We are closing on our new house in 2 1/2 weeks. This means that I am in the process of packing up. And the question is always, “What can I live without for the next x-number of days?” In going through the kitchen, I’m pretty sure we don’t need 36 wine glasses–until we move and unpack again, we can probably get by with two. Do we really need 40 plastic containers, or can we live with, say, five or six? Will I be doing so much frenzied baking over the next couple of weeks that I need both stand mixers? How about the blender? Will we be whipping up piña coladas before summer?
For a kitchen pack rat like me, this will be an exercise in minimalism. If Bittman can work in a kitchen the size of a half-bath, do I really need to keep all of my pots and pans, cake tins and accoutrements out and within reach before May 1? I guess not. So, I will grudgingly pack away a bunch of stuff. If I were to be brutally honest with myself, which I guess I am being as I sit here, I would tell myself that I can do without all of it. One or two pots and pans, some tongs, my chef knife and a wooden spoon, and I can cook for us with no problem.
But what about the baking? What if I feel the need to make a cake, or a quick bread? Or muffins?! What if I need a muffin between now and May?! I can’t bring myself to buy the Scary Kind in the grocery store. Most of the food on the aisles isn’t real food anyway; it’s just manufactured product. Some factories make car seats. Some make baseball bats. Some make Cheese Doodles. And that’s the world in which we live. Uh oh. I feel myself trying to sidle up onto my soap box. I will resist the urge right now; I’m talking about packing. Right then; focus, Jen.
Anyway, to be Spartan about the whole packing thing (if it were up to The Beloved, we’d already have bare walls and be sleeping on an air mattress), in the baking arena, I can make do with:
cast iron skillet
mixing bowl (okay, maybe 2)
whisk
wooden spoon
spatula
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23 Comments
Always keep my cast iron skillets in tip top form. So versatile!
I’m all about baking bacon cornbread in it.
We’ve moved 7 times in 15 years of marriage and I’ve been known to find an unopened box over a year after we’ve settled into a new place. The kitchen stuff is always the last to be packed and the first to be unpacked; nothing gets left behind. With that said, I really don’t have a lot! 😎
I love the cornbread, so delicious sounding! I lost all my kitchen stuff fun and necessary in Hurricane Katrina. It’s been time consuming and expensive to build everything back just in the kitchen and I’m not quite done yet. Where’ FEMA when you need them? LoL You have a light at the end of the tunnel, two weeks. I’m cheering for you.
When I moved to Seattle, everything I could fit in the back of a small pickup came with me. 5 drawers of kitchen gadgets, cookware and knife sets, dishes, small electrics and more were left behind. It was an opportunity to outfit a new kitchen and upscale the quality of necessary tools.
With a little luck, you could be making your last move. It’s a small comfort for such an enormous a task. Is your bench knife going to be part of the moving kit? Just in case you need to make cheesy biscuits…
Well, you’d better keep out a kitchen scale too to measure those cornbread ingredients!
My favorite, favorite, FAVORITE cornbread recipe goes thusly:
Preheat to 400ºF.
Grease a 9 inch square pan (or doublethe recipe for a 9″X13″)
1 cup sugar (oh yes…it’s almost dessert!)
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter
2 large eggs (I dunno how many ounces they are…)
1 and 1/2 cups milk (whole is better, but skim works)
4 and 1/2 tsp rice vinegar (white vin works as well)
1 and 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I used unbleached)
1 and 1/2 cups yellow corn meal (I subbed rye flour once and it was fabulous!)
3 Tbl cayenne pepper (JUST KIDDING!!!!!!!)
Mix vinegar into milk, let set.
Meanwhile, cream fats, beat in sugar, then eggs.
In a separate bowl (Good thing you’re keeping 2 out…) mix the baking powder, soda, meal and flour. Add dry ingredients to creamed ingredients alternately with soured milk.
Blend just until, well, blended.
Spread in prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes.
Chow down!!!!!
