Paleo Kitchen

I am a nosy person. That doesn't sound quite right. OK, I'm a curious person, especially when it comes to people's houses. I just think it's sort of fascinating to see how people personalize their spaces. I'm the crazy person who drives by a pretty house, notices a "For Sale" sign on the outside, and immediately does a Google search on the address to check out and see what the inside looks like. 

Anyway, I thought you as readers might enjoy a little peek into my kitchen. Apart from the 8 hours per night that I spend in bed, the kitchen comes in a close second for the amount of time I spend in there. I'm super thankful that a year ago February, Kevin and I undertook a full renovation of our kitchen - it's definitely made it one of my favorite spots in the house!

EAT! As if I need to be told. Took some time taking pictures today
while a pot of butter simmered on the stove, well on its way to becoming a
fresh batch of ghee.

I love the light in the kitchen - in the morning everything is all
shadowy and mellow.

It took a while, but I believe my current setup is the best yet. My hefty bamboo cutting board sits in front of my cookbook stand. I have a little basket (to the left of my copy of Well Fed 2) that holds my Red Boat fish sauce, and my hot sauce, as well as the little grinders I have for fresh black pepper and Himalayan salt. Don't let your eyes fool you - that plant is 100% fake. Close at hand I keep a canister of almonds (perfect to add to any meal for a boost of good fats), my compost container, the knife block, and my favorite mug (in case the mood strikes for a cup of coffee or tea)

Even though there's not much room in my current diet for alcohol, I do enjoy the occasional glass of wine. In the mean time, though, I love a good Paleo-friendly 'mocktail' (recipe to come soon!). I like the look of all our glasses all neatly lined up, and always keep a canister of cute paper straws on hand to dress up a boring glass of water or LaCroix. 

A peek inside my fridge! Every week when I grocery shop, the first thing I do is come home and clean the fridge out. This involves taking almost everything out, wiping down the shelves with a natural cleaner. Then I load in the goodies, making sure to put any leftover produce from last week at the front (so it gets used first). My fridge layout is pretty standard - the bottom drawers are for produce - peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, herbs, onions, and scallions this week. The bottom shelf is for raw meats. I found an awesome pork roast at the store today, and picked up a whole chicken (since we embraced brining, our chicken intake has gone up a lot - it's just so tasty!). Off to the right is a pot that has some whole chicken breasts brining to be grilled for lunches this week. I buy the kind with the skin still on, and the bones still on. You get WAY more meat for a way better price! The Deli drawer is full of bacon, lard, Polish kielbasa, hard salami, and some nice prosciutto that I bought for a treat. The top two shelves are full of LaCroix (just sparkling water - no sweeteners or sodium), pickles & olives (two of my favorite things to add to meals), and odds and ends. This week I made a double batch of Paleo mayo, and used it for a double batch of Well Fed 2's remoulade dip. This stuff is good on everything from eggs, to dipping chicken, to veggies. I try to have some on hand at all times, and usually have a few teeny tupperware containers to grab on the way to work. 

So that's my kitchen! I thought it might be something that non-Paleo eaters would be curious about. I have to say, eating Paleo has made my kitchen so much more organized. Since I shop once a week, the fridge is full on Mondays, and by the end of the week it's almost completely empty. I feel like it really cuts down on any waste, since it's harder to end up with mystery containers in the back corner growing fuzzy mold!

Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed a little tour of where all the Paleo magic happens!