Hello again friends! Happy New Year, Happy Valentine’s Day, Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Happy Easter and merriment wishes to any other holiday and celebration that I may have missed. 2013 started with many changes and many firsts like Lua’s first day of school, moving into a new flat, and starting to train for a marathon. As the dust has settled, there are more gluten and dairy-free recipes and updates on our lives in London to share with you.
After being away for one month on our trip home in December, we returned to a flat that demanded scrubbing attention (somehow an avocado was left on the kitchen table, for 1 month rotting away, and some mysterious vegetable was left in the garbage can even though I could have sworn we took out every piece of rottable parcel).
After all of the general cleaning and airing-out was completed I decided to venture into the kitchen and take on the grease-filled oven. This is my greatest kitchen confession, I have never cleaned an oven! But this year, 2013, was the year I was going to start “grease-free.” A clean oven seemed necessary, it helped concretize the need for a fresh start to a year I knew would begin with a few unknowns and shifts.
The toxic chemical cleaners would not do, gross. The magical potion I used to de-grease this oven contained only 2 ingredients, which I am sure you have in your kitchen right now, baking soda and water.
I used 1/2 cup of baking soda and added enough water to make a thickish paste, then smeared it all over the oven. After letting it sit for 30 minutes, I scrubbed with a wool pad and transformed the oven into a sparkling gem.
This sparkling oven created an inviting welcome to a new year of cooking. Never underestimate the power of a few small changes. It is good to be back!
