New Digs

Where have I been? Um, working a few jobs, look for full time employment, enjoying the first snow, and moving into a lovely new apartment with an old someone who decided to brave the Colorado cold for me after all.

We searched Capitol Hill high and low for apartments and saw a great many. We were looking for apartments that we could afford in which we could both live comfortably, as in not on top of each other, and with a little character. And I was obviously scrutinizing every kitchen, imagining where things would live and where I would chop. We are lucky in Denver because most houses and apartments are plumbed for gas, meaning most properties have gas stoves. I actually ruled out several apartments because they had electric stoves. Ha! What luxury! PDX, eat your heart out!

So this is the lovely kitchen we ended up in. I love the tile floors, the vintage cabinets, the short fridge (?!), and, of course, the gas stove. I've cooked quite a few things and even baked some bread and am quite happy with it. Running the oven makes the whole apartment feel like a sauna, and it does make some scary big flame type noises, but I don't care, I love it!!! The kitchen window is south facing and we get tons of natural light (sunlight! in winter!) throughout the day.
I am also now a proud owner of a vintage KitchenAid Mixer! My aunt had it for years (I think she got it from her ex-mother in law) but never used it because it was stored out of sight in a low down cabinet. Let me tell you, those things are beasts to pick up. So it lives on my counter with la Virgen de Guadalupe watching over it. I've only used it once (to give the bread hook a whirl) but I foresee lots of happy mixing in my future.

The only downside to this kitchen is that there is no dishwasher or garbage disposal, things that I had gotten quite used to. It actually hasn't been as tough as I imagined, although I am a bit appalled at how much food goes into the trash (trimmings, etc). With a disposal I never saw how much accumulated over a few meals. I would like to compost but how does one compost in a one bedroom apartment? If you know the answer, please tell me.

I'm feeling very inspired by my new kitchen and look forward to some blogworthy eats. And now that there's a reliable (not crappy) camera in the house I think I'll post more. (Truly, the photography block is the reason I don't post more.) I have a few pounds of roasted green chilies in my freezer and some pretty good ideas...