Many home improvement ideas are geared to the larger, fancier homes. For those of us who live in a moderate size condo or townhouse, our choices are quite different, especially in the kitchen. Would that I only had a place I could install a double wall oven…no chance. Ah, well, not to worry.The day before Thanksgiving last year, I turned on my stove to begin preparing a dish to bring to the dinner I was attending. The back left burner made a “bang” noise and a flame erupted. I immediately shut off the stove, went down to the basement and shut off the circuit breaker dedicated to the stove.
No Wolf or Viking in my small kitchen! I needed to replace my 30” electric range. I found several on the Home Depot website and chose the Hotpoint Self-Cleaning Freestanding range in white. When I placed my order, an electric range power cord for $14.99 was required. I checked behind my old stove and the proper modern plug was not there. I declined to place the order until my electrician (you can find him on constructioncoach.com) came out and said it would be no problem to install the proper plug. The point is to be sure you have the proper plug and proper amps for your new stove. Once that was done, I placed my order.
My old stove was hauled away and the new one installed efficiently and with a great attitude on the part of both the men. At the end of the installation, I was required to speak by telephone to their supervisor to confirm that they had done their job well. I was impressed by Home Depot’s thoroughness.
As to my “little” stove…modern coil heating elements are not what we grew up with. They heat up very quickly and evenly and are wider than the older ones. They cool down much more quickly as well. I have made several very “fussy” sauces and gravies to creamy perfection. The oven bakes like a pro. I have never made a better banana bread or blueberry muffins as I have in this wonder oven. Roasting is a dream.
So remember, you too can have “high end” gourmet cooking results from a smaller range and enjoy every bit of it.
