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amazingpaleo
Come behind the scenes at Amazing Paleo for a #KitchenTour and see Mariel's kitchen in Idaho.
My favorite thing about my kitchen is that it's an open concept sort of kitchen. This allows my kitchen space to have lots of natural light coming in (from the large windows in the living room), to be a central focus of the house when friends come over for parties and events, and for me to be a part of the rest of the family while I'm in the kitchen hard at work developing and testing Paleo recipes for my blog. I truly love my kitchen; it's probably my favorite spot in the house!
Tell us about your kitchen?
My kitchen is about 120 square feet. We live in a condo in the heart of downtown Boise and, for a condo, this size of kitchen is pretty spacious. My kitchen is the first room you see as soon as you walk into our condo, after a long hallway. It is an open concept, and so from the kitchen, you can see our living room and part of the dining room. The living room has floor to ceiling windows, which bring a generous amount of natural light into my kitchen and also allow for a great view of our beautiful city and the surrounding mountains.
What have you done to make your kitchen cosy, functional, beautiful or inspiring?
Since moving into our condo we wanted a cool backsplash and have always loved warm cabinetry. Well, we lucked out on the cabinets because they were already a warm color so we didn't need to change them. We did decide to upgrade the backsplash to give it a more modern feel and add a nice reflective surface to the overall area. We also lucked out with the appliances; they were new when we bought the condo and we love them. I have slowly made the kitchen my own by adding fun gadgets and tools that I have careful selected and acquired over the years. I have great electric appliances, great coffee makers, top of the line pots and pans, and a great set of knives (essential for a food blogger). All of these things inspire me and make me feel prepared to take on any culinary challenge!
How do you keep organized while cooking?
I clean as I go. That is my motto, and has always been my motto. I am sort of a clean freak, so I start stressing out when I have more than three pots/pans dirty at once while I am cooking or baking. I have a dishwasher to help me do the job, but I am also a huge fan of doing it old-school and washing my dishes/utensils with latex gloves, a sponge and organic dish soap.
Any tips & tricks for organising your pantry, fridge and ingredients?
Definitely! I would say that the key to an organized pantry, refrigerator, and overall kitchen space, is to give everything an assigned spot. That way, when things are a little hectic around the kitchen after a few hours of cooking and eating, you and your family can all work together to get everything back to where it needs to be. Makes things a whole lot easier.
Do you do a lot of cooking and what are your favourite dishes to make?
I do cook a lot! I would say that I cook at least twice a day, unless we are traveling. Not only am I constantly developing Paleo recipes for my blog, but my family and I prefer to eat at home rather than out at restaurants...so all of that makes for a lot of cooking and baking! The reason why we love to eat at home is because we know we'll get the best ingredients available, the cleanest cooking environment, and a fully customizable menu (we are picky eaters). Preparing food for my family brings me peace of mind and joy, as I know that I am taking our health into my own hands and keeping us healthy.
Where do you turn for new recipe ideas?
I truly get ideas everywhere I go. I could be dining out in a restaurant and get ingredient combination ideas there...or I could be visiting my mother or mother-in-law, and pick up some family recipe secrets there! I do visit FoodGawker.com, TasteSpotting.com, MarthaStewart.com and Pinterest.com for fun and adventurous recipe ideas once in a while. Also, I love ordering cookbooks from my favorite food bloggers to have a large arsenal of recipes that are exclusive and not available online (some of these are a little more complex, which are very fun to prepare...I'm always down for a challenge)!
Do you plan out your recipes for the week or do you like to be spontaneous?
For the most part, I like being spontaneous. You never know what you're going to crave tomorrow, let alone in a few days, so I like to plan as I go. I tend to ask my husband what he feels like having for dinner early on in the day, so that I have enough time to go out to Whole Foods (which is only a few blocks away) to buy fresh and good quality ingredients for dinner. Of course there are days where I don't feel like cooking, so we'll just go to some of our favorite local restaurants or to the hot bar section of Whole Foods for a quick dinner. For lunch, we tend to do light salads and grilled proteins, which is super easy and fast to put together. For this, I keep prepped veggies in our refrigerator (washed, sliced, and cut) and bulk grill lean proteins for us to have ready to eat when hunger strikes.
If you had three wishes, what would you do to make this your dream kitchen?
I would probably: - Add another oven (one is sometimes not enough) - Expand my counter space (you can never have enough counter space) - Add a cellar (I love wine)
Whose kitchen would you love to explore? Send us a message!
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