Old stuff is great, and that includes kitchen equipment

We're at my parents' house again, for the day, to organize ourselves and to allow the football lover to view the game with his friends...

It was really fun to be in the cabin, with my self-granted license to relax-which I did.  I think I did really well actually-I read tonnes...had my feet by the fire...and reminded myself to let the kids participate in the tidying! (They'll vouch...and they actually enjoyed the dishwasher so much).   Seeing all the books we have, out in their shelves was great too.  I have a few to take home.

Somehow, even being busy can be relaxing when one can act on one's whims...the kids liked it too, just doing exactly what they wanted, when they wanted, and as a bonus- middle man's summer friend was up there too (with the family's giant trailer of snow machines and heaters).  Also, their dog was there, and he's pretty sure the dog is fantastic.  Also-I know the dog liked whatever we were cooking-because he slipped into the cabin like a freight train to see what we had happening.

The kitchen fun portion included getting to use my old stuff: well-seasoned clay pans, the 'good' muffin tins, my Bosch, the convection oven, the recently acquired pots and pans from my brother and SIL (their old-my luck that they bought an induction range!), and as a confession of sorts-the old cutlery.  I really like the heft and shape of it...what can I say, except that it's good to like what you have.

And some self-congratulations happened as well, because I enjoyed having everything I wanted to use right there, and stocked up...So glad that I took the time to think ahead, and equip the place this summer-since we were in setup mode anyway.  I am now enjoying the fruits of that labour, in little ways, like having toothpaste, and dry goods sealed securely in the pantry, and range cleaner, and leather cleaner, and cleaning clothes, laundry soaps, etc....I'm sure you have the idea.  I like reaching out and having what I am looking for at the end of my arm!

For the ones who read to find out about foods, I made a bean soup (which sadly, had something unfriendly in it that I couldn't foresee, nor can hindsight inform me...).  I also made for the non-gluten-free crowd too, and last night was a combo of both-to the extent that the gluten free looked so good my dad didn't know the difference and enjoyed the Annie's box of mac 'n cheese too!  I did two batches of whole wheat bread, one slightly sweeter, with fruit chunks to be seasonal, and a second with parmesan and garlic, to go along with the spaghetti and meat sauce.  Two batches of chocolate chip cookies- wheat with oatmeal and gluten free.  Making the gluten free package was, well, just plain dumb given how much I've indulged--so I sent those packing with the football fans.  No need to pile foolishness on stupidity!  I could package that as "sharing" but that would too strongly imply that I was doing it for others--yes, they'll like them, but their joy is secondary to my relief...

So that, and the corn breakfast muffins pretty much tells the tale of the kitchen-fest that I enjoyed at the lake...

Cheers and chao!