This Global Kitchen | Day 23: Uruguay
Connect with Sara:
Hello friends! I'm Sara, and we live in Montevideo, Uruguay. I am married with three kiddos, 8,6 and 4 and we have been living in the city for almost 5 years. I love getting to take a look into other ex-pat houses around the world, and I'm happy to share our little kitchen space with you. I have to preface with a disclaimer; the kids and I are on a visit to the States, and I didn't get a chance to take pictures of our kitchen before we left. I asked my husband, who is still at home, to take some for me. You can attribute the cleanliness witnessed in the pictures to his lack of culinary prowess and a few intense sessions of deep cleaning before the kids and I flew out. I try to keep things organized for my own sanity, but if you can imagine a higher pile of dishes (both clean and dirty), toys and paper littered about and three little ones with less care for cleanliness than their mother preparing a snack, you will have a more accurate picture of what this space regularly looks like.
Welcome to our kitchen!
When I consider the impact of one space on our lives it is the kitchen that I think has the most varied and meaningful influence, next to our table where the labors of the kitchen are enjoyed. Our life seems to revolve around this little spot in our house and from sun up to sun down it never really gets a rest. Between family dinners and studies and game nights and tea time, it is rarely empty. It has welcomed so many cooks and so many helping hands. When we were looking for houses in Montevideo we were stumped by the small size of the kitchens. We never had a large kitchen when we lived in the States, but we were expecting to find something with more than just a sink and oven ( a little counter space is nice, am I right?) when we moved here. Thankfully, our house has a perfectly sized kitchen, just big enough for mama and papa and three little baby bears who love to help out.
When we first moved in, the open shelves weren't on the wall, the stove top was built into the counter and there was no place for an oven. We decided to take out the stove top, replace the hole with a large piece of wood to give us more counter space, and drill a hole through a wall to run a gas line for a new oven. Our oven originally had a double glass door until one of the glass layers shattered. It was pretty scary when it happened, and there was glass everywhere. Thankfully, no one was hurt! Now the door gets really hot when I cook which is an added blessing during those cold winter months. We will often turn on the stove and huddle around it for warmth in the mornings!
As we were deciding what to do about storage, the owner of the house asked if we wanted her to install shelves. Um....yes please! We sent a Pinterest photo to the carpenter and he installed something....similar. Pinterest worthy or not I am ever so thankful for the added space and storage and have enjoyed the thrill of the open shelving trend. You may notice the little hole on the left side of the ceiling that, we are told, is legally necessary for ventilation. I think its more of a secret entry way for bugs and a funnel for dust.
Below the counter are two cabinets. We keep all of our pans and large appliances under there. One of my favorite parts of the kitchen is the plug situated on the back wall of one of those cabinets that I keep our transformer plugged into for easy use. I have decided that all cabinets should come with the convenience of plugs inside.
In front of the sink area is a bar top table handmade from pallets. We have three stools around it that serve us well for hurried meals or chats with the cook. Above this table is one of my favorite pieces of art. It was a gift from our former team mates who bought it at a local auction house thinking it was a painting of the old Montevideo city gate. It hung in their house for three years before someone finally told them that it indeed was not Montevideo. I still love it, and I love art in the kitchen; It brings a beautiful aesthetic to an otherwise purely functional space.
Across from the bar top table is a crate where we store our potatoes and onions. On top we rigged up our Berkey water filter. Our fridge and our pantry space are through a small doorway and into a hall beside our kitchen. The cabinets hold the only three drawers in our kitchen (all currently broken) and are home to our spices, silverware and tupperware. The tiny tall cabinet has our broom and mop and other cleaning products. Before I had that tiny tall cabinet I never would have thought it useful, but now I'm a fan. The cabinet that stretches to the heavens is hard to reach, so it has become a storage space for a bunch of miscellaneous items that we don't regularly use.
The last of our kitchen is actually in our dining room. The overflow items that we use for hosting large groups and the jars I use for freezing and canning take up half of this sweet little cupboard. The other half is dedicated to our linens. This is one of my favorite pieces of furniture in the house, and if I could put one if every room I just might. I try to keep it relatively organized because every available space is stuffed full and perfectly placed to avoid an avalanche.
That’s it! Thanks for taking a tour of our kitchen! I included one of my favorite and easiest recipes! Hope you enjoy!
My Favorite Expat friendly Recipe:
Williams Sonoma Chicken Lime Soup
by Sara | TakingRoute.net
Goat cheese is amazing with this recipe, but you can always use feta or mozzarella or really any cheese. Sometimes we have a hard time finding limes, so I use lemons in this recipe just fine. No lemons? No worries! We also substitute or leave our jalapeño depending on who is eating the soup.
- 3-4 Limes or lemons
- 2 chicken breasts
- Tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 onion
- 1 jalapeño (optional)
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups water
- 1 1/2 Tbs oregano
- Feta/ goat or other cheese for garnish
- 1 avocado
Season chicken with salt and pepper and sauté until brown. While chicken is cooking, juice lemons or limes for 1/4 cup of juice. When browned, remove chicken from heat and add in diced onion. Sauté until translucent. Add minced garlic, jalapeño and oregano. Add water, broth and juice of limes/lemons. Cut chicken into bite size pieces and add back to pan and bring to a boil. Cook until flavors blend into a delightful aroma. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve with avocado, lime or lemon wedges and cheese.