**************
I HATEmoving, so I shall be praying for you over this next month. (((((Jen)))))
My choices for tools too OLPChef! I am writing a poetry book called Cast Iron Tempo…I was laughing at your Game-Hab comment…I won the last two game nights, and was upset they picked something I had never played, and looked like a fool, well hubby was just as funny!
I hate packing, and that is why we are still in our condo with the kitchen that sucks! I might have to take photos to share, and post my dream kitchen!
Packing’s not easy! Last time we were moving, it was only a few miles from an old one to a new one but still it was hard. Good luck! The cornbread sounds excellent!
When I made a cross state move back a few years ago, the movers lost a load of kitchen stuff. I think what happened is that one entire cupboard just never got pack and was left behind at the premises. And guess what? Except for a few necessary tools, I’ve hardly replaced any of it. I just learned to innovate more and live more simply. For the stuff that did make it, I’m just so surprised at the stuff I hardly use. Maybe it’s time to do some more thinning.
Can’t imagine have to pack all of my kitchen stuff. And yes, I will definitely pack my 2 iron skillets separately. Better yet, just put them in the back of my trunk unpacked. So it’ll be easy to find it.
Good luck with everything.
Cheers,
elra
We are in the same boat with the moving thing… Im trying to leave the kitchen for last but I think I may have to bite the bullet and pack it up this weekend. But Im sure I will set aside a few things to get us by and quickly replay the scene from The Jerk… this skillet, this spatula and this bowl..thats all I need… and this knife and these measuring cups.
Nicole! I tried and tried to find a video from that scene in The Jerk to embed on this post, but no dice! I did have it running through my head, though–“that’s all I need: this paddle ball set, and this ash tray….” 😆 Good luck w/your move; I feel your pain!
I can’t imagine having to pare down! What if I need one of my 30+ nordic ware tins? You never know what shape you are going to need!
Good for you for being so strong.
I think I agree with the beloved on this one. Pack everything and make him take you out to dinner every night. There’s always pizza. And Chinese take-away. And your entire fast food family. I wish I were there to help you! As a Navy brat, I’ve learned to pack and move an entire house in about 20 minutes. No respectable Southern woman can live without her cast iron skillet! How do the Yankees make cornbread? Don’t do too much! Take care of you!
Ah, this takes me back. Except that I had to pack up my ENTIRE kitchen, because it’s not like the Kitchen Aid was really going to fit in my suitcase. I saved 10 or so of my favorite utensils in a knife roll and had it mailed to me later. Of course, it was Christmastime, so I was working 14 hour days anyway, and not much cooking was going on (in my house, that is). It’s going to be like Christmas all over again when I get to crack into that storage unit!
Always keep my cast iron skillets in tip top form. So versatile!
I’m all about baking bacon cornbread in it.
We’ve moved 7 times in 15 years of marriage and I’ve been known to find an unopened box over a year after we’ve settled into a new place. The kitchen stuff is always the last to be packed and the first to be unpacked; nothing gets left behind. With that said, I really don’t have a lot! 😎
I love the cornbread, so delicious sounding! I lost all my kitchen stuff fun and necessary in Hurricane Katrina. It’s been time consuming and expensive to build everything back just in the kitchen and I’m not quite done yet. Where’ FEMA when you need them? LoL You have a light at the end of the tunnel, two weeks. I’m cheering for you.
When I moved to Seattle, everything I could fit in the back of a small pickup came with me. 5 drawers of kitchen gadgets, cookware and knife sets, dishes, small electrics and more were left behind. It was an opportunity to outfit a new kitchen and upscale the quality of necessary tools.
With a little luck, you could be making your last move. It’s a small comfort for such an enormous a task. Is your bench knife going to be part of the moving kit? Just in case you need to make cheesy biscuits…
I dread having to pack up my kitchen stuff some day- they are like my children!!!
Well, you’d better keep out a kitchen scale too to measure those cornbread ingredients!
My favorite, favorite, FAVORITE cornbread recipe goes thusly:
Preheat to 400ºF.
