Now We’re Cooking With – Electric?

Hip, hip, hooray! I finally have an oven! A real, honest to goodness oven! Not only that, but it is a much nicer one than I expected.

When we began to remodel the kitchen, I told The Squire that I would be perfectly content to keep the oven we had, but I would really like to have a self-cleaning model if at all possible.

Well.

For reasons beyond my understanding, a wall oven alone can cost as much as, or more than, an entire free standing stove. A full gas stove wouldn’t have been bad, but the newer models have a “safety” feature which causes the gas to stop flowing when the electricity goes out. The cooktop I currently have is an older model and I can light it with a match if necessary. Sitting around in the dark is one thing. Going hungry is another. I am perfectly capable of cooking over an open fire, but to be honest, I wouldn’t call it safer than using the stove.

A friend told us about a warehouse in Baltimore that sells appliances and suggested we check there. The woman in charge said they get them at auctions or overstock. Some are new, some are refurbished, but all come with a 30 day “house call” repair or replacement, if necessary.  This model is somewhat larger than the one we had – 30 inches rather than 24 – which means The Squire had to completely refigure the pantry, but we are now the proud owners of a bouncing baby Jenn-Air oven – both self cleaning and convection, thank you very much, with a built-in microwave.

Which set us back the grand sum of $150, plus tax.

So – the space under the oven will hold a large drawer for the wok and other unwieldy items, and The Squire is going to put a hinged door above the microwave for big platters and trays that only get used at Christmas and such. The tall open space on the side will have pantry shelves from about the bottom of the microwave up for canned goods, and the bottom will be lined with pegboard for my pots and pans. New wallpaper, and we’re ready to roll.

Thanks be to God!