Welcome to In My Kitchen, a fascinating peak into kitchens around the world that is hosted each month by Maureen of the Orgasmic Chef.
My big news is the new kitchen in our vacation cabin. We spent a year in the planning and it is finally complete. Here are some before and after pictures.
Before – Fridge and stove wall
After – Fridge and Range Wall
Before – kitchen with door into pantry – the pantry door has been moved around the corner to create more room on the kitchen wall.
After – New Fridge – the old fridge was so close to the light switch that it turned off the kitchen lights each time you opened the freezer.
Before – Kitchen Island
After – Edge of New Island and Sink
The new wood floor really brightens up the space. In fact the entire room looks bigger.
There are a few tiny details to finish but we moved most things back in a couple of weeks ago.
My primary kitchen is in Oakland, and I am pleased to finally have some time to spend there. That is especially true as the summer season begins with all its lovely produce.
Coconut Water
In my kitchen I have coconut water. For drinking sometimes, but even better as a replacement for chicken broth or water. It adds a subtle coconut flavor to recipes and doesn’t overwhelm the other ingredients. Try it when cooking rice, especially jasmine rice. Or use it in a vegetable soup like spring carrot soup or this autumn butternut squash soup. I haven’t tried it yet but next I want to test the coconut water with a chicken curry.
In my kitchen I have the first of the vine ripened tomatoes from the farmer’s market, and fresh basil which is scenting my kitchen. That smell is the essence of summer to me.
Vine ripened tomatoes and basil
In my kitchen I have zucchini flowers, another treasure from the farmer’s market. I will use them in a summer risotto and a zucchini flower frittata.
Zucchini flowers
In my kitchen I have asparagus, the seasons are overlapping to my benefit. We roasted these on the grill using a recipe from The Frugal Hausfrau.
Asparagus
Lastly, in my kitchen I have sweet peas, the first from my garden. Actually they are everywhere in the house, not just the kitchen. They are one of my favorite flowers as they remind me of my English grandmother, she grew an entire fence of them at her bungalow in Teddington. It is a very fond memory.
Sweet peas
The sweet peas look delightful! As does everything else in your new kitchen!! 💗
Thank you!
What a transformation! I bet you are so happy – the red handles on the oven are great. Sorry I can’t think of the right name for them 🙂 Sweet peas are just gorgeous aren’t they – they need to come back into fashion.
They don’t ship well so they are not popular with commercial florists. That may have influenced them.
My basil from summer is still thriving, truly miraculous, just sad there are only tasteless winter tomatoes to pair them with. Sweet peas make me think of my English grandmother too. She had them growing along the side fence. The perfume was wonderful, but it’s been years since I last smelled them, yours are beautiful Liz.
Thank you, I try and grow several varieties with a least one that is highly scented. Walking into a room I am so reminded of her when I smell them.
your new kitchen is lovely. yes lighter flooring can make a world of difference to the feel of a room. they seem so much bigger. love all the produce too. and those pretty flowers.
Thank you.
Liz, WOW! Your new kitchen is so elegant and beautiful — I can imagine how happy you are cooking in it! I love how you moved your pantry door to make room for double drawers and larger cabinets on either side of the stove. Really a stunning re-do. Thanks for your tip on using coconut water to cook jasmine rice, too (among other things) — flavorful idea!