Tag Archives: kitchen

Jun4

just peachy.

Posted on by
Standard

a look back, it’s that time of year again, and some things never change –

how to clean your entire kitchen while trying to prepare a 1-minute healthy and guilt-free breakfast

1. since peaches are not quite in season yet, take a bag of frozen peaches out of freezer to defrost in fridge, go to sleep dreaming of healthy breakfast smoothie

2.  take peaches out of fridge on the next day to chop up and create delicious and guilt-free smoothie

3. notice the fridge shelf below bag is a bit sticky

4. notice the bag has leaked (even though it’s unopened), while defrosting

5. take everything off of sticky shelf

6. notice peach juice has leaked to the back of the shelf and hardened into a solid gel

7. take out giant sticky shelf and place in sink

8. turn on hot water to melt off hardened peach juice gel

9. notice peach juice has dripped down into fridge drawers below where the shelf was

10. take out drawers

11. say a few things back to fridge that is now incessantly beeping due to door being ajar too long

12. feel my feet getting wet and turn back to sink

13. notice hot water running on shelf placed in sink is somehow flowing over it and onto counter and beyond

14. notice water has also flowed into junk drawer and cupboards below counter while on its way to the floor

15. slide on floor as i turn off water, pull out junk drawer, empty it, throw away things that are waterlogged

16. empty cupboards below, dry out everything, grab beach towels to clean up floor

17. turn back to fridge, still beeping, notice bottom of fridge has peach juice on it also, now that drawers have been removed

18. get more towels, empty entire fridge, wash and dry everything, replace shelves and drawers and contents, wash and dry floor

16. cut open peach bag, notice the peaches are now dried out due to lack of juice. put them in a bowl. add whipped cream. back to healthy eating plan tomorrow.

17. notice one ant milling around, sensing a dot of sticky peach nectar somewhere.

Apr6

hat trick.

Posted on by
Standard

Sure, you could freeze those overripe bananas for bread or smoothies.

But wouldn’t it be nice if they just stayed yellow longer?

Try a hat.

That is, a hat designed to preserve your favorite tropical treat.

This one’s a two-parter: First, place the silicone cap over the crown (where the bananas connect) to slow the absorption of ethylene gas, which is what causes them to turn brown. Second, place the cute knit hat over the silicone one (they secure with magnets). Unicorn and viking or watermelon and pineapple? The choice is yours. Then, voilà! Bananas stay fresh longer—and look great while doing it. Which means you’ll waste less food and money. Yep, all that from a little hat. Made in California. ($25.00 from Uncommon Goods)

what’s the most unusual ‘kitchen tool’ you’ve ever purchased?

 

—

“i’m getting so old, i don’t even buy green bananas anymore.”

variations of this quote attributed to:  lou holtz, chi chi rodreiguez, claude pepper

Aug24

one hot mess.

Posted on by
Standard

french-onion-soup

made a big pot

of bubbling hot

french onion soup

ladled it into little bowls

topped it with

buttered french bread slices

gruyere cheese

broiled it until it was just so

fully enjoyed it

though i knew

my big pan

was going to be tough to clean 

after caramelizing the onions

and 

cooking it for

such a very long time

to create a rich flavor

so 

after our meal

and

emptying out

the rest of the soup

i remembered 

an old kitchen trick

 reheat the pan

on low

with a little

water and dish soap

to unstick the brown bits

making for an easier cleanup

and

went off to work

on an art project

in the other room

music playing

windows open

nice breeze on a hot night

a familiar scent filled the air

wondered why the neighbors

were grilling out so late at night

took a break from the art

to get a drink of water

realized the 

‘grilling’

was going on right in my own kitchen

apparently

i’d forgotten about

my clever cleanup trick

that was fully in process

the water had cooked down long ago

the pan was almost on fire

inside was black and crackling

IMG_0866i quickly turned off the heat

grabbed the pan

with hot pads

put it into my sink

too hot to add any water

let it cool down overnight

in the morning

finally decided to

tackle the scrubbing job

now made so much harder

with the ultra char-grilled pan

went to pull it out of the sink

it seemed a bit stuck

wrestled with it a bit

finally used all of

my upper body muscle power

snapped it out of there

 flipped it over to see why

it was sticking

and

voila!

it had been so hot

that it had melted right to my sink

IMG_0864

and when i yanked it out

it took some of the ceramic with it
IMG_0874

 now

i need

a new pan

and

a new sink

but

damn, that soup was good.

—

“the only real stumbling block is fear of failure.

in cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”

― julia child

 

Jul15

too many cooks make a fine soup

Posted on by
Standard

how do

a dozen adults plus teenagers, toddlers, babies and dogs

all in one kitchen

end up with a perfect meal?

IMG_1365

m and j actively working on their teamwork skills

—

as the fine web

of family connections

spins and grows

the communal vacation kitchen

thrives and glows.

philmon

“in the long history of humankind…

those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.”


~ charles darwin

Jun19

the kitchen is a country in which there are always discoveries to be made. – Grimod de la Reynière

Posted on by
Standard

IMG_1149

yesterday

i wrote about my world of baking.

today

you can see a bit of where the magic happens.

and yes,

a good bottle of red,

hearts of all sizes,

animal head toothpicks,

and sparkly puffballs

are sometimes a part of the kitchen experience.

IMG_1152

I do like to cook; I’m sort of a mad scientist in the kitchen.
Kyle Chandler

 

Oct27

how to be sure it’s done –

Posted on by
Standard

when you hear the explosion, you will know that the food or drink you are reheating is ready. perhaps, beyond ready, though no need for a traditional kitchen timer. you just settle in with a good book, and when you hear that sudden burst, that familiar sound of something cracking, it startles you back into reality and you know it’s time. here are just a couple of recent examples:

Image

 

a nice cup of coffee with cream

Image

 

and then, a steaming bowl of tomato basil soup. (that now resembles a crime scene).

the applications are endless. you can use this with most any food item.

and while some may feel it may not be the best shortcut to take, it’s pretty much a failsafe system. 

—

Life is about timing.  – Carl Lewis