Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Materialist Bliss

Note: This is slightly old news, but the pictures are too cute to waste!

One of the things M and I noticed when we bought the house was what must have been an original microwave. After 25 years of use, the thing was not working so well anymore. Heating would still occur, but since there was no turn table all of the heat was concentrated into a single nickel-sized spot. This machine had the amazing ability to practically burn a whole in your pizza while leaving the rest completely frozen. Not very useful for much. Also, shortly after we moved in I attempted to make one of my favorite microwave treats: The Pappadam. However, not only did the pappadum remain flat and lifeless (not crispy and bubbly good) but the microwave actually managed to break the plate in two! It was sort of cool the way it split along a strange and wavy line, but at the same time it did not bode well for the health of our dishes. Thus we went microwave shopping. I could describe the shopping experience, but it is better just to hold an image of Home Depot in your mind (did you know that they don't work on commission like the people at Sears? We've only been told that about 700 times), and you pretty much have it. We came home with a Magic Chef (I've never heard of them either) over stove model. M, clever person that he is, decided to save the installation fee (more than the cost of the actual microwave) by installing it himself (see pics below of installation process). This is not what I would consider an easy job (I am not a very handy sort) but he managed to do it with a minimum of cursing, banging, trips back to the hardware store, or injuries. Low and behold, we have a working microwave! It heats evenly, it has a defrost setting, it doesn't make ominous clicking noises, and (drum roll please) it makes lovely crispy pappadums! Hooray for M and Magic Chef!

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