My Kitchen Evolution
If you have kitchen insecurity, you will enjoy my kitchen story. Our first kitchen was a pocket tucked into the corner of our married student housing apartment at Kansas State University. The entire unit was around 300 square feet, and so every appliance was half-sized to fit. The cabinets were metal, and the countertop and sink were a single piece of molded stainless steel. It was a crazy little kitchen, but we made it work.
As the years went by, Mark and I moved many times, and my kitchen was wildly different in each place. Along the way we bounced between apartments, houses, and condos. Our travels took us from Kansas to Wisconsin, Florida to California, and finally to North Carolina. Along the way, we even lived in Australia for a while.
After college, we remained in Kansas and moved into our first “real” apartment, where we enjoyed cheaply built cabinets, formica and appliances in a galley-style kitchen. We lasted there about a year before upgrading to a 1960s rock solid cabinet style when we bought our first house. It was dark and dated, but we loved it, and that is where I started making bread and testing recipes.
During a short relocation in Wisconsin, Mark’s employer arranged for us to live in a Resident’s Inn. I don’t need to describe the glory of that kitchen. Then we were back to the 1960s house, but decided to sell to take advantage of a temporary relocation in Florida. To my dismay, ants constantly threatened to invade the rental, which led to my enduring habit of keeping pantry items in glass or plastic containers.
Returning to Kansas, we acquired a split-level house with a big, country-style kitchen. I kept a massive garden, and bushel upon bushel of garden produce made its way through for processing. Feeling ambitious, we even planted grapes and made jelly with the kids.
Two years later, we sold that house and moved into another tiny apartment while we build “the big house” on 4.5 acres a mile down the road. For the first time, I designed and built my ideal kitchen. There, the kids learned to cook during their tween and teen years.
Kitchen Size Doesn’t Matter
My kitchen experiences continued as we bounced coasts and continents. But I learned one thing that I carry with me to this day. The kitchen size and quality doesn’t matter when you are confident. We have prepared beautiful recipes with the most primitive of kitchens.
And so my message to you is this. Make the recipes you love and enjoy. Focus on your favorite gear and ingredients, and do not let your kitchen hold you back.
ANALYZE ANY RECIPE’S NUTRITIONAL DATA ON HAPPY FORKS>