The Kitchen Terrorist Strikes Again.

[DTCwordfan]

Aaaaaagh

This lunch time, I smelt something hot and plastic on the air, three rooms and about 50 feet from the Aga.

I go through and check the cooker, nothing. A quick check electrical and I found it.

A metal wastepaper basket placed on the hottest ring of the Aga, inside it one Sainsbury's chocolate sundae.......my mater's latest venture at terrorist cooking, seriously the worst thing being she has no comprehension of how daft this was and the fire risks involved and also that she couldn't smell the fumes. One more story for my chapter on kitchen terrorism with Alzheimer's.

Any great cooking disaster stories from your aged ones, your OH or kids....?

[MargoTester]

Not really cooking, but my son put a metal rimmed cup in the microwave and blew the electrics in the whole house!

[EcclesCake]

I would love to know how aged MIL can venture into the kitchen to prepare a 'quick supper' and two hours later present salmon steaks, new potatoes and a green salad.

Any normal person could have that on the table in 20-25 minutes!

[wolf63]

I am without parents, but I dreaded being in your position. My parents were both smokers and both died because of it. I will admit that they would have been in a home quite quickly after diagnosis.

Does your mum live with you or do you just visit? I lived with a senile dog and senile and blind cat - I can only begin to imagine your daily life.

[DTCwordfan]

grief, Margo, and Eccles, a lot of sherry fortitude perhaps?

[Nibble]

Did one time have a friend, - now an ex-friend, who cooking HIS own Xmas dinner, decided to finish with a microwaveable Xmas pudding. Being a "sensible" person, he proceeded to read the instructions on the packet - which stated 2'30" for an 800W microwave oven - fair enough he THOUGHT, however he failed to look at the size of said microwve oven, which was a 2200W catering size.
Which he then proceeded to start - result explosion of microwave oven tore the verticall rising door totally off the front of the microwave - which then resulted in paying for the microwvwa.

Cost to my friend was £1250 out of pocket, and a permanent ban from kitchen.

[Canary42]

I had a good one with the breadmaker - I put all the right ingredients in, set it off, and retired. Unfortunately I had failed to put the paddle in properly so no mixing/kneading took place, and the final baking cycle just heated up the unmixed ingredients - a yukky mess instead of lovely fresh bread.

[DTCwordfan]

lives avec moi, wolf. If I am away, then one of my siblings has to cover.....the worst to date was being out for Sunday lunch and coming back around 2.30 on one of those rare sunny days where the light was streaming through the windows.

I walked in and immediately smelt something hot and acrid, the sunlight turning blue (not my voice). In the kitchen and on an oven ring, one pan, bone dry, a tea-towel draped over it and black..... How it hadn't gone up in flames, well it was Providence.

[jourdain2]

A teaching colleague (bit of a young idiot, but had been teaching longer than I) lived near me. His car broke down; I took him up to the estate on which we both lived; his wife had left a 'back in 30 mins.' note; I took him back to mine and said 'Put the kettle on'. He did - shortly afterwards there was an acrid smell...... he'd put the electric kettle on the gas stove and lit the gas!

Otherwise - ageing mother forgot to light gas oven, remembered and bent down with lit match to remedy the situation. Quite an impressive bang! She also went to great pains, one Winter's evening, to make a mixed-fruit, steamed, sponge pudding (old-fashioned steamer, took ages). Hysterical laughter from the kitchen drew attention to the fact that she had steamed an empty bowl for over an hour and had thrown the mixture out!

[DTCwordfan]

With appliances we were pre-marinading the mix for Pina Coladas for my mate's 40th, using a Magimix. I put a batch in, 2 or 3 litres and put the top on. However, it wasn't on but enough to start it. Up went the mix all over their low beamed ceiling, the kitchen dripping pineapple and rum etc.....we still laugh at it.

[wolf63]

I hope that you have extra cover on your house insurance for "AGA and mother related activities". Just don't mention that cats and dogs are edible in some countries.

[DTCwordfan]

wolf, remember my thread on that! I'll see if I can find it.

[DTCwordfan]

Here we are, wolfie: http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Food-and-Drink/Question1353110.html

[wolf63]

DTC - I had forgotten all about that incident. There is the potential for many such incidents. It is very true - if you don't laugh you will end up crying.

Luckily I only have an asthmatic cat and his evil sister to care for and love. I suppose there is also my brother, but he lives in England.

[wired]

My 91 year old father decided to put 2 raw eggs (including shells) in a glass jam jar filled with water and then firmly screwed the metal top on. He then put it in the microwave, his idea of boiled eggs, and was surprised when the microwave jumped and all of the electrics failed, including the supply to the house. There have been several other events and my daily thoughts are, what now?

[DTCwordfan]

True - that's part of the glue of my book, the laughter at the situation, not the person, the more serious thing being pragmatic advice for carers and relatives pulled together in one place. I shake my head sometimes that so many fumble their way into dementia, (not the folk who have it), despite the wealth of info from a medical perspective. It's also amazing that many don't realise that Alzheimer's in just one of several conditions under the dementia umbrella.

[DTCwordfan]

Agree, wire, and they surprise you with their 'creativity' and keep on doing so.......

[Nibble]

Just found this, at leaast it'll give you some warning......

http://www.hoyles.com/dorwatcher-door-held-open-alarm.html

[anneasquith]

DT , is there no way to keep mum out of the kitchen ?

[DTCwordfan]

thanks Nibble

[DTCwordfan]

Unfortunately, mission impossible there, anne, short of a home.