Some days you just need Sloppy Joes
japra | Mar 11, 2009 | Comments 13
This photo has absolutely nothing to do with this post!
Our petite dishwasher has been on the blink for quite some time. It washed our dishes but didn’t dry them. As soon as the cycle was done, we would open the dishwasher and basically use it as a large drying rack.
When the leasing agent came around for the annual property inspection in mid-January (one week later than scheduled because she forgot the first appointment!), we mentioned this to her. She sent a repair man out in late January to take a peek at the thing. After a mini-lecture about water tension, he suggested I try a couple of things. They didn’t work.
In February, the leasing agent called us to say the landlords said there was a full size dishwasher in the garage and they could hook that up for us. Um, well, yes, that would be wonderful, except that the current dishwasher space is five inches narrower.
So last Tuesday, the leasing agent sent out another technician who actually took the time to pull the dishwasher out to look at the heating element and whatever else is back there. After a bit, he announced it was the rinse aid dispenser that needed replacing. When I asked how long it would take to get the part, he said “a couple of days”. He left the dishwasher unassembled and the pieces in the middle of my kitchen. For some reason, it didn’t dawn on me until quite a bit later that this meant the dishwasher was no longer usable. At all.
Resigned, I hand washed the dishes that night. No big deal, right? We’ve all done this at one time or another. Well, unfortunately for me, the dishwasher wasn’t the only thing the repairman left unhooked. He had removed the dishwasher drain hose, leaving an open PVC pipe under my sink. And of course, I don’t notice this until a LOT of water seeped out from under my sink. Sigh.
After a few deep breaths and counting to at least 500, I realized I could use the smaller part of my sink (about 6″x11″) to finish up the dishes, which I did after mopping up the huge puddles under the sink and on the kitchen floor.
On Thursday, we asked the leasing agent to please send the plumber back out to hook up the dishwasher so that we could at least use it to wash the dishes as we had before. Has this happened yet? Sadly, no. I did put a piece of cling film (plastic wrap) around the open PVC pipe and secured it with a pony tail holder. At least now I can use the larger side of the sink. It makes things slightly better.
On the plus side, we’ve been eating pizza and various other take outs for the most part. It’s been nice not to have to cook so much, but today I had enough.
So, the whole reason I’ve shared my sad tale is to tell you how much we enjoyed Simply Recipe’s Sloppy Joes today. This one pan recipe was just the thing to make us all feel better. Thanks, Elise!
PS A friend told me it took three weeks for her landlord to replace her broken refrigerator. It wasn’t that the landlord was slacking, it just took a while to get the refrigerator ordered, delivered and hooked up!
About the Author: JaPRA is an expat Texan living in England with her husband (Mr. DJ), their 17-year old daughter (Roxi), and their dog Trudy.
Having been without a dishwasher for a week I empathise! :(
oh my gosh…I know something that’ll make you feel better…I don’t have a dishwasher! It’s sorta by choice.
Julia
I SO feel your pain. My dishwasher seems to be working fine now. I have no idea how the door came open before and how the dishwasher also kept running with the door cracked open. Weird.
Well, the upside is you’re moving soon…gosh what a mess, don’t envy you. We have a clogged toilet in our house at the moment, it needs a plumber this time. It must be the season for things going wrong.
Nice recipe and I commiserate with your tale. We had problems with our house recently and hell does not even begin to describe the experience.
Greetings from London.
I hate to hand wish dishes, not fun. Luckily the husband and I share the kitchen duties- I cook, he washes (but he does get to use the dishwasher so not too strenuous!).
Anyway, the real reason I’m commenting is I saw your twitter comment on the right side about making cornbread. I always buy cornmeal from Ocado so you may want to look in your local Waitrose. It’s normally in the ethnic sections so can be a bit tricky to find. I love cornbread, so can’t live without it!
The washing isn’t so bad as the putting away and drying –
The wonderful thing about a dishwasher is the ability to “put away” dirty dishes until you have time to wash them. (Or a full load)
Mine was out for two weeks about a year ago – It pretty much sucked.
I did however, have a full size sink.
:(
I’m not all that attached to my dishwasher (I did fine without one for years), but I am attached to my large sink. There would be much frustration if I could only use the smaller part. I hope the dishwasher–or at least the plumbing–gets fixed soon!
Akelamalu–Thanks for the sympathy!
Julia–We didn’t have a dishwasher or central air/heat for the first three years of our married life (in Texas! our first house was built in 1921). Things got much better after we had a baby and decided we needed things like central heat (she was born in January). ;-)
Laurie–I am glad to hear your dishwasher troubles are over. I think you had a bigger mess to clean up.
Christine–UGH. Plumbing issues.
A Cuban in London–It is a good exercise in patience, isn’t it?
Jessica–I was just in Waitrose today! I need to spend a little time poking around there. I miss my jalepeno and cheese cornbread!
Anonymous Friend–I don’t mind drying and putting away as long as someone else is washing. It’s just hard to juggle it all. I’ve removed one of the dishwasher racks and use it on top of my sink as a drying rack. My kitchen looks awful!
Anne–I think part of my problem is I have tiny sinks and huge, American size pots and pans. I actually don’t really use the plates we brought over here because they only fit on the extreme outside slots of my dishwasher. I have luncheon-size plates that I bought here last year and that is what we use for dinner. If I had smaller pots, I am sure the handwashing would be less of a headache.
I hate tiny sinks, but love washing up by hand provided that I have a good pair of small Marigold gloves. I take the washing up bowl out of the sink to wash big pots, or just fill the pot with water and wash it on the bench. I find washing up relaxing and love nothing better than the sight of a draining rack full of clean washing-up.
Dishwashers really do take the pleasure away, leaving the dirty bits that the machine won’t wash and lots of stooping to load and unload which I detest! Each to their own, as we say.
I’m going to have to find you a good vetkoek recipe. “Vetkoek” literally translates to fat cake and I think the “fat” refers to it being deep fried. It is kind of like a savoury donut. Anyway, it tastes awesome with mince and I think it would taste great with sloppy joe mince.
I got my first dishwasher in September when we moved into this house but now I wouldn’t want to live without one!
Dorothy–You almost make washing up sound wonderfully romantic :-)
Emm–Oh, I just looked up Vetkoek. Yum! I think I would like to try making that. I rarely fry things as I never know what to do with the oil when I’m done. But the Vetkoek looks worth the effort. Have you ever had a Mexican sopaipilla or a New Orleans Beignet?
Oh yum!!! Those look divine, especially the sopaipilla. Next time we go to the Mexican resaurant here, I am going to see if they serve them.