Don't Store Your Vanilla Essence Next To Your Fish Sauce

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Don't Store Your Vanilla Essence Next To Your Fish Sauce

OK, here's a friendly advice to you. Do not keep your essence of vanilla right next to your fish sauce, especially if they look roughly similar to each other.

I like to make a cup of hot chocolate on mornings when I'm at home. I have my own recipe for it: dutch-processed cocoa powder, cinnamon powder, freshly-grated nutmeg, sugar (but not too sweet), a pinch of salt (yes, salt), and a splash of vanilla essence.

Last week, I went into the kitchen to make myself one of these hot chocolate drink. It was a crazy week, I was busy writing this grant proposal that was due in a couple of days, and my head was completely occupied with this thing. But I've made this hot chocolate for a gazillion times and it has become almost automatic. So I went through the routine, while my head was somewhere else thinking of stuff for the proposal.

It was right at the moment that I was pouring the splash of vanilla into my concoction that something didn't feel right - the smell! Once the liquid hit the hot cocoa mix in the pot, I snapped back into the moment and immediately paid attention to what I was doing, because I was smelling something odd that didn't make any sense for a hot chocolate drink. That's when I looked at the bottle I was holding, and yes, it was a bottle of FISH SAUCE! I added a splash of fish sauce to my hot chocolate drink!

So I turned off the burner, and walked back to the pantry. Putting the bottle of fish sauce back to where it came from, I began to see what might have happened. While they don't look identical, the bottle of fish sauce and vanilla essence were right next to each other. Unfortunately, they were both liquid of almost the same color. Since I use both of them often enough, it is not unusual for me to reach for either of them. So obviously, this one time, I sorta tuned out to what I was doing, and reached for the wrong bottle! They were both in the same part of the pantry, and they were next to each other. Oy vey!

I did throw out the concoction that I made, but I still managed to get a small taste of it, out of curiosity. It wasn't good! I made another one, this time making sure I used the correct ingredients (haven't had the occasion of mistaking the cocoa powder for the paprika yet). And yes, I've moved the two bottles away from each other, because I can see myself reaching for the vanilla when I'm making tom yum soup one day!

Zz.

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Haha, oh dear! I can imagine that it didn't smell very good at all, but it does make a funny story...and I'm glad you moved them apart to avoid making the same mistake twice! laugh

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rolling laugh rolling laugh rolling That'll wake up your taste buds. But seriously it looks like you have a pretty well stocked pantry there. Smile

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Hehehehe oops!

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laugh laugh Oooh! Silly Zz ! Fishy hot chocolate! yuck Poor wasted cocoa... sad

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rolling rolling rolling

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yuck! That's hilarious laugh Vanilla tom yum soup doesn't sound good either!

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Oh no!

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Just so you know, I made my hot chocolate this morning, with no fish sauce incident! Smile

In fact, I'm enjoying it right this very moment.

Zz.

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laugh Just be glad you didn't take a full gulp of that stuff before realized what you did.

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Bravo! Looks delish!

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This could start a whole new thread. Don't put your x next to your Y.

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The Colonel wrote:
This could start a whole new thread. Don't put your x next to your Y.

Such as don't put your tooth paste right next to your Preparation H?

Zz.

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Ok, fish sauce in hot cocoa is a new kinda gross!

Joe keeps that stuff in stock and hides it in foods and doesn't tell me when he uses it until after I've already eaten it. Now I will have to watch and make sure he doesn't try and sneak this in on me in my hot cocoa just for laughs!!!!

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I swear to whatever that that is exactly the example I was going to give.

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Don't put your airplane glue next to your KY Jelly.

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Oh! I just remembered this - many many moons ago when I was traveling in Israel (for work) I had this cute little assortment of travel bottles of shampoo, conditioner, hand lotion, etc - all the same size and look - I use hand lotion on my hair as conditioner for 2 days before I figured out why my hair was looking so horrible! I literally screamed out loud in the shower, scaring my roommate half to death! laugh So....

Don't store your hand lotion next to your conditioner!

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Once in my office, I filled a spray bottle with ammonia. I used to spray it around the windows and in corners once in a while to keep spiders away.

Then I forgot what it was and sprayed my plant with it.

I felt so bad for that plant.

I wiped the plant off and sat bedside with it chanting novenas until it recovered. Now he has a limp and a slight twitch. I hope someday he will forgive me.

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mimi wrote:

Don't store your hand lotion next to your conditioner!

It could have been worse... Don't store your hair removal cream next to your conditioner rolling

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The Colonel wrote:

I wiped the plant off and sat bedside with it chanting novenas until it recovered. Now he has a limp and a slight twitch. I hope someday he will forgive me.

rolling rolling rolling
You should be applauded for your life saving efforts.

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The Colonel wrote:
Once in my office, I filled a spray bottle with ammonia. I used to spray it around the windows and in corners once in a while to keep spiders away.

Do you have a spider problem? eg. you get lots of them in your office or you have a phobia?
I have ridden Harry Potter in Universal 3 times and have never seen the spider bit because I always have my eyes closed!
When I worked in Epcot, I was bitten twice by little poisonous jumping spiders! They are my nemesis.

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No- I was given a new office and the gent before me only worked one day a week. So the spiders were very much at home there. I had to train them to keep out. I rarely see them now.

I actually like spiders but I don't want to room with them.

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That's just as bad as taking a spoonful of cod liver oil. Blech yuck However I bet Nemo would enjoy that cup of hot chocolate.

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JeffC wrote:
Now I will have to watch and make sure he doesn't try and sneak this in on me in my hot cocoa just for laughs!!!!

rolling rolling rolling

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So I made chicken tom yum soup the other night. And no, I did not have a vanilla essence incident. Everything went well.

This morning, I made my hot chocolate. I went to the pantry to grab the vanilla, and lo and behold, the fish sauce was right next to the vanilla essence! Smile

Old habits are hard to break. When I made the tom yum soup, I absentmindedly put the fish sauce back at its old place after using it, which was next to the vanilla essence! So this morning, I went "Hey, who put you back here? Oh wait, I think I did!"

Old age is creeping in way too quickly for my taste......

Zz.

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OK, I've had another hot cocoa incident this morning. I'm glad this doesn't happen more than once a year, or I definitely know I'm going senile.

My mind was once again far, far away while I was making my hot cocoa this morning, and this time, I put red wine vinegar in it instead of vanilla essence! Oy vey!

Again, as soon as the vinegar hit the hot liquid, I knew something was not right and finally looked at the bottle that was in my hand. I had to laugh, especially when I remembered the fish sauce incident more than a year ago. I knew I had to report this on here just to give you folks another chuckle.

I made salad dressings for last night's meal, and I didn't put the vinegar back to where it should go. Instead, I put it right next to the vanilla essence, and so, this morning, with my head being somewhere else, I grabbed the familiar bottle without thinking, and voila! Vinegary hot chocolate!

Had to throw away a perfectly good cocoa drink and started a new one, with the right ingredient this time.

Zz.

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Oh silly Zz!!! rolling

This makes your second "offense" - Be careful! You don't want your license to make cocoa revoked! laugh

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rolling rolling rolling

Maybe you should try putting your vanilla essence right next to your cocoa. That way you can take them both out at the same time and not worry about grabbing the wrong bottle.

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BarbaraB wrote:
rolling rolling rolling

Maybe you should try putting your vanilla essence right next to your cocoa. That way you can take them both out at the same time and not worry about grabbing the wrong bottle.

But Barbara, that is waaaay too sensible and organized! I wouldn't do that!

Smile

Zz.

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I have a sudden urge to go out and buy me some fish sauce.
Never used it and probably never will but i want some now so i can store it seperate to my vanilla essence ...

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Oh Zapper, what are we going to do with you? Apparently you didn't learn your lesson before lol