Old Time Out Door Kitchens

I love my outdoor kitchen!  "Kitchen", well maybe just an outdoor grill with burner and sink from an old cafe that gets water from a hose and drains water into a bucket that then makes its way into the compost pile.  But still, it's a dream to be able to clean my fruits and vegetables outdoors, splashing water all over the place without a care.  And then there is all that summer preserving with boiling water kettles and jam pots.  

For anyone serious about putting up the harvest I strongly encourage putting in the time to come up with some simple design for cooking outside.  I admit to spending a bit for the grill and burner but that's because I cook dinners out there all summer as well and use my grill (that has a temperature read) as a stove for baking pies, biscuits and anything that requires, well, baking.

It's all very logical but somehow air conditioning and fancy kitchens drew us indoors.  And let's not start thinking about the kind of silliness the sends people to design showrooms for that ridiculous outdoor "entertainment" arenas I've seen advertised.  What a huge hype.  Just get a burner strong enough to sustain a rolling boil and you will be able to set up your canning pot for the time it is generally required to can most things .

Tonight, for example, I'm going to make a frittata for dinner with new potatoes, garlic and onion from the garden.  I have some canned tomatoes, anchovies, cream and eggs (from the raw milk crew) and I'm off.  And being that it is over 90 today I will be spared the heat dinner cooking adds to the house.

So that's the drill.  Build yourself a little makeshift outdoor kitchen and have at it.  You will be very happy for it.