The joys of kitchens

 

 

Buying the Shoebox was fairly bonkers when I thought about it.  I enjoy cooking and gardening a lot, but the Shoebox's garden is a back yard, while the kitchen is the size of a walk-in wardrobe.  Everything's a compromise.  In Hastings Old Town large gardens are exceptional, and a garden or yard with sunshine and any view even more so.  Our little back yard has both light and a view of the sea, so we can't complain.

 

I was a bit downcast about the kitchen, initially, but with the aid of a local firm it has been totally transformed.  Somehow we now have room for a double oven, fridge-freezer and dishwasher as well as a small table and a couple of chairs.  The new oven's fan system seems remarkably effective, and there's enough cupboard space for me not to feel totally paranoid about storage.  But I confess that my real joy is the induction hob.  It's frighteningly efficient - we timed it against the electric kettle and it heated water to boiling point at exactly the same speed.  Reducing the heat gives as rapid a response as gas.  And it's easy to keep clean.  So it's got everything going for it.

 

The downside has been the need to buy new saucepans - but I didn't feel too guilty about that since the previous ones were twenty years old and found a good home with my formerly homeless friend John, who is now off the streets courtesy of a council flat.  We've unpacked all the cookery books from the packing cases so we're at last able to start returning some of the hospitality we've enjoyed from others.  After all, a kitchen isn't a joy in itself, it's what you produce from it that counts!

 

Antony Mair