeleteWe compost most everything. (Well, I put it in a pile, that I've never "harvested", but the crows love it)
In the winter sometimes the bucket builds up. One recent day my wife was cleaning up and instead of using the compost bucket, put an entire container of spaghetti noodles in the disposal.
They mostly slid right past the blades and clogged.
Luckily, I was able to use block the disposal and the air gap, and used a plunger to clear the clog.
Years ago I royally screwed ours up with potato peels (which I now compost for the most part) My husband now constantly 'reminds' me to not overload & kill it.
ReplyDeleteThat is too funny. Well I am not sure if you found it funny.:) The things that you learn when working in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain. (I haven't been composting because we live in a small apartment, but I know I should...Anyway..) I found out the hard way that potato peels are not good for the garbage disposal either. They're just a little TOO starchy and stick like glue to the insides of the sink.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for adding a laugh to my day! It has been a tough week and I REALLY needed that.
ReplyDeleteI also feel your pain. My husband is the exact same way and it drives me crazy. About a year ago I clogged our garbage disposal. I had the bright idea of trying to turn it back on to force the clog through and ended up covered in semi chopped squash when it backfired. My son was laughing hysterically and my overly anxious daughter was frightened by the whole thing!
Composting is also on my to-do list but I just haven't managed to get it to the top of the list yet.
Hope you have a better day today!!
Karen
I bought Eat, Drink & Be Vegan over the weekend. It was recommended by Kath of Kath Eats Real Food. Can't wait to get the chance to really look at it and find some new things to eat.
ReplyDeleteI have had a garbage disposal but never used it cause I always jammed it up. Locally here in Va we have been told that using one can be taxing on the water treatment facility.I've got my little ones to take the compost out to the bins as part of their chores. We are calling it a school experiment. We do recycle paper, glass and plastic.For a family of 4, we have about one bag of trash a week and that is mostly packaging from items we can't recycle.
ReplyDeleteCous cous can go rancid? Really?
ReplyDeleteTime to go clean out the pantry!
Hi there! Just wanted to let you know I nominated you for a Stylish Blogger award! :) http://modestimages.blogspot.com/2011/03/blogger-award.html
ReplyDeleteOhh, I feel your pain on the garbage disposal AND the rancid couscous. You wouldn't think about it going rancid, but whole wheat or not, I've had it spoil on me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for turning your woes into a great story though! I admit, I did laugh. :)
Jamie
crunchymamalife.blogspot.com
That story reminded me of the time my son decided to take a bubble bath in our jacuzzi (which was rarely used) - apparently when he poured liquid soap in the tub, the jets really whipped it up in a frenzy! When I went back in the bathroom, there was an overflowing tub of about a foot high's worth of bubbles - it took forever to get rid of that last bubble.
ReplyDeleteI once blew carrot and potato peels all over our kitchen from plugging up what my husband calls the "Dispose-some" not the Dispose All.
ReplyDelete