Recently I was in the mood for BBQ chicken sandwiches. Like every time I make BBQ chicken sandwiches I put the chicken on to boil. My phone then rang and I went into the other room to answer it. When I came back into the kitchen to check on the chicken I saw HUGE yellow flames swarming up the sides of my pot. Thick black smoke began to fill the air. The first thing that went through my head was “OMG, my apartment is going to burn down” my next thoughts went to my neighbor who lived down the street from me when I was a kid, whose house DID burn down due to a kitchen fire. My next thought was “Quick were is the camera…. I need pictures for the blog”. I then had a some what rational thought and was able to pull my self together enough to think “OMG WHAT DO I DO; I HAVE A GREASE FIRE”. I then remembered that I needed to find the baking powder to smoother the flames. I raced to my pantry (I have a small apartment kitchen, so I actually took two steps) and feverishly looked for the baking soda. Meanwhile my vision is getting blurry, due to the smoke. I then think “Oh no- the smoke alarm is going to go off and the sprinkler system is going to go off- Where is that DAMN baking soda!”
Finally I find the baking soda. I run over to the stove top and carefully lift up and remove the pot of chicken. As I do this I spill boiling hot water everywhere. The flames then shoot even higher. My heart is racing and my hands are shaking. I cannot seem to open the box of that DAMN baking soda. Then when I think I am doomed, I am able to rip open the box of baking soda and smother the fire. I then breathe a sigh of relief and gag as smoke fills my lungs. I stumble to the sliding glass door and open it, followed by all the other windows. My dog and cat and I then laid down on the floor hugging each other and bowing down to my new hero:
RIP baking soda; thanks for making a sacrifice for me and my home and my beloved pets. I know you had dreamed of being a part of something tasty like cakes, cookies, or biscuits; but know that you were not used in vain- you are a hero:
After I calmed down a bit and I cleaned up my mess. I continued boiling the chicken, (just because a had a traumatic experience with my life flashing before my eyes doesn’t mean I still wasn’t ravishly hungry and craving BBQ chicken sandwiches; I mean come on I worked up a big appetite fighting a fire). In honor of the baking soda and my quick firefighting skills is this “hot” BBQ chicken sandwich.
Oh my! For such a scary moment in life, you tell the story with a great sense of humor 🙂 Three cheers for baking soda!