At Last… Gas!

When my husband and I were looking at homes and picking out appliances I was asked gas or electric.  Well I had never really been around a gas stove so I went with what I knew electric. Isn’t that what most of us would do?

I mean I watched my mom cook on an electric flat top. I watched my grandmother cook on an electric stove. So that must be the norm. 

Let me date myself a little. This was in 1997. Before major cooking shows on foodnetwork appeared on my satellite dish. To be frank we didn’t have satellite so I didn’t even watch those shows. I knew who Julia Child was, but I had never really watched one of her shows. At this point in my life I cooked mostly what I learned from mom and from foods in high school. I just didn’t see that many people using gas until I began to watch food network. 

As the years tickled by I became aware of the popularity of a gas range. The usefulness of a convection oven. I began to desire them both. However my stove of 17 years was working fine and there was no upcoming need for me to upgrade in the near future. At least I thought. 

When I cook pulled pork in the oven using the Pioneer Woman’s recipe, it never fails. There is going to be a problem. I don’t know why. There just is. Usually no biggie. It boils over every time.  

When the fire starts in the bottom of the oven. I try not to panic. I of course always remember baking soda is for grease fire. Or was that baking powder. Or was it salt. By this point I have a fairly large white hill that should put out the fire. However it’s changing. Somehow the element got bent has burnt completely into. The fire is now looking like a welders arc and it is coming out of the element. I am trapping it under a mound of well, all white matter. Let’s just say we are now moving into destruction of stove mode. My hubby is now on the scene helping to throw more white stuff at this point baking soda onto the arc. We have unplugged but the damage is not fixable. 

I’m devastated.  I mean I was cooking. It was done but I need to brown it. Looks like I’m getting a new stove.

  Yes, you guessed it I’m going to upgrade to gas. Well this is on Sunday and I am having knee surgery on Thursday. We pick one out in Casper which is 1.5 hours away. Then go back to pick it up on Wednesday. Who knew that stores don’t keep ovens in stock? We buy all the gas parts and JJ assures me while I’m bedridden  on Thursday and Friday he will get this bad boy in. 

  
I’m home from surgery on Thursday. JJ and my son work to get this hooked up. I can hear commotion but I am incapable of movement out of my bed. 

They get it all in place. I hobble in to take a gander and it’s perfect. I can’t wait to cook. However I can not be on my feet very long. 

I get to listen as JJ and the kids begin to contemplate what to cook. He is going to cooks on my new stove. He is the first one. I’m so mad and jealous. Life just is not fair sometimes. I hear the sounds of excitement and ooh dad. They cook 2 pizzas at once in the convection oven. Works like a charm. I’m drifting off to sleep and dreaming of what I will cook. 

It has been almost two weeks and I absolutely love it. It cooks like a dream. The convection is wonderful. I plan to cook two pans of cookies tomorrow at the same time just to try it out further. If I had known I would have set that other stove on fire purposely. Just kidding!

  
Is it crazy to be that excited about a stove? Yeah I think so. 

Don’t Worry He Only Reads the Funnies

Recently my mailbox was knocked off its hinges. The mailman let me know that he would not leave my mail until it was fixed and I would need to pick it up in town. 

Well we gathered up the welder and water in the sprayer. Gotta have water so that I can extinguish any fires. The grass is really dry and it would not be a good time to have a fire. 

After it was all fixed. We were no closer to figuring out how it was knocked over. We assumed someone hit it. But there really were not any tracks. 

My neighbor happened to be driving by and snapped a picture of the offender in action. 

  
As you can see he had my mail on the ground. Luckily I have an awesome neighbor and she put it all into my daughters car. This mailbox is 4 miles from my house and I am known to let it go for a few weeks before I pick it up. I just never go that way. 

Hopefully he had his fill of itching on my mailbox and my mail will now be slobber free. 

The Baable Sheep Pattern

Last fall I found the Shetland Wool Week Newsletter that contained the Baable Hat pattern. It is the loveliest little hat ever. I just love knitting it.  I mean really who doesn’t love a hat with sheep on it. 

    
I even made one with border collies on it. Then shipped it to Sweden. 

This pattern became the most requested item that I make. I have made more than I care to think about and still have several to get done for friends who have requested them. 

If you have not made this pattern it is a must to do soon. It knits up super fast and is cute no matter what color way you choose. The imagination is the limit. Just search it on google and you can see hundreds of examples. 

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baa-ble-hat
The hardest thing I was asked to make was a pair of mittens with the pattern. Considering I had never done mittens before it was outside my comfort zone. However it did push me to make my husband a pair of mittens in the basic pattern. Then I forged ahead. 

  
I think they turned out pretty darn cute. 

From A Movie To The Plate

I love a good movie. I love a movie even more if it includes Meryl Streep. Just love her. How can you go wrong with one of her movies?

 I have watched her in the movie It’s Complicated more times than I can count. I just love it. Her and Alec Baldwin are hilarious together. Now if you haven’t seen it rent it ASAP. I even have it downloaded on my phone so I can watch it if I get bored on a plane or car ride or I just want to watch it in bed at night. I know I’m weird. But sometimes, okay most of the time, JJ is watching some awful show upstairs and Loganne is downstairs. There really is no other option. So I watch a movie and knit. What’s more fun than that!

  

Now in this movie she is a brilliant cook. This is what draws me to this movie besides the humor aspect. I just love movies about cooking. 

 I have wanted to make the Croque Monseir ever since I saw her cook it. I had no idea what it was,  I just knew it came out of the oven smothered in cheese. 
  
Basically it is a fancy ham and cheese sandwich that you will hug yourself after making!!! I found a recipe by Ina Garten. It includes a cheese sauce that will allow you to make about 6 sandwiches. Maybe even one or two more. Trust me you will want to!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/croque-monsieur-recipe.html

Give this recipe a try soon. You will thank me. 
  
I added roasted Parmesan and garlic potatoes. 
Enjoy!