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May 04, 2024

Juggling Act: A marriage and the appliances that shape it

I was in my early 20s and just months into my relationship with my future husband when I offered to come to his house and make dinner. I wasn’t much of a cook back then — the microwave was my most

I was in my early 20s and just months into my relationship with my future husband when I offered to come to his house and make dinner.

I wasn’t much of a cook back then — the microwave was my most used kitchen appliance at the time — but I had all the ingredients for chili. And a Crockpot. And it was 6 p.m.

“I’m not sure you realize how a Crockpot works,” he said.

Twenty-three years later, I’ve come a long way with both my cooking and understanding of how Crockpots work. “Slow cooker” wasn’t in my vocabulary two decades ago, but it certainly is now. I’m such a fan I have two.

My husband and I will celebrate two decades of marriage this fall and it’s funny to think of all the appliances that have come along the way, from slow cooker to Instant Pot, and what we’ve learned from them: patience, efficiency, conservation, and consistency. In some ways, they’re all traits you need for a solid marriage.

My failed Crockpot chili attempt was the start of a long relationship with not just my spouse but the many small appliances that would shape us — and teach us a thing or two about each other.

“Set it and forget it!” Ron Popeil declared and my future hubby swooned. He had to have it. What Popeil didn’t tell you was that after setting and forgetting it, you’d have to spend a solid 40 minutes afterward scrubbing your grill — and all its various accoutrements — to use it next. And you still may not get all the chicken grease off.

We got the grill as an engagement gift and we still have it to this day but have only used it about five times. It may be nice to “set it and forget it” but it’s also nice to buy a $7 rotisserie chicken from Kroger with no mess.

A couple years into our relationship, my husband and I moved into a small bungalow in Ferndale and fell in love — with our George Foreman grill.

Our kitchen was so small with nearly nonexistent counter space so we had an entire little metal stand, angled in our small eat-in nook, for our George Foreman grill. It was like a small shrine.

We loved it so much that if we had other pans at the time and used them to cook any kind of protein, I don’t remember them. Our George Foreman Grill had our hearts. It was efficient and perfect for us at the time.

By the time we had kids, I finally grasped the power of the slow cooker. Yes, it required planning and prep but the house smelled amazing while dinner cooked and there were always yummy leftovers. All good things do happen in time.

I’ll admit it: The thought of millions of little Keurig pods spending an eternity in landfills all over the globe makes me shudder. And I’m not crazy: According to the National Institutes of Health, billions are pitched every year.

So when my hubby wanted one and I didn’t, it was a brief sticking point in our relationship, a battle of the wills. My husband found a way around my aversion. He got a Keurig and brought it to work. And then he had a revelation: He didn’t really like it all that much after all.

When you have a special needs child who eats a pureed diet, a good blender is a must. I’ve gone through so many blenders and food processors that were put to the test and eventually failed.

Finally, we invested in a really good one, a Vitamix. It sounds like a helicopter lifting as it blends food but it’s consistent and reliable.

Sometimes it’s hard not to get swept up by the latest small appliance frenzy. That was the case for the Instant Pot. I heard the buzz and wanted one. I got it for Christmas.

But one look at all its buttons and instructions to release steam and I started sweating before I even turned it on. I don’t need to use a small pressure cooker to make rice. I can do it in a pan. Like solid relationships, a good appliance doesn’t need to be overly complicated.

As our milestone anniversary approaches, we’ve found the perfect appliance for our family at this moment in time: the air fryer. It’s quick, healthy and super convenient.

Maybe one day we’ll fall out of love with it, or discover a new appliance that’s even better. But for now it’s the right appliance for us: efficient, dependable and fairly easy to clean. Who knows what the next decade will hold ― or what appliance?

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