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| Kitchen when we purchased... |
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| Then we got appliances and made do... |
We just installed a new kitchen in our home in the Dominican Republic, courtesy of IKEA. We had to decide if we were going to upgrade our kitchen in Michigan or the one in the casa. Our Michigan kitchen had been 'upgraded' to a usable modern space after buying the house from my grandparents whose 1957 choices reflected a different world. Grandma was a full-time homemaker and appliances were completely different sizes. Our kitchen in the casa when we bought it consisted of a corner cabinet under a counter top with a shallow double sink molded into the material, weirdly off center of the window AND where a human can actually stand who would then also be blocking the area where a stove/oven would sit. And there was also the other medium sized cabinet that also had no shelves built into it. So when you open the cabinet it is essentially a wooden box where you pile all your cooking ingredients and snacks, etc. Needless to say, the decision was to upgrade the casa kitchen because it wasn't functional at all! Knowing that IKEA was an option, I hopped on the kitchen planner tool and designed several kitchens. Originally we thought we wanted all wood cabinet doors. After seeing what constant heat and humidity do to wood and how it attracts all kinds of interested wood-eating insects, we decided to go a bit more modern. With shiny plastic/pvc (or whatever it is) covered doors we can wipe them down aggressively and they resist moisture.
(I've heard there are more humid places on Earth, but really I can't believe that it can be much more...the summer here feels like the closest thing to living in water but still being classified as air as it can be...luckily there are the trade winds here or I wouldn't be...)
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Everything except
granite is from IKEA |
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| IKEA Kitchen Plan |
At last we have a kitchen with places to put things and more storage than we have in our home in Michigan. So, what does one do with a brand new kitchen? Throw a party naturally! We over purchased on a whirl-wind shopping spree in Sosua.
(I shopped at Super Pola. Thomas went to Playero. We compared stock pricing and quality of produce and that time, Playero won...although since returning to Super Pola...they were fully stocked again...) We cooked too much food which is frankly always my fault. Better too much than to little, I say. We had a couple couple friends over and showcased the new kitchen and discussed the cost/benefit analysis of granite and custom-made versus modular IKEA system...we all know what we chose.
Seriously, IKEA should be paying us something to keep advertising for them...
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| Kitchen 95% complete...still needs the dishwasher, wine rack and last piece of granite installed in the far corner.... |
So, maybe I'm just a bad hostess, but I am always not ready when guests arrive. That was compounded by a few things this time:
1. Thomas had many projects going that didn't revolve around getting the house cleaned and ready for our guests, but that isn't to say his projects were not actually more of a priority than my hosting a party...ehem.
2. You know how Costco has tons of ready to heat and serve hors d'oeuvres and such? So, essentially, you plan a main course and make a salad...but rely on the oven to round out the experience with tasty appetizers that no one in their right mind (at least according to me...I'm no Martha Stewart) could make from scratch. Well, in Cabrera there really isn't that option. I used what little data connection I had to look up three easy pool-side sides to serve, but I had to make them! From scratch! Alone! And, finally,
3. It's friggn' hot! I tried to avoid things that required the oven or range...but, dangit!...zucchini/carrot fritters don't fry themselves!
Not only did I have to throw myself into the pool once or twice during the preparation to avoid a heat stroke...I was sweaty and grimy still wearing a white t-shirt I had cut the sleeves off of when my guests arrived.
(Lucky for you I have no selfies of this...) All I could do was get them all drinks and then excuse myself to take a shower and get dressed...hubby followed after due to his 'projects'...which meant streaking through our own party to emerge clean and acceptably dressed for our guests. To their credit, they all laughed and said, "No worries...it's Island Style..."
So the event was a success and the kitchen did a great job...😉
The following event I hosted was aptly named "Refrigerator Clean Out Party" and I had literally nothing prepared. We were leaving the island for a while and knew better than to leave food in the fridge until we returned. People came over and THEN we pulled everything out and just let people prepare anything that looked good to them...including cocktails which, of course, made the food start disappearing faster too... That's Island Style Hosting at it's finest!
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| Note the über-fancy use of a yogurt container... |
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