At the moment I have three kitchens, which is at least one too many. The kitchen of our Oakland house is mostly empty, the floors are being replaced and stained. It goes on the market on January 28, my Mom’s birthday. I hope it is an auspicious day.
Oakland Kitchen
Oakland Kitchen
I will be sad to leave the back splash of hand painted tiles. Chris painted them for us when I discovered that similar painted ones at the tile store were $50 each. There is no way to remove them without ruining the wall.
Our second kitchen is in Swan’s Marketplace co-housing. We were lucky to find a fully furnished apartment that we could rent for a few months. Even better, it is across the courtyard from a friend’s apartment. I have always wanted to experience co-housing and it is lovely!
Swan’s Co-housing kitchen
Swan’s Co-housing kitchen
And kitchen number three is at our Fort Bragg home, my refuge with the dogs. I was fortunate to have a friend and her dogs visit over the Christmas holiday, so we had a “pack” and a delightfully furry time.
Quinn, Heather, Casey and Oreo
Casey and Oreo – any snacks for us? We like messy cooks.
They like to hang out with me in the kitchen.
What else is in my kitchen this month? This red typewriter case is a family heirloom, rediscovered in the back of the garage when we were clearing it. For many years it was the family picnic case, always at the ready for an impromptu meal on the road. I think at one time it actually held my mother’s manual typewriter, the ones she typed for her cooking classes. But mostly I remember it as containing “the essentials” if we were renting an ill-equipped cabin or needed to stop for lunch on a long drive or road trip.
The Typewriter Case
Inside the typewriter case
In my temporary kitchen I have a soda stream. This is an amazing gadget that turns ordinary tap water into soda water. This is very environmentally wise if you consider all the plastic or glass bottles used for fizzy water.
Sodasstream
In my kitchen I have a new book by Nigel Slater “The Christmas Chronicles”. This is for next Christmas, because of the move we didn’t have time for much of one this year. I have plans and high hopes for Christmas 2018.
Nigel Slater “The Christmas Chronicles”
I think all the new foods at the market are fascinating, fancy chickpea crumbs to replace panko.
Chickpea crumbs
Here is another gem, freeze-dried blueberries. I will use them to flavor my overnight sous vide oatmeal. They also have freeze-dried strawberries and pineapple.
Freeze dried blueberries
In my kitchen I have harvested Meyer lemons from the backyard tree in Oakland.
Meyer Lemons
And avocados and fruit from the store.
Avocados, tangerines, pears
And lastly, new in my kitchen is this lovely bowl from Heath Ceramics. It matches the salad bowl I received for my birthday and was a very considerate Christmas gift.
Heath Ceramic Bowl
You can go to Sherry’s Pickings for the monthly glimpse into kitchens around the world. Happy New Year everyone!
I have the same book! Haven’t had time to open it yet. Good luck with everything!
I didn’t get it until after Christmas so haven’t had time to read it either. Let me know if you find a treasure in it. I am looking forward to using it next holiday season.
Love that typewriter case. Happy new year!
Thank you and Happy New Year to you as well.
I love a good family heirloom and that red typewriter case looks so special. Happy new year (and good luck with selling the house)!
Thank you and happy new year to you as well!
I’ve never seen chick pea crumbs here but I imagine they will appear soon enough- love the idea. The ceramic bowl is beautiful. Good luck with making your final move Liz.
Happy New Year Francesca and thank you.
What a fun post, Liz! Good luck on the sale – it looks like a lot of work is going into the old kitchen…it looks gorgeous! I don’t even know what to say about sous vide oatmeal, but it makes sense, it really does, it just seems like such a juxtaposition of ingredient to method – or maybe it’s that I usually see sous vide steak!
Well big changes coming! As always, I look forward to hearing more!
Actually I am not so fond of sous vide steak but chicken breasts or turkey are amazing.
🙂
Keeping emergency picnic (or temp lodging) equipment in a handy case is a nice idea, and an old typewriter case from the bad old days is a nice choice of container. I hope you have a nice place to move to when your co-housing sublet is over.
happy new year and good times in 2018…
from mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Hi Mae, Happy New Year! I have a fantasy of a picnic basket at the ready in the back of the car for impromptu adventures.
I am curious about the chickpea crumbs. And a Happy New Year to you
I used them to bread a chicken breast, then browned it in olive oil. I am imagining a tomato and chickpea salad with red onion on the side (if it were to be tomato season). They were very good.
I love this–the feeling of what we have in our kitchen and the meanings we assign to them. The typewriter is so lovely!
Thank you Laura and Happy New Year.
Ha! I love that re-purposed vintage typewriter case. It makes me want to start scavenging vintage shops for one of my own. Good luck on the sale of your Oakland house!
Thank you, and Happy New Year to you.
Those chickpea crumbs look interesting. I wonder how they make them? Great re-use of an old typewriter case. Oh – thanks for posting Nigel Slater’s book. I love his approach to food and this is one of his cookbooks I do not have. I can feel that book buying urge coming on. Happy New Year!
It’s actually the first one I have by him, I like his writing style. Happy New Year to you as well.
He wrote a two volume series – one on Vegetables and on on Fruit based on his urban garden – which are my favourites.
I will look for them, we hope to start a raised bed garden this summer. A deer fence is needed first plus something to keep out gophers.
Great to see you enjoying the Soda Stream Liz – something I couldn’t live without!
What a wonderful invention Laura!
I can’t even keep up with my one kitchen, I can’t imagine three!! Good luck with the house sale. Happy New Year!
hi Liz and happy new year! wow 3 kitchens is a lot:) i love that ceramic bowl- so pretty. and i am a huge fan of nigel slater. I loved watching his tv show. he has such a great voice and style. mm chickpea crumbs? i think i may try making my own. i usually use cornflake crumbs as i don’t like breadcrumbs much. we are thinking of getting a soda stream too as i hate all those plastic bottles. cheers and have a great 2018! sherry x
Happy New Year Sherry and thank you for hosting IMK. Let me know how you make the chickpea panko, I would love a recipe. I found them in one grocery store but haven’t seen them again. I am about to take a look on Amazon but would rather make my own. The soda stream is a marvelous invention.