The Sunday before Thanksgiving my oven died. I had only been in this apartment a couple of months at that point, but had already made a birthday cake, two attempts at apple pie, muffins, brownies and a baked macaroni and cheese. That fateful Sunday I was preheating the oven for another batch of muffins when all of a sudden there was a black poof of smoke that came from the top of the oven door and a strong smell of gas.
I turned it off immediately.
What with I had just had the issue with the hot water heater, I decided to wait a couple of days before calling my landlord.
Then, when I got around to it – he was on a business trip. My landlord is pretty responsible and he wanted to be there when the repairman came, just to make sure everything was fair and above board.
By the time we had coordinated a time with the repairman and the landlord it was already December.
I had never seen an oven installed (or rather, “uninstalled”) previously. Between the two of them, they slid it out and started looking for the problem. After a couple of minutes it was obvious to us all – the wires that delivered the heat had shorted out and it was very good that I had turned it off after the “poof.”
The issue – something to do with the wiring (see the small hole in the insulation?
The oven – on the floor!
That part required a special order and another couple of weeks of waiting. The oven was fixed two Sundays before Christmas but at that point I didn’t have time to bake as I was preparing for my trip back to the US. Still not baking…
But – I finally tried it out again with a lovely batch of corn muffins and it is working great. In addition I baked pork chops with tomatoes and lemons. According to my oven thermometer, the temperature still may be a little lower than the control panel, but I’m in business again!
Luscious corn muffins
What should I bake next?
I vote for lasagna followed by a really American cookie like snicker doodles or peanut butter cookies.
Lasagna does sound good – but I have a problem with that – I couldn’t find a full size glass baking dish (which I would need for lasagna). I have a round one with a lid – but I’m not sure how the noodles would fold. More research to come.
Peanut butter cookies though – that sounds like a possibility!
Today I’ve had a sticky bun at the Old Town Bakery in Key West… delish! Make us a batch
I have actually never made sticky buns – that sounds like a good challenge!
Pie!
That was my initial foray – two different apple pies. Perhaps this Sunday?
I never met anyone in China who actually had a real cooker. I spent a lot of time trying to ‘bake’ using my rice cooker. Mostly I failed.
I could see why “baking” with a rice cooker could be unsuccessful, that’s another reason why this apartment felt like a real win when I finally found it!
What’s for dinner and what time should I show up?
Not sure what the next meal will be – I’m craving Chinese style hot pot this weekend, but that won’t use my fixed oven. I think I may see about another pie attempt this weekend.
Brownies! Gooey ones preferably! If you would like – I have a recipe for chocolate lava cake — it’s really good, but once you make it you’ll realize how easy it is and make it a lot
Please share your chocolate lava cake recipe! Send me an email – it may take me a while to get all of the ingredients, but sounds like a great challenge! I like my brownies with nuts in them – will have to bake another batch of those soon too.
Cinnamon Rolls fo sho!