I'm Toasted

“I think I just need to get a toaster oven to use for a few months, but after that what’ll it be? Another unused appliance taking up counter space? Maybe I’ll cook everything stovetop until David gets back to fix the oven,” I posed the questions/situ to a friend over coffee a few days after our oven went on the fritz. By then, my husband David was on the road for an extended work gig and I was left at the mercy of a little Weber grill and it’s partner, the microwave for any cooked meals I’d fancy in the coming weeks.  

“Go get a toaster oven. Do it,” was my very wise friend’s reply. 

After our coffee date I was driven. Toaster oven or bust! Was my mission while driving across the Hudson River to whatever store carrying small appliances was in my path. The choices were many. Would it be Wally World? No: too many choices, sensory overload, long lines, deep parking lot. I didn’t have time to waste. How about the mall? No: kinda outta the way, would need to take the escalator or stairs if I didn’t remember correctly for which floor to park near. Home Goods/TJMaxx? Nope: close together but a crap shoot as to whether they carried what I needed. Target? Bingo! 

Target wasn’t very busy on the hot and humid Sunday morning and I knew right where their little appliances were. Sure as sugar I found a smallish toaster oven meekly sitting on a shelf near bigger and probably better big name brand options. But hey, I didn’t need to spend a fortune or get a huge convection/air fryer/crock pot/toaster/griller/setitandforgetit deal. I only needed that mild little silvery oven pictured on the box. Just perfect at $49.99. 

Once I got home and unboxed the new kitchen addition, I was reminded of my first toaster oven in my apartment at college. I cooked cakes, roasts, cookies, pretzels and so much in that, it was great. Now this new little oven was all digital, no timer knobs to turn back to zero if my stuff was burning, nope wouldn’t be able to reverse it no how. Or was there a way? Hmmm…I got the hang of it pretty quick and for the next three months I made baked potatoes, cakes, roasted chicken parts (nothing weird like beaks or feet, just had to break down the whole birds for them to fit). 

Soon I wasn’t missing the big oven. The mini version from Target didn’t give off as much heat as its grownup full-size counterpart. A welcome alternative to having the entire kitchen heated up on 90-degree days. It was a summer of mini love. 

Now with my husband safely home and the big oven safely fixed, I was sure we’d opt to put the toaster oven in the basement, or tuck it away in the pantry in case there was another culinary crisis fit for bringing it out again. But no, not so fast. Our toaster, the thing only for bread and the occasional skinny bagel then bit the bullet. So little toasty stayed. 

Once the toaster was fixed (David is wicked smart, can fix anything) we decided to keep little toasty. Why in the name of sweet Jesus would we keep it on the counter now? Because it’s convenient and is like having two ovens! Hey, the holidays are fast approaching and we’re foodies. 

So now, Little Toasty has earned a spot in the kitchen! And I love, love, love to watch stuff cook and bake. Reminds me of my easy bake oven from half a century ago and all the light bulbs I burnt out from using it. I was so excited by the first burn out that I ran to my dad with the hot and smoky bulb asking for a new one that I slightly burned my hand. I couldn’t wait to give him evidence that I was a real baker (only in my mind because the reality was that I turned that easy bake to the highest temperature in my impatience to see something cook and almost had a little fire). The novelty of my easy bake never wore off. Neither has it from Little Toasty! Live on little shiny objects.