a very very very fine house [part II]

Well, no surprise, this second installment is all about the kitchen. Don't worry, there's not too much to say, but the kitchen is undeniably a room close to my heart and deserves special attention.

Outside of my home home, I've never lived in a place with a decent kitchen. The dorm kitchen was huge--four ovens, three sinks, an inordinate amount of counter space--but no matter how we tried to regulate it, it was always dirty, things were stolen [including freshly made key lime pies!], and microwaves exploded.

My other apartments have had reasonably large kitchens--in terms of foot space--but they always lacked counter space. And that's what makes my current kitchen so great, I have lots of counter space. More specifically, I have lots of granite counter space. There isn't a lot of walking room and cabinet space is limited, but for one person it's pretty perfect.

Almost all kitchens here have granite counters. Not only is there an overwhelming amount of granite in Turkey [at least 7 granite batholiths in just the Yozgat region], but granite is great for rolling dough because it stays cool. Traditionally, there was a lot of dough rolling in the Turkish home so granite was pretty necessary. It's not as important now--younger generations of women, who work or go to school, aren't learning to cook the traditional dishes or they don't have time to prepare them in their busy lives. But, the granite remains and I'm sure not complaining. I plan to take full advantage of it and make some pie crusts, which granite countertops are also great for.

The lack of cabinet space has also been a blessing in disguise, causing me to develop my GGLSM--Genius Grain and Legume Storage Method.

For the most part, tap water is not used as drinking water. So, we buy big jugs or liter bottles which, when empty, are usually just trashed. I started out with a few bottles and I felt guilty just throwing them away. Luckily, at the same time as I finished the bottles, I started buying grains and beans to cook with. I didn't have a place to store them and the plastic bags kept ripping over, so I had to come up some other solution...

ta-da!

It's a great system. I can't tell you how much rice I've saved by not spilling it all over the floor. Additionally, now I know when I'm running out of things, so I'm never stuck needing rice or bulgur in the middle of cooking. Even better, since it's out in the open, I actually remember that different grains and beans exist, so I've started to cook with more than just rice--which is great! Of course, I'm sure this is an entirely unoriginal idea, but i'm gonna take credit for it anyway.

sidenote #1: take a look at the towel behind the bottles. if you've got a keen eye, you'll notice something special/out-of-place about it...that's right, it says Williams-Sonoma on it. No, it's not a fake. Like Banana Republic, Williams-Sonoma produces its textiles in Turkey. And yep, I bought them 2 for 1.95 YTL...in the grocery store weekly sale bin. Know how much they cost back home? Fifteen dollars, my friend. Fifteen dollars. HA!


A more recent gadget addition to the kitchen is this brilliant dishtowel and plastic bag drying line I put above the sink. I gotta say, I might be a kitchen gadget genius in the making. Finally, an alternative to geology! That would be a great life choice, no? Becoming a gadget inventor... because, really, there aren't enough of those in the world already and my ideas are oh-so original.



Then there is my dreaded water heater. I light it in the morning before I take a shower but turn it off right after. When I first moved in the water heater was broken = no hot water = cold showers in the middle of winter. After some fighting with the emlak, I got it fixed. Now it works...almost too well--when it's on, all I get is BOILING skin-scorching water. Either way, it's a quick shower.



sidenote #2: all the knobs in my house are ters--opposite. the hot water heater is on when it's "closed" and off when it's "open"; the hot water faucet is the blue handle and the cold water faucet is the red one. the light switches are wrong too, on when they should be off and off when they should be on. curious.

So, that's pretty much the kitchen. It's a great little place. The only thing I miss is a radio or speakers to play music while I cook. But, it's no big deal. Sometimes just hearing the sizzles or chops or plop-plop boil bubbles is nice.

Oh, wait! There's one more thing that makes the kitchen such a special place...

















In my first post, I mentioned that I was spending way too much time at the Baharatci--the spice/nut/dried fruit market. Well, here is the proof. The supply and type of dried fruits and nuts are rotated almost weekly. I like to try new things and they have nearly 30 different types of raisins here. This week I think I'm gonna get some sunflower seeds--like leblebi, super popular here--and yellow plums. Delish. Note, however, the two bags in the front. Thanks to my dear Paleobotanist I have a little stash of my favorites--blueberries and cranberries--from Trader Joe's. You can't find either fruit here, so I'm saving them for an emotionally rainy day.

I have an absolutely awesome array of spices, quite a rainbow, totaling 23 in all. I have things like mustard seed and whole nutmeg, stuff I would never buy at home because they were too expensive or difficult to find. Heck, here I can get hundreds of real cinnamon, not cassia, sticks for a buck or two. McCormick sells you 4 or 5 for $3.50. Now, if you can figure out what all 23 are, you'll win a prize. I promise, there's nothing too foreign in the mix.

And now I can finish.

So, that's my kitchen...the best room in the house.