In Sicily I’ve pared my kitchen down to the bare essentials: a set of mis-matched dishes and bowls, one frying pan, a toaster. No freezer (one of the best gelato shops in the world is just down the steps). No mixer (good exercise, beating egg whites by hand!). No tea kettle (pan works, no?). No microwave.
More happy with less. Took me years to figure this out.
What I keep above my deep stone sink: two colanders, potholders knit by local ladies, a dried round of the local bread, measuring cups and spoons.
The salt (sale) pot is filled with Sicilian rock salt from the Trapani salt pans. The old coffee grinder, gifted by my simpatico orange-suited garbage man, reigns like some kind of Platonic representation of Human Sweetness.
The Moroccan tea glasses from the Modica flea market, €1 apiece, remind me I must get back to Morocco. The little clay bird-whistle is a good luck charm from Matera, that amazing town in Basilicata that looks so much like Sicily.
The whisk, a Sicilian antique, unleashes flakes of paint as I stir my lemon gelo. I fish them out, dreaming of the Sicilian housewife who once upon a time long ago concocted this very dessert with this very whisk…
Spice jars are fun to look at, even when it’s way too hot to cook.
Thanks for visiting la mia cucina siciliana!!!!
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Beautiful, simple kitchen. Love it!
Thank you Gil!
now that’s my kind of kitchen, we’ve just sandblasted the beams in ours x
Lisa, how exciting about your beams! I bet they’re beautiful. Can’t wait to see them on your blog.
Jann, forget to mention that my favorite of all is the little coffee grinder! ha!
Of course, Bella! We’re a couple of coffee-holics.
Jann, the crocheted pot holders and the sale container stole my heart! How I loved peering into your kitchen, lady! The sentiment behind the whish–ah, makes me sigh. And the round of bread! ha! Love it! Kim said it best–the color, simplicity, and the nostalgia behind the whisk, what’s not to love? Bella cucina, amica! 🙂
Grazie mille, Bella. So glad you stopped by for a chat. xxxxxx
I am confused about the round of dry bread. What function might that serve?
Decorative, Sam, decorative. Though if I run out of dry breadcrumbs (the poor-man’s parmigiana–what Sicilians use on top of pasta), it’ll come in handy.
**I fish them out, dreaming of the Sicilian housewife who once upon a time long ago concocted this very dessert with this very whisk…**
Jann, you cannot imagine the pleasure and joy I received from looking inside your kitchen.
The simplicity. Colors. The old peeling whisk.
What a Thrill.
Xxxxx
U R soooooo sweet, Kim. So glad you visited and please come back again. xxxxx
reminds me of an army, the top shelf the general, his aids right and left, the little drummer boy in the red hat, special forces in the green beret’s, the infantry on the right in white helmets while the artillery hangs below ready to do battle against any invading recipe.
🙂 And some of my recipes have indeed suffered defeat!
Love your kitchen! Now I want colored measuring spoons, too.
My goodness, Evelyn, how closely you looked! 🙂 Thank you for your visit!
I love your kitchen, love it. You have given me the courage to go to my over-stuffed pantry and kitchen and begin The Paring. I inherited recently my mom and gram’s kitchen everything. I know I will never get rid of the older items as they’ve lasted forever and have forever more to go, but there is plenty to share with someone else. We’ve been without a microwave for 3 years now and don’t miss it a bit! It may take a wee bit more time to prepare meals, drinks, etc., but food tastes and is nutritionally better!
Thank you for this comment, Nan. You made me smile thinking of you entering your pantry with new resolve. I know how hard it is to inherit piles of stuff–and how hard it is to figure out what to do with it all. Went thru that several year ago. Buon corraggio!
Love your cucina, Jann! And you didn’t even mention the gorgeous tiles.
PS. On behalf of Knitters and Crocheters Anonymous, have to point out that your local ladies have crocheted your potholders … and done a beautiful job too.xx
Are you a knitter-crocheter, Narelle? You would fit in so well with the local ladies on the park bench here.
just lovely lovely.look at our new rich but no cultured people’s kitchens and see the difference.you are so adorable, so artistic and so MODEST,,Jann.
Your comments always make me grin, Cemal!!! xxxxxx
Perfection. My version anyway Jann 😉 Brava!!!
