Things We Love to Hate

There are many things I love about cooking. I love the smells that come from my kitchen.  I love the sights that come from my kitchen. I love the organization of my kitchen. I love how well-stocked my kitchen pantry is and I especially love knowing it is my kitchen. 

Have you ever walked into your kitchen and thought 'I can't wait to eat that!? Well, I do. This morning is no exception. Tomorrow, I am doing an interview for the local newspaper, called the "Morning Call," that will be featured in the FOOD section. I am doing the article on a Pennsylvania treat called Funnycake. Never heard of it? Well it's part pie, part cake and part pudding. There is a buttery crust layer, a rich chocolate layer and a sweet, vanilla-scented cake layer. The crust is pre-baked and the two layers go in, one on top of the other; beginning with the chocolate. (I will share the recipe on my Recipes page.) Anyway, it is yummy and well, funny. It smells scrumptious! My kitchen smells of freshly baked pie crust, chocolate, butter and vanilla. YUM! What other room can you walk into and want to eat what you smell? None other, that's what room.

I also love what I see in my kitchen. I have happy things on my walls comprised of photographs of places I have been like France, Greece, Turkey and Egypt. I have things our daughters and my husband and mother have made like wood burning projects that say "Mi Amour" by our youngest daughter, Mia or a recipe for Vudalikia my mother, Ellen, wrote on a wood board and I burned on with a soldering iron so I would always have it. This particular decoration in my kitchen means a lot since my mother's hands are very arthritic. It took several days, working only a few minutes at a time to complete. It was made with nothing but love and I adore and treasure it! I also have a heart my husband, Russell, made me out of wood that says "I love you My Life." It's right above my stove so I can see it all the time. It too is a treasured item. I have hex signs and Welsh spoons. I have a toll painted small spice rack. Get the picture? Good.

I love the organization of my kitchen. I have pots, hanging from a pot rack, arranged by size and use, just the way I want them. I have nearly nothing on my counters because I want the space kept free of clutter. I have tasting spoons and varieties of salts above and to the right of my stove. I have a large, wooden basket of utensils to the left of my stove, in a corner. There are way too many things on my refrigerator but its MY refrigerator so no judging. 

I love how I have my kitchen pantry well-stocked. I can make most anything I want, anytime I want to make it. I have flours, sugars, leaveners, oils, flavorings... All the ingredients at an easy level and yes, alphabetized. Speaking of that, my spice rack is also alphabetized. No judging. It is after all, my kitchen! I can do what I wanna. Doing "what I wanna" is the precise reason I love knowing it is my kitchen!

There is one activity, typically done in the kitchen, I do not particularly love but kinda-sorta hate. Maybe it's one that's not your favorite too. Want to know what that activity is? Dealing with raw poultry. I am not going into details because it's icky. I hate dealing with raw poultry because it's just a little too real for me... There is no mistaking what the animal was before it got shrink-wrapped and brought home by me. It's difficult to detach from raw poultry don't ya think? Well I do. But, the job needs to get done so I do the job quickly and efficiently and love what I do with the ingredient once the part I hate is complete.

Do you have something you love about cooking and something you hate about it? Please share them in the comments section. Maybe we can help each other to look at our "hates" differently and find some new "loves."