« friday night | Main | what i really want to do on my birthday »
January 16, 2006
kitchen roundup
i woke up this morning feeling awful. started to go to work. had a flat. came home, called AAA. called in sick. slept all day.
so, the kitchen. although i'm not finished with it, i probably won't make any major changes for the rest of the month. the next major things coming up are chairs, which will be a lot of money, and some pots and pans that probably won't be cheap, either.
i thought i'd post a list of the things that have, so far, made the biggest improvements in the kitchen.
- the lighting. it's unreal the difference this has made, and it was so very cheap and easy.
- re-organizing appliance and cookware storage. there's still more to do, but what i have done so far has improved the function of the kitchen immensely. the goal was to free up my counter space.
- improving cookware and utensils. after years of improvising, having the right tools for the job, and having them be good quality and clean, makes me want to cook again. i no longer fear recipes that call for the zest of a lemon, because with my microplane, i can conquer any zesting task!
the new tools that i use most often are my nonstick skillets (not surprisingly) and my microplanes. incredibly, there is a grating task in basically every recipe i make– how i got along without one before is beyond me. i guess i just avoided all recipes with zest in them!
watching cooking shows regularly has also made a big difference for me. if i see someone make a recipe i think i'd like, i go to the web site and print it off immediately. that way, it's easy to remember that i wanted to make it. i prefer the shows where people make food that normal humans would actually eat, not the rock star stuff like Iron Chef (although Iron Chef is quite entertaining– i just never get any good ideas from it). Top on my list are 30 Minute Meals (yes, she's annoying, but the food is quite tasty); Everyday Italian, and, on christa's suggestion, Good Deal with Dave Lieberman.
I have developed lust in my heart for a truly frivolous appliance: a panini grill. i think it was watching Giada DeLaurentiis make a pound cake/nutella/strawberry panini that did it. gawd.
Posted by lisa at January 16, 2006 05:27 PM
ok, so a) your comment won't post right away because i have to approve it first and b) you might get a server error but your comment probably posted anyway and c) previewing doesn't work so i've removed the preview button.