8 (Other) Random Thoughts About My Kitchen

Sarah tagged me to write eight random thoughts about my kitchen, which is technically her kitchen. But I do visit it occasionally ...

1) We have two whole shelves devoted to nothing but tea, from Orange Dulce to Rooibos Chai. One day a few years back, we decided to become tea people, and have stocked up on the stuff ever since. We have black tea, green tea, white tea, red tea, tisanes ("teas" made without actual tea leaves ... basically anything floral or herbal or whatever), and a bundle of dried plants that Sarah calls "Greek Mountain Tea," though I've never seen her use it to make a drink.

2) Our freezer is stocked with Otter Pops. There's not much else to say about this one, aside from the personal slogan I developed for the product in college: "Otter Pops ... That's something my body needs anyway."

3) I keep the clock on the microwave set 10 minutes fast. For some reason, I enjoy looking at a clock and knowing that it's not really as late as the clock says it is.

4) When I was but a fresh-faced young lad, my dad cooked me pancakes practically every Saturday morning (and other times too, but the Saturdays were the best), and I've unofficially adopted Saturday mornings as the times I cook breakfast for Sarah. She--ahem--doesn't really like pancakes, but she does like scrambled eggs and omelets, so I oblige by making scrambled eggs and omelets that turn into scrambled eggs. I'm just not good at making omelets, but I still try.

5) When I cook, I cool by smell. This is not technically a thought limited to my kitchen in particular, but it's close enough. Sarah cooks by what "feels right." I use my nose, mainly for spices.

6) We have several different types of cheese graters, and since I enjoy grating cheese--it's so satisfying to watch that pile grow!--I'm almost always the one who shreds our cheddar or Monterey Jack or Gouda or what-have-you . My grater of choice features four sides, each with a different grating option, but I only ever use one side.

7) We have a cabinet in which we keep all manner of liquors (Kahlua, Irish cream, etc.), but I keep a few bottles used most often on top of the refrigerator: vodka, rum, and Scotch (which I drink neat).

8) I have long been fascinated by empty glass bottles, and our kitchen window sill is lined with samples of all shapes and sizes. There used to be more bottles, but I broke one or two when closing the window once.

Now, I tag Bret. And James Van Lommel, if he ever sees this.

8 Random Thoughts About My Kitchen

I have been tagged by Andrea to share about my kitchen.

1) My counters are pink and brown tile (my current favorite color combination for just about anything). They are probably the original tiles that were put in the house when it was built in the 50’s. So retro and totally feminine, I love it!

2) Like Flo, I wear an apron whenever I cook (and most of every day actually). In the summer of 2006 Ryan's mom created the “Apron of the Month Club” for me. At the beginning of each month a package would arrive in the mail containing a unique hand-made apron of her own design. I now have a different apron for every month. The apron I am currently using has jack-o-lanterns on it, a full skirt, and a pocket large enough to fill with candy for trick-or-treaters (she thinks of everything).

3) Our kitchen does not have a built in dishwasher. While I was in labor with Hattie, Ryan's parents bought and set up a stand alone dishwasher in our kitchen. It has been such a blessing!

4) I love washing dishes (even in my pre-dishwasher years), but I hate putting them away. On more than one occasion I have left clean dishes in the dishwasher until it “emptied itself” because we used all the dishes directly from the dishwasher.

5) I tend to be very ecologically minded and try not to create unnecessary waste. My one splurge is aluminum foil. I despise washing large baking sheets and big pans (especially if they are greasy); I always line them with aluminum foil so that I can just throw the mess away.

6) I have one drawer in my kitchen that has nothing in it. I am tempted occasionally to fill it, but it is kind of luxurious feeling just to know that it is there.

7) The house came with a vintage O’Keefe and Merritt oven. It is small and not very pretty, but it cooks food more efficiently than any other oven I have ever used. Unfortunately the door to the broiler fell off in my hand when I tried to use it for the first time a few weeks ago. Because replacement parts are so hard to find (and expensive) our property managers plan to replace it. I will be sad to see it go, but am also excited to have a new oven! It is probably for the best since Hattie will be crawling soon and the doors on the old oven get really hot.

8) While I recently switched to using my own home made cleaners in our house, I stumbled upon Method’s Cinnamon Bark all-purpose cleaner last week and had to try it. I have been using it to clean my kitchen counters and it makes the whole house smell like I have been baking all day, even though I have not baked a thing in over a year (unless you count Trader Joes pre-formed frozen cookie dough).

I tag Ryan, Jen , Jesse & Kelly