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Welcome

Hi! Welcome to my new blog - The Unkempt Kitchen
To learn about me and this blog, check out "The Cook" tab at the top.

One thing that I thought would be good to start out with is my recommendations for a small kitchen. I've been living with a small kitchen for the past seven years. Granted, this is small for South Carolina. This isn't New York City small, so small I can fit my kitchen in a closet small. Our first kitchen was a galley style kitchen where you couldn't have the fridge and oven open at the same time. Now ours is larger but there still is limited counter space and out dated appliances (no dishwasher! Eek!). This means that the larger appliances (stand mixers, food processors, blenders) don't get taken out much, if ever. I am always on the border of throwing out our ginormous microwave but then I remember how helpful it is when you're trying to fix a quick lunch or heat something up and you want to dirty the minimum number of dishes.
It's funny how you re-think cooking when you have to wash all your dishes by hand. It's made me buy more silverware and many times I've re-thought cooking because of this.
Anyway, having a small kitchen, there are a few small kitchen appliances I've decided are most needed or used:

  • a mini food processor - I use mine for everything from chopping nuts to making pesto and salsa. I use it to make mayo and hummus. So helpful!
  • a stick hand blender - I use this for soups and making fresh whipped cream. I can't imagine trying to put all my soup into a blender when I can just stick this in my soup and whiz it around for awhile. One day I will get one with a detachable blade section so it will be easier to wash. 
  • a toaster oven - I had to throw mine away but I can't wait to get another one day. So great when you don't want to turn on the oven. But instead of this I've been using a griddle pan on my stove and it works pretty well. 
  • a hot water kettle - basically an electric tea kettle to heat up water to boiling for any use - tea, French Press Coffee, soups, etc. (Lately I've been using this stock concentrate that you can get in the stores. It's a paste that you dip out what you need and mix with boiling water. So easy and you don't end up wasting any. But one day I plan to start making my own stock, I just haven't attempted it yet.)
  • hand mixer - I actually have my mom's old hand mixer that I use for cookies, cakes and whatever else needs to be mixed. It's great and takes up a lot less space than a stand mixer. 
  • french press - I like coffee. My husband drinks coffee every day. We don't usually have multiple cups a day so a french press is great for us. It doesn't take up any counter space and is easy to clean. We just use our water kettle and coffee is made in a few minutes. 
  • a pastry cutter - ever seen one? you can use a fork but for just a few dollars you can grab a pastry cutter and use to make great biscuits and other baked goods. I love making my own biscuits. yum. Also using one makes you feel connected to the generations of women who have been making biscuits (at least it does for me!).
Ok well I think that's enough for now. I gotta get some food posted for you! Tonight's recipe is my version of slow cooker veggie pot pie - my first time attempting this version. And I have biscuits with it!
Stay tuned!
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