TIFU by essentially pepper spraying my entire household.
We’re having a seafood boil later today for the 4th. Previously the potatoes have taken ages to cook, meaning more time spent outside in the Florida heat over a boiling pot. In an attempt to limit the time my husband will be outside in triple digit temps today I decided to pre-boil the potatoes on the stove after breakfast.
I threw some Zatarain’s seasoning in the pot & added water. While it was coming to a boil I cut the potatoes in half. As soon as the water started boiling I started coughing & knew shit had gone wrong. I immediately turned on the exhaust fan, but it was already too late.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of inhaling creole/cajun seasoning, let me paint you a word picture: imagine the pain and sharp discomfort of getting caught in a plume of smoke - your eyes are burning, your nose tingles with a pending sneeze and your throat feels raw & irritated. This was all those things, but invisible and also angrier somehow.
Everyone that came through the kitchen, dining room, & living room was squinting, coughing, sneezing, and looking very confused. This included the cats, which almost made it worth it.
TL;DR: This morning I aerosolized spicy seasonings on the stovetop and made inhabitants of my house pretty miserable for about 15 minutes.
I copy & paste recipes I like into a doc in my google drive. Then I sort each doc in a folder (Greek, slow cooker, freezer meal, Mexican, etc). I can use the search bar if I know what recipe I want, or if I have a vague craving for Italian food I can poke through the whole folder to see if anything jumps out.
When I set the meals for the week I add events to my online calendar: “DINNER: enchilada casserole, Spanish rice” and I include links to the saved recipe in the event description. My calendar is shared online with everyone in the house, so I no longer get “what’s for dinner?” questions all the time.
I can use my phone or laptop while I cook to access the recipe. I can make changes to the saved recipe easily while I cook, too.
It’s relatively simple and there are no additional costs once you have internet & a phone/computer.