Free Teeny Weeny Zucchinis by Judy Delton Page A

cook, Molly’s dad came out and asked if they needed help.
    Molly shook her head and pushed him into the living room. “You just read the paper and wait,” she said.
    “You two girls might burn yourselves,” said Mr. Duff.
    “We’ll use the microwave,” said Molly. “And hot pads.”
    “I use our microwave at home all the time,” said Mary Beth.
    Mr. Duff said, “I’ll be right here if something explodes.”
    The girls laughed. What could explode?
    Mary Beth washed four potatoes. She had seen her mother do it. Or did her mother peelthem? She put them in the microwave and turned the dial. The oven hummed happily.
    Molly took the chops out of the package.
    “They can go right in with the potatoes!” she said. She put them in. This was easy! When they were done, they’d just mash the potatoes and put everything on plates.
    “I’ll set the table,” said Mary Beth. “And then we have to make the gravy.”
    “I can’t wait for Tuesday to report our good deed,” said Molly. “Wait till we tell them we cooked a real dinner all alone.”
    “And Tuesday we find out what badge we get next,” said Mary Beth.
    Just then the girls heard a loud pop. Then there was another one! The sounds were coming from the microwave!

CHAPTER 2
Pass the Potatoes,
Please
    “W hat was that?” called Molly’s dad. “Do you need help?”
    “No!” called Molly and Mary Beth together.
    What kind of a surprise would it be if her dad came out now?
    “Our microwave never makes those noises,” whispered Mary Beth.
    The girls opened the microwave. Pieces ofpotato were all over the oven. They hung from the top. They lay on the bottom. The chops were curled up and gray.
    “Rat’s knees! Why did they do that?” said Molly. She got a spatula and scraped the potatoes into a bowl.
    “At least they’re already mashed,” said Mary Beth. “That will save time.”
    The potatoes were not exactly mashed. But they were in small, soft pieces. The girls worked and worked to scrape them all up. Then they washed out the oven with a wet sponge. It looked smeary. Did this happen every time her mom cooked? wondered Molly.
    “Something smells good,” called her dad.
    That was a surprise.
    “Maybe it smells better than it looks,” said Mary Beth.
    “Or tastes,” said Molly, tasting a piece and making a face.

    She went to get the flour and a measuring cup to make the gravy.
    “Did your mom say a quarter cup of water and one cup of flour, or one cup of water and a quarter cup of flour?” Molly asked her friend.
    Mary Beth thought. “One cup of water sounds like too much water,” she said. “It must be one cup of flour.”
    “We have to make a lot,” said Molly. “My dad likes plenty of gravy.”
    Molly mixed one cup of flour with a quarter cup of water. It was hard to stir. Maybe it would get softer when it cooked.
    Mary Beth set the table with three plates. Molly got a hot pad and opened the oven and took out the dish with the chops.
    Her dad was walking back and forth outside the door.
    “Don’t come in,” she called.
    “Are you sure you don’t need help?” he said. He sounded worried.
    Molly dumped the flour-and-water lump into the chop dish. Then she put it back in the microwave oven and turned it on.
    “Did you put salt in?” asked Mary Beth. “Gravy needs salt.”
    “No,” said Molly. She opened the oven and sprinkled some salt on top of the lump.
    “Now we just wait,” said Mary Beth. “This cooking is really easy.”
    Molly put some artificial flowers in a vase on the table. She got out the paper napkins.
    “I think it’s ready,” said Mary Beth, peering through the oven door.
    “I’ll call my dad,” said Molly.
    Her dad came in and sat down. He rubbed his hands together.
    “Boy, am I hungry!” he said.
    Mary Beth put the mashed potatoes in a dish and put them on the table.
    Molly got her mother’s gravy boat out of the cupboard. She would just pour the nice brown gravy into it.
    But when Molly took out