Confessions

It's confession time...and there is much to confess today.  While the wait is still on for the the next phase of construction I feel the need to confess a few things.  

How often do you clean out your cabinets?  I evidently cleaned mine out in 2009.  That's the oldest date on some of the canned goods I found in the cabinets!   As stated before...the cabinets didn't work all that well... stuff would get pushed to the back and I would purchase more because I couldn't  see what was there.

One of the most startling finds in the cabinets was the collection of vinegar.  There was Balsamic vinegar, pear vinegar, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, tarragon vinegar, apple cider vinegar..the Walmart variety and the organic one with the "mother" in it.  I also had good old white vinegar.  As my mom would say...it must have been the kitchen fairy.   Who knew?  

The new kitchen will have a pantry with roll our shelves.  I am hoping to avoid the kitchen elves vinegar fetish with the pantry.  I am also hoping to avoid the "buy it because I might need it habit" I have had for years.  

When I traveled to England and France years ago I learned to appreciate the small kitchens of my husband's aunt and uncle.  Aunt Jacky had a lovely flat in the heart of Paris and her kitchen would have fit three times in mine.  She was an outstanding cook and prepared us a wonderful meal in that little kitchen.  The idea of using fresh food and shopping only for what you need for a few meals at a time made complete sense to me.  Uncle Ian lived in a cottage in the English countryside and he also prepared a marvelous meals in his small but well appointed kitchen.  Both of them only bought what they needed for a few days.  I realize I won't have the baker, the fish market, the meat market and the vegetable market within walking distance but I do think if I focus only on what I need for a few meals at a time I won't end up with collections of vinegar and small jars of pimento that aren't red any more.  Oh yes, and three unopened jars of capers!