Lazy Sunday 4: spring cleaning kitchen

Glass scale, kids like to step on too, as they can see everything move! Photos below, reminds me of swimsuit time will once again be upon us after winter, so not to gorge too much on all the delicious winter and holiday foods! Halloween, Day of the Dead, Thanksgiving, St Lucia, 3 huge meals of Christmas and Jul, New Years, Valentines, all the birthdays from now til then, St Patrick´s, Easter. Wow, just endless holiday meals, on top of the usual heavy winter foods, like hunter´s stews of lamb, mutton, beef; large dumplings both savory and sweet (apple dumplings!), butter, cream, sour cream, sour cream porridge, grøt, etc! The photos on the fridge, and the scale in the kitchen. It´s a Good Thing!:)

Their water bottles for matpakk (packed lunches).

More cookbooks, in the kitchen, above and below

 And the top awkward triangular shaped understairs cupboard, is filled with more cookbooks, in both magazine and book form. Regional, seasonal, canning and pickling, etc.

The side cabinet is drawer pullouts, which I´ve filled with Food scale for making large batches of cookies for the holidays and metal cookie cutters, and metal tart tins of different sizes, and baking papers.

Plastic bags, ice bags, ziplocks in this drawer.

Endless wooden things, spoons with slots and holes, wooden egg beaters, flat wooden spoons, wooden cups, wooden handled moose cheese cutter and board, etc. The kids cooking things are also in here---tiny wooden rolling pins, etc.

Metal things: scissors, steamers, flat and round metal whisks, metal egg beaters, metal beaters for making whipped cream, sharp metal tomato and egg slicers, metal butter curlers, etc.  I really like having all the old fashioned hand tools, and it makes things easier, as I don´t use machines.

Wooden pull-out cutting boards

Slatted wooden bread board. You put the fresh loaf of bread on there, then use a bread knife to slice off what thickness you want. The crumbs go into the bottom, not all over the counter. Later, you take off the slotted top, throw away the crumbs.

Or, there is also a machine at the stores which will slice your fresh loafs for you in a few minutes, with bags and ties for putting it all sliced in a bread bag which breathes so the bread lasts longer and is sliced. But I like slicing it usually as we use it, as it dries out quicker once sliced.

A few different bread knives above. Below, the drawer with the spoons, etc. I like the old fashioned type of wooden handled, copper riveted utensils, so spent a while at various charity shops finding them! The knives are very pretty, not too sharp, and you can hang them too from hooks. The kids have their own smaller sets in one of the back drawers, and other sets they can choose from, and help set the table. The like helping, and being able to get things themselves, even though they are only 2, 5 and 6. Eldest too helps out of course---she even washed dishes, and can already cook a mean Vodka carbonara pasta, etc. V proud of them:)

Trying to organize the cupboards. Square boxes have rising agents (smaller box) and all types of spices, whole and dried, including grinders etc. Baskets have soaps (smaller basket), and pastas of all sorts (larger picnic baskets)....

This tiny cupboard, has sugars (the Greek yogurt containers have sugar with a vanilla bean inside for vanilla sugars), molasses and treacles etc (boxes), flours, polenta etc. Small space but all of it is used!

The warming oven has various baking pans in it when not warming foods

The tiny space beside the stove/oven is just right for step stools

Usually when not in use, I store various pots and pans, metal and glass bowls, both in the oven, and on top and beside it.

Dried spices and spice mixes are in the twirly spice rack above

See previous kitchen post. This area, looking a bit crowded is well-used storage, for diaper bag from antique fjord sea bag; rices, dried beans and canned goods, hidden behind a nice white shutter type door. It´s a recycled bathroom wall cabinet I instead put on the floor in the kitchen. Above, is a fold-out wall table, and two stools, typical for small kitchens here! Space is at a premium so it is no luxury to not use it well!:) . Baskets hold various things, from cookbooks and recipes, to fresh fruit and veggies, fresh flowers and herb plants!:)

More spices, whole cardamoms, cloves etc, lavender buds....in jars. Drawers have pens etc. Hooks below hold oven mitts and stuff the kids like to add, such as fabric flowers from Grandma in America:) and their magnet moose E likes to move from the fridge by her little magnet, to the metal holder here.

Trugs hold breads, fruit, flower, herbs from the garden, fresh made breakfast pastries, or cooking utensils. Matpakk (kids lunch boxes). Stacks of various pots and pans, usually on or in the stove or oven.


And Cookie Monster, our resident Chef extraordinaire! ,)