The Dutch oven Mexican stand-off in my kitchen

My husband and I share most household duties, but dishes are an ongoing pain. Sure, we have a dishwasher (which became a requirement after our first marital apartment did not). But there are lots of things you can’t put in the machine, namely Crock-Pots (too big), blenders (weird shape, too tall) and the worst offender of all, the Dutch oven.

We like to make soups and stews, so the Dutch oven gets used pretty often in our house. (My husband likes to make beef stew or slow-cooked pork chops; I tend to do curried lentils or split pea soup.) That big, heavy pot is perfect for simmering at low heat for hours.

But then, we eat all the stew, or move it into smaller containers for lunchtime portions. And the empty pot sits on the stove for a few days.

At some point, it moves to the sink or the counter.

Other dishes move in and out of the sink, through a wash cycle, into the drying rack, back into the cupboards.

But the Dutch oven? It sits.

Soaks.

Re-soaks.

Stinks.

Stinks more.

Finally one of use caves and washes it. In the most recent stand-off, it was me at the sink, ruining my gel manicure, fuming as I scrubbed the heavy lid and pot.

Who wins? Who loses? Did I win, because the pot is clean, I don’t have to see it in the sink anymore, and I can lord it over my husband for future chore karma? Or did he win, because he didn’t have to wash the Dutch oven? Did I lose, because I had to scour and scrub while holding my breath? Did he lose, because I was cranky about my dishpan hands all night?

I’d love to say we’ll learn our lesson and clean the dirty dish quickly next time, but history says we’ll continue to repeat our mistakes.

Someone please tell me we’re not the only household experiencing weekly Mexican stand-offs in the kitchen.

Images via the Library of Congress here and here