Toasterama

Maybe it is the recession, but it seems to me that toaster ovens have become all of the rage.  I have seen several articles in various spots about the wonders of these small ovens, most recently in the Mercury News.

Our toaster oven seriously bit the dust awhile ago. I was to the point of having to tape the door closed in order to get it to turn on.  I was never much tempted to use it for much more than toast. However, all of that has changed, now that I have this (shameless Amazon advert to follow):

This was not my first choice, looks-wise. I actually wanted the Dualit oven. I like knobs better than buttons, and find the digital controls to be a bit annoying. But in addition to a good oven, it is nice to have something that also still makes toast, which apparently the Dualit doesn't do as well. It also does convection, which I admit I haven't wrapped my head around at all. 

Now that I have a serious, petite countertop oven,  I will admit I have been overtaken by the fad. I have roasted tomatoes, potatoes, garlic, pizza, and am thinking of doing even more. It makes a lot of sense. It takes much less time and energy to heat up. I think I would be saving money on energy if it weren't for the fact that I am probably baking more than I usually do in the summer.

The heat in the toaster oven is much more even than my oven.  The oven is pretty big, too. The only thing that hasn't fit in there so far has been the batch of 36 blueberry muffins I made for a class of 3rd graders. Maybe if the California education system wasn't so broken, and didn't have such large class sizes, I wouldn't need a full oven at all?