A life threatening mistake on my part

Post Reply New Topic

Last night, I set a pan of water with some eggs to hard boil about 9:00 PM or so. However, I got tired last night and forgot all the about the eggs last night and left the pan on the stove, while I slept. So, I got up this morning wondering what the smell was and went into the kitchen, discovering that my water evaporated and the eggs exploded all over the stove and kitchen area.

Now, I live alone and had ledt the stove on, which I do not do. However, what are some suggestions to keeping an eye on the stove to prevent this from happening again?

Oh man that sounds like a mess! It's probably a good idea not to cook so late, or just use a timer. My sister said there is some sort of 'Martha Stewart method' when it comes to boiling eggs-----actually I don't know why I set this up as some kind of big discovery.. Just set the timer for 15 minutes and you should be good---That's the method, as I understand it.

Glad you didn't have a fire or worse. I'm very forgetful sometimes, too - for me the most dangerous household activity is ironing, I've left an iron on for several days at a time.

Other than a loud timer which you can carry in your pocket (you can get one of the wind-up variety at any dollar store), I'm not sure what to suggest for the absent-mindedness, but you'll have less mess to clean up next time if you'll put a lid on your pan while its boiling.

Thank you so much, that makes me feel a lot better. However, as usual, I often got picked on at work about leaving the stove on. Beyond that, last week, I decided to bite the bullet and cut all my chin length hair really short myself. So, they are telling me things like, "It's only been two week since you moved out and you're already screwing up. First you cut all your hair off yourself and only someone who is mentally ill would do that. Normal people wouldn't take a pair of scissors and cut all their hair off." They also made me feel bad about the stove ordeal this morning and it ticked me off. "This was a life threatening situation here," was all I got. It's like, please I doing the best I can not to make that mistake again by leaving the stove on, period.

I posted in your other thread about your hair cut - You should just quit talking to those a$$holes at work.

Also, I don't know if I would say it's a life 'threatening situation'; you probably weren't in any danger. People leave the stove on all the time-- Like Willard, I have trouble with leaving the iron or my hair straightener plugged in, but I bought the kinds that turn off by themselves. Now I just need a coffee pot that will shut itself off....

Get a timer. Use it every time you step out of the cooking area. On top of that, I make sure I leave a light on by anything that is cooking. I don't turn out lights in the kitchen before checking to make sure everything is turned off. The light is a reminder to go check things still cooking. The timer is key, though.

i've had that problem.

at home, i simply switched to using a crockpot and a microwave. only.

you can bake bread, cook eggs in their shell, and make yogurt (lid off for the last two) in a crockpot, among other things. you can do eggs in a microwave too, you just have to poke a small hole in the shell.

timers are great, of course, but for me, i just wanted to ensure there was extremely little chance of *ever* having a cooking related fire. a woman and her three kids died in one a few doors from my former apt (i was still living there at the time).

the problem with a timer is if something distracts you--a phone call, a delivery, you're exhausted and fall into a deep sleep and don't hear the ding. microwave shuts off. problem solved. i think there are crocks with self-timers too.

in the rare instances i make something hot somewhere other than my own kitchen, i simply stay there till it's done. period. i get a chair and a book if i must, but i am unwilling to risk horrible damage and perhaps and extremely painful death if i don't have to. there's already enough unavoidable risks!

so there's a couple more ideas.

Last edited by iquanyin on 23 Dec 2009, 7:24 am, edited 1 time in total.

I also have that problem, and I agree that crockpots are a godsend!! ! I like to put six or eight chicken breasts in with some water (no need to even thaw the meat if it's frozen), and cook them down to where they fall apart. So...the crockpot has even pretty much auto-shredded the chicken! Then I let it cool in the refrigerator, separate it into single servings in small freezer bags, and put all the little bags into a big freezer bag (helps to ward off freezer burn). Then whenever I need it, I can grab a bag and throw it in my lunch for school, thaw it in the microwave and throw it on top of a lettuce salad or make a chicken sandwich, or whatever. Quick, easy, relatively cheap, nutritious food. I live on this stuff while I am away at college, and it's also nice to not have to worry about burning the building down.

Oh, another godsend: Whoever invented the steams-in-the-bag microwaveable frozen veggies has my eternal gratitude! YUM!

The timer idea seems to me to be a very good one. Especially if it is one that you can carry with you in a pocket, so that you won't lose track of it. (Or else one that is loud enough that when it rings in the kitchen you can hear it no matter where you are).

Not sure what is life threatening about leaving the stove on. If flamability of objects are a concern (which a stove, and a pan/pot are not) then investing in a good smoke alarm will solve a lot more issues than an egg timer.

I boiled a kettle of water and forgot to flip the portion of the lid to make the kettle whistle when it was ready. Left it there all night.

The next day, the bottom of the kettle had separated from the rest of the kettle and stuck to the element on the stove. Simply bought a new element.

Buy a timer switch at a shop that carries electrical goods. You plug the timer switch into the electrical socket, then plug your cooker into the switch. The timer switch breaks the circuit after the maximum time you have set.

For cooking, avoid the type of timer switch that goes on and off at a time of day you set. As a safety feature when cooking, you need to limit how long your cooker can be on, not set a time of day.

I did that one time while boiling some beans in a big pot at this house I was living in with some other guys. I forgot about it and went out to the store. The roomie was cool about it when he told me "don't leave the stove on like that and go out, I had to turn it off." It was very scary and humiliating, so I haven't done that since. I mean, I could've burned the house down.

Many times I have put food on to cook and then gone to bed. I have ruined many different pans that way.

Usually the foods I would ruin would be rice or pasta. When they are overcooked they start to give off smoke. I would start cooking food, then go to bed, and then wake up in the middle of the night when the smoke alarms go off and home would be full of smoke.

I had an analog timer but didn't use it because I hated the ticking sound. Because of that, one birthday several years ago my mom gave me a gift of a digital timer. I almost always use it.

The first time that it happened it was scary. Subsequent times I've actually started laughing.

If you get a pot that has a strainer basket the food won't sit on the bottom of the pot if the water runs out, and the pan may be saved.

Also, having patterns that you follow when you go to bed, like if you leave the light on in your kitchen while cooking and then go around and turn all of the lights off before going to bed, that can help.

Thank goodness it's not just me. I forget I'm cooking too. I once left a pot on the stove with cooking oil, and I only remembered it when it started smoking the entire house out.

We have a microwave that doesn't stop beeping when it is finished. I think it's the best invention ever.

Using a timer is a great idea, and when I remember to put it on, it is very useful. Often though, the thing that reminds me I'm cooking is that I feel a little hungry, and I'll go to the kitchen to get something to eat and remember the food on the stove!

So I guess it's better to stay in the kitchen while I'm cooking, for my own health

Thanks for reading this. I think this is my first post. 33 years old, married, diagnosed HFA / AS, and medication free.

Most microwaves come with a timer function. So do cell phones.
The cell phone is handy because I'm used to carrying it anyway and the alarm will keep going off every 5 or 10 minutes. I've used it specifically when I throw a pizza in the oven and go lay down and watch TV.

I always leave the light on when doing laundry so I remember to put the clothes in the dryer.

Bring the eggs to a boil while you're still awake. Shut the pot off and let it sit there. The eggs will be cooked and your house won't burn down and the best part....you'll be alive to eat the eggs later.