Maybe someday you’ll drop by in person, Janine??? Looking forward to that day. xxxx
DELIGHTFUL! The paint chipped/peeled wood handle utensil took me reeling back to childhood on the back porch with my Norna!
So happy I reeled you back to kid-hood, Tom. How fun!
Bella, bella, colorful, and inviting…artful, 😉
Grazie mille, Aida. Thanks for visiting. xxxxx
Lovely article , I love my kitchen and am looking at paring down a little. Problem is I have lovely things from all over the world.
I bet your kitchen is gorgeous Deborah, with your treasures from all over the world.
OK you win the prize for chic + I adore your kitchen. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com
Ha ha, Peggy. You made me laugh. So chic to boil tea water in a pan, etc etc!
Small and efficient; bright and beautiful; homey and universal–you`ve got it all there in your cucina.
I remember those shots of your kitchen, Lynne, and your great design sense, so if you could stop by Sicily sometime and give me a few pointers??? I’d love it!
Lovely. We use the same spice jars! There was a whole box of unused baby food left behind by the previous owner. As we are sans bambini I dumped the baby food, washed them out, and now they sport pepper, sea salt (also from Trapani), oregano, etc.
So good to recycle! Isn’t that Trapani salt amazing??? Hope you’re havin’ fun, Diane.
How minimal. I love the restraint in your kitchen. I still need a food processor in mine and can happily live without a microwave. Brava, Jann!
Well, Anitre, you have a big family to cook for in Sicily so I can see why a food processor would come in handy! xxxxx
Jann,
U are living the ‘good life’…and don’t let anyone tell U differently..enjoy it all in good healthy with much happiness…U have earned it….
Thank you, Mattea. How kind of you.:)
Jann, thanks for sharing your lovely little kitchen with us! I’ve long suspected that we in the States have far too much “stuff,” as evidenced by the number of storage units and sheds popping up everywhere! Paring back must be such a freeing experience!
Paring back does give you that “fresh” feeling! Stuff can often be a burden. More stuff to dust, clean, repair, look after….
So beautiful, Jann. I remember following your blog when you were renovating this place. You’ve done a marvelous job. Comfy and homey. I love the faucet. Too pretty and practical. Thanks for sharing.
🙂 Grazie a Dio the renovation is over, though actually it’s not because there were several things I never finished–I more or less just gave up at a certain point, ha ha. Hope you’re doing well, Rosann, and can’t wait for updates on Rome one of these days.
You are living my dream. Going.back to San Pier Niceto next summer
Your photos help keep my memories alive
Love love.love the way you capture the essence of island life. Grazie Maria
Maria, thank you! So nice to have you visit. I just googled your San Pier Niceto. It looks darling. I MUST get better acquainted with Messina Province.
Simply Grand, Love it Jann, I can’t wait until my trip to Sicily next year….
Hi Jo–thank you for dropping by virtually. If you get to my neighborhood next year, maybe you can drop by in reality??
Your kitchen is wondeful.
Thank you Catherine. I hope all is well in lovely Noto and that you’re spending the summer eating your way through pastries.
I’m starting to understand my mother-in-law’s kitchen more…(Though how she can use a cheap steak knife for EVERYTHING is beyond me.)
I’m smiling, Debra–so your mom-in-law is the pared down type, too? Very funny about the one cheap steak knife. I love a good set of knives, but I’m still working with a cheap set I bought from an expat who was leaving Italy to go back to the US. Definitely time to upgrade.
When we renovated our kitchen 2 years ago,and because of my travels to Italy and using tiny kitchens, I knew I could go minimalist,and did. I love it!
Less is more for sure.
I am in love with you ceramic shelf brackets and the rod that it holds. Is this something I could purchase while in Sicily? I will be there the first few days of November. Would love to see more pics of your place. It seems so darling!
Ciao Liz, you can get those ceramic shelf brackets in Caltagirone. When I shopped there were smaller ones (like these) but also large ones that were beautiful. One of these days I’ll post more pix of the house. Have a great trip in November! I love that time of year in Sicily. (Few tourists!)
and what a fantastic and beautiful kitchen it is……..simple but grand……I love it! I’m remembering a wonderful little lemon dish with meringue on top and a crisp white wine 🙂 A presto, Jann!
🙂 And that meringue was whipped by hand, of course! A prestissimo, bella.