FRIDAY THOUGHTS: SPICERACK STORIES

Okay...so, the bottle of parsley flakes, jealous or distraught that I was reaching for the cinnamon, throws itself off of the shelf, bounces onto the counter and lands, not on the floor, nor into my hands, nor the sink, but into the bowl, thereby splashing the just whisked condensed milk, sugar, raw, 2 egg mixture, all over the place. 

Then it just laid there, label side up as if to say, in it's best Steve Urkel voice, "Oops! Did I do that?"

It knew what it was doing. It also knew I was a little miffed, so it tried another angle. "As long as I'm here, use me! I'm parsley! I can add flavor, too! Use me! Use me! It doesn't have to be sweet all the time! Haven't you seen all of the recipes for savory French toast? Use me!"

It got my immediate attention, but it wasn't the attention it really wanted. 

It had already decided in it's own mind that it wasn't as good as the cinnamon. Cinnamon was used often. The cinnamon was McCormick. The parsley was a less pricey, store brand. 

Somehow it couldn't reason that if it were truly considered inferior or unneeded, it wouldn't have never left the store shelf, let alone enjoyed a space in my cabinet. 

See what wrong assumptions do?

A desperate, pushy, overly/unnecessarily competitive thing runs the risk of being merely tolerated, generally ignored, or doomed to scheming to get where it wants to be. 

It doesn't understand how pitiful its behavior is, and seems to forget that it really does have merit-- independent of the merits of another thing. 

It can be used, and used well, and is very suitable in some instances--but not all. It doesn't ever have to so annoyingly assert itself, endeavor to shove another thing aside, or make a scene. 

It doesn't have to arrogantly boast, however, or make a nuisance of itself when it is used. 

It does all of these things because of how it feels about itself. 

Everything is a competition. 

Everyone is a competitor to be beaten, one-upped or edged out. 

When it can't have it's way, it attempts to sabotage the recipe. 

Sometimes it gets it's way. Sometimes it doesn't, and then pretends not to know why things turned out so badly.

The parsley, had it just waited, and not been so awful to the cinnamon, would have been a key ingredient in some veggie burgers that were planned for lunch. Now, that might not happen. 

See parsley? 

Attitude is everything.

The parsley didn't consider, when it took it's little swan dive, that I would have to fish the bottle out of the mixture and run it under water, potentially threatening to saturate and ruin it. 

As it lay waiting for me to clean it first, suddenly concerned for the mixture it almost ruined, and the ingredients it sent sailing to places where they didn't belong, it was probably thinking about what it had done, and how absolutely silly and counterproductive it was. 

Still, it knew it was going to get cleaned up--before the microwave, the floor, the trashcan, the wall (which got the worst of the splash) and wherever else the splash landed. 

This of course meant thoroughly cleaning the entire kitchen, and postponing making French toast. 

The kitchen wasn't complaining, though. Places that, perhaps, didn't need cleaning, got an extra shine. 

The nutmeg wasn't complaining either. Had the parsley not acted out, the nutmeg, strategically blocked in the cabinet by the parsley, would never have been seen or used. See? It is possible to benefit from the blunders and schemes of others.

The bread, oil, and frying pan, and my stomach, thankfully, were patient, and the French toast, though delayed, was delicious..: )