Kabocha squash v. Me

Squash – 1

Me – 0

I somehow squished a splinter into my middle finger while trying to crack into the vegetable’s super hard exterior. My knife is not up to the task. I need a cleaver or something heavy duty. So instead of slicing it for pan frying, I just went with boiling the chunks.

And then examined my poor finger. No, I am not giving you the middle finger. And yes, I adore unicorns.

I can’t even tell if the splinter is still in my finger or not. I squeezed at it pretty hard for a bit and tried to bite it out, but my finger tip is still a little sore. Lame.

Fail #2. M bought me this handy dandy little meat thermometer Sunday specifically so I could cook meat to the proper temperature and stop playing roulette with his stomach. So of course I was happy to try it out on the pork chop I had planned for tonight.

I inserted it carefully, not letting the tip touch the bottom of the pan because Rachael Ray always tells me that’s how you get false readings. And I waited. The needle rose ever. so. slowly. In the meantime, I was getting burnt by sizzling oil splatters. The needle decided to stop right at the 6 o’clock position. So I decided the thermometer was broken and took the meat out.

I mean, it had been in there for a while so it MUST be ready by now, right?

Wrong. Back into the pan it went after M took one bite. He stood by this time and put on his “I’m a man, I eat meat” face and grabbed the thermometer to try it out himself. The needle never went past dead south. So I guess we were both right. Me and the needle I mean. The meat wasn’t cooked all the way through the first time, but the damn thing is definitely still broken.

Whole wheat penne mixed with veggies from the Market, lots of garlic, and a ton of olive oil and butter. Mmmmm.

Now excuse me while I go nurse my aching finger.

xoxo,

Jenn