Grease a 9 inch square pan (or doublethe recipe for a 9″X13″)
1 cup sugar (oh yes…it’s almost dessert!)
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter
2 large eggs (I dunno how many ounces they are…)
1 and 1/2 cups milk (whole is better, but skim works)
4 and 1/2 tsp rice vinegar (white vin works as well)
1 and 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I used unbleached)
1 and 1/2 cups yellow corn meal (I subbed rye flour once and it was fabulous!)
3 Tbl cayenne pepper (JUST KIDDING!!!!!!!)
Mix vinegar into milk, let set.
Meanwhile, cream fats, beat in sugar, then eggs.
In a separate bowl (Good thing you’re keeping 2 out…) mix the baking powder, soda, meal and flour. Add dry ingredients to creamed ingredients alternately with soured milk.
Blend just until, well, blended.
Spread in prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes.
Chow down!!!!!
**************
I HATEmoving, so I shall be praying for you over this next month. (((((Jen)))))
My choices for tools too OLPChef! I am writing a poetry book called Cast Iron Tempo…I was laughing at your Game-Hab comment…I won the last two game nights, and was upset they picked something I had never played, and looked like a fool, well hubby was just as funny!
I hate packing, and that is why we are still in our condo with the kitchen that sucks! I might have to take photos to share, and post my dream kitchen!
Packing’s not easy! Last time we were moving, it was only a few miles from an old one to a new one but still it was hard. Good luck! The cornbread sounds excellent!
When I made a cross state move back a few years ago, the movers lost a load of kitchen stuff. I think what happened is that one entire cupboard just never got pack and was left behind at the premises. And guess what? Except for a few necessary tools, I’ve hardly replaced any of it. I just learned to innovate more and live more simply. For the stuff that did make it, I’m just so surprised at the stuff I hardly use. Maybe it’s time to do some more thinning.
I hear you, Libby. I often find that I don’t use a lot of what I have. I like to have them though, you know, for inspiration and for “just in case!” 😆
Can’t imagine have to pack all of my kitchen stuff. And yes, I will definitely pack my 2 iron skillets separately. Better yet, just put them in the back of my trunk unpacked. So it’ll be easy to find it.
Good luck with everything.
Cheers,
elra
We are in the same boat with the moving thing… Im trying to leave the kitchen for last but I think I may have to bite the bullet and pack it up this weekend. But Im sure I will set aside a few things to get us by and quickly replay the scene from The Jerk… this skillet, this spatula and this bowl..thats all I need… and this knife and these measuring cups.
Nicole! I tried and tried to find a video from that scene in The Jerk to embed on this post, but no dice! I did have it running through my head, though–“that’s all I need: this paddle ball set, and this ash tray….” 😆 Good luck w/your move; I feel your pain!
I can’t imagine having to pare down! What if I need one of my 30+ nordic ware tins? You never know what shape you are going to need!
Good for you for being so strong.
I think I agree with the beloved on this one. Pack everything and make him take you out to dinner every night. There’s always pizza. And Chinese take-away. And your entire fast food family. I wish I were there to help you! As a Navy brat, I’ve learned to pack and move an entire house in about 20 minutes. No respectable Southern woman can live without her cast iron skillet! How do the Yankees make cornbread? Don’t do too much! Take care of you!
Wow, Linda! 20 minutes?! Thanks for the offer; You’re hired! :Dy
Would love to go out for every meal, but alas, one must watch one’s budget. Again, alas. Will promise to try not to hurt myself!
Ah, this takes me back. Except that I had to pack up my ENTIRE kitchen, because it’s not like the Kitchen Aid was really going to fit in my suitcase. I saved 10 or so of my favorite utensils in a knife roll and had it mailed to me later. Of course, it was Christmastime, so I was working 14 hour days anyway, and not much cooking was going on (in my house, that is). It’s going to be like Christmas all over again when I get to crack into that storage unit!
I would have a terrible time trying to pack all my baking equipment! You’re braver than me!