Real Simplicity in
the Kitchen
by Diane
Girard
'Tis a gift to be
simple, the old Shaker song says. I say achieving real simplicity,
especially in the kitchen, requires an ability to turn down gifts
and a talent for wrecking small kitchen appliances.
The list of appliances
I no longer have, never had, or managed to destroy is long. I
had a microwave but I killed it. I had a blender but gave it away.
The food chopper never worked and the huge food processor was
quickly returned. No one gave me an electric can opener. The electric
frying pan fried itself and I've never had an electric kettle.
I don't own anything that plugs in to slice, dice, chop, mince,
blend, make waffles, bake bread, brew expresso, deep-fry, grill
or slow-cook. It's not easy to keep the kitchen simple. The lack
of any desire to take small appliances apart and clean their sharp
innards after every use motivates me, and so does the lack of
space. I have a galley kitchen and a counter about as big as the
paper currency from some countries.
Walking the small appliance
aisles in department stores, I'm enchanted by the variety of small
and not-so-small electric things and surprised that I manage to
cook anything without them. I wonder where people who do buy them
keep them. It seems some new houses have "appliance garages".
After touring those aisles I believe one would need a double garage
to keep all the kitchen gadgets in! Even so, temptation is always
near. It takes inner resolve to resist, but I do.
After all, the 30-year-old
handheld electric mixer that has seniority and waits humbly in
a dark drawer still works. A sleek toaster is the only appliance
allowed on the counter. It's a shining chrome gem with rounded
edges made in the 1950's. It has a new electric cord, and it works.
The other small electric item is a red-and-white clock, also circa
1950, a souvenir from my grand mother's kitchen. It is not digital
or programmable. It has a dial with large numbers and a sweep
second hand, and it works.
When people ask me
what I would like as a gift, I never say — "I'd like a small
electric appliance please." However, occasionally small appliances
do arrive without warning and must then be tactfully dispatched.
An electric mixer on a stand might receive my approval, but I
don't think they make them any more. For now, my kitchen remains
a gadget-free zone.
Diane Girard is 59
years old and lives in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada near her family
of a daughter and two grandsons. Diane began writing poetry and
fiction in grade school and has continued to scribble for her
own pleasure while earning a living in different ways. She has
had several careers and is currently not considering becoming
a consultant.
