Mama Ark says: "It was time to pitch useless items, like these bottle openers. Do I really need 5? Our standby beer in the house is now a twist-off. I kept one for craft beers, but these all went to Goodwill."Yesterday we surveyed you Cure-Takers to see how it was going. (Only a few of you have taken the survey; take it here!) It seems like many of you are still working on getting your kitchen in shape and all cleaned up for spring cooking, optimizing and tweaking to make it a better place to work. But others of you said you'd like a little inspiration, and we're wondering: How can we help?
Some of you are still pitching extra tools and getting equipped; Mama Ark also said that she finally bought a Microplane. Congrats -- enjoy it!! She also would love to know what extras you've pitched out of your kitchen drawers.
Others of you are working on cleaning and organizing, but discouraged by how quickly the kitchen gets out of shape. Here are some comments:
The biggest problem I'm facing is keeping my kitchen clean. We use it every day - for meals, to make baby foods, treats and more, so it gets grubby quickly. Time to break out the cleaning vinegar again! - phillippa im having trouble keeping mine organized too, i think half the problem is im doing the home cure at the same time, and the kicthen counters have become a workbench for tools and odds and ends that dont have a home yet. The organizing is going slow, I'll try different things out for a few days and see how it feels when cooking so its a slow process for me. - adamwa
All of that is completely normal, of course; I had to "re-Cure" my fridge last night of some leftovers from a big test cooking project. The freezer is now stocked, and my fridge is really wiped out and clean, ready for a new batch of groceries. I also readjusted the shelves in my very small pantry to hold the crackers and peanut butter better. It was great to have all of your photos and stories as inspiration!
Now, we want to know how we can help, as we move forward with more cooking inspiration and some meal-planning steps next week. How can we help you make your kitchen a better place to cook?
Remind us here of anything you asked for when you signed up, or new things that you would like to see posts on and we will do our best to oblige!
• Send us photos!
• Current Kitchen Cure Assignment: Kitchen Cure Week #4: Cooking Basics and One New Technique
Kitchen Cure 2009 Process
• The week's assignment is posted on Monday - You have a week and a full weekend to get it done before moving onto the next thing.
• Check-in and update is posted on Friday - We'll do a check-in like this one every Friday, so you can see how it's going for everyone and get some inspiration to push you through the weekend.
• Assignment-related posts every day! - Every day we'll post one or two tips, good ideas, or resources to help you complete this week's assignment.
• Flickr Group: 2009 Kitchen Cure - For sharing photos
• Submit your photos and updates directly to The Kitchn - You can also send your photos and updates directly to us. This is the first place we'll look when putting together these check-in posts.
• Kitchen Cure Homepage - You can always access all assignments, check-ins, submission form, tip posts, and the discussion board right here on the Kitchen Cure homepage.
(Image: Mama Ark)
One of the things I asked for is a way to organize my recipes. Especially those ones that I have earmarked to try but haven't yet gotten around to doing yet and those that I have tried, are keepers and yet don't seem to make their way back into the repertoire.
view rosebud's profile
When I saw this post's title and picture, I first thought, "You know, a beer DOES help me get cooking!"
view JessicaB's profile
Rosebud, I have one of those accordian style folders to store recipes that I've printed or ripped out of various magazines/newspapers. I can organize it by category: breakfast, cookies, meat, etc. My is actually rather pretty, my mother-in-law purchased it at a stationary store. I store it with my cookbooks.
view Mama Ark's profile
Spices! Herbs and spices! I'm all ready to make a soup from scratch, no recipe, just inspiration, and I think I've almost got it down but I've realised I don't know how to season!
view phillippa's profile
I find it relatively easy to maintain "clean and tidy". Not having children helps a lot, and my husband willingly washes the dishes that don't go in the dishwasher, so my main areas of focus are provisioning, meal planning and cleaning surfaces.
Habits that I find work for me in the "clean and tidy" stakes are:
1. Putting away all clean, dry dishes from the dishrack as soon as I walk into the kitchen in the morning, so we start the day clutter free.
2. Putting away clean dishes from the dishwasher as soon as they have dried. Dirty dishes go straight in there. (My mum leaves clean ones in the dishwasher and dirty ones on the sink ... I hate that!)
3. Regularly investing short periods of time to do "special" cleaning tasks in the kitchen like wiping the top of the refrigerator, cleaning a bank of cupboard doors, cleaning the benchtops with scouring cleaner or cleaning the light fitting.
4. Going through the fridge before each shopping trip to check what we have, what needs to go on the "priority usage" list and what we need to buy. May empty and wipe a shelf during that exercise.
5. As storage containers are emptied, I transfer the contents into smaller containers. This frees up space in the cupboard for replenishment.
6. Creating "landing places" for incoming items so they don't get left on my kitchen worktop. Shopping goes away or onto a couple of stools near the door. Keys have their own dish right on the end of the bench, near the door (and can always be found quickly).
view MrsSparkles's profile
I rediscovered two wonderful little tools I'd forgotten I had. A little plastic cutting board with a garlic/ginger grater on the side that I bought in Japan. And a little ceramic garlic/ginger grater. These are wonderful! And much easier to use for grating my ginger. I'll take a photo to post soon.
view petitshoo's profile
The thing that always gets me excited to cook is the possibility enjoying the meal with others. Cooking for my partner, great. Cooking for a few friends, fantastic! The more the.
view cumulus's profile