Written by Ellie Simpson – Country To Canberra Teen Blogger
I wanted to heat up some party pies and sausage rolls from the freezer. I popped them into the oven, turned up the heat, sat back and relaxed. And relaxed some more. 30 minutes later, the oven still wasn’t even hot. How did this happen? I did everything correctly? I left it for another 15 minutes before something started beeping from the direction of the oven. Panicking, I began to dial Mum’s number to inform her that I had just broken it. Then, I realised I had turned the timer on rather than the heat.
Once, I put a metal spoon in the microwave. When I say once, I don’t mean when I was a kid. I mean six months ago. Did anyone else know that you’re not supposed to do that?
Heating up food on the stove should be simple – just turn the temperature up and away you go. Who knew there was a switch on the wall that turns the stove on, otherwise it doesn’t work.
It’s not that I’m so stupid that I’m not aware of how to work an oven or what you can and can’t put in a microwave. I’ve just never really learned what to do in the kitchen.
Cooking class at the start of high school was compulsory and I’m sure I learned a lot, but that was five years ago and who remembers anything from school that long ago? Last year has already fizzled out of my brain.
I used to make killer chocolate brownies. Half the mixture would be gone before it went into the oven, but oh my, it was 100% worth it. I would like to learn how to cook, because I assume it is a skill that I will need at some point in my life. Unfortunately, you can’t live off Noodle Box or McDonald’s.
People often laugh at me when I ask simple questions in the kitchen, like ‘Is this bowl microwavable?’ or ‘How long do I heat up my tortilla bread for in the microwave?’. But, you know what? Some people are just better at some things than others. I’m sure that not everybody is good at reading 6 Vogue magazines in a row like I am and not everybody can spend an entire day watching two seasons of Gossip Girl.
Some people are just born to do to certain things – some bake cakes and don’t melt spoons in the microwave, and some watch TV and read about dresses. It’s all embracing our strengths and working to develop our skills in the other areas.
So as we head into 2017, remember, nobody is ‘youer than you’!