The Summer Kitchen

   Antebellum homes and people in equatorial countries have it right: all of the cooking should be done outside.  At least in the summer, anyway.
    Our townhome has a lovely,
white new stove. But the little beauty is not only electric, the heating elements are solid. It takes forever to heat up and twice as long to cool down.  This is not ideal in a home without air-conditioning in the summer. (Or any other time if you are asking the cooks.)  So, as a matter of self-preservation and adding a touch of urban bushman, we shifted the base of culinary operations to the back yard.

  And "yard" really is the operative word here.  It is narrow and also has to function as storage area, tool shed and lanai. We try to satisfy all functions without feeling we are in a junkyard. I insist upon that.  Our herbarium is split between the front porch (where onions, basil, oregano and rocket grow) and the side path (where mint & parsley thrive and green onions, chives, garlic give their best shot.) All close enough for clipping regardless of where one cooks.

Our Summer Kitchen is pretty much outfitted the same way our camping trips are: compact essentials gleaned from endless garage sale hunts.  Our two burner gas stove, the "Walkabout" model fits two small vessels or one large skillet with paella in it.  Outdoor cooking is also handy when somebody doesn't like the smell of the lamb kidneys I made just before he made the fishy paella.  But I digress.  Our gas can, a 1.25 kg "Jackaroo" (could these names get any more Australian sounding?) is as small as they come but the size works for us when it comes to space in the backyard, in the car and the time it takes to use it up.  Those large tanks are very heavy and are capable of keeping those mansions-on-wheels  retirees drive around in operating for awhile.  

You've seen outdoor kitchens- in photographs if not in person - and may wonder if our little set-up is really convenient. To this I say: We don't live on a sprawling ranch. Second, I spent a year cooking on a single burner which used hairspray can sized bottles of gas in Korea. Call me a spoiled One Pot Wonder with two burners and no need to change the hairspray can mid-meal.   And thirdly, one can get tired of tuna fish sandwiches five nights in a row. Boiling water is truly one of God's many miracles.