Cooking 2009 - How to Boil Water (A must read)

For New Years Eve last year Michael and I made a WONDERFUL four course meal: appetizers, first course, second course, and dessert from scratch. We vowed to do the same for this year but circumstances beyond our control rendered us too exhausted and unenthusiastic to bring in 2009 in gourmet style.

After much sleep and pure boredom we decided to cook "a meal" on New Years Day!

I found a wonderful recipe for shrimp and scallops in Alfredo sauce and whipped up a grocery list. Much to our dismay Jewel was closed so we had to scratch the list and resort to making a meal out of what we had in the house.

(You are now in my head )

Freezer check - "shrimp and scallops , THAT'S a great start"
Fridge check - "No cream, no Parmesan, no, no, uhhhh, SCRAP the Alfredo sauce. Hmmm....wine, butter (lots of butter) green-peppers. That would make a great sauce."
Casual Kitchen Scan - "Garlic and onions. More for the sauce. "

Hmm...I need a appetizer.

Freezer check - "Edamame. Light, healthy, green. Perfect appetizer."

(You are now out of my head and back to reading my blog)

The mood is light, music in the background. I haven't had a cigarette in four days and was "patch less" I was feeling a little bit on the edge. If one stays out of my way, gives me full control of the kitchen and treads lightly, things would be okay. Mike loves to help in the kitchen. Uh-oh.

Time to make the Edamame. Just boil water, throw the edamame in water, bring back to boil, cook five minutes, strain. Easy, right? Not!

I grab a pot out from under the cabinet. Mike informs me the pot is not big enough. I look at the pot. I look at the bag of edamame. The pot is NOT big enough. I grab a bigger pot. I think I want a cigarette.

I proceed to fill the pot with water. HOT water...to get the boil going quicker. I've been doing this since age two (world according to me). Mike innocently turns the water to cold. I turn the water back to hot. Mike turns the water back to cold. My head gets hot.

I have a sudden urge for a cigarette.

Me: "What are you doing?"
Mike: "You should always start with cold"
I'm thinking to myself that I know how to boil water.....
Me: "Noooooooo, I start with HOT", I say as I feel myself getting very irritated. "I know how to boil water"
Mike: "Hot water is not as healthy, you should always start with cold water"

I'm done. I know how to boil water dammit! I give up. I leave him to the pot of water and let him start boiling away....a long, cold, boil away.

I sit at my computer, login to face book and sarcastically write that "Christy is learning how to boil water".

To prove him wrong I look up "how to boil water" on the internet. I was going to research and prove to him that hot water did boil faster and that cold water didn't frickin' matter! I was going to find it AND read it to him!!

Guess what? Every article I found (and believe me, I found a lot of articles) proved that HE wasn't wrong. Hot water has to go through the hot water boiler and isn't as "healthy". There is a lot of nasty crap and germs that water grabs on to when it goes through the hot water heater. And, at all costs, use cold when cooking.

I was wrong. He was right. If my foot could reach my ass, I would kick myself. But no need for him know this. I got up from the stool as he ran cold water over the boiled edamame and then I proceeded to make a wonderful dinner. Shrimp and scallops in a white wine, butter, garlic, onion, green pepper sauce over angel hair pasta (cooked in boiled cold water).

Dinner was wonderful.

And, I learned how to boil water.