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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Adventures In Microwaving

Yes, it's true. I can even find adventure when I try to cook in the microwave. Some people are just not cut out to be chefs.

So it's time to heat up some leftovers in the microwave. I have these great containers from Lock & Lock (not a paid reference, I just really like their product) and I used one of those. The directions say not to lock down the lid before microwaving and I've always been good about making sure it's not closed. I did the same thing this time--rested the lid on top of the container without locking it.

This time things didn't go quite the way I expected.

When I opened the microwave, the cover of the bowl was concave. No big deal, I figured, I'll just take off the lid and it will pop back into place. Only I couldn't get the lid off.

I wrapped one arm around the bowl and tugged with all my might with the other. Nada. It actually took a while before I gave up on the tugging strategy. I was sure if I could just pull hard enough... But I couldn't. Clearly, it was time for Plan B.

My second idea involved putting the bowl in the refrigerator. The cold would cause the silicone seal to retract and I'd be able to take the lid off. No. On to Plan C.

Next, I Googled for help. I couldn't be the only person this had happened to. I wasn't. I found a couple of people asking my question. The first few answers I found were less than helpful. One suggestion was putting the lid on upside down when microwaving. Um, hello? The person who posted wanted to know how to get the lid off (and so did I!), telling us what to do the next time doesn't help with this time.

I continued through the responses, most of which were how to heat in Lock & Lock in the future. Yeah, thanks. Finally, I hit a reply that offered a solution. I just didn't like the solution. This woman had punctured her lid to break the seal. Really. I wasn't ready to do that and I kept reading.

The best solution I found involved using a screwdriver to pry up the edges of the lid until the seal was popped. I used a butter knife. Actually, I used four of them, one pried up on each side. Then with the fourth one, I really worked it in the slot. Then I heard it. The little whoosh as the seal finally gave way! Success!

On the plus side, I don't think my digging in with the knives caused any damage to the silicone or the plastic. On the minus end of things, my lid is still concave and I don't think it's going to pop out again. I console myself with the fact that I didn't have to puncture anything.