My Frenemy - The Mandoline

Ah.  The mandoline.  It's such a useful tool in the kitchen and yet such a dangerous tool as well.  One wrong slip of the hand and your fingers or palm can be mutilated quite quickly.  Therefore, I always cringe when I am handed a box of 100 zuchinnis and told to grab the mandoline and go after it.  Visions run through my head of the mandonline becoming interwined with my hand.  I quickly do my best to push those thoughts out of my mind and focus only on the task at hand so those visions don't become reality.  I mean, it is more convenient to use the mandoline considering who knows how long it would take me to julienne 100 zuchinnis by hand (judging by the time it took me to thinly slice green onions the other day, I feel it best not to try). 

So, I have no choice but to take on said utensil. And since I have no choice, I look at it like this: if I treat the mandoline only as a friend, I could lose a fingertip and if I treat it only as an enemy, my fear could inhibit me from using it efficiently. Therefore, the dear mandoline will forever be my frenemy.  Yep.  I'm that hip that I said frenemy.