If you’ve stumbled across my food and drink blog looking for somebody who makes Pinterest-perfect flat lays from recipes that turn out immaculately first time, every damn time then you’ve landed in the wrong destination. Despite my love for all things edible and slurp-able, the cookery gene that my familial predecessors possess in such bountiful abundance seems to have passed me by.
I mean, I guess my Slutty Red Velvet Blondies are pretty blimmin’ delicious and I do make a mean Chicken & Pesto Parmesan Gnocchi but I definitely wasn’t overly gifted in the cooking department. Most of the time, this is fine – I get by on the basics I can whip up or ignore my bank balance screaming at me not to eat out for the third time this week an do it anyway. However, when I do want to venture into unexplored home cooking territory, it can get a bit… stressful shall we say.
So, after a particularly gnarly altercation over a floppy banana pancake that wouldn’t rise Matila-style this weekend, I thought I’d put together some tips on how to make your kitchen more relaxing…
Technically, the kitchen should be the cleanest room in the home but realistically, we all lead busy (or just plain lazy) lives which can mean our kitchens can become a bit chaotic. If your kitchen is giving off stressful vibes, the first thing I’d advise doing is giving it a good clear out. Clean your work surfaces, declutter your cupboards to tidy them up and get rid of any machinery that only gets used once every millennium. A tidy kitchen makes for a tidy mind and space that you actually want to cook in.
As humans, natural light is like Mother Nature’s alternative to Kalms so if you there are any ways in which you could maximise the amount of daylight coming into the space, do it! I love those great big kitchens you see in the likes of Good Housekeeping that have a front door entry with side windows and whacking great skylights which leak sunbeams into the room throughout the day.
If you’re budget – like mine – doesn’t come anywhere close to front cover of Ideal Homes kind of material, there are a few things you can do to let as much light in as possible – one of the most effective being to keep blinds or curtains as flimsy and lightweight as possible.
As well as letting as much natural light in as possible, you also want to let as much fresh air in as you can. Cracking open a window or using a distractor fan if you have one will help disperse cooking smells and keep your kitchen fresher than a peppermint. I find this also helps to keep the space cool and calm as it can get super hot when you’re standing over the hob watching the peppers you had so arduously chopped and deseeded burn to a crisp before your very own eyes.
Last but not least… do try to remember that it’s just a kitchen and whether your omelette flips as beautifully as an olympic diver or not really isn’t a matter of life or death. So when it comes to home cooking here’s some advice from one amateur to another: put on some comfy clothes, take a deep breath and don’t forget to stick to measurements clearly. There’s no point having a wonderfully relaxed kitchen if you aren’t in the headspace to enjoy it!
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Collaborative post