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| The cooking area in my kitchen. |
A small kitchen limits your cooking space. I am fortunate that my studio apartment has a nice kitchen with plenty of cupboards and counter space. It is designed for a disabled resident. My problem is that I have trouble reaching up into cupboards and have to stand on a stool to do so. I had to put some dishes on my counter so they are easy to get to. I discussed that in a prior blog post, My DIY Disabled Kitchen Design. I do not use the stove or oven that came with the apartment. I just don't like it, except for the clock and timer. I like to use several different small appliances for cooking. One person living alone does not need to heat up a big oven for a small meal. I like to keep my Instant Pot and Induction cook top on the stove because the exhaust fan is above it. It was an uneven surface and I did not like that. The burners from the stove were collecting crumbs and such. So even though I was not using it for cooking, I was still having to clean those out.
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| DIY cooking surface for small appliances. |
I mentioned it to my boyfriend, Sonny, and he said he had an idea. He measured the top of the stove all the way to back. Then he dug out of his garage a piece of counter top from a remodeling job he did ten years ago. Yesterday he brought it over and put it on my stove. We took off all the coils for the electric burners and I stored them away. As you can see in the picture it fits perfectly under the control panel.
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| The oven stores all my cookware! |
I now have a flat surface that is easy to clean and makes cooking here so much nicer. There is a spot to put both appliances, the induction cook top and the Instant Pot. With plenty of room to set things down near me while cooking. I have trivets to set the hot pans on. Being level makes a difference when I am cooking on the cook top. If you are cooking an omelet in a skillet it will all go to one side if the burner is not level. Hard to cook that way! I did learn when researching this project, that it is called a "Noodle Board" but had never heard it called that before. I am not making noodles on it, so I am calling it a cooking board.
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| Ready to cook! |
Now before you can warn me about the fire hazards of using anything on your stove.........I want to make it clear that the controls are on the back of the stove. If I ever turned on the burners or oven accidentally there would be a beeping sound. I do all the cooking in my home since I live alone. Nobody will be messing with it. Being in a studio apartment, I can see my kitchen at all times unless I am sleeping or watching videos. I am very aware of fire prevention after having lived for over 20 years cooking and heating on wood stoves.
Note: The reason I am saying this is that I belonged to a group on Facebook who are a bunch of know-it all's and give advice when nobody asks them for it. Besides what makes these women THINK they know SO MUCH more than me? I have probably lived more and done more than they have EVER done. Done with that! I am pretty much getting fed up with Facebook anyway.
