Today was like any other day at the office.  Well it was, until someone chose to make garlic bread and make me REALLY hungry.  Having Celiac’s Disease, I couldn’t partake in the glorious garlic-filled aroma that now permeated the office.  I returned to my office, shut the door, hoping to seal off some of the intoxicating smell that comes from garlic.

It didn’t work; sadly.

So here I am, sitting at my desk, thinking about the gluten-free caesar salad I had waiting for me this lunch-hour.  To say it paled in comparison to garlic and butter, dripping from glutenous bread, would be an understatement.  It’s hard trying not consume anything gluten when it smells as if Heaven is relocating to your nose.

I had to make a lunch adjustment.  I took myself to the store to pick up an Udi’s gluten-free pizza. After all, $7.00 for a frozen pizza is better than $20.00 for the same pizza from the local pizza place. Don’t get me started on the over-charging restaurants get away with because it’s “gluten-free”.

I make my way back to the office, preheat the oven, and return when I hear it’s at temperature.  I notice thick plumes of smoke coming up from the burner.  That can’t be good.  I open the oven just enough to have clouds of smoke escape and cloud the office halls along with a burnt smell.

Dang it!  Now, I’m gonna get blamed for this one.  I quickly throw in my pizza and rationalize it’s only 12 minutes of cooking time.  I start to return to my office and see exactly how much smoke is lingering in the halls.  It was probably an unnecessary assumption that the smoke detector would go off and then water would rain down from the ceiling, destroying all our electronic equipment.

OFF!  Back to the kitchen and turn the oven off.  Fan on HIGH!  Open windows and doors.  Not really giving a care the air conditioning is on.  I wait a few minutes before retrieving my pizza.  The cheese is half-melted.  Not fully cooked.  Put it on a plate and into the nuker for a 30 seconds.

It’s official.  This pizza sucks.  The smoke has stopped coming up through the burner.  I use a towel and move the oven rack and start wiping up, what appears to be butter.

That damn garlic bread started all this.  It started my craving, led to the pizza purchase and then it ruined the cooking of said pizza.  I’m left with an office full of smoke and some gluten-free gelato.  Who knew I would need that today?  I am just grateful I picked some up.  It will make me feel better, esp. now that I will be cleaning the oven.

No more pizza at work!