My Kitchen

This post has been a long time coming. Here is the blog post about my kitchen appliances. More specifically, my countertop stove and glorified toaster oven. When I first laid eyes on the kitchen back in November I was thinking, 'can I actually cook with these things?' The answer, at least concerning the stove, is yes! As for the 'oven', I have only tried to reheat a hamburger which didn't quite turn. The middle was lukewarm and I burned the bun so bad that I could have throw it against the wall and it would have cracked into a million pieces. By some miracle, Gretchen did manage to bake two pies and a green bean casserole in it. I've been too intimidated to try.

The countertop stove works like a charm. All you have to do is turn on the gas tank that is below the stove in a cupboard, turn the knob and light it with the bright green lighter that you see in the photo.

The silver contraption on the middle burner is a dzejva (jezva) which is actually the Serbian word, I forget the name for it in Arabic. Since there is no word for it in English, at least not that I know of, I continue to use the Serbian word as it's the only one I know, which I'm sure is rather confusing. It's what is used to make Turkish coffee, the strong stuff with coffee dregs at the bottom of the cup. Don't forget for that stuff to settle or else you will have a mouthfull of fine coffee grinds. Since we don't have a teapot, I use this to heat water in when I'm making tea or coffee. And since I don't have a coffeemaker, I use the french press that came with the apartment and voila, perfect American coffee.

The blue water container is our source of drinking water that we have delivered every week or so. It's less than $2 so it's quite a deal. We could get one of those fancy water coolers but they cost a lot of money, at least a hundred dollars if not more. So, we stick with the pump and just stick the container on the kitchen counter. At least it's making my right arm stronger.

So the next time you do some cooking, baking or have the luxury of reheating something in the microwave, think of how awesome it is that you have nifty kitchen appliances. It's funny the things you take for granted until they are gone....or downgraded.