Now We're Cookin'

Daddy Steve: Growing kids need lots of food to keep their energy levels up.  It's difficult to make tasty and nutritious meals without kitchen facilities.  At least, that's Anthony's contention.  After all, he says, how many cold baloney sandwiches can you serve?

Bowie: Cold cuts? Again?

Anthony: Sorry.  This isn't a 5-star restaurant.

I could see that it was time we assembled a proper kitchen for Gregoropolis.

Anthony: I simply can-NOT work under these primitive conditions.

I'm fond of older, lithographed metal toys.  There was an American toy maker called The Wolverine Company of Pittsburgh, PA that made some really cool mid-century style metal kitchen toys.  They're well-scaled for 16-18 inch dolls.  

It all started when I found this wonderful Wolverine refrigerator on eBay.  It's made entirely of metal and probably dates from the late 1950s.  Best of all, it's in perfect shape with no dents, rust, or scratches.

It's quite the deluxe model with a vegetable drawer and a lazy Susan--no chance of leftovers getting