Kitchen's Kitchen

and house plants, copious amounts thereof!

This is the plan for those shelves.

Not just house plants though... growing herbs in little pots on the shelves and window sills (depending on which ones need how much direct sunlight or shade).

I've already bought the soil! Just in search of the pots now. I'm thinking large glass jars so it's really easy to see soil moisture level without inspecting each pot.

What's your bin? Looks nice.

Out of interest how come you chose to box in the fridge like that?

What's your bin? Looks nice.

https://www.simplehuman.co.uk/products/rectangular-touch-bar-can-48l-dual-compartment?variant=32718173143145

Buy the bin just so you can buy their bags. Their bags are good... really good.

I opted for this one as it is the most mechanically simple of their bins... it bugs me when bins break, there's nothing on this to break that I couldn't fix... it's just two springs.

Out of interest how come you chose to box in the fridge like that?

Recommended by kitchen designer and then mock up. Basically alignment of the top of the cabinets and the counter top to the right of the fridge... it looked awful without a box around the fridge.

Once you opt for a box around the fridge, it looks odd without the cupboard at the top to even out the height and keep that line good... hence the very odd small cabinet up there (good for trays, nothing else).

It does also hide the side and back, guarantee airflow, and from the side the fridge isn't visible. So I'm happy with it.

Bloody hell I can't bring myself to spend that much on a bin. It does look very nice though!

Makes sense about the fridge. Ours is going on top of a plinth to make room for a soil stack underneath, but we're not boxing it in. Hopefully won't look too weird given we don't have any wall cabinets.

Next question - what's the futuristic egg thing to the left of your hob?

I already know I can't afford it but I bet it's cool.

Strongly reminiscent of

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Rice cooker
https://www.yumasia.co.uk/zojirushi-en/zojirushi-ns-ysq10-rice-cooker

Nope, hard no. Definitely no.

As someone that is distracted by pretty colours, loud noises, TV, screens, shiny things, etc and fucked around with a kettle on a hob. I immediately went back to a shitty electric kettle that turns off all by itself.

For someone with wifi enabled hobs and shit I'd think that having something that didn't try to burn your house down would be relatively higher on your list.

I like my Simple Human bin. It probably cost more than all my kitchen cupboards combined but I spent the rest of the kitchen upgrade budget on bikes, booze, cocaine and hookers so it was definitely not wasted.

And there's me still using a saucepan like some sort of stone age idiot :'(

+1 for SimpleHuman and the inexplicable joy of changing binbags. Ours has a little dispenser inside so once you take the full one out there is a fresh one waiting for you.

I'm thinking large glass jars so it's really easy to see soil moisture level without inspecting each pot.

According to my mother this will only look nice for a short time because of limescale. Never tried it though.

And there's me still using a saucepan like some sort of stone age idiot :'(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53me-ICi_f8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7OKjTIUp1w

I mean I hear you... My wife's family are Asian too though, albeit South Asian, and every single one uses a saucepan. They would never be able to forgive me for spending £330 on a rice cooker.

The draining the water thing I agree with - if you use the right amount of water, there is none left to drain.

Mine's a silly price, but I've had it for years and it replaced one I had for 15 years that just proved to be too small to be useful in the end (it was for an individual rather than a household). Because I already knew the value of them I knew I'd use it 2-3 times per week for a decade or more... that amortisation makes the cost per use about 20p... 20p for effortless perfect rice. It's a no-brainer for me. I save the money even quicker the few times I order curry or thai on Deliveroo... I do the rice myself here and save £3-4 a portion.

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Ours was like 500hkd, brought it back in a suitcase - its brilliant and doesn't miss a beat. Like @Velocio use it 2-3 times per week. Just don't mention it on the Home owner thread...

I love my zojirushi too. I have a 3 cup model and love it.

I have a 6L instant pot for quickly slow cooking. I have heard they are excellent for rice and a lot faster than a rice cooker. However at 6L my instant pot is too big to make rice for two.

I strongly second owning a rice cooker, it makes things so much easier. Just chuck a bit of rice in and forget about it. Ours was £20 and has lasted 5 years and counting. Only downsides are that it's a bit small and you always get a bit of rice stuck to the bottom that needs soaking. The rest of the ride is still perfect though.

I went through a phase of having hob kettles. They had short lives that ended in heat, smoke and melting. This is also why I have neither pets nor children.

I had a hob kettle for about a week. It was missing the whistle. So you can imagine the number of times that boiled dry. I reckon I boil the normal kettle and 50% of the time forget to use it because I get distracted and move onto something else.

Strong recommendation for a single large sink.

Just made a Breton cake, aka butter cake. The springform leaked butter into the baking shelf below. Would've been a nightmare to clean except the entire baking shelf just fits in the sink and could be quickly cleaned.

Also pyro, but fitting it in the sink is ace

Springform pans always go on baking sheets for that reason.

That sounds very sensible.

But I'm glad I can soak whole oven shelves and baking trays so when I'm not sensible it's a non-issue

Baked on stuff at the bottom of the oven is what helps give food that special character that you just can't get from a perfectly sterile oven.

😂

That used to be the justification my local fish shop used for not changing the oil.