I've been thinking a lot about simplicity especially in regards to cooking and kitchens. My kitchen here is roughly the same size as our kitchen in Asia but somehow it is significantly less efficient despite the counters here being the appropriate height.

The truth is I kinda miss having only one burner. Four is nice but I certainly don't need that many. I like my myriad of pots and pans (and by myriad I mean four: one small stock pot, one large stock pot, and 2 frying pans) but I can make everything I need to in just one wok. I've also concluded that no matter how large my oven is, I will probably always burn the last batch of granola. Convenience is nice; Obedience is better.

As I began to prepare my heart for returning to Asia in January and re-downsizing to a single burner and tiny toaster oven, I remembered I had these pictures and thought you might want to see, too.

homemade tortillas chips (they taste better than they look)

pancakes

popcorn

homemade refried beans (they also taste a lot better than they look)

homemade chicken noodle soup - this one is a little more involved starting with boiling the chicken

I was really disgusted when I realized that was the chicken's head poking out from behind a wing

and then the beak came off in my hand - yuck

My local friends in Asia are always appalled to hear that we don't eat the chicken feet in America. What can I say?

Yummy homemade noodles drying over our dining room chairs.

the finished product: delicious!

So what have we learned from this post? Convience is nice; Obedience is better. And I seriously need to work on my food-photographing-skills. :)

PS please be thinking of our little mighty man. He's getting six teeth at one time - ouch!!!