Kitchen cupboards reorganised! And a Giveaway!
Goodness me, that was a wearisome job!
I had found that the cupboards had got very untidy and, because they were not very well organised, it was difficult to find things and to put things away neatly. I'm not sure if they are better organised now, but we'll see.
This is the big larder cupboard in the corner of the kitchen. I used to keep my baking ingredients on the top shelf, "extra" items (Mr FD's English tea, bought in bulk in the UK, beans, gravy granules etc) & stock cubes/herbs etc on the second shelf, oils and the frying pan on the third, mixing bowls & the big stock pot on the fourth and recycling in the bottom. The bottom three shelves are still basically the same, but tidier! I've put my tins & jars on the second shelf now and the top shelf is for the raclette machine and the various mixing implements which had been variously scattered on whichever shelf had a bit of space. These are things I don't use very often, so it doesn't matter if they require a bit more care getting them down...my soup zuzzer is right at the front however, as that's used at least once a week!
This cupboard is under the work surface. The recipe book shelf has not changed, but is tidier. The second shelf had contained the plastic bags/cling film/foil boxes, plus the raclette machine, electric carving knife etc. However it was always messy and you could never find what you wanted, with binbags tossing themselves on the floor at every opportunity. The top shelf held my baking tins ...because it's quite deep I had to take everything out to find the one I wanted, leading to a crash as the ones I didn't want joined the bin bags on the floor. Cue the rude words.
Now the middle shelf holds my spices tin, and various starches (rice/couscous etc) and packet sauces in an old cutlery organiser (hopefully easy to pull out). The boxes on the top shelf hold the "extra" supplies. Tea in the big one to the right, mango chutney etc in the smaller one. And crisps in the middle.
This is the corner cupboard, with a carousel thingie inside to make the most of the space. It is broken however, and so is rather wobbley, supported by an old cod-liver-oil-capsule canister, which sort-of acts like a wheel when you turn the carousel. On top I used to have tins, and the spices, which have been replaced by the baking trays, plastic bags and foil etc; on the bottom I had more tins plus the rice, pasta etc. Now it's my baking ingredients plus the overflow starches.
Now all I have to do is train Mr FD to put things back, neatly, in the right place!
Now for the Giveaway...
As you can see I have lots of recipe books, most of which I use at least from time to time. As I was taking them out to neaten them up, I found one which I have never used.
It is a lovely book, but when I flicked through it, I have most of the recipes duplicated in one slightly different form or another else where. Although it claims the recipes are for outdoor eating, most of them can equally be eaten inside - they are not really "picnic" fare, in my opinion.
For example, these two recipes are for a dish made of aubergine stuffed with lamb, and a type of chicken satay, both of which would be lovely things to eat inside with friends or family.
It would make a lovely Christmas present for a foodie/for someone who loves cooking, or just a nice freebie for yourself. It isn't light however, so I'm afraid I'm restricting this to UK/Europe readers. I'll find a lighter giveaway for my US readers another time.
If you would like to win this, just leave a comment on the blog. I'll draw the winning name on Saturday 13th September....don't forget to make sure there is a way to contact you.
I had found that the cupboards had got very untidy and, because they were not very well organised, it was difficult to find things and to put things away neatly. I'm not sure if they are better organised now, but we'll see.
This is the big larder cupboard in the corner of the kitchen. I used to keep my baking ingredients on the top shelf, "extra" items (Mr FD's English tea, bought in bulk in the UK, beans, gravy granules etc) & stock cubes/herbs etc on the second shelf, oils and the frying pan on the third, mixing bowls & the big stock pot on the fourth and recycling in the bottom. The bottom three shelves are still basically the same, but tidier! I've put my tins & jars on the second shelf now and the top shelf is for the raclette machine and the various mixing implements which had been variously scattered on whichever shelf had a bit of space. These are things I don't use very often, so it doesn't matter if they require a bit more care getting them down...my soup zuzzer is right at the front however, as that's used at least once a week!
This cupboard is under the work surface. The recipe book shelf has not changed, but is tidier. The second shelf had contained the plastic bags/cling film/foil boxes, plus the raclette machine, electric carving knife etc. However it was always messy and you could never find what you wanted, with binbags tossing themselves on the floor at every opportunity. The top shelf held my baking tins ...because it's quite deep I had to take everything out to find the one I wanted, leading to a crash as the ones I didn't want joined the bin bags on the floor. Cue the rude words.
Now the middle shelf holds my spices tin, and various starches (rice/couscous etc) and packet sauces in an old cutlery organiser (hopefully easy to pull out). The boxes on the top shelf hold the "extra" supplies. Tea in the big one to the right, mango chutney etc in the smaller one. And crisps in the middle.
This is the corner cupboard, with a carousel thingie inside to make the most of the space. It is broken however, and so is rather wobbley, supported by an old cod-liver-oil-capsule canister, which sort-of acts like a wheel when you turn the carousel. On top I used to have tins, and the spices, which have been replaced by the baking trays, plastic bags and foil etc; on the bottom I had more tins plus the rice, pasta etc. Now it's my baking ingredients plus the overflow starches.
Now all I have to do is train Mr FD to put things back, neatly, in the right place!
Now for the Giveaway...
As you can see I have lots of recipe books, most of which I use at least from time to time. As I was taking them out to neaten them up, I found one which I have never used.
It is a lovely book, but when I flicked through it, I have most of the recipes duplicated in one slightly different form or another else where. Although it claims the recipes are for outdoor eating, most of them can equally be eaten inside - they are not really "picnic" fare, in my opinion.
It would make a lovely Christmas present for a foodie/for someone who loves cooking, or just a nice freebie for yourself. It isn't light however, so I'm afraid I'm restricting this to UK/Europe readers. I'll find a lighter giveaway for my US readers another time.
If you would like to win this, just leave a comment on the blog. I'll draw the winning name on Saturday 13th September....don't forget to make sure there is a way to contact you.
Well done, tidying up the pantry. I should do that! What is a soup zuzzer?
ReplyDeleteI think they are usually called stick blenders in the States, or on the continent 'minipimers'. But they go zuzz and turn your cooked vegetables into smooth soups!!
DeleteWell, look at those wonderfully organized cupboards and shelves! Well done you!! And thanks for the 'dare' comment (and link!) - I've just replied :)
ReplyDeleteThe 'Picnic' book looks lovely. When the children were small, sometimes we would spread a cloth on the carpet and picnic in the lounge if the weather was too bad to go outside!
ReplyDeleteHi i have come over from frugal queens so hello. It looks like your cupboards are well organised now. Am looking forward to looking though your other posts :)
ReplyDeleteVery goood!!!!x
ReplyDeleteWe have a hurdy gurdy in the kitchen too...it's old and poorly made,and grinds to a halt mid spin! One day.....we'll replace it...perhaps.
ReplyDeleteJane x
I just tidied out my cupboards the other day. I found a box of cous cous at the back that said best before Aug 2009!
ReplyDeleteYou had me at "stuffed aubergine". Please put my name in the draw for the book
You have done a great job on your kitchen cupboards, under my sink is a nightmare!
ReplyDeleteIt looks nice and tidy and thank you for a lovely giveaway :-)
ReplyDeleteHow odd that I'd stumble across this post after spending the evening clearing out and reorganising my kitchen! I always put it off for months but there's something really therapeutic about arranging the cupboards so everything has a place :)
ReplyDeleteI've recently cleaned and reorganised HALF my cupboards but now procrastination reigns. Yours look great! Xx
ReplyDeleteFantastic this looks great, please enter me into the draw :) xx
ReplyDelete