I'm In Love

...with my new gas stove.

As part of our kitchen renovation, we replaced all the old appliances. This is a luxury I've never experienced before, but because they were clearly 20+ years old, the time was right.

This is our old stove/kitchen.

I actually had a better photo of the stove at one time because I posted a "free stove" ad on Kijiji. I must have deleted it as I wanted no further connection with it. When we bought the house let's just say the previous owners could have been a little more attentive to cleanliness. We must have spent two hours cleaning it. I think I avoided using it at all for the first two months out of pure contempt.

Anyway, we knew it had to go. And finally, we had the opportunity to get a gas stove. Working for a natural gas company for the past four years further fueled (excuse the pun) my desire for a gas stove.

And here's my new beauty. It's a Blue Star 30" stove. We hadn't heard of Blue Star, but when we saw it at Costco I started researching the company and reviewing customer ratings. It has the largest internal dimensions of any residential stove on the market (fits two cookie sheets side-by-side), and it has powerful burner. Plus, he's a beauty. When we picked it up, the Costco Manager said "you're getting a great deal on this stove, my wife and I bought a Garland stove a couple of years ago and it's really the same stove for less than half the price".

Best of all, our new stove lives up to his reputation...he's powerful and hard working, while being sensitive and to my sauces. He's also lightening quick and responsive.

I just LOVE my new stove. So much so, I'd find it hard to ever go back to electric.

He's a brute though -- a fact we weren't completely aware of until it came time to bring it in the house. A forklift had deposited it (still on it's skid), in the back of our trailer. We transported it home, and wheeled it right up to our front stairs. Then there was the question of how to get it up the final two stairs and into the house. Fortunately, we had a moving dolly and two strong men. Despite our apparent advantages, Mr. BlueStar put up quite a fight. After a great deal of huffing and puffing, heaving and grunting (and suggestions to call professional movers the next day), Mr.BlueStar finally made his way to the kitchen (still enveloped in his protective bubble wrap).

Here he is in-situ. And partially disrobed. You'll need to wait for my kitchen reno post to get the Full Monty.