My ill-equipped, still barely post-college kitchen

I love to eat.  That much is clear by my involvement with yelp and my incessant dining out experiences.  As of late (http://likeabirdie.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-cooker-in-hooooouseee.html) I have learned to love to cook, finding it to be a soothing exercise in my rather stressful life.  In fact, I have found some like-minded individuals at my new job, and we have formed a cooking club.  Twice now, we have gotten together to have "cooking nights."  We call it "Cooking with Lisa."  If you don't get that reference, I won't explain it to you.  We likely find it funnier than you do, even if you do get it.  Deal with it.

The first night, we went off recipes from some shared cookbooks, and  I hosted at my humble abode.  Perhaps I didn't realize how ill-equipped my kitchen was before I offered to host this event.  My pans are worn, leftover from one of my previous relationships.  My knives are the same, dulled and worn.  I have minimal platters for presenting carefully crafted meals.  I don't even have a proper kitchen table to serve my guests.

My mother gave me a really nice large sauté pan for Christmas, and that is one of my most exciting new possessions.  I treat it very carefully, and make sure that I do not stack it with my gross kitchen ware.

Other than my lovely new pan, I do have a lovely coffeemaker, thank you, Cuisinart.  When I got my first real job, it was my present to myself.  I carefully researched all sorts of coffee-making appliances and decided that the Cuisinart Grind and Brew would be my dream machine.  It had a grinder IN the coffeemaker.  Brilliant.  Upon bringing this, my very first "big-girl" appliance to the checkout at Bed Bath and Beyond, the cashier cheerfully asked me, "Is this for a wedding registry?"

Ouch.

Yeah, not married.  And I told that nosy, busybody cashier, "I'm sorry, no.  I can't wait 'til I get married to enjoy nice appliances."  Of course, that was the last big girl appliance I purchased.  Ah, life got in the way and I had other things with which to worry myself aside from stocking my kitchen.  (Realizing that my first job didn't really give me benefits, enable me to pay my student loans, nor support the leech I had unfortunately attracted were the very tips of those issues.)

My kitchen has retained its "I'm still young and can get away with this" status being as I have yet to marry and experience the joys of a gift registry.  After one episode of Cooking with Lisa at my house and onto another episode of our cooking night at another coworker's home, I realized how sad the state of my kitchen truly is.  Aside from the sad knives, which may be a blessing in disguise at the rate I have chopped down on my fingers lately, I have broken ramekins, minimal serving platters and only five glasses.

I do have matching plates, so there is that.  So what if they have some chips.  My boyfriend also convinced to me to buy those glasses (there were six at one point), telling me that it wasn't right that I drank out of mismatched plastic glasses and leftover plastic beer steins from several years of Germanfest.  Ugh.  As much as I profess to enjoy cooking and the art of making a lovely kitchen, I just really have failed at acquiring the proper tools.

I don't let it stop me.  I might not be married and my knives might make a real chef cry, but I still go to down in my kitchen on a regular basis, whether it be following a recipe from epicurious.com or adapting one from my well-worn Betty Crocker cookbook, I will not let my lack of equipment hold me back.

Granted, let me know if you want to donate toward my goal of having a grown-up kitchen.  I'm not too proud to accept donations.  Especially if they include a Cuisinart food processor.