Tuesday, May 26, 2009

My Dream Kitchen

When I bought my house, I said, “oh well”, to the kitchen. The smallness of it didn’t matter anymore. Life was down to me, having cooked for others for so many years. I thought I was relieved the kitchen wouldn’t be my reason for being at this time of my life. I was wrong, my focus will always be preparing food, something nourishing just for myself or joyfully for others also.
My true dream kitchen would be outdoors. In the summers especially, all the cooking would be outdoors. Cooking with nature amidst the vegetable garden, a close extension with the Mother seems extremely gratifying. I haven’t even grilled outside in several years, laziness, paranoia of a gas grill, but have great hopes of changing that this season.
I think of colonial times and how the kitchen was separate from the house, and sometimes even outdoors. How civilized! To be sealed up in a house while cooking is really quite confining. Food odors linger, especially clinging to older homes. Not many of us have a kitchen that is open to the outdoors, where we can open all the windows and pretend we’re in nature. The next best thing is an outdoor shower.
Patricia

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