I know...I know...

I know its been a long time since I last posted. To be truthful, I've been having a lot of fun doing stuff instead of writing about doing it. Selfish...totally selfish. Sorry if that hurts anyone's feelings, but there it is.

I still don't quite have the new kitchen up to snuff, but damn...the room...I even have my kitchen bitch Tony slaving along side of me without stepping on each other's toes. Hell, even when the Cookie Confab met up we still had plenty of room with three cooks baking away.

First things first - I finally got Annie to loan me her camera. Mine is still conveniently MIA - being held hostage by the Underwear Gnomes I wouldn't doubt. You damn gnomes cannot have my lacey underalls!!!

Let me give you a tour of the new digs:

This is my new “kitchen” table. I got it at a used office supply place with the original intention of using it in the basement. However, once I got it home, the kitchen seemed like a perfect location. Its sturdy – I had Annie sit on it and hop around. Not a wiggle. Plus I love “putty” as a kitchen color theme, don’t you? Oh and the drawer holds 500 sheets of parchment paper! Ding Ding Ding!! Jackpot!!!

I added three really heavy duty bar stools I rescued from a thrift store. I had Tony hop around on these – still no wiggling. True, they are a little tall for the table, but are perfect for working at the sink or other counter tops.

This is my new stove. I know you were expecting something high end – maybe a Viking or something like that. Nope. Here is the best thing about this stove: It works. The stove at my old place was a no name, cheap-assed electric range. It probably worked fine when it was new – 30+ years ago! Towards the end the oven would vary up to 50 degrees and two of the stovetop elements would barely work. It’s one of the reasons why I stopped cooking at home and started eating out so much. It was depressing to get things prepped only to have them burst into flames halfway through baking time.

These are my cupboards. I think the term you are looking for is “retro” – not damn old. They may be a bit dated but I love them. They remind me of the cupboards in my mother’s kitchen – even down to the handles. Yeah they may be old, but to get the same quality of wood and construction in new cabinets, I would have to spend a small fortune. No MDFB here baby!

And this is my fridge. Once again – nothing fancy, but it works!! It doesn’t leak water all over the inside, the stuff in the freezer stays frozen and it doesn’t wheeze like an old steam engine every time the compressor comes on.

And last but not least - I now have a kitchen mascot! His name is Jim Swine. Loving crafted by my daughter, he holds a place of honor on top of our fridge.

You will get to see more of this facility as I get back into cooking. I am more interested in function than fashion – so don’t expect me to worry about how pretty something is as long as it works.

Next Time: The 2009 Cookie Confab!