Removing Burnt Rice from a Pan...and Marriage

Photo: Oli Jon, click for license

I was busy concentrating hard on hemming a veil, and there it was...the characteristic smell of burnt rice.  Really?  After 22 years of marriage, I'm burning the rice? Cleanly hemming rounded edges, on lace, is tricking business.  That's my excuse.

How does one get the dreaded black volcanic rock-like mess out the bottom of a pan after burning the rice?

(Now, we're not talking about a pan that is made of something toxic, that might bring harm to you and your children.  Deciding what to do, with a pan like that, requires the assistance of someone with more expertise than me...but that's not the kind of pan we are talking about here.)

So, now to tackling Mount Vesuvius at the bottom of your pan...

First, take a wooden spoon and scrape up what can be scraped.  That's your freebie.  God has pity on you, and some has scraped up.

Next, fill your pan partway (about half) with water, and pour in a good amount of liquid dish soap.  Waste a little; it's cheaper than the pan.  Besides, you have been sensible and bought your dish soap in bulk, to minimize the expense.

Put the pan on the stove and simmer for a bit, maybe a half hour.  Sometimes things need to simmer quietly for awhile, with prayer, to soften them up.

Turn off the heat and let it cool.  Take a wooden spoon and scrape again.  Get loose whatever you can.

Pour out the water.  Use a little scratchless cleanser, and the nylon scraping side of a non-scratch kitchen sponge, and scrub until the residual comes off.

It will be tempting to leave it till later.  After all, it's only a little mess, kind of like the irritation you feel at your spouse over X, Y, and Z.... it can be dealt with in time.  But, the longer you leave it, the harder it will be to remove.  Once you get to this point:

You're going to want to stop.  But, if you leave it on there, you are doomed.  It will get harder to remove, the longer it sits, and if you cook with the pan this way, that residual is going to bake on, and be your pan's permanent constant companion.

Look, dear one, that man...I mean... pan...is part of the fabric of your life.  You chose it, (or at least accepted it for the role, depending on your circumstances), and it is part of your household now.  It serves many a purpose for you.  It nourishes you and your children.  It protects you from burns, by serving a purpose that you could not fulfill without it.  And, it's beautiful, in it's own characteristic way, isn't it?  At any rate, it's yours.  You bought it and/or accepted it, sister. Claim it, and get to scrubbing.  (Putting a small cloth underneath it, will help protect your sink from scratches.)

Besides, it wouldn't have mattered if you had chosen a different pan...or even if you set out to find a new one.  If you neglect(ed) to attend to any other pan full of rice...it would have...or will... burn, just the same.  Focus on the maintenance of the choice you made.  Making a good choice is important...but once you've made a purchase, it's all in the care and maintenance, in the long run.

Burnt pans are like marriages.  
Don't stop until the glory shows through.

"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." ~Ecclesiastes 4:12

Stand together, wind yourselves up with God, and hold on.

It can be done, if you go about it the right way.

Pax Christi, Precious Ones,

~Michelle

Linked with:

Welcome Home @ Raising Arrows, Better Mom Mondays, Domestically Diving Tuesdays @ Far Above Rubies, Teach Me Tuesday @ Growing Home, Encouraging One Another @ Deep Roots at Home,
Homemaking Link-up @ Raising Homemakers, Living Well Wednesdays @ Women Living Well,
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

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