Kitchen Musings

On this particularly wet and blustery day, while I am so grateful to be inside, snug and warm, I am  contemplating all sorts of things culinary.  Fresh buns and cheesy garlic bacon bread are baking in the oven, a thick and rich marinara sauce is bubbling on the stove, and I am secretly paying homage to all of my lovely and precious kitchen items.  

I have a LOT of kitchen things. Pots, pans, bake ware, utensils, gadgets, dishes, small appliances - you name, I got it.  And, I wouldn't have it any other way.  I love to cook (and eat!) and over the years I have accumulated quite a collection of what I consider to be useful and essential kitchen items. Grab the mandolin for slicing scalloped potatoes.  The two sided carrot peeler does the trick in literally half the time. Bamboo steamers lovingly embrace the pork and ginger dumplings. The off set spatula is a God send for frosting the cake.  Not to mention the powerhouses of my kitchen, my Kitchen Aid mixer and my Braun double food processor, which are used on a daily (and sometimes hourly) basis.

My constant dilemma is where to store them all.  We have never had a kitchen large enough for all of our kitchen gear, let alone the pantry staples that are required to whip up a culinary delight from any continent on the planet.  Undoubtedly, on the scale of global problems, this is actually a non-problem.  No need to write the government or contact the UN, not just yet, at least.  For now, I am content to keep a rubbermaid of bake ware in my bedroom closet and some pantry dry goods in the laundry cupboards, while the canning supplies wait patiently in the garage for their turn in the sun.

Being a cosmic gypsy, I have had more kitchens than most people. In my adult life, I have had 22 kitchens, not including commercial kitchens. One had enough floor space to dance in, and one was barely big enough for two people fit in.  And somehow, my beloved kitchen items always found some place to be, somewhere in the house.

Over the years, I have come to appreciate a well designed kitchen, one with enough counter space, cupboard space, loads of drawers of all sizes, and an efficient flow.  However, no kitchen, no matter how spacious or well appointed, is complete without a willing and well intentioned cook.  I have put together amazing meals in all sorts of kitchens, from the campfire cook out, to the high end commercial kitchen.  No amount of granite counter tops or stainless steel appliances can make up for someone who is not inspired to be in the kitchen in the first place.

For me, the kitchen is my sanctuary, the place where I can go and forget about things for a while, the place where I definitely live in the moment.  Perhaps, most importantly, the kitchen is the place that I can nurture the people in my life, those who make me whole, and make my life come alive.  It is my place to give back, and pay forward, and without a doubt my absolutely favourite room in the house.  My kitchen is where the magic is.