You know that rule: “Before you do anything, you have to do something else first”? No matter what the situation it’s true.
Go back a bit. I received an Instant Pot for Christmas. I recognized it as a compliment to my culinary skill and continuing activity in the kitchen. Even so, I was a bit daunted. I cook for one, mainly, and I have adopted shortcuts that taste good and though I still try new recipes, I tend to avoid anything too fancy - or too fattening. I was going to return the IP but I took the time to think about it and to read the accompanying recipe booklet that came with it. It took a while but after almost four weeks I decided to go for it.
First, I had to make room. I had read that it must stay available on the kitchen counter and I accepted that because there’s no room in my cupboards. That meant that other things must go and that I had to change my work space. I’ve told you before about Lilian Gilbreth, the industrial engineer who with her time-motion studies enabled me to improve my work habits and save time and energy for writing even as I raised four children, roughly two years apart. So first, as I said, had to move my work space - across the aisle (it’s a small corridor-kitchen, but even so). The knife-holder and the cutting boards had to move because the IP had to be close to an electrical outlet where I had a pretty collection of cylindrical glass containers of different heights for storage of certain staples, such as pasta (in a tall one) or poppy seeds (short) or pumpkin seeds (medium) and so on - five in all. They took up too much space. I did have some empty clear plastic canisters on the third, top shelf of the Lazy Susan cupboard and I transferred the staples to those, off the counter and out of sight. And the lovely glass jars went to the Basement Boutique. I have told you about the Basement Boutique, haven’t I?i It’s a private recycling depot for residents who discard good stuff they no longer have a use for (and often pick up someone else’s discarded treasure for themselves). It broke my heart- briefly. I really liked those containers - which incidentally came from the Boutique, one or two at a time. I only had to buy new corks. I did all this clearing while I was studying recipes and figuring out how to cook my first food in the IP - for guests. Pork tenderloin.
NOTE: That was yesterday. I had people coming for tea and they arrived so I left you. I’m back now with nothing more to say. I made pork and beans with the leftover pork (not much left).