New Apartment, New Kitchen!

Check out our new apartment at Jack London Square in Oakland!

All of the pictures are under the "lifestyle" section in the photo gallery. Our floor plan is the "Bay Breeze".

Between LSAT, a flu and a partial move to the new place my diet hasn't been too great for the past few weeks (One case in point: I plead guilty to a pizza from Domino's and a few of those devilish Cinnastix). I sat down last night and wrote up a meal plan for this week; I am bursting at the seams with excitement about making these recipes in my brand-spanking-new kitchen.

Dearest Former Kitchen,

I know you'll miss me, but I have to move on. Your rusty sink isn't even big enough to wash pots and pans in. You have no dishwasher and no garbage disposal. Your pantries are shelved with sagging plywood. Your oven does not turn on, and your severe lack of counter space is the mark of an architect who truly loathed the idea of cooking...anything...outside of the microwave. Really. My juicer, crock pot, food processor, even the toaster---all sat on the floor and languished for a year. Even if I found space for them, your plugs have only two sockets! Two! And nothing stays plugged in anyway; your sockets have been painted over so many times that the microwave plug would come unplugged if I even breathed near it.
Former Kitchen, I have found another. This kitchen loves my appliances, cradling them on smooth, sleek new counters with ample space and efficient design. Three-pronged plugs abound, and they work well. Too many things to name that this new kitchen offers me; most importantly, it allows me to cook whatever I want once again! The return of Lisa the chef!

Okay, that was an open letter to the kitchen in our old 300-square-foot studio apartment. Random. Do with it what you will.

As far as summer recipes go, I'll be experimenting with a grilled balsamic peach and tofu recipe this week. Summer fruit pervades my meal plans at the moment, making guest appearances in anything from salads to sandwiches and main dishes. I'm particularly infatuated with mangoes this month (mmm, curry soy-chicken chutney with fresh diced, grilled mango). Speaking of summer fruit, our apartment has another foodie bonus: right outside our gate there is a farmer's market every Sunday.