Darkness Reigns

I was going to post a picture taken in the kitchen in The Serpico House as I cooked dinner last night, but there was a problem with this plan--the camera wasn't picking up enough light to take a picture that looked like anything other than a mushy, dark blur. It's a good thing that ground turkey undergoes a rather radical color change during the cooking process, because there is a high probability of under- or over-cooking in such light-scarce conditions. I don't like it.

In short, our kitchen is a bleak tunnel of darkness at night. This makes cooking rather problematic, as you can imagine. Grilling on the back patio is no problem because there's a light close to the grill. I'm thinking I will be doing most of my cooking out there.

Also, the stove in our kitchen is kind of a joke. I mean, sure, it works, but... well, let me explain. It's one of those mini stoves meant for a very small kitchen, such as the ones found in studio apartments. Where a standard-sized stove is 30" wide, this one is significantly smaller. I haven't measured ours, but it must be more like 20-22" wide. And if you don't think that bit of extra girth makes a difference (that's what SHE said)... well... you just ought to try cooking with more than one pot on one of these things. Not fun.



Additionally, our stove, much like the one pictured above, has its knobs conveniently located on its front. This is great for ease of use when we decide to cook something on the miniscule work surface, but it's not so great if you've got a highly inquisitive two-year-old kid running around the house, eager to open any doors or turn any handle-looking items in his path. Yes, Xavier has grown rather fond of turning the knobs on the stove just to see the light come on. It's not good.

Luckily, there are these things....They snap over the stove knobs and make it impossible for them to be turned without the clear part unlocked, and (thankfully) Xavier hasn't figured that out yet. This means we have to take an extra step before cooking, but it makes our kitchen safer for the small one, so we'll deal with it.

Meanwhile, I think we'll need to get some kind of clamp-on light to hook up near the stove. I will probably snag one at Staples or something. It's a temporary but necessary measure until we get the kitchen rehabbed.