Does anyone else get infuriated about finding every last inch of kitchen surface cluttered with dishes, glasses, cutlery, etc which would take up a fraction of the footprint it they were stacked (this is prior to putting them into the dishwasher, which of course rarely gets emptied if unprompted)? Or is it just me? Sometimes it seems like there's a contest going on: watch out, points taken off for letting a bit of kitchen surface show! Even the Man Who Cooks is guilty!
But at least he cooks. Came home from my workshop this afternoon and there was a wonderful aroma of some long cooking meat. But that's for tomorrow night. Tonight we had grilled chicken (Turkish recipe), with fennel cooked to melt-in-the-mouth and roast potatoes. Yum.
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Just as well it's 1.30am and I'm not hungry, although I could reach your place by Saturday dinner time, and then I will be hungry.
Whilst I'm not the tidiest person who ever lived, I don't like every square centimetre of space taken up in the kitchen either. I usually stack everything in the sink - plates AND cutlery (which really exasperates R.) - even if I don't have time to wash them right away. Cutlery in the sink does have it's drawbacks as I've often cut my fingers on sharp knives when they are hidden under soapy water (hence R's exasperation).
Its a man thing, Val - and definitely not a librarian thing. I have a cartoon pinned to the inside of the kitchen cupboard, dated 1976. It says "Love is.... cleaning up after he cooks". The paper is yellowed with age, but the message is still as clear as they day I cut it out of the newspaper.
Some things never change.
Besides he thinks it is quite reasonable for me to come home from work and clear the kitchen of its clutter. He said so!
My wise girl friend said many years ago that our husbands are our teachers. I gasped. But years later I see what she means. It isnt that they know MORE than us, but that we learn our life's lessons but having to flippin' well live with them and survive, calm and sane!!!!
*breathing in, breathing out* Meditation is a wonderful thing....
I always stack my dishes and wash them right away...I can't stand having dirty dishes sitting for too long! lol
I'm just glad to have a dishwasher to fill Miz Val...what blessings they are!!
I do love to have a tidy counter though!!
:-D
The girls are trained (most of the time) to scrape, rinse, and put in sink. (No dishwasher - just me).
Not that they don't slip up from time to time but it's better than it used to be.
Ahhh, flatsurfaceitis. I thought it was an American disease. My hubby has a chronic case of it, Val. But he has learned that I am much easier to live with if the kitchen counter is empty of everything. When we had no dishwasher, we stacked rinsed dishes in the sink or on counter. We do have a dishwasher, though, so we rinse and put the items in it or else. I encourage this habit by having no more than 4 of any kind of dish. We are three in our house, so that gives one of us (think 16 years old) a chance to sneak food into her room and still have enough dishes to put dinner on the table.
Hubby cooks. He cleans up as he goes - trained to be a chef under a fanatic. I always feel guilty about my own cooking habits whenever I watch him cooking and cleaning. My view is that whoever cooks for others shouldn't have to clean it up. I would have flunked out of his chef's kitchen.
Annette
It's mid September and if we have our morning coffee out of the Christmas mugs, I know it's time to wash dishes... Of course, there are always paper plates.
First of all, hurrah for the dishwasher, my second favorite household appliance (washing machine comes first).
ooh, I've never been one for dishes in the sink, having always followed my mother's rule of order: glasses, cutlery, dishes, pots, and never mixing them. Even when washing dishes by hand at camp, I still keep them separate. So if I put everything in the sink, I'd only have to take them out again to wash them. But it has been a tempting idea to hide them there.
However, it's only an interim measure, for when the dishwasher is running or hasn't yet been emptied.
"Flatsurfaceitis" - I like it! That's a bit harsh though to have only 4 of anything. Would you be able to fill a dishwasher before running it, Annette?
I hadn't mentioned cleaning up as you go, but it was certainly on my mind. Just can't understand why a used paper towel etc can't be immediately thrown out when the rubbish bin is one step away. Putting spices away after finishing with them? Rack is right within arm's reach. But no, all will be left for a grand finale of tidying.
I didn't have cause to complain tonight though: as the food had been cooked the night before, there was no mess. And what a meal: the meat stew consisted of hearts, kidney (yes I know some of you will go "yuk!"), lamb neck (and there will be many of you who have never or seldom had lamb) and smoked pork hocks, cooked in a tomato-based sauce. It was lovely. You would have been most welcome, Alice!
John, as always, you have a bizarre solution to any problem, and it fits in neatly with my solution to de-decorating after Christmas - my Christmas decorations are STILL up!!!
HI Val
I stack my dishes in the sink wash them as i use them and Cant stand dishes unwashed. Take care.
Val -With husband who does all that cooking .......I think that preferable to one who merely stacks the dishes, empties the dishwasher regularly, like me but doesn’t do any cooking.....something I have promised to do when I retire.
!!
What you could do, leave it and see what happens, eventually necessity dictates action
Best wishes
Hello Val,
we have an unwritten rule in our house. That is, if I cook a meal (at least once a week)my kids have to clean up after me. It gives their mum time to put her feet up and enjoy a nice cup of tea.
My DH isn't much of a cleaner upper in the kitchen either. But he cooks so well, I don't mind! Sounds like your man is a great cook, too!
Yup, Val,
We often have a dishwasher full of everything except plates. Harsh, eh? Well, here's harsher... the plates are wooden and can't go into the dishwasher but must be washed by hand! LOL, Heather hates it, but Griz and love eating off of wood.
Annette
Hi Val ~ Looks like I have so much to catch up on. I will later, but just wanted to pop in quickly and say a quick HELLO...
Love your motto by the way!
Hooroo for now...no doubt you must also be getting excited about your upcoming trip back to the US.
I too can't stand unstacked dishes, with no cleared counter space (yes, my hubby does it too), and I don't like putting dishes in the sink until I wash them.
No dishwasher here, but I'd love to have one! I'm the chief cook and bottlewasher in this kitchen!
I would dearly love to have a ManWhoCooks once in a while :)
The chicken AND the stew sound delicious! Can I come along with Alice?
I hate dirty dishes pilled up everywhere...thank gawd I have a dishwasher. One day I told my husband that I wanted a nice new dishwasher and he asked me if I was tired of him and wanted to replace him with a younger model. I told him no, but I just wanted a REAL dishwasher and he still replied, "Well...don't you think I'm real?"
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