Fire.

[rax]

Short version: Housemate set the house on fire. No one is hurt. Got the cats out OK, and though they were very scared at first, Oolong has already wandered up to me and licked my face. I think Selene is still hiding. I will probably go sit with her when I am done with this post.

Also: DO NOT CALL ME. You will stress me out and I will not answer. This goes for anyone, whether you are friend or family or the Pope. DO NOT CALL MY PHONE. You can text me but do not expect a response if I am not able to deal right then. I would in fact really appreciate texts or emails or whatnot! But I am not able to deal with interactions that I cannot schedule right now and probably for the next few days. Thank you for your understanding. I know that I am crazy. Please do not make me more crazy.

So. I was grading some papers and talking on AIM when the fire alarm went off. Usually this is because of steam from the shower, and my housemate was taking a shower, and I figured he had left the door open, but I looked up just in case, and saw smoke. I ran into the kitchen, and he had LEFT OIL BOILING WHILE HE WENT TO TAKE A SHOWER. The oil was on fire, the pan was melting, and the flames were shooting up into the range hood. I told another housemate to call 911, put on oven mitts, and moved the pan over to another burner, and then turned off the burner that had been on. The range hood was still on fire, and my next thought was: FUCK, IT'S IN THE ELECTRICS. This was true; turning off the circuit breaker to the range hood minimized the damage but at that point I was fucked. Vegan-clubbing-friend-from-last-post and I grabbed cat carriers, ran into the basement, stuffed the cats in to their great displeasure, and brought them outside. The fire department showed up while we were doing this and went to work.

Damage:

• kitchen cabinets
• anything that was stored in the cabinet above the stove is totally fucked
• the range hood is a twisted lump of like molten metal it's pretty fucked up
• the stove is probably dead
• the wiring to that half of the kitchen may be fucked
• everything smells like smoke
• my cats are sad
• I currently despise everything and am seriously considering just sending my homework in to class with my housemate and saying "sorry I have to deal with shit this is just not happening" we will see how I feel in the morning

On the plus side, I had been looking for an excuse to get a gas stove, and there is gas piping behind the stove! I know this because the back of the stove is blackened and insulation is hanging out everywhere and there is tons of broken glass. But if you have recommendations for good gas stoves I would love to hear them! I am not going to go measure right now because it will make me cry but it's a reasonable amount of room and I may have to replace the counters anyway.

Also I would love to have some vegan nightshade free rice cooker recipes that provide complete nutritious meals. Because I cannot eat out. Eating out is for other people. Although fuck it, I am shelling out for vegan sushi for lunch and dinner tomorrow. And maybe breakfast. But after that I need to make, I dunno, rice and lentils and peas and spices? And then throw in hummus? That's like a meal. Oh god.

Also also uh how do you file a homeowner's insurance claim?

I'm gonna go find my cat now.

Comments

[darthbitsy]

Ugh! :-( :-(

I'm glad everyone is OK.

I think you could make this in a rice cooker.

Lentils and Rice with Fried Onions (Mujadarrah)

Description: "As plain as this sounds, mujadarrah is absolutely one of the best dishes there is. A Jordanian cook I know serves her version accompanied by a chopped vegetable salad that sparkles with parsley and lemon. Although you can cook the onions in a scant amout of oil, it's the oil that makes this otherwise humble dish so very good."

6 tablespoons olive oil
1 very large onion, sliced into rounds 1/4 inch thick
1 1/4 cups green or brown lentils, sorted and rinsed
Salt and freshly milled pepper
3/4 cup white or brown long-grain rice

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until it's a rich, dark brown, about 12 minutes. Meanwhile, put the lentils in a saucepan with 1 quart water and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Add the rice, plenty of pepper, and, if needed, additional water to cover. Cover and cook over low heat until the rice is done, about 15 minutes. Stir in half the onions, then cover and let stand off the heat for 5 minutes. Spoon the lentil-rice mixture onto plates or a platter and cover with the remaining onions.

-- Source: Deborah Madison, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, 1997