Oh Dear!!! Cooking Wine!

    Now, let me start this post, dear reader, by saying that I have never drunk alcohol before in my life! I'm slightly drunk at the moment, purely by accident. After some prodding, I've agreed to make a post while like this, just so I can come back to it later and see what I said. I doubt I'll actually say anything...different than I might when I'm severely tired. Apparently I'm acting just about the same as I would then. However, I've no intention of typing anything funny like my they would like for me to.... :) Instead, I'll tell you what happened in case someone reading this makes the same mistake I did.

    Let me tell about how this happened. Now, there are a few reasons why I've never drunk: 1, In the religion I'm a member of, we have something called the Word of Wisdom. This is there to help us be healthy, and to be free from addictions. Alcohol is something members are advised to stay away from. 2, I'm allergic to corn, and a lot of alcohol around here is corn derived. 3, Alcoholism runs strongly on both sides of my family! So that could be bad. ;)

    What happened was that tonight I was trying out a new recipe that called for two kinds of cooking wine (technically one kind, plus sake - but I was told I could substitute sake with rice cooking wine). I was led to believe that if you ever cooked with alcohol, that it cooks out. After eating my dinner, I started feeling kind of funny. A bit of a "buzz" and kinda went, "Now what could that be from, hmm?" Wherein I discovered that cooking wine...is alcoholic. Between the two I used, there's a 30% alcohol level. Then I was like, "Nah. That's supposed to cook out! And I didn't even use that much!" The funny feelings got worse so I did some poking around. Apparently it doesn't cook out completely. o.o''

    So, that. That is how I came to be slightly drunk on accident. (I bet the person who told me to go ahead and make the post is going to be disappointed with this. >.>)

    Basically, dear reader: If you're new to cooking like I am, and also haven't touched alcohol before.... Well, make sure to read the labels. Make sure you know that cooking wine has alcohol in it. Research on how to best cook out the alcohol, 100%, before sticking it in the recipe.... -///- It isn't too bad. I mean, I'm over the nausea part of it now, mostly. The buzz in my head is sorta clearing up. The room doesn't look like there's a heatwave in it anymore. So it doesn't seem to last very long. But still be cautious if you're like me! *laugh* This has been an experience....

    I also want to clear up: I don't have anything against people who do drink. I know some very wonderful people who do. It's just something I don't do. :)

Take care!

-Bryn