Note to Self: Always Read Recipes

This morning I woke up and felt like making pancakes. Out came the container of Oatmeal Pancake mix, which I discovered held just enough for this morning. Since the batter has to rest for ten minutes before cooking, I thought I’d throw together another batch of mix, so it would be ready for next time. Out came The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion, turn to page 9 (it practically opens to the page on its own, I’ve made this so many times now). Pull all the ingredients from the pantry, and start tossing them into my biggest mixing bowl. I even played with the list a little, subbing whole wheat flour for half the all-purpose, and tossing in 1/4 cup of wheat germ at the end for an extra healthy boost.

Only after I’ve added all the dry ingredients do I bother to read the instructions.

Instruction #1: Grind the oats in a food processor until they are chopped fine but not a powder.

My oatmeal is at the bottom of the bowl, covered with 5 cups of flour and assorted other items. Fine. I grab another empty bowl, and scoop as much of the top layers off as I can. I grind the oatmeal.

Instruction #2: Put the flour, oats, and all other dry ingredients into a mixer with a paddle.

I’ve dirtied my largest mixing bowl for nothing–everything should have gone in the Kitchenaid.

My kitchen is now a shambles. There’s oatmeal dust and flour everywhere, and multiple large, dirty mixing bowls. And all because I was too cocky to read a damn recipe…