Learning Curve

We are hosting our book group gathering tonight, and after finding a casserole recipe that looked easy enough for me to make without a challenge, I looked around our kitchen for the twin 2-quart baking dishes it required. A few years back, we'd gotten a couple of nice Pyrex dishes for free with some purchase, and then never used them. One of them was the required size. One found, one to go...I know we had an older one somewhere, the one Mike and I always made cornbread in. Finally, I found it. With some trepidation, I show the world what I found:

Ugly, no? Yes, ugly. I scrubbed, to no avail. Good House Keeping suggested this baking soda paste and soak, which barely dented the grime. Methinks that gentle solution was not developed for the appalling state of things here. And it seems overly wasteful to throw something out just because I can't get in clean. Glass is actually difficult to recycle, too.

I read on, until I found commentary from a woman who routinely used oven cleaner on hers, and was very happy with the results. Oven cleaner! Yes, yes, of course... at the time, in my frustration, this seemed like the thing to do.

After work on Saturday, I buzzed straight over to supermarket and picked out a can of Easy Off and also some Brillo pads. I was actually excited. Don't worry--it didn't last long. Oven cleaner was a new experience for me, one that will not be forgotten or repeated.

After reading the spare directions, I pointed the nozzle at the soiled perimeter of this dish--and then put down the can immediately and fled the area. HOLY CRAP, what a shock...and darnitall, I'd only covered half the area that needed it. Opened the front door, took a whiff of frigid air, calm down. Left hand covering nose and mouth, I approached the spray again, aimed it at the dish with the longest arm length possible for me, and sprayed again. And fled again.

While waiting for the evil stuff to steep, I google reviews of this concoction. Most of them are complaining about how the nozzle would break after they'd used half the can. HALF THE CAN? How does one LEAN IN to an oven and spray this stuff without passing out? Surely, these people were more experienced, or smarter, and were dressed in their best storm trooper gear.

So, lesson learned... this kind of cleaner should never come in a spray. Actually, I vow to never let this dish get to that point again.  Drumroll....

It's not perfect, there are some recalcitrant spots, but they are small. This is acceptable. It's had its warm water and bleach soak, and will be washed a couple times more before I use it today, but I think this is the best glam shot I can muster.

Wait! Look at that grimy toaster oven... Must get out the Brillo pads and scrub. It burns calories.  Meanwhile, what am I to do with the toxin that I brought into the house? For now, it's hidden, but... glass is much easier to recycle.

I'm a fool, but a fool with a much cleaner dish. At least there's that.

SO. What have you gotten into?