You Must Have a State of the Art Kitchen.
A common assumption!
I wouldn’t say I have a state of the art kitchen. In fact, my kitchen is very simple and very small. Not as small as a New York apartment kitchen, but it’s really a one-person kitchen.
The floor is adobe, as are the walls, which I love. I have a so-called professional stove with five burners and a large oven, which I often regret because it’s more than I Cheap NFL Jerseys need and when you use propane for heat, you start to think twice about warming up a big oven for a small job. It’s impractical and expensive. (I have recently acquired a toaster oven for toasting nuts and such.) I don’t have a lot of equipment because I have no place to store it and because you don’t really need so much for everyday cooking. My wooden counters are stained green; the drawers are yellow on the outside and red inside. No granite, no marble. One of the things I love most about my kitchen is the bird feeder hanging outside the window. The parade of birds that stop in for a bite is a constant source of delight and cheer.
THANK YOU for writing that. It not only helps me see the silver-lining in my own one-person kitchen, but reminds me of something else you wrote that changed my whole perpective. In 1999 you had an article in Cooking Light (I think) on what happened when you moved from CA to NM…and how you learned to appreciate the ingredients around you and use it in ways that worked for you. THANK YOU for that, way back then…you will never know how I have kept those words in my head through international moves and they have truly helped me!!! Thank you ALSO for the wonderful books you’ve written 🙂 and words you share now.
I just found your blog through a naive set of clicks….but, I am ONCE AGAIN grateful at what I read from your hand!!!!
Tanya,
Thank you for your generous comments. I appreciate your thoughts and it’s good to hear that there
are others who cook in small kitchens. What people don’t know is that there are some advantages —you
don’t have to hike all over the kingdom to find a pan. It’s all right there. It’s kind of nifty that way, it and
works as a natural governor on any tendencies to acquire small useless items.
I have found cooking in other countries definitely a challenge, even if some of the foods —even all of them—are
more beautiful and delicious. It’s cooking in another language – even when it happens to be English!
I can’t say how excited I am to see that you have a blog! Here’s a shout-out from my own very limited but still more than sufficient kitchen. Your Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone was one of my first cookbooks (a gift from my uncle)–always a favorite, and an absolute necessity after I learned I had food intolerances and had to start cooking everything from scratch. I’m really looking forward to reading your fresh recipes and tips!
Thank you Amy!
I will try, really really try, to get something up that’s fresh and new at least once a week!
Ah, the joys of blogging. 🙂
Aloha, Deborah! I am so grateful that I obtained your wonderful cookbook today. I was searching on different threads online, and came to the conclusion that your book is the one! So I ran out and got me a copy. I already made the fennel soup. Great flavor. Biggest surprise? The kids liked it, too. You are a supah- star in my household! Can’t wait to try some more recipes…