Counter Space - Do You Have Enough? Is There EVER Enough?

Yesterday was a day of semi-accomplishment. Although I actually got a lot done, it didn't really feel like it at all, and there were significant things I had on my agenda that didn't get touched. Still, it was a good day, all told. I did get a batch of "cookies" made. Now, understand that since I don't do grains and I don't do dairy, my cookies are dates and nut butter. But, blended together in the food processor and actually baked in the oven, they're a cookie. They're not as sturdy as a chocolate chip cookie, but they're tasty. Will I repeat this recipe? Maybe not. It seemed a lot of work for the result and I'm not that much of a cookie person. But it's always good to explore options. . 

Although the recipe turned out to be tasty, I'm not 
sure it was worth the prep work and all that sticky 
from the dates. I might try this again down the line 
though. It was easy enough. 

I did come to the conclusion that my food processor is horrid. But, I rarely use a food processor at all. I'll have to look into an upgrade, but it's not high on my priority list. I'll stumble along with the one I have for a while longer. I think the blender is all I want to spend appliance money on this year, unless we start a serious hunt for an over-the-cook top fan/microwave hood. That's on our joint agenda, and if we could replace our large microwave with an over-the-stove style, it would free up some much-needed counter space. 

My food processor - exactly this model with this blade - really 
sucks. Instead of cutting the dates apart and making them 
into a paste, it simply balled them up into a large ball which 
I had to take apart again and again to get firmly cut up and 
blended. Adding the nut butter did help, but I also ended 
up having to add a small amount of oil to get anywhere with 
the mix. Would a different food processor make a change 
with how this recipe comes together? I have no idea. 

Counter space is at a premium in my kitchen. You've seen the photos of my new faucet, which is on my double-sink. I have a small amount of counter space to the left of the sink. That's where the microwave takes up most of the area, along with my knife block. To the right of the sink is the other counter top. We keep the coffee pot and 4-slice toaster on it, along with my cutting boards. I estimate we've got maybe a yard of open space, with about 18-24 inches of open depth. There is also one pull-out "cutting" board, but DH usually uses that for his car keys, phone, and any paperwork he needs to bring to and from the shop. 

So, to the left you can see my knife block (the blue things 
are my dish washing gloves). To the left out of the photo 
is the microwave. On the right, you see DH's travel mug 
in front of the left edge of my cutting boards which stand 
upright at the back of the counter. Out of the photo is the 
coffee pot and the toaster. This is the full extent of usable 
counter space I have in my kitchen. Not much! 

The kitchen was the one room I was sacrificing when we chose this house. I walked in with eyes wide shut. In the old house, although it also had just a single run of counter top, I had a large kitchen table and used that for food prep all the time. The stove was completely separate, and we had an over-the-stove shelf for our microwave, so no counter space needed for that. The kitchen was a much larger room and it didn't seem that we were in each other's way all of the time. Our current kitchen is narrower, and although there are a lot of plusses (cabinet space, for one), our counter space is a serious negative. Still, I've lived with it since the mid-1980's, so I guess we manage. 

I do have a bottom corner cabinet with a lazy 
Susan inside. We have a few things in it, but 
very little. I'm going to move the food processor down 
here because I need the upper cabinet room, but I'm 
also wondering if a new food processor would fit 
in this cabinet. I'm not sure how they assemble 
and disassemble from the motorized base. 

Why think about kitchen space? Because I'm thinking about a possible new food processor and need to think about where it would be stored and where it would be used. So even though that's in the future, it's good to think about these things now. Surprises are never welcome when the necessity is knocking at the door. I'm out of things to say today so I'm calling it done. Have an excellent Saturday and a great weekend. I'll be back on Monday, just in time to celebrate Shirebound's birthday. Whoot! Peace!