5 Tiny Kitchen Confessions

This post is a little different. I won't be sharing any recipe, but rather I thought it would be nice to give you a little background on my kitchen, cooking style, and cooking history.

Our very TINY, yet cozy, kitchen.

What the kitchen typically looks like when I'm cooking...Netflix on top of the toaster oven. :)

1. We have a TINY kitchen. We currently rent a terrific townhouse and other than having a tight parking situation (I don't sweat it too much, I drive a tiny car) the only down side is an incredibly small kitchen. It doesn't look too small in the pictures, but let me break it down for you: we have 1 drawer and it only measures 6 inches wide. So we can't have our flatware separated, they are all in a big pile and the drawer barely shuts. We have 2 cabinets. 2! I have a shelf that I put in the kitchen where all the pots and pans go. We do have a SMALL pantry which (barely) holds our dry food. The counter space is what you see above. Luckily the stove is a flat range, so I can spread out onto it most of the time. However, if the dishes aren't loaded into the dishwasher, things can be REALLY tight.
2. I used to burn/overcook everything. I put the heat too high, or left it too high for too long. And sometimes I still burn things to the bottom of the pan. I used to LOVE charred food, and I thought that it was totally normal. Which brings me to my next tiny kitchen confession:
3. My mom is a self-proclaimed terrible cook. I love my mom so incredibly much and she won't deny that her cooking is not very good. This may have contributed to my taste for burnt food. Love you, Mom. Now, my dad is very good cook and has really gotten into cooking in recent years, unfortunately not until after I moved out. He has made himself quite a gourmet kitchen. I can't wait to cook with him in it!
4. My dog, Gus, is terrified of our kitchen. He doesn't like the floors, the crashing of pots and pans, or the fact that there is only one exit. He was a rescue pup and can be a little skiddish from time to time, although he's 1000x better since we first adopted him. However, if I am cooking chicken, guess who tip-toes up behind me, looking all cute? Gus. Food can motivate anyone.
5. I am too scared to use nice sharp knives. In high school, my mom bought new sharp knives that looked exactly like our old dull knives. So I was cutting a tomato in my hand (bad, bad idea) and sliced right through my index finger, to the bone. After looking at it and almost passing out, mom took me to the hospital to get some stitches. I can be pretty sloppy when I'm trying to chop things quickly, so for the sake of my fingers, I stick with crappy knives. Maybe one day, I'll be brave. One day...

-Carly