Saturday, November 14, 2009

This is where I cook.

This is a random shot of my kitchen I found on my SD card from the other day as I tweaked some camera settings. Surprisingly it's actually kind of clean (yeah I'm surprised). Other than the dinner-in-progress dishes rinsed and ready for the dishwasher in the sink and the always present mountain of clean dishes in the dish drainer the kitchen is pretty clean for one that gets heavily used. Oh yes, heavily used.

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The reason I'm posting this picture is because I was involved in a discussion a couple of weeks ago where the topic of organizing the kitchen came up. I mentioned having a dedicated corner for my baking (it's on the lefthand side of the counter where the kitchen sink is situated). I do have one pullout drawer I had Mr. Maricucu install that holds all my baking ingredients and on the counter are the food processor and mixer. One drawer with some hand tools, a crock with more tools and a set of measuring spoons/cups just for this area separate from the general cooking tools. One person mentioned that they dreamed one day of having a kitchen large enough to make that happen. I couldn't help but giggle. My kitchen is all of 12x9' and while not puny (by let's say, NYC standards), it's a one and a half person kitchen at most. That counter with the sink, the breakfast counter to the left of it and then a smaller counter as the other part of the U with the oven/stove is all there is to to my kitchen. The fourth wall houses the fridge. And this has been one of the larger kitchens we've had over the years. No island, space to seat several, fancy built-in pullout cabinets, double ovens and only enough counter space to think twice before I bring any appliance or gadget home. Yes you can most definitely be a foodie with a modest kitchen. With a little creative organization and very selective choices in appliances and tools (Alton Brown is a hero around here) working in a small kitchen is not only possible, but enjoyable.

Mr. Maricucu and I do dream of the day when our kitchen will hold more than one person with ample elbow room but until then, we make do and most importantly, make food.

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