Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Adjusting to a New Kitchen

I felt like I was in someone else's kitchen for weeks.  I avoided cooking because it was a hassle to find my favorite tools.  Dishes were the bane of my existence as I struggled with misplaced dish towels.  Then I had a bunch of bananas go real ripe.  The kind of ripe that that begs for banana bread.
I had to buy all new baking ingredients after not being able to move my pantry staples, but I didn't let that stop me.  Hello Joy of Cooking my old lover, my old friend.  You suggest some chocolate chips?  Okie dokie.
Once I had one loaf under my belt, the baking juices flowed from there.  Well that, and I had another bunch of bananas go ripe.  Besides overbuying bananas, my other mad skill is substituting wheat flour to make me feel less guilty about the butter and sugar crust on these bad boys.
After the banana confession, I feel pretty confessorial.  We eat out roughly 50-60% of the time.  Mr. Palindrome eats at work, I eat out for lunch most days and since Mr. P gets home late, we eat late for dinner. Yep, it's more money.  Sometimes it's more fat.  But sometimes, it's just so darn good.  Not only do we get some awesome local fare, but awesome views to boot like this tasty sausage breakfast sandwich from the Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building.

What's your favorite dish to break into a kitchen?  How do you split your at home meals vs. eating out?


  1. mmm, that cookie dough and those muffins look fantastic!

    we eat out a lot too, though not nearly as much when we first moved here! really there's so many places to eat in the bay area, it's hard not to (for the sake of "exploring") hehe.

  2. I definitely feel you on having a hard time getting started in a new kitchen! I had the same problem. Of course, it didn't last long and now I adore my kitchen and cook in it all the time!

  3. Those banana bread muffins look so tasty!!

    When we started really tracking our monthly budget I realized that we ate out too much. We're trying to cut back, but when I get tired of cooking and my husband is tried from school and work we'll head out.

  4. I really wish I had a baking bone in my body. Your banana bread muffins look delish!

  5. Mmmm...that looks so delicious!! I really want a banana bread muffin now.