This Global Kitchen | Day 10: India
Namaste! I'm Rachel. Former elementary teacher from Kansas City, now language learning expat living in a villagish-town in India. Life here is usually a little crazy.... Whether at home, trying to figure out how to get a flea covered animal out of our attic, or driving along curvy mountain roads trying not to hit a cow. My husband and I lived overseas as singles, but are now facing the challenges and joys of our first year overseas as a married couple. Living in a different country, culture, and town with limited resources compared to life in the States stretches me to be a creative home-maker when it comes to decorating, organizing, hosting, and most of all cooking. My hope is to thrive, not merely survive, and help others do the same-- loving life overseas.
When we moved overseas a year ago, I quickly realized I would be spending a lot of time in the kitchen. I wanted it to be a place that was functional and life-giving, which for me, usually means lots of color mixed with earthy textures and of course, organization. Since there is often the potential for guests, I also wanted everything in the kitchen to have a place and be easy for others to find what they need.
We recently moved and are now blessed with a much larger kitchen than the one in our first home (first photo). The kitchen there was pretty small with a tiny sink and giant spiders. There was a lot of screaming involved!
One of the things I love best about our kitchen is the open living room, dining room, and kitchen layout of our current home. It allows me to cook and be a part of conversations with guests all at the same time.
The open shelves are my favorite part of the kitchen —happy, colorful, earthy, and a few of my favorite things: Cookbooks (honestly, I haven’t made many recipes out of the India cookbook since we can just go to almost any restaurant and order amazing Indian food), pictures from Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park (tiny watercolor vintage art), plants, quotes that make me laugh like this one from The Green Book (because living cross-culturally is not easy), coffee, healthy food options (chia seeds and dried apricots), cross-stitch, and the recipe box that I made when I was in high school.
We looked for someone who would sell us two fifty-inch boards for months until we came across a guy in a little wood shop who stopped his work, cut, stripped, and sanded the boards right there on the spot. My husband was gracious enough to drill into our concrete wall in order to hang them up. When a mediocre drill is up against a brick wall, the wall wins every time. We only gained one gaping hole in the process, which the coffee basket is now hiding.
Let’s be real. Many of us prize the beloved Ziplock and because we live in a place where they aren’t prevalent, we wash and reuse them often. Due to this reality, I converted the side of my fridge into a broom station, using strong magnets purchased at a “teacher store” from my teaching days, and a zip lock bag drying rack area. I was tired of sticking the bags all over the backsplash and figured there MUST be a better way to dry bags without them cluttering the kitchen or repeatedly falling off the wall. I resorted to a tiny towel drying rack that has two sticky square areas on the back and can be placed anywhere. So far, it has worked great!
The chai recipe made it on the fridge simply for easy access because chai is a must if you have locals over. Although I've lived here almost a year, I still haven't mastered the ratios like all the nationals who simply throw ingredients in and viola—amazing South Asian chai.
For me, I like my fridge to display things I want to look at or be reminded of. Life values fall into that category and everyday my husband and I are reminded of what’s important to us and what we want to live by. FITNESS: live healthy lives; TRAVEL: either planning or going; The ARTS: music, creativity, writing; MARRIAGE: this is a given but we never want to become complacent in marriage. Intentionality is key; SABBATH: daily + weekly; SPIRITUALITY: abiding, singing, praying…; SOCIAL: connecting with others, hospitality; OUTDOORS: hiking, hammocking…
I tried to make the window a little more cheery with plants since our view consists of our neighbors peeling painted brick wall and lysol bottles displayed in their bathroom window.
When we were looking for houses, we saw quite the array of backsplash designs including hamburgers (we don’t even eat beef here), princesses with pink dresses, and sea creatures (we don't live anywhere near the ocean). Considering what's out there, we were pleasantly surprised with the coffee and tea theme because at least it goes with the culture. As far as the tiles go, the best part is definitely the fact that the tiles are not centered with the oven slot!
