Tip of the Day

The other night I made "kitchen cupboard" pasta. Aka, I boiled some linguine and tossed it with some of the cooking liquid, olive oil, crushed tomatoes, parmesan, gruyere, and a chiffonade of basil. I took a bite and it seemed a bit bland. I thought, oh, crushed red pepper, that will add the necessary kick! So, I added some, crushed it between my fingers, rinsed my hands, and set down my steaming bowl. I was going to relax into whatever was on my DVR at the moment when I realized my eyes were feeling a bit dry. So I ran into the bathroom to take out my contacts and put on my glasses before I began dinner. I reached into my eye ball with my fingers and... OW! Water does NOT rinse the hot pepper oils of your finger tips, let me tell you. (My eyes are actually watering as I write this). I instantly started rinsing my eye under cold water and had a lovely pink eye for the rest of the night (I used my other hand to take out my other contact. At least I catch on quickly).
Oh, and throw that contact out. A night of marinating in saline solution and pepper oils does nothing to ease the pain.
There is my tip of the day. More like a tip for a lifetime.