On Kitchens

I've been thinking a lot about kitchens lately.

The kitchen always played a large factor in my childhood, our dining table was always in our kitchen (at least as far back as I can properly remember anyway) and was where my parents would feed guests as well as the family - unless it was a big event and not everyone would fit, in which case the big table in the living room would be brought in to play.

On holidays visiting family the kitchen was always the hub of everything, good food cooked especially for the visitors, unusual tastes, laughs, drama... kitchens are important places and I've been neglecting mine lately. I've been leaving O to do all the cooking and haven't baked anything (my real cooking love) in forever.

I had lost my inspiration and couldn't find anything that I actually wanted to make until I came across this recipe by Joy (check out her blog, it's all about baking with this being one of her few savoury concoctions) in which she uses the magic words "cheesy polenta" and "fennel". I did a little substituting - beef for beans and coriander for oregano - and the result was fabulous. I am also waiting for the re-stocking of a sexy red mixer I want to buy as part of my back-to-the-kitchen programme.

So in preparation for loads of time spent there, and because I'm off work sick today, I thought I'd take you on a little tour of my kitchen if you don't mind...


There are four doors leading away from the kitchen, I'm standing in front of door number one which leads to the bedrooms and you can see door number two which leads to the laundry room. Can you spy our basil plant by the window? Keep your fingers crossed that this one survives.


There you see door number three which leads out to the back stairs and rubbish shoot for our building, and our lovely cooker (more on that in a mo). There is also my shisha pipe there on the counter on the right.


Door number four on the left which leads to the front door and door number one there on the right. The fridge needs no introduction.

Now I'd like to take a second to point out a couple of my favourite features in this kitchen.


Let me introduce you to my oven - electric oven, gas hob, 90x60cm, 5 spider burners with one double burner in the middle. Oh and also the cute green-piggy tea towel that my mum gave me. This is a beauty and bakes nice and evenly, the only compliant is that the gas burners are a little too powerful for my liking. It's pretty easy to burn stuff.


My cook books and delicious. magazines, plus up on the counter - the remnants of a cheese pie I baked.

Mmmmmm, cheese pie.

Speaking of pie...

This is my baking cupboard. Pitifully bare right now because I'm not baking in earnest but we have measuring cups and spoons, baking powder and bicarb of soda, baking beans, two kinds of flour, two kinds of sugar, orange blossom water, cooking chocolate, minced dates and cocoa.


This is the tea cupboard. I'm not sure exactly how many kinds of tea I have any more, but I counted before we moved and there were over 20 so... yeah, not going to be counting - or buying tea - for a little while.


And to drink that tea we need mugs and cups and tea pots and saucers and a sugar bowl!


Last, but not least, our spice cupboard. Looking decidedly messy but I'd like to think that it shows how much it's used.

Thank you for indulging me in my little kitchen tour. I'm appreciating it at the moment and thought I'd share.