I wanted to go for a more cohesive look and found stick-on vinyl wallpaper online. I first ordered white brick but it was so thin that you could still see the coffee and tea tiles when it was on the wall. The second try worked— grey brick wallpaper. I ordered the same wallpaper three times and every time it came in a slightly different shade of grey than the last roll I ordered. Thus, we have three different shades of grey brick on the walls.
One of the most helpful additions to the kitchen has been this Kitchen Conversions chart from Etsy. I certainly don’t have Celsius down pat and honestly use it on a daily basis. I like that it’s clean, simple, and even includes grams. Don’t mind the burn mark that occurred before the wallpaper was done. The back of the stove was probably not the best temporary place to put it.
Earthy textures are scattered throughout the kitchen, from the macrame basket hanging on the wall to the seagrass basket from the local market that holds fruit. The wooden spoons are from Thailand and the bamboo straws from Indonesia. In India, drinks are always served on trays, whether in a little village or in a fancy restaurant. I purchased a wood tray and silverware holder to go with the wooden theme. The wooden barrel container that the cooking utensils are in was originally for a fake plant but I took the plant and foam out and in went the colorful utensils.
Most people walk into my house and think I have a giant jar of honey on the counter. I would never be opposed to that, but it's actually Khombucha. I first learned to brew khombucha when I was living overseas several years ago. It's pretty simple once you have the ingredients and a few other items such as a massive glass jar. Flavoring it with mangoes is the best, when they are the season that is, since it adds a slight sweetness.
When I began filling the kitchen space a beautiful, colorful rug was what I had in mind but, then I thought about the reality of life overseas. All things in the kitchen are exponentially more messy-- cheap blenders that fling hot soup throughout the kitchen or sprinkles that drop and instantly melt from the heat. Just this week I broke the French Press (sad day!). I finally came to terms with a jute rug, which I still love and has held up great.
My Must Haves for My Expat Kitchen:
I absolutely love my $5 thrift store bread maker find that I hauled overseas. It makes homemade cinnamon roll dough, crescent rolls, or a loaf of bread a million times easier. I’m all about simplifying life when things just take longer here in general and this does the trick.
I am also super glad I brought two good veggie peelers, a high quality knife set, and a Microplane zester grater. I use the grater for everything from cheese to fresh nutmeg to ginger or orange peel.
My Favorite Expat friendly Recipe:
Cranberry- Orange Scones
by Rachel | TakingRoute.net
Prioritizing rest has been an important part of my journey as an expat. One way I love to enjoy a day off is starting with a delicious breakfast that I wouldn’t normally make during the week. Scones are one of those items that are just delectable and have also been a part of my family for generations. One aunt in particular could whip up “high tea” with scones before you could get to her door. My uncle was given this Cranberry-Orange Scone recipe by a lady from England many years ago. It has become one of my family’s favorites!
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 T finely shredded orange peel
- 2 1/2 t baking powder
- 1 1/2 t anise seeds, crushed or substitute for 1 t orange essence (optional)
- 1 T salt
- 1/2 t baking soda
- 3/4 c cold butter, cut up
- 3/4 dried cranberries
- 1 c buttermilk
- 1/2 t vanilla
- 1 T butter melted (optional)
- Coarse sugar (optional)
Preheat oven 400 F ( 200 C). Grease a baking sheet; set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, orange peel, baking powder, anise seeds or orange essence, salt, and baking soda. Using a pastry blender, cut in the 3/4 cup buttermilk and vanilla; stir just until moistened.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough by gently folding and pressing it for 10 to 12 strikes or until nearly smooth. Pat or lightly roll dough into a 10-circle. Cut dough circle into eight wedges. Place wedges 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. If desired, brush wedges with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake about 20 min or until bottoms of scones are golden. Cool on baking sheet for 10 min. Serve warm. (Makes 8 servings)
Citrus Glaze:
- 1/2 c powdered sugar
- 1 tsp orange peel (grated)
- 1 1/2-2 t orange juice
Mix and pour over scones.
