Day 39: Read the directions and directly you'll be directed in the right direction.- The Doorknob

"Read the directions and directly you'll be directed in the right direction." - The Doorknob, Alice in Wonderland

Continuing with The Doorknob/Alice conversation theme, The Doorknob tells Alice to read the directions to the bottle on the table, in a rather long drawn out way.

Directions can be a wonderful thing. They can help prevent us from getting lost, or they can tell us how to use something properly and keep us from getting injured or sick. Recipes are like directions (or are directions like recipes??). They tell you how much to add of what ingredient and at what time and how long it should take to cook or set up. Rules are kind of like directions as well. They not only keep us safe but they also tell us where to go, what to do and when, just like directions do.

Listening to directions can have great results. Let's say you printed off the directions to your favorite relative's house because your relative lives in a wooded area where there is no cell signal and you followed them to the letter. The end result: you get to see that favorite relative relatively fast. Yet not listening to the directions can have bad results too. Let's say you still printed off the directions to your favorite relative's house, but this time you took a wrong turn because you misread a sign. The end result: you get extremely lost and it takes you an even longer time to see your favorite relative. 

Another good "reading directions" scenario would be doing laundry. Let's say you're doing your laundry and want to use regular bleach to whiten your clothes. The first load you read the instructions and follow it to the letter. Your clothes come out brighter than ever. Then let's say for the second load, you do a load of darks and use regular bleach, not the color-safe bleach, because hey bleach is bleach. This time your clothes come out lighter and covered with bleach spots, leaving you extremely frustrated with yourself for getting the wrong bleach.

In both cases, it would have been for the best to read the directions and follow them. Sometimes, it's ok to listen-yet-not-listen to directions, like in cooking. Yes it is always wise to follow the recipe, but sometimes the recipes need to be tweaked so you can eat things. For instance, I can't eat strawberries due to a severe food allergy and I can't eat shellfish, again due to allergies. So for recipes that call for strawberries or shellfish, I use a different kind of berry, usually blueberries or raspberries, or a different meat, like chicken or beef in place of the shellfish. Sometimes my tweaks work, other times they don't.

Sometimes you can follow the recipe and it still not turn out. One of my biggest kitchen "oopsiegoofers" happened when I was in high school. I had wanted Rotel Dip with my chips while Mom and Dad were grocery shopping, and I figured I could make it since I'd seen her make it a bunch of times. I followed the recipe: put the can of Rotel in the bowl, cut the Velveeta cheese and put it in the bowl and put it in the microwave for the time set. Sometime during the microwaving, the dip fully exploded and sealed the microwave shut to the point not even my strong Dad could open the door. I had to wait for Mom to get back home to explain what happened and thankfully I was not killed for exploding cheese dip in the microwave. After the initial shock wore off, Mom asked if I had stopped the microwave and stirred it, which I told her I didn't. She also asked how small I cut the Velveeta, which I told her I cut it in chunks big enough to fit in the bowl, which she replied was too big and they needed to be smaller and I should have stopped and stirred it. Luckily the situation was too hilarious for them to stay mad at me and we got a new microwave. So even following the directions can sometimes cause some interesting results. Thankfully my cooking and microwaving skills have gotten a lot better than that and this has never happened again! So word of the wise: cut the Velveeta into tiny cubes and STIR constantly if you're microwaving Rotel Dip.

So, with that said, always remember to read the directions and Keep Cooking with Character!