2019 is now in full swing. High hopes for the fall season of 2018 were dashed quickly when my appliances decided to stage a rebellion. One by one they gave up the ghost. The dishwasher decided to be finicky and I thought, “No biggie, we can just wash by hand until we can get it repaired,” and we did. The refrigerator clearly did not want to be left out of the fray and decided to go to the dark side. “Ooookay… Maybe a twofer on the home warranty?” A call or two later we were up and at it again within a week! No harm, no foul.
During this time, I came into an awesome digital camera — and by awesome I mean It was FREE and I no longer had to use my cell phone camera! Perhaps I could become the Ansel Adams of food photography? The appliances would have none of this! One by one, the burners on the cooktop of my 34 year old stove started to fizzle out. Leaving me with one small burner which worked well enough to boil water and one that could possibly be used to keep things warm.
By now, school had begun and the holidays were around the corner. So, we opted to crutch along with one burner and the oven. I pulled out the electric skillet and went old school 1970’s retro. Maybe I could write some Florence Henderson, Brady Bunch cookbook with groovy casserole dishes?
My master plan was to make it through to the new year and then have the burners repaired. This was not in the cards. One night I had two lovely pizzas ready to bake, waited almost an hour for the oven to come to temp. It then took 2 hours to bake them! The 34 year old oven had officially gone to the appliance store in the sky.
On the upside, American Home Shield was on speed dial!
The repair tech looked at my stove, tried not to snicker, and informed us this model no longer existed. There were no parts available in their inventory, and no way to get parts. This baby would need to be fully replaced with a comparable current model.
“Did they say, A NEW STOVE!? Is that the sound of harmonizing Angels?” I began to hear beautiful colors!
What an amazing twist of fate! A NEW OVEN!!!! *Insert happy squeals here*
My husband dutifully measured the space of our current drop-in stove and realized they no longer manufacture ovens this size, of course. The cabinetry would need modification before a new stove could go in. In addition to the already disheartening news, we learned the stove would arrive after Thanksgiving. *a moment of silence* Yep, they said after! After the most food-centric holiday on the planet! In order to roast our turkey we added a countertop roaster to the small appliance inventory and survived with only a few minor speed bumps (and a lot of grumbling on the part of the cook!)
Thank goodness for my dorm room years where I honed my ability to make a 12 course meal using only a hot pot, toaster, and an electric skillet! “It’ll be an adventure!” You know, when life hands you lemons you have two choices… fling them or squeeze em!
Im leaning toward the squeeze. Sooo many things you can make with lemon juice! Am I right?!
Fast forward through the holidays. There is now a brand new stove — and it is a very nice stove thanks to AHS — sitting my garage! However, until the budget allows cabinet modifications, I continue the path of countertop chef. Some days I go into the garage just to visit with my new stove. (I should name it… How about Florence?) and while it will take a bit of time, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
The broken-appliance-induced pause in posts has dragged on entirely too long. My brain keeps nudging me back to the keyboard. So, Here I am! This might be a bit different than I had planned, but I do believe that fate has a way of opening up new opportunities. Welcome to the countertop version of Meemaw’s Southern Fried Sushi! The unplugged version? Hmmm… perhaps the excessively plugged-in version (my appliances believe that is more accurate). In the mean time, Florence is waiting patiently for the day she will make her big debut.
Keep your hands and arms inside the cart kiddies… this ride is full of twists and turns!