Moolie - Happy Thanksgiving :)

[savingdogs]

Moolie that sounds so similar to where I'm at with my spring planting! I wish I had the area to start seeds however. I need a better spot to accomplish that!

 

[moolie]

SD, can you put a tray of pots on top of your fridge? That's usually a warm spot.

At my house I have to keep any plants out of cat reach, which can get tricky! So the top of the fridge is just a little too accessible for them but my shelves work well.

 

[savingdogs]

I have no window in my kitchen and it is teeny tiny, the top of the fridge is already occupied! I have the cat issue as well. I've gotten around that by booby-trapping the seed flats with all kinds of lightweight things that would fall over and scare the cats should they step too close. It looks utterly ridiculous! But I only have room for two little trays.

I really wanted to start some indoor pumpkins and just don't have enough space.

We are creating raised beds outside however, that should be pretty useful!

 

[valmom]

I am trying desperately to not start seeds yet! I always start too early and have awful leggy plants that take over the entire sun room before I can put them outside!

Aw, heck, who am I kidding. If you are starting seeds in Canada, surely I can start them here!

 

[moolie]

Lol, and I'm a good two weeks late

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

I'd be thrilled to get one of your kefir grains if you have any left! I can paypal you... pm me if you want!

 

[framing fowl]

Just got caught up on your journal Moolie. Love the idea of once a month cooking. I try to get the bulk of a weeks main dishes done on either Saturdays or Mondays but then I end up doing baked goods as well and it's not as organized as I would like. Oh for more counter space or prep room...

When you cook this way, does it take a lot of counter space? I have about 30" between my stove and sink and then a small L between the sink and fridge. Not very useable. Then I have 4 feet over on the other side of the room. Lots of walking and cleaning!

 

[moolie]

I'd be thrilled to get one of your kefir grains if you have any left! I can paypal you... pm me if you want!

I just PM'd you, no charge at all--I'm happy to mail one to you

 

[moolie]

When you cook this way, does it take a lot of counter space? I have about 30" between my stove and sink and then a small L between the sink and fridge. Not very useable. Then I have 4 feet over on the other side of the room. Lots of walking and cleaning!

I never thought much about how much space it takes up, but I don't have a lot of countertop space.

My cabinets form a u-shape, with the open end facing the kitchen table in front of the window at the back of the house. My sink is in the middle of the right-hand side (as you face into the u from the kitchen table) with the fridge at the end closest to the table, and my stove is in the middle of the u, so the only countertop I have for prep is a 30" peninsula between the kitchen and family room on the side opposite the sink and fridge. Hope all that made sense!

Because of this I totally hear you on lots of walking when cooking, because my work area is farthest from the fridge. Also, because the countertops on either side of my sink are so small (between the sink and the fridge it's only the 24" over the dishwasher, on the other side it is the 24" where the cabinets turn the corner) the dishes really pile up when I'm doing an all day cook and I have to keep on top of them.

I guess it is a little tight on space, but I never though about it because I'm used to it.

I use my kitchen table a lot as I work--I put my cooling racks there to cool casseroles down a bit before getting them into the fridge to cool before freezing. I also do some of my cutting and mixing there, as sitting down keeps my feet from getting too sore from standing all day (we have a tile floor in our kitchen and it's hard on the feet).

My biggest issue seems to be fridge space overnight between my big shopping day and my big cooking day, and then again as everything is cooling down before it goes into the freezer. And, if I don't plan properly and get too many dishes on the go at once, not enough burners on the stove!

One thing that helps is that stir fries and a lot of my chicken recipes just call for freezing the raw meat in a zipper freezer bag with the sauce or marinade ingredients, so I don't cook most of these. Most of the cooking is browning ground meat or chunks like stew meat and I have a big enameled cast iron pot that I can do 4 lbs in at a time, then I portion it out in quarters to mix up with whatever goes into each individual dish. Same with stew beef, I brown more than one package up in the large pot, then put the actual recipes together in their own casserole dishes.

Oh, and I only once-a-month-cook main dishes for dinners, the way I divide them up there is usually something leftover for both my hubbie and me to have for lunch the next day (he takes his to work).

 

[moolie]

I forgot to post photos of what I did with my beef stew from cooking day, I made 8 individual meat pies:

We had 4 for dinner tonight (forgot to take a photo of the baked pies ) and had enough pastry left over to make the rest of the stew into a pot pie for the freezer: