Sacred Kitchen

If the kitchen is truly the heart of the house, my house was slowing moving toward a heart attack.

Okay, sounds dramatic, I know, but I really hated my kitchen until last week. It felt small and cluttered and it needed a good spring cleaning. My answer? Avoidance! Since my husband does most of our cooking, I had a good excuse to stay away from the kitchen.

While visiting friend and colleague, Susan Freeman, in Boulder, Colorado, I walked into her immaculate, inviting kitchen and got a good dose of inspiration to give my kitchen a mini make-over. Thank you Susan!

My husband and I cleaned out the kitchen cabinets and let go of many items we did not use. This created a lot more space in the cabinets so nothing is stored on the counter tops anymore. Now, our kitchen feels bigger and healthier! Next, we cleaned out the pantry and tossed out food that was expired or unwanted. Then, I pulled out the rubber gloves and cleaned under the sink, in the cabinets, the pantry and the appliances. 

To top all of this off, on sacred Sunday we went to Linen's N Things and purchased a new set of pots and pans along with a few other odds and ends. I've also decided to wash more of the dishes instead of relying solely on the dishwasher so I picked up a dish rack too.

Since I plan to learn to cook, I knew the first step was to make the kitchen as inviting and functional as possible. Yes, really! I am going to learn to cook. As someone who grew up haunted by eating disorders and body image problems, I spent many years seeing food as an enemy instead of my friend. However, there was something about visiting Susan that made me want to step into a new perspective with food preparation, the kitchen and making healthier choices. While the eating disorders of long ago have been healed, I guess a little residual dysfunction was still hanging on and separated me from the joy of cooking.

Here's to happy kitchens, delicious healthy meals and strong beating hearts that pump aliveness into bodies and homes!

If you'd like to recommend good cookbooks or share healthy, easy recipes with me, I'd be grateful! You can post them in the comments so others can enjoy them too or send them to Bev @  EmbraceYourGifts.com

Blessings!

Beverly

Comments

[Olivia]

What a beautiful kitchen, Bev! And your stainless steel pans are gorgeous as well...Many Happy Meals, O xxoo

[Judy]

Beverly, I've ALWAYS loved and envied your kitchen, and I'm excited you're open to the wonderful gifts it has to offer you! You'll always be the Queen of making Lavaflows in my book! YUM! YUM!

[Beverly]

Hey Olivia, thanks for dropping by! So good to "see" you....and Judy, I love your comment about focusing on the gifts of my kitchen...what a lovely way to put that...I have been way to focused on what I don't like about my kitchen up until now...and you know, it is about time to indulge in those wonderful LavaFlows again! ~Bev

[stacy]

i have begun the process of reclaiming my kitchen...since i moved all the art supplies out, it's looking practically naked! funny you should mention the dish rack - i've been wanting one. growing up, i lived in a house that didn't have a dishwasher, and i had the (then) unenviable task of washing the dinner dishes. now i recognize dish washing for the beautiful thing it is - especially when you have a partner who will wash and dry with you.

good work on your kitchen - can't wait to see it!

[Drew Kime]

If I had a kitchen like that you'd never get me out of it.

For cookbook recommendations, I'd start with Alton Brown's "I'm Just Here For The Food". Like his show on the Food Network, it's not as much about recipes as it is about techniques. So there's a chapter on broiling, a chapter on frying, a chapter on baking, etc. If you get the basics down - like understanding why substituting water for eggs in cookies will make them flatter - then you can invent your own recipes with more confidence.

As for healthy recipes, I think the healthiest thing you can do is cook from scratch and avoid all processed foods. Or as Michael Pollan calls them, "edible foodlike products". For a book based on that idea, you could try mine: "How To Cook Like Your Grandmother". http://book.CookLikeYourGrandmother.com

[Amanda]

What a lovely post! I grew up scared of food too but I do now love having a nice kitchen into which I can invite friends and family to eat the cakes I have baked (I adore baking, not so good with cooking but baking is my forte!) Good luck with the learning to cook and most of all enjoy it!

[Angela]

Isn't it wonderful to clean things out and start fresh? One of my favorite cookbooks (it's really a lot more than a cookbook) is The Balanced Plate by Renee' Loux. I've posted a couple of the recipes I've made from it on my blog in the past - and I've given it as a gift I love it so much. Happy cooking!