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The story begins with a cat and a stove. Our Maine Coon, Finian, used to camp in front of the stove at night. It took me a while to realize he was on sentry duty. It was a particularly winter behavior. Although I never actively look for signs of a mouse resident, it finally occurred to me that Finian was earning his keep - by keeping those furry little devils under control. But the stove was the real culprit.
My 21-year-old Jenn-Air recently bit the dust. And my cat knew it before I did. My first hint was the sudden appearance of burn marks on the cabinet next to the stove. The cabinets are light maple, so the dark burn mark grabbed my attention. Both the appliance repairman and I thought the oven door was probably not sealing correctly, and given the stove's age it seemed plausible. With the new seal installed, I went back to baking. A few more months went by and the burn marks grew, moving from the cabinet frame to tinging the sides of the door and drawer. Not willing to burn the house down over a banana bread, I did some serious sleuthing and finally figured it out.
It was the mice. It never occurred to me that we had given them an easy way in. A Jenn-Air stove is a downdraft. It has its own interior fan which draws the fumes down, inward, and vents them outside the house. The exterior vent sat directly above a large outdoor storage box. This gave the mice an easy path up to and through the vent. No wonder Finian's guard duty began on the cold autumn nights. Once inside, the mice had free rein under the stove. And while they were in from the cold, they ate all the stove's insulation. Hey, it was right there for the taking and was often pre-heated! They consumed every last scrap of it. Hence the adjacent burn marks.
So now we have a new super-duper appliance. When you buy an electric stove, the men deliver it, you pull out the old one, unplug it, wash the floor underneath, and plug in the new one. Two hours max - right? WRONG. I didn't replace the Jenn-Air with another downdraft - just an everyday stove, with a whole new fan system required. It took three days.
The downdraft stove was removed and hauled away. Whew! But after the usual floor washing (yuck), the vent exit to the outside had to be securely closed. Wonderful Dave, our fabulous carpenter, worked inside, outside, and up and down. And then he worked outside, inside, and down and up. The job involved back and forth venting, blocking, insulating, siding, framing, and electricals. The problem solved as he went.
We have a pretty corner hood that only contained a downlight. Now its interior is home to the newly installed large fan and its 6-foot-high vent. Working totally overhead, Incredible Dave made that magic happen.
Just when we thought we were done, we realized that the stove stuck out too far past the counter's edge. The back countertop had to be reduced two inches to make it fit properly. Fabulous Dave explained that cutting the black Corian countertop would spread the equivalent of black talcum powder everywhere if he didn't tent-off the kitchen. I moved everything. And Patient Dave built two tents before he cut.
I do like the stove. But I think the stainless-steel controls were designed by a man - who never cooked more than boiling water for his ramen noodles. The large, polished knobs are mounted on a gleaming horizontal panel. They look like appliance jewelry. My old control knobs were black on a front vertical panel. Very little cleaning. These puppies need to be washed after every cook job, then polished or buffed to that new-stove shine. My chili preparation last night gooped up all four knobs, their panel, and the glass digital display. I'm going to have to give up one of my hobbies just to keep this stove showroom shiny. And it never occurred to me back in that showroom - I was too excited about having a second oven.
I've never had room for a countertop toaster oven. And it killed me to heat up the large oven for a 10-minute garlic bread bake. Now the burn marks have been refinished, and I have a new two-oven stove, which thrills me.
It's been three weeks, and I haven't used the large oven yet. Not to worry. Thanksgiving is coming and I think both ovens will be working hard. I can see it now: Thanksgiving night everyone will be snug in their beds, overloaded with turkey and pumpkin pie. And there I'll be, exhausted, still in the kitchen. Polishing my knobs.
Marcy O'Brien is available at moby.32@hotmail.com