We kicked off a kitchen remodel in January and have spent the last three months making food out of our cold, dark garage. Here are some key lessons I learned:
Don’t do it in the winter, it’s really cold in the garage. Even peanut butter gets frozen…
You can microwave nearly everything, and you can even try the things you shouldn’t. Not having used the microwave much, this was like a science experiment to the detriment of my children…
Washing dishes in the utility sink, in the cold, was not my favorite.
I figured this would force us to use the crockpot, Instant Pot, and more, but we’ve only used them a handful of times because the prep in a garage is not very exciting.
When we lost power for a week, and literally were in a dark garage with headlamps, we were fine not eating (much).
Put the peanut butter in the house.
It’s very enticing to order take out. How will we go back to cooking when the kitchen is back?
There are so many microwave meals out there. Like tons! It’s a whole marketplace…never fear (or do if you decide to partake).
We took a few trips to stay in a cabin at the Mt. Hood during the renovations, and found out what a special thing is was to get away in the winter to a winter wonderland. It’s something we hope to do next year, too!
You can also BBQ everything, even deep dish pizza. Pizza is a required part of the diet, so this was a necessary discovery.
You can cook an Easter meal using the Instant Pot, BBQ and microwave, on paper plates. It was one for the books.
Three months actually goes pretty quick at the end of it. But yeah, it was a cold, interesting few months of food…
Erin Kettle 