This week in my kitchen :: Reclaimed :: No more sand in the sink

It was there, tantalisingly out of reach at the tip of my fingers.  Just when I thought I could grab hold for a big hug it would toddle off like a two year old with a mischievous giggle. 

As the talented craftsmen left the kitchen at night, we would clean and mop and claim the counters and window sills back from the tools and debris. I'd cook supper and wash the dishes and sigh a happy sigh. Next day we'd leave it behind to buy door knobs or hinges, or tootle off to Bristol, the car brimming with boxes of books and kitchen tools for Hannah's new flat. 

That's when the mini revolutions would occur.  More-than-mini volcanoes spewing out more sawdust than you could imagine, making the kitchen look like a 1930's butchers shop. Not just a gentle powdering but full-on Vesuvius's. That was fine, it could soon be swept and mopped again...All part of the process. But the big power tools, the drills and chargers would creep back onto the window sills or the counter top and the nails and bits of dirty wire mingle in with the fish slice or ladle. Maybe I was being impatient and should have waited to re-claim my little domain. 

But the worm turned. There's room for everyone, other surfaces to use, lots of sockets to charge those tools. It feels a bit like a small insurgence.  I am not by nature a fighter but a peacemaker. I choose my battles carefully and even then they are not usually for me, but for someone else. But this weekend after we had cleaned and mopped again and tweaked and painted and filled the cupboards with tea and mugs; pots and pans. We decided that a gentle protest may be required. 

So today I am going to sit tight. At least at the working end of the kitchen. There's room for everyone. Me with my spatula and others with their saws and hammers. No more sand in the sink...

What I've been making in my kitchen this week...

• Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Kale and Mushroom lasagne
• My vegan coconut milk rice pudding with vine fruits and maple  syrup and yoghurt (non vegan)
• Ob Ghoost, Persian lamb and chickpea broth
• Pan fried river cobbler with roasted root vegetables, spinach salad and puy lentils
• hearty tomato soup made with seasonal vegetables and barley
• spicy cray fish tails with spaghetti and brocolini
• my version of toss kabab, Persian casserole with tomatoes, potatoes and dried limes. I substituted the requisite lamb with chicken and added capsicum for extra flavour. Serve English style with mashed potatoes and peas. Frozen because I miss them and the season for fresh ones is miles away. 

Oh and have you seen this yet...He's so cute. I can empathise with his dilemma...

What's been happening in your kitchen this week?