"JeMangeLaVille" news and stories

When I visited Michelle's kitchen for my Real Kitchens series, there was a lot she didn't really love about her gorgeous-in-the-sunlight space. But one thing wowed me (and I'm planning on copying it shamelessly, if you must know): her spice racks.

I have two small spice racks that hold my most-used spices, but the rest are shoved into a shelf in my 1912 home's small "pantry." Every time I need asafoetida, or ground ginger, or tarragon, I have to dig. It's highly inefficient.

Michelle's insight: she bought a bunch of spice racks after a spendy trip to Penzey's, and put them all up on the back of the door leading to her basement (me thinking: hey! I have a basement door in my kitchen, too!). She has a whopping six spice racks, full of all kinds of good things. They're neatly organized, and accessible, yet they aren't taking up precious drawer or shelf space. They even look pretty cool despite the basic, inexpensive nature of the wire racks. Most importantly, it works. And that's the best thing you can say about any kitchen feature.

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Michelle zests blood oranges into her brand-new Cuisinart, a Christmas present.
...I am not alone among food bloggers. I do not yet have my showplace kitchen... Yet our kitchen is still the heart of our home, as it is for so many other good cooks and gourmands who have not yet come into the riches they so deserve, the riches that will fund a fabulous kitchen makeover one day. So it occurred to me that this is something to celebrate. Real kitchens, in rented apartments or fixer-uppers or "starter homes" or entry-level condos. The ones that you live and cook in."

This week I visited the kitchen of Michelle of Je Mange la Ville. She was already beginning to bake when I walked in, and the sun had begun to stream through her south-facing kitchen windows. I sat at the counter stool with my lenses and rolls of film and began to soak in the rays and the delicious smells. Could I find art in this normal kitchen, on a comfortable side street in a "transitional" neighborhood in Portland, Oregon?