Pecked by Ducks

Yesterday I posted some recipes for Dinner Tonight, from the Everyday Food editors and was mentioned by everydayfooddeb (thank you Deb!) in her post about the Zuke and Cuke Fest. I was very excited. It seems I’m famous (if only in my head) all over the place.

I was having so much fun telling my friends and family about it, I forgot to finish putting these gifties together for our great neighbors who recently had a baby (isn’t she adorable?) and who, as of tomorrow, will be in NY until November. <sniff> They left us their Wii so I’m trying not to be too disgruntled about it.

Then I got so distracted assembling the bracelet and keychain before I forgot again and they left, I burned the spaghetti. Yes me, the famous, published foodie, burned the freakin’ spaghetti. How does one burn spaghetti you ask? I’ll tell you! I didn’t stick around long enough to stir it all the way in, so the little pieces sticking up out of the water stuck to the sides of the pan and burned there. AND the sauce burned to the bottom of the other pot and any meatball touching the bottom became fused. Oy!

So, I did what any other self respecting – oh crap the kids will be home in 5 minutes – mom would do. I took my kitchen scissors and snipped off all of the burnt ends. Then carefully, without disturbing the carbon coated bottom, poured the still palatable spaghetti sauce and meatballs into a beautiful serving dish and broke off all of the stuck on meatballs, leaving the burnt bits behind. Hey, 3 & 5 year olds still need their meatballs cut up. I was just pre-serve chopping. I totally meant to do that. I’m such an efficient mom aren’t I?