Friday, March 18, 2011

The Kitchen- the other side of growing food

When one decides to grow a kitchen garden, it is usually done with the goal of eventually eating the food you grow in mind.  In between the garden and the plate, the harvest usually has to go through a"special" place called the kitchen.  Our existing kitchen is "special" alright... especially awful.  Bad floor plan, bad lighting, no dishwasher, a very leaky faucet, squeaky cabinet doors and drawers that are hard to open and leave wood dust all over the contents.  These classic features may be considered charming and have stood the test of time.  We think some features are original 1920, others are from the 1950s or 1960s.  However, an unenjoyable kitchen makes for unenthusiastic cooking.

We love growing vegetables, but someone has to make use of the harvest and then someone has to wash the dishes.  A typical summer day for us consists of spending almost every second of daylight in the garden, coming inside around 9:00 pm and then staring at each other hoping someone will make supper.  We also tend to grow way more than we can use fresh and while we intend on "putting up" our excess crop, I tend to shove it away deep into the refrigerator until it turns to compost.  So, after 6 1/2 years, we are finally going to start our kitchen remodel.  

We plan to start demo tomorrow, so my to do list for today includes:
  • finish making freezer meals that will be easy to heat up in a toaster oven
  • finish setting up our temporary kitchen
  • empty the cabinets- throw away old pantry items and pack the dishes
We're not sure how long this remodel will take, but it's March 18 and we're hoping to have it done by June.  Wish us luck!

If you have any advice or encouragement please leave us a comment.
   
Here are some BEFORE shots of a typical messy day in our kitchen...  






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3 comments:

  1. ShariMarch 19, 2011 at 10:01 AM

    I tried to post a comment yesterday but now don't see it??

    Advice - know what you want down to the smallest detail before they ask and make sure they follow through. We ended up with trim that doesn't match anything else in the house and looks terrible. There are some things I made concessions on and now regret it so we've saved up money to fix the trim and make things the way they should have been.

    As for encouragement, it will be over before you know it and you'll love having a new kitchen.

    If it ever gets overwhelming come meet a fellow gardening/renovating neighbor. We're down the street at 4133.

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  2. Ms. Kale and Mr. Collard GreensMarch 20, 2011 at 12:06 AM

    Thanks for the great advice. I totally understand where you're coming from... there are so many details and just when I think I have it figured out, a contractor will try to sell me something different.

    I'd love to meet you. I'll say "hi" next time I'm walking the dog and see you outside. If your place is the one I'm thinking of, all the work you did on the front of your house looks awesome. We've watched the transformation.

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  3. AnonymousMarch 20, 2011 at 9:37 AM

    Looks like you're due for an update. I understand the desire for a well-functioning kitchen; in late summer/fall I spend a lot of time in the kitchen processing what's come out of the garden. I've just finished the last bit of broccoli, have one more serving of green beans, and the last pit of cauliflower left.

    Good luck!

    TNF

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