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| All 5 of those windows are my kitchen |
As you can see in the picture on the left, the tin roof doesn't completely cover my kitchen – there is an overhang that overlaps the roof so I guess they felt no need to use more tin. This means that all kinds of things fall into my kitchen. Sometimes I am startled half to death by a chicken, turkey, or cat landing loudly on the tin roof over my head.
My host family left those two huge bundles of corn to dry in my kitchen. I like them as decoration although I kept on hitting my head on one of them before I rearranged my table.
I never knew that mold likes cement so much, but it is a big problem here, especially during the rainy season. Luckily there is a pretty easy fix for mold: spraying bleach mixed with water.
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| My pans and mold |
Under my toaster oven, water filter, egg carton, etc. is a plancha. Guatemalans use this to cook by lighting a fire inside. More on this later.
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| My industrial-sized stove top (the gas tank is behind it) |
My shelves. This is where I keep my plates, silverware, etc. I keep all of my produce in the green basket covered by a towel. I also cover my silverware with a cloth (second shelf from the top) because the dust and dirt problem is so terrible that otherwise they would be constantly dirty.
- I have to get to it from the outside which is annoying in the rain.
- I don't have a refrigerator.
- There is no source of water anywhere on the same level of the house. This means that I am constantly hauling water down stairs to fill my water filter to have both drinking and cooking water.
- I have to bring my dishes upstairs to wash them.
- The tin roof doesn't fully cover my kitchen so rain water, dirt, and leaves are constantly covering everything in my kitchen. The cats have also discovered this entrance to my kitchen so I have to put my bread under a big bowl so that they don't eat it. Side note: Guatemalan animals are a lot like Guatemalan people. They love to eat bread.
- There is only one exposed lightbulb in my kitchen. This means that it is pretty dim in there at night and I have to prepare my food at an angle or else my body blocks the light on what I am preparing completely.
And we can certify from personal experience that you do indeed create enjoyable meals in that space, from fruit salads to pasta with tomato sauce. Lack of refrigeration and running water is a real challenge, but it shows how much you can still do with so little. Maybe the idea for a new cookbook: The Minimalist Cookbook.
ReplyDeletethis sounds exhausting.
ReplyDeleteThings your kitchen has going for it: it is larger than our kitchen; nice windows; you don't have to collect firewood and cook on the plancha; beautiful corn wall hangings. I was thinking about how much your kitchen post made me appreciate our kitchen but I'm also thinking our kitchen seems pretty boring compared to yours. And, two of the most memorable meals of my life (truly) were prepared in your kitchen so I will always have fond memories of time spent there.
ReplyDeleteYou make it look romantic and exotic but it sounds like a super effort to wash cook and clean and clean and clean... but is it safe to wash food and dishes in the water and do you drink the water now? Is it hot water for washing dishes? Glad that you have electricity there! Nothing like a toaster oven to complete a kitchen!
ReplyDeleteI can't remember the last time that I got to experience the amazingness that is hot water coming out of a faucet. That just doesn't exist in the rural towns. For washing dishes, I only have the one option which is the cold water that comes out of the spigot. Cold water isn't optimal for washing dishes but it works. Once the water dries it is no longer "dangerous" so as long as I don't use any wet dishes or silverware I should be fine.
DeleteI still don't drink the water. That would definitely make me sick. I did start brushing my teeth with the water and that has been fine.
With the toaster oven, blender, and gas stove I feel like I can cook most things!
I hereby vow to stop complaining about my kitchen, effective immediately.
ReplyDeleteI once helped your dad decide on the various positive attributes of a toaster oven. We decided that one where the shelf pulls out as it is opened is a real plus so you don't have to reach in too far. Hope yours is an easy reach! Thanks for the hot water update.. but is that showers too? brrrrr...
ReplyDeleteThat is a plus. Mine doesn't have a fancy pull out shelf, but I'm just glad that it is still working because there has been a lot of rain entering my kitchen lately...
DeleteI actually have a pretty nice shower. There is a water tank that is somehow attached to my host family's wood burning stove so when they cook meals there is usually a good amount of hot water. No more bucket baths for me!