MY KITCHEN
By way of introduction, I am Rowena Morrel, creator of In The Kitchen Magazine and In The Kitchen Online. Come on in to my kitchen—let’s get acquainted. Here is where I spend the majority of my time. My kitchen is painted a magical color of blue that seems to change with the day time sky. The front wall is all glass and overlooks my enclosed patio appointed with hand tools and small farm implement (circa 1900-1930), remains of my childhood on a farm in Louisa County Virginia. The patio hosts my tiny vegetable and herb garden. Above the sliding glass door and extended across the base cabinet area is a long narrow shelf that holds another collection of house wares from the farm. Long ago I removed the upper cabinet doors to create a more country look and feel.
Though this 1965 townhouse kitchen is fairly large (where we dine, read and watch TV) the cooking area is quite small, with only one work station and a simple trio of appliances. Mixer with meat grinder and pasta machine, a food processor, and coffee maker complete the complement of appliances. I have none of the appliances most often acquired and seldom used by frenzied would be cooks. I prefer to slice and dice by hand; requiring a good set of knives and I should mention a full set of cast iron pots and pans collected over the last 60 years, a set of waterless stainless covered cast iron pans (now over 40 years old), some enamel covered cast iron and a professional set of bake ware. I use stone crocks to hold my utensils and keep a big stack of tea towels in a basket. We don’t use paper kitchen products. Materials for composting and recycling are out side in a storage shed where the freezer is located. This small kitchen is equipped for real cooking, the drawback is insufficient storage space.
Recently, I went to William Sonoma in Short Pump, Virginia, gift card in hand, and could not find anything that was reasonably affordable and that was not a replica of my originals—beautiful, shiny and new–but nothing seemed more useful than my own lifetime collection.
The greatest challenge is space. Ron, my husband, customized every possible square inch of space to enhance storage, building shelves in the closet that once housed only the washer and dryer. This area is now my pantry. Dishes are stored in an old sideboard flanked by glass front bookcases where home canned goods and a collection of old tin molds are kept. Another built-in provides pantry space for locally grown and dried or homemade items such as beans, noodles, nuts, herbs and such, along with home made vinegars all stored in old glass jars and crocks. Handmade baskets hang in front of the window and hold sundries for canning and drying herbs, fruits and vegetables.
Here I spend a good part of my day, preparing our meals, faithfully practicing progressive cooking, carefully preserving our food stuffs for future use, developing new recipes, kitchen testing old ones and creating the Monthly Meal Planner. From my small culinary haven, I create the recipes and menus for In The Kitchen Magazine and In The Kitchen Online. Come and visit me often.
