Appliance Garage

I bought myself a treat today. I found an enamelled cast-iron dutch oven today and carried it around the store, debating about whether I could justify it until I thought my arms would fall off. I tend to do that. If I see something I want but don't particularly need, I pick it up and carry it around the store while I try to decide if my bank account will survive another dent. My arms beat the bank balance in this debate. The front door was closer than the back shelf where I found the pot when they threatened to give in; so the fight might not have been entirely fair.

Do you know how Heavy a cast iron pot is?

ANYWAY, I've had a hankering for a LeCreuset cast iron pot for a long time, but they're way, way out of my budget. This one was about 1/3 the price of the best price I've ever found for a real LeCreuset, and I'm hoping that it's close enough that I can pretend.

When I got home, however, I was reminded of something important. I don't have enough space for this new little treat. The fact is, I'm out of cupboard space. I don't even have space for the toaster oven that I bought this spring or the blender that I got for my last birthday. They're living on my kitchen counters - and I hate clutter.

I'm not sure how this happened. My first house had a grand total of three cupboards and I managed to live with all of my kitchen supplies contained to those cupboards. This house has at least triple the cupboard space of the old one - and a pantry. But then I went and learned to cook from scratch, my stockpots reproduced like rabbits; and suddenly the kitchen is bursting at the seams.

As things stand, kitchen equipment that I don't use fairly regularly is housed in the basement. I guess I'll have to sort through, and schlep even more stuff down there for now.

In the meantime, though, I've got a plan.

I'm going to make an appliance garage.

And I don't mean one of those dinky boxes that holds a toaster.

I'm going to dedicate an entire room to the storage and display of all my kitchen toys.

I'm going to move the laundry room to the basement, move the freezer upstairs to the former-laundry-come-appliance room and build shelves all around the room to store my stuff. Stock pots and Slow Cookers? Come on in! Rice cooker? Blender? Mix Master? Toaster? Cuisinart? There'll be room for it all.

It'll be awesome.

I'll be the envy of the neighbourhood.

EVERYBODY will want a room just like mine.

Yep. That's what I'm going to do.

Someday.

Right after I win the lottery.










Pardon me while I attempt to get a grip, and remind myself that I'm not nearly as wealthy as I'd like to be. In the meantime, I'm going to cheer myself by breaking in my not-a-real-LeCreuset with a pot of soup.

Maple Curried Sweet Potato Soup anyone?