Have you missed me?  Wondered where I went?  This should clear things up.

I notoriously have an extremely sensitive nose.  When food is involved my super smeller is a great asset.  When bad smells are involved it is a curse, usually.  In this case it was a blessing.

Four weeks ago, on a normal summer morning I stumbled into my kitchen half awake.  As I made my way to the Keurig, I noticed a distinct, awful smell.  After a quick check on the usual smelly suspects, I spent the day searching for the ghostly smell.  I took out the trash and washed the trash can.  I bleached the sink.  I cleaned out the fridge.  The smell still held firm to it’s position in my culinary domain.  Not only did it hold on, a couple of days went by and it got worse.  Much, much worse.

My gut instinct told me we needed to look behind the dishwasher.  Easier said than done.  The people before us had remodeled the kitchen, but did so in an extremely strange fashion. One of their decisions was to not put tile under the dishwasher or cabinets.  Instead they are below floor level about an inch and a half.   Due to this there was no pulling the dishwasher out without pulling the counter top off.  Thinking that the smell was only the dishwasher we were not willing to create that much damage.

With my husband curiously watching me, I removed the bottom face plate of the dishwasher.  Immediately the smell grew ten times worse, and we saw the inch of standing water.  That oh (fill in the blank) look crossed our faces.  The husband quickly grabbed a flash light and revealed mold growing on the back wall.  Not the most exciting thing to find in your kitchen.

We had no idea the controlled chaos this revelation would create.  In the past few weeks we have had an abatement company remove half of our kitchen cabinets and a large portion of the back wall, 4 feet high.  The removal had to be done in a controlled environment due to asbestos being present in the joint compounds of the wall.

We had multiple visits with cabinet companies, the insurance adjustor and a general contractor.  The process has had it’s moments of seamless orchestration and moments where I feel like I have just walked out of a tornado.  At this point I just want my kitchen back.

We wanted to remodel the kitchen eventually, but the timing isn’t the greatest.  But, when would it have been?

I have decided my attitude on this is one of gratitude.  I am grateful we have insurance.  I am grateful for wonderful friends taking care of us.  I am grateful that because of this I appreciate my modern conveniences on a new level.

As you have most likely assumed my cooking is very limited at this point.  Without a sink, counter, dishwasher, range or disposal it’s very hard to prep, cook or clean up a meal.

So, in the next couple months this blog will be taking some what of a detour.  I will still be posting recipes (cooking in some amazing kitchens of friends), but I will also be posting what to order at restaurants to stay on a healthy road. A lot of the recipes I post will be in the appliances I have available to me (crock pot, toaster oven, oven while it is still in tact).

Detours don’t have to mean derailment.  Two weeks before our kitchen fiasco my husband decided to jump on the healthy band wagon.  This could have been a huge blow to his new plan.  I am happy to say we are both still on target to reach our goals.   Even though we have eaten out a majority of our meals in the last 25 days.

Lesson to this story:  Regardless of your situation, if you have a goal in mind, you will get there.  If you want it bad enough, nothing will get in your way.  The lack of kitchen hasn’t hurt our waist lines.  The temptation of tons of options on a menu, or the lack of healthy prepped meals, are just small obstacles to over come.

I’ll also be posting periodic updates on the progress of our kitchen (with pictures).  Here is what it looks like currently and what it looked like before.