Our granddaughter had just come to the cottage. It was lunch time. She wanted mac and cheese. That was easy to prepare, so I pulled out a box. I boiled the water and put the macaroni in the pot. Within minutes it was ready. She and I sat down at our outdoor dining area by the lake. I asked her if she thought it was a little odd tasting. Her face told me that maybe yes. But we ate it. She loved it.
Me, not so much.
I kept thinking what was different about it. It must be the brand since I’ve never used this one before. I should write the company that there’s something wrong here. Even asked my husband to remind me what the box said. It was labeled creamy.
That wasn’t it.
So I did what we should do when we’re looking for something misplaced. I retraced my steps! And went back to the kitchen and checked my jar of salt, thinking maybe it was sugar. We use jars for different ingredients at the cottage instead of the labeled boxes from the store. Cooking humor.
We both tasted it. Salt…so that wasn’t it.
What’s the mystery of the odd sweet taste of the mac and cheese? Now heavy into solving the problem, I looked on top of the stove. The pot still had some left. I scraped the remaining mixture into a plastic bowl and put it in the fridge.
Still no answer.
We usually eat leftovers, but this time I may need it for evidence. But soon had a change of heart and tossed it into the trash. About two hours later and after swimming, she asked me if we had any left from lunch.
Imagine that…she wanted more!
My husband got her a sandwich while I fretted. Why did it not taste right? I usually like mac and cheese, whether it’s from a box or not.
Earlier that morning.
We had watched birds in the feeder chirping away. It reminded me that I hadn’t put the hummingbird feeder out yet, and it was the end of July! So I got on it right away. I looked up a recipe for hummingbird food. Within minutes I had it. I followed the instructions and left the sugar water in a pot on the stove to cool down!
I had my answer.
What’s your cooking disaster story?
Check this Cookin’ Mimi blogger for a real recipe for delicious homemade mac and cheese.
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Avoid kitchen mishaps, don’t cook, or get a recipe from the pros. My motto!
I really liked this little story! As I read along, I too was thinking about what could’ve caused such a simple dish as “mac and cheese” to taste different, but I would’ve never guessed the water in the pot used to make it as the source! Hummingbird food, eh?
I totally forgot that I had boiled the sugar water for the hummingbird feeder. Lesson learned — finish one task before starting the next one. Usually, I’m good at multitasking!