The Death of a Dishwasher

Okay...it's not dead...yet.  But it sure is making a lot of noise!  Each day, the beast is filled with the days dirty dishes, and then, either first thing in the morning, or last thing at night it is set running.  It's never been a great machine.  We bought it at our local Sears catalogue store after we moved into the Shack.  There was a machine in the Mickey Moused kitchen which the previous owners said wasn't much good...but we never expected it to spew water out the sides of the door when we ran it!!  We had wondered why there was a stick in the kitchen!  It was used to wedge between the island and the dishwasher door to keep it closed tight!

So, our first improvement in the Shack had been a new dishwasher.  Of course, not anywhere near the 'top of the line' model.  Not even close!  It was probably the cheapest one they sold.  And like they say -"You get what you pay for".  The dishes have to be rinsed off completely before being loaded in, and there is usually a few that need to be scrubbed and re-washed.  Annoying, yes, but...you learn to deal with these inconveniences.

Now, I'm faced with a choice.  Do I start looking for a new dishwasher, something of a better quality.  Or...and here is the crux of the matter...do I forgo the edict of society and do without one?  

It's not doing the dishes that is a problem for me...it's more having a place to stash them after they are used and before they are washed that I like.  I hate a sink full of dirty dishes cluttering up my kitchen!  It's so nice to be able to rinse them off and stick them in the dishwasher til later.

 

It would also be nice to be able to use the space the dishwasher takes up for another cupboard.  My kitchen is small and having another storage space would be wonderful!  When we installed the new kitchen we chose to use an Ikea one (love it!) and it can easily be added to.  So, I could potentially add big drawers or shelves in the space. 'Sigh'...what to do?

I'm not sure how long I'll have to ponder this dilemma.  The D.W. is really loud!  It's making the most frightful squeals and whirs. But, it's still doing the same substandard job of the dishes.  It could go on like this for some time, or it could pack it in tomorrow.  Who knows?

I guess I'll deal with it when it happens.  Now, what is that noise coming from the laundry room?  Could it be the washing machine is on the slow decline as well?  Do these things always happen in 3s??!!

Easy Frittata!- Recipe

Today I discovered a huge pile of eggs hidden in my chicken house! There must have been at least 50 of them! Those sneaky hens had figured out how to get behind the big bale of wood chips I use on the floor of the hen house and have been laying eggs there for who knows how long! I've been away for over 2 weeks and Trev has been doing the egg collecting. He wouldn't have realized if there was a shortage each day. And who knows how many of the girls were participating in the 'hide your egg' game.

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We had some really cold weather (-22C) while I was gone and eggs left in that kind of temperature freeze solid if they aren't collected fairly soon after being laid. Then the shells crack and the egg is not fit to sell, although I do use them for the family in baking. I carefully went through this huge pile, sorting out the cracked from the not cracked. The cracked all went into the burning barrel, and I ended up with 28 good eggs. Not knowing how long they had been there, even though it was cold enough to keep them fresh, I don't like to sell them. This meant I had an overabundance of eggs to use. So, on the menu tonight was a Frittata!
Frittata is an Italian egg dish very much like an omelette, but way easier. You can incorporate all kinds of leftover foods into it. Today, I cleaned out my fridge and had found a green pepper and a tomatoe that needed to be used. In the freezer I found a hunk of some kind of sausage which had come unwrapped and rather than re-wrapping it, I defrosted it. Also, we always have frozen spinach and cheese on hand, which are great additions to a frittata. You could add frozen veggies (thawed) alternate meats (chicken, roast meat, ground meat, seafood), onions, cooked potatoes, any veggie you think sounds good, and any kind of cheese you like!
Here are my directions for an easy dinner (or breakfast or lunch!)
First, I put my largest cast iron skillet on the lowest flame ( I cook with propane). You want your frittata to cook for about 10 minutes, so you need to keep the heat as low as possible. I added oil to the pan and let it sit while I prepped the ingredients.

Here are my ingredients...

6 eggs, cheese, green pepper, tomatoes and some garlic sausage.

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Chop up your  veggies and meat, grate the cheese and toss it all into a bowl.  Add the eggs.  I usually add about a 1/2 cup of milk for 3 eggs, so here I added about a cup.  Add a dash of salt and grate in some fresh pepper...Stir it all together until the eggs are well mixed in.
Now pour it into your hot pan.

Let it cook, covered (I used tin foil as I don't have a pot lid large enough for this pan) for at least 10 minutes.
You want it to set ( become firm).  When it has reached this stage, take it off the stove top and pop it into the oven under the broiler for a few minutes.  This will set the top and brown it nicely.  Slice it as you would a pie and serve with toast, hashbrowns, salad...what have you!

Serve!