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Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Killed my microwave

Microwaves and I have issues. In my semi-hippie home growing up, we didn't have one. Actually we had one when I was four and microwaves were kind of new and cool. My grandparents bought us one for Christmas, and my mom would make us all go outside when she used it so we wouldn't radiate to death. At some point the microwave "got lost" in a move (we children fully understood this term to mean "mommy threw it out while we were moving in hopes that you would lay blame on the Allied moving men with the big truck") and we were microwave-less for many years. We survived. I have a creative system for heating leftovers up in a cast-iron skillet with a little water around the edges, and I learned to make popcorn in a pot over a burner.
My roommate had one in college, but I rarely used it; I couldn't get the heating times right. This persisted even after I married a microwave-owning bachelor (it's about the only appliance he used; I was impressing him with a homemade feast at his house while we were dating and asked if his rather ancient oven had to be lit, or if the pilot light lit electrically. He replied that he didn't know, as he had never turned the oven on.)
I spent a few years figuring microwaving out and it still throws me once in a while. Last week I planned on putting sausages in the oven, when hubby pointed out that the microwave would be faster and wouldn't heat up the house. Oh yeah! The microwave! I popped the pan in and microwaved a fully foiled baking pan for ten minutes, during which time I discovered that a certain amount of metal CAN be microwaved.
Then I killed the durn thing. I electrocuted it. I forgot that our 1900's house is very sensitive. We have only one outlet in the kitchen, and it sprouts an 8-pronged fire hazard. I'm not sure why we bother with 8 outlets since the electrical system can only handle one appliance at a time. I think it is just so we don't need to unplug and replug every time! Alas, I forgot about these restrictions and turned on our George Foreman grill at the same time as our microwave. They shorted out. I flipped the grill back on, but the microwave began making ominous clicking sounds. I tried ignoring it (I often do this when appliances or cars make funny sounds), but tiny sparks shot out of the vent. I guess I killed it. And now I'm microwaveless again. Luckily this is not the end of the world, as I am fully prepared to handle the crisis! Popcorn on the stove, here we come!

1 comment:

  1. I am ashamed to say I would be totally lost without my microwave. I make a baked potato in the microwave for dinner almost every night. I could bake it in the oven but that would take WAY longer... And I have gotten hooked on those frozen veggies that you can microwave. I guess this all means I am just uber lazy & impatient when it comes to week night cooking!!

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