Skinny Bitch_ Ultimate Everyday Cookbook - Kim Barnouin [24]
CREATING A KITCHEN THAT IS YOU
If you lack a creative bone in your body, but want to get your kitchen cooking-worthy, here are some tips from my good friend and celebrity “green” interior designer Sarah Rosenhaus. Here’s her philosophy: It’s the little details in a room that help to create an ambiance that make us want to spend all of our time there.
“Every object you bring into your kitchen should make you feel good and inspire you to spend time cooking, socializing, or enjoying a meal by yourself,” she says. “Beautiful things are nice, but it is important to create the energy in a space that draws you.”
THE SKINNY: ORGANIZED BITCH
STACK PLATES AND BOWLS IN AN ORDERLY FASHION, AND KEEP GLASSES LINED UP NEATLY BY SIZE SO THAT EVERYTHING NOT ONLY LOOKS SEXY BUT IS ALSO A CINCH TO GET TO. DIGGING AROUND FOR WHAT YOU NEED ADDS STRESS TO YOUR KITCHEN TIME.
Play That Funky Music
I love nothing better than winding down in the kitchen with my favorite album. Music is perfect for creating different moods. Some days I just want to bake a pot pie and hum out to Sade. Other days, I feel like putting on my stonewashed jeans and making a mess with the Red Hot Chili Peppers screaming at the top of their lungs. I guess it just depends on whether I have alone time, or if my son is hanging from my leg screaming that he just farted. [Sigh]
SHOW OFF YOUR FRUIT AND VEGGIES: Healthy bitches stock up on fruits and veggies. Rather than hide them, get a fun bowl to display on your kitchen counter or table that is piled high with your colorful produce. The beauty and accessibility of it will inspire you to munch on a healthy snack throughout the day.
APPEAL TO YOUR SENSES: One to two candles add instant ambiance to a kitchen. Choose a few lightly scented clean-burning soy candles that you can switch out depending on your mood. They also work wonders in covering up that unpleasant smell like something may have just died in your garbage disposal.
DIM THE LIGHTS: Bad fluorescent lighting is not going to entice you to cook. Consider hiring an electrician to install a dimmer switch on the existing light switch in your kitchen. This way, you can dim the lights to your liking and light a candle for a more romantic, sensual cooking experience. Dimming the light bulbs only costs about $100, and it’s energy efficient.
START A FUN DINNERWARE COLLECTION: One of the best ways to encourage yourself to cook is to invest in dinnerware that makes you want to serve food on it. Have a blast collecting a mismatched array of quirky eclectic pieces that tell a story about where you’ve been and what you like(d). Or find different varieties of flatware that follow the same color scheme but wake up your kitchen with different textures, styles, and sizes.
Are you aching for some stylish, green touches in your kitchen? Let Sarah work her magic. Visit her website at www.sarahrosenhaus.com.
If cooking tends to be a winding down experience for you, as well, pour a glass of red wine or hot tea to add to the experience. Just keep in mind that if you’re an easily distracted person and following a recipe, tunes can throw you off. Make sure you are paying attention to each step of the recipe or your lasagna may look like a cracked-out pizza.
MAKE PLAYLISTS: Let the cuisine take control by creating different playlists. Apple iTunes allows you to type in keywords to search for different genres (www.itunes.com). Pandora is a free music site that lets you type in what genre of music you are looking for, and then creates a continuous, alternating playlist of artists and songs that match your keyword (www.pandora.com).
MAKE IT A HOBBY
Cooking can be a little like doing it missionary style. In order to keep the passion alive and exciting, you have to change it up every once in a while. Swing