New Stove
Originally uploaded by bignoseduglyguy
For a whole host of reasons too boring to mention, it’s been a very long while since I posted here. However, prime amongst those reasons was the fact that our electric cooker had become absolutely horrid to cook on and sucked all the joy out of preparing meals and baking bread. With a thermostat more temperamental than a Hollywood starlet and a ceramic hob that had more cold spots than a polar bear’s bum, it was impossible to bake bread with predictable results. Likewise, saucepans were either stone cold or hotter than a solar flare.
So you can imagine how much pleasure I derived from dragging that old cooker out of the kitchen earlier this week in anticipation of the arrival of our new stove. Our house, like many in New Zealand, is predominantly powered by electricity but, like many rural properties, had an on-demand water heater that ran on bottled LPG, requiring a contractor to swap out the bottles on a regular basis. Our desire to be able to cook on gas meant we were happy to discover that the gas company’s mains supply actually reaches our street, a fact we gleaned when our neighbour got connected. We ordered our own connection (which also requires basic planning permission) and waited a few weeks for the supply to be run from the street to the house. Once it permission was confirmed, we went out and looked for the gas hob/fan assisted convector oven combination we have always wanted – and today it was installed and hooked up!
After the requisite clean-down and test, I decided that the very best way to christen the stove was to whip up a classic omelette with a little grated blue cheese. After three years of cooking on electric (not including fires at camp and camping stoves during power cuts), it was bliss to dash off an omelette in under three minutes and eat it in under half that! As British Gas used to say in their ’70s TV ads, ‘Cookability – that’s the beauty of gas’.
In the last few weeks, we have been investing some time and money in preparing for the summer to come. While our dining room has a lovely long dark wood table and six sturdy high backed chairs, last summer’s outdoor meals were eaten squashed around a small and flimsy plastic garden table with a mish-mash of chairs.
We recently discovered a great discount furniture store that sells slight seconds and bought a lovely mix of pieces from the Nullabor range. After much debate, we settled for a large square table, four canvas-slung chairs and two three seater benches. As a family of six who like company, this combination will cater for most of our needs – right up to seating ten for Sunday roast when our friends Stuart and Sarah visit fly in with their two kids next Easter.
Earlier today, to make sure that we don’t roast under the harsh UV rays, I installed a basic balanced cantilever frame to hold a square shade sail over the table area. Once I have the design refined and finalised, I plan to build a demountable frame that can be removed during the winter months.
A new barbecue would complete our deck makeover but, just as I settled down at the table with a cup of tea and a few catalogues, the sun disappeared and the wind picked up, so that’ll have to wait for another day.
