Kitchen Magick in the Ugly Kitchen

I have very little counter space in my kitchen. I've got about a foot on either side of the sink and that's it. The kitchen is badly designed. Over the years several people have started remodels but never finished. Which is why I don't have cabinets. These ugly white shelves were nailed to the wall. Which is why the wall is green with a huge white stripe- the last people who lived here didn't bother to paint BEFORE they nailed shelves to the wall. And they were too lazy to paint under the shelves so things are ugly. Really ugly.

The lack of counter space causes all sorts of problems. There is never enough space to prepare food. Harvesting herbs is a real challenge. I have to cut and prep on the porch then bring them inside to the oven to dry. There's not much room for potion making because in order to save space as soon as I use something I must put it back. There is no setting several spice bottles out and intuitively selecting whatever feels right. I couldn't make peanut brittle in this kitchen. Rolling out pie crusts or cookie dough almost can't be done. The kitchen is so awkward that major cooking projects are usually created next door in my mother-in-law's kitchen.

What I really wanted was an appliance counter. You know, the convenience of just turning on the blender instead of making space for it, dragging it out, realizing the cord wouldn't reach the outlet, then shoving something else around all while swearing and muttering. Since we're going to tear down the house, I couldn't see installing more cabinets. The shelves were just going to have to do. I intended to have the microwave up there until I realized the boys wouldn't be able to reach it.

I took away some breakable items which made much needed room. We're still working on the cast iron cookware. Will discovered I owned much more than he thought. He immediately seasoned a small pot with a lid and dubbed it the French Fry pot. Now he can reuse the oil. He's got his eye on another big pot. One of my skillets was so badly damaged it can't be used for cooking. Will thinks it will be good art project. He wants to paint it but he hasn't told me what the subject will be.

The best part about moving things around in the kitchen is now 1.) we can put food beside the stove while we are cooking and 2.) the dish drain relocated. We had an incident in which Will set fries in the sink and the youngest child washed his dish, getting soapy water on Will's dinner. Lack of counter space was just part of the problem. The other problem is the boys don't pay attention. Neither noticed the entire kitchen arrangement changed so this morning they washed their cereal bowls and put them on the empty counter instead of the dish drain. If anybody out there has a spell to make people pay attention I would really love to have it.