Next step: baking

Four posts ago, I spoke about my happiness project (borrowed from Gretchen Rubin's "The Happiness Project"). Okay sure, I haven't gone round to taking walks 3 times a week after work, but my excuse is that it's been raining heavily on most days, so save that activity for another time. The next step in my happiness project is to buy an oven. And I've done my research, and I found out that table top ovens are just as good as built-in ovens. Why? Because they are both electric, so heat is regulated evenly, and they both have fans so cooking meat and things like that can be done. I've also checked out prices of some electric ovens and I am pleasantly surprised that they are all under $500 and so to me is affordable. I think the one I want costs a little more than $400, and if it's on sale, it'll be like $380 or something like that.

I also checked out the prices of some built-in ovens, and there is one that I like that costs something like $1600, but then, I don't have a built-in kitchen cabinet unit, so it would look totally ugly. Ya, I've seen some ppl just stick their built-in oven on the kitchen counter, and it does look odd like that, so no. I'm not doing that.

I've also checked out those ones with the stove/cooker on top, but I read somewhere that if I am baking, then I can't cook on the stove at the same time because it would be too hot. So that's out of the question, because in my experience of baking, I'd be melting the butter and the chocolate on the stove while the chocolate cake is baking. Or whatever. Sauteeing vegetables while my meat is roasting. So to me, the table top electric oven is the way to go.

After purchasing this oven, I will be so excited to prepare the recipes in Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook "Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food".

I bought it ages ago... In it, she gives you interesting recipes where you use pureed vegetables and mix it in with other ingredients, and bake it, and it will not taste like vegetables at all! So kids will eat it. Salma doesn't like to eat anything that's green in color. Even green tea ice cream.

She gives recipes for snacks, main course, desserts...

And I can't wait to try them out on Salma! Cos I know she's adventurous, and loves eating!