{"id":12869,"date":"2016-09-01T01:10:18","date_gmt":"2016-09-01T06:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=13517"},"modified":"2016-09-02T11:04:16","modified_gmt":"2016-09-02T16:04:16","slug":"the-kitchen-witch-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2016\/09\/01\/the-kitchen-witch-13\/","title":{"rendered":"The Kitchen Witch"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Cooking in a Small Area<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I just moved into a new apartment. I am not quite where I want to be, nor is the apartment what I really wanted. But it\u2019s okay for now. I like the city in which I am living \u2013 Lowell, Massachusetts \u2013 which has a lot of beautiful old buildings and historic places to explore and photograph. I eventually want to find a place nearer to the ocean.<\/span><\/p>\n

My main problem with this place is the kitchen \u2013 or the lack of a kitchen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\"kitchen1\"<\/p>\n

\n

The “Kitchen”<\/p>\n

\n

\n

There are so few cupboards that I didn\u2019t even unpack most of my dishes. And I have my baking supplies \u2013 my flour, sugars, sodas and salts \u2013 in a Coleman cooler \u2013 while my herbs and spices and decorating sugars are in two Tidy Cat containers!<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\"kitchen2\"<\/p>\n

\n

\n

Where I keep my baking supplies & herbs & spices.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

I accidentally left my beautiful wood cutting boards back in Buffalo, so I am now using a small plastic apple-shaped one that was previously just a decoration. But I wouldn\u2019t have room for them on these tiny counters anyway! I honestly don\u2019t think this kitchen is meant for cooking in at all. It\u2019s meant for reheating take-out and perhaps making a quick cup of coffee in the morning. I live right downtown so there\u2019s any number of restaurants to choose from for eating out every night of the week, if your wallet can handle that. But \u2013 mine can\u2019t!<\/span><\/p>\n

So I do have to cook. Because I can\u2019t afford to eat out more than a few times a month and I love cooking! And I love to bake. Even without anyone in my own household to bake for, I will bake. I\u2019ll take cookies down to the rental office and give them to the office personal \u2013 I have worked in plenty of offices and I know that cookies are always welcome (and cursed!). <\/span><\/p>\n

So for the next year \u2013 since I signed a lease \u2013 The Kitchen Witch will be exploring ways to cook in a tiny space \u2013 with no counter space \u2013 with just a few tools \u2013 being as efficient as possible. Preparation will be the key. <\/span><\/p>\n

This month\u2019s recipe is a re-imagining of the classic Toll House cookie. Instead of using chocolate chips, I used peanut M & M\u2019s. Before adding them, I cut a tiny hole in the bag and crushed them up. You can use a rolling pin for this but if you have kids helping you out in the kitchen, I suggest getting a small hammer and letting them hit the bag with the hammer. It\u2019s a lot of fun for them \u2013 what kid doesn\u2019t like to smash things with a hammer? I admit \u2013 I used my hammer too!<\/span><\/p>\n

The key to cooking in a small place is having everything out and ready before you start. For me, that means clearing off my desk because that\u2019s the only place I have to work.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\"kitchen3\"<\/p>\n

\n

\n

Candy Cookies<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Sift together: 2 \u00bc cups all-purpose flour<\/span><\/p>\n

1 teaspoon baking soda<\/span><\/p>\n

1 teaspoon salt<\/span><\/p>\n

Cream together: 1 cup (2 sticks) very soft butter<\/span><\/p>\n

1 cup sugar<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00bd cup brown sugar<\/span><\/p>\n

Beat: 2 eggs & add to creamed mixture<\/span><\/p>\n

Add: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract<\/span><\/p>\n

Add: flour mixture<\/span><\/p>\n

Add: crushed peanut M&M\u2019s<\/span><\/p>\n

Drop walnut-sized balls onto a greased baking sheet & bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\"kitchen4\"<\/p>\n

\n

\n

These are addictively good!! I took a plate down to the ladies in the rental office and was told I could bring them cookies anytime I want.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\"kitchen5\"<\/p>\n

\n

Which<\/p>\n

is a <\/span>very good thing. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Cooking in a Small Area   I just moved into a new apartment. I am not quite where I want to be, nor is the apartment what I really wanted. But it\u2019s okay for now. I like the city in which I am living \u2013 Lowell, Massachusetts \u2013 which has a lot of beautiful old buildings and historic places to explore and photograph. I eventually want to find a place nearer to the ocean. My main problem with this place is the kitchen \u2013 or the lack of a kitchen. The “Kitchen” There are so few cupboards that I didn\u2019t even unpack most of my dishes. And I have my baking supplies \u2013 my flour, sugars, sodas and salts \u2013 in a Coleman cooler \u2013 while my herbs and spices and decorating sugars are in two Tidy Cat containers! Where I keep my baking supplies & herbs & spices. I accidentally left my beautiful wood cutting boards back in Buffalo, so I am now using a small plastic apple-shaped one that was previously just a decoration. But I wouldn\u2019t have room for them on these tiny counters anyway! I honestly don\u2019t think this kitchen is meant for cooking in at all. It\u2019s meant for reheating take-out and perhaps making a quick cup of coffee in the morning. I live right downtown so there\u2019s any number of restaurants to choose from for eating out every night of the week, if your wallet can handle that. But \u2013 mine can\u2019t! So I do have to cook. Because I can\u2019t afford to eat out more than a few times a month and I love cooking! And I love to bake. Even without anyone in my own household to bake for, I will bake. I\u2019ll take cookies down to the rental office and give them to the office personal \u2013 I have worked in plenty of offices and I know that cookies are always welcome (and cursed!). So for the next year \u2013 since I signed a lease \u2013 The Kitchen Witch will be exploring ways to cook in a tiny space \u2013 with no counter space \u2013 with just a few tools \u2013 being as efficient as possible. Preparation will be the key. This month\u2019s recipe is a re-imagining of the classic Toll House cookie. Instead of using chocolate chips, I used peanut M & M\u2019s. Before adding them, I cut a tiny hole in the bag and crushed them up. You can use a rolling pin for this but if you have kids helping you out in the kitchen, I suggest getting a small hammer and letting them hit the bag with the hammer. It\u2019s a lot of fun for them \u2013 what kid doesn\u2019t like to smash things with a hammer? I admit \u2013 I used my hammer too! The key to cooking in a small place is having everything out and ready before you start. For me, that means clearing off my desk because that\u2019s the only place I have to work. Candy Cookies Sift together: 2 \u00bc cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt Cream together: 1 cup (2 sticks) very soft butter 1 cup sugar \u00bd cup brown sugar Beat: 2 eggs & add to creamed mixture Add: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Add: flour mixture Add: crushed peanut M&M\u2019s Drop walnut-sized balls onto a greased baking sheet & bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden. These are addictively good!! I took a plate down to the ladies in the rental office and was told I could bring them cookies anytime I want. Which is a very good thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/197"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12869\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}