Sometimes mindfulness takes a vacation. We’ve all had kitchen disasters or mess ups, some messier and smokier than others.

When the Spoon Mage™ makes a mindless mess, she does not mess around.

The picture to the left is entitled Melted Tupperware with Baked Grapes of Wrath.

I am very lucky that there was not a fire.

I preheated the oven in preparation for warming the bread to go with the eggplant parmesan.

Unfortunately, I skipped the mindful step of looking to see if anything was inside.

Why was a bowl of grapes inside the oven?

Often there is something lurking within both my oven and microwave because one of the Grandcats will eat anything left out on a counter. The oven is usually a temporary spot while you clean out the fridge.

Fortunately, the plastic pried up easily while the oven was still a little warm. The pieces were so abstract and artistic, that, were it not for the grapes, I would have had a chunk framed.

So, I became a wanted cook and turned myself in for the reward. It was delicious.

While enjoying my prize, I returned to mindful mode and got to thinking. I bet I am not alone and that other cooks have stories of unpleasant happenings in the kitchen. Things that grow to massive proportions, blackened things that should not be blackened, great tomato spills, or other exciting events. Ok, at least I am hoping that others do all that stuff.

As I happen to have an extra Spoon Mage™ chef style apron.

It is time for a contest.

The Cooking Disaster or Major Mess Contest

Here are the rules:

Write the story about your kitchen mindlessness that resulted in extraordinary efforts to correct or clean and send it to me here.

Do not try to create a new deliberate kitchen disaster, just use your memory of a previous experience.

If you, like me, took a pic and want to share, that would be fun, but not at all necessary and will not put your story any higher in the rankings.

I will read all the messy, smelly, smoky tales.

The best story, as determined by me, will win the apron!

Since I also have a Spoon Mage™ shopping bag, should two people enter the contest, the second best story will win the bag!

I’ll keep this contest up and active for two months starting today 8/2/2015.

The contest ends 10/2/2015 and the winner will be announced on 10/9/2015.

The winners will have their stories shared in a mindful article.

Oh, don’t worry – I won’t tell anyone your real name. An alias or just a first name is all I need.

Have fun, but next time be a little more careful, ok?

I repeat – NO disasters are to be created just to get a story.

Thanks in advance for all the interesting stories!

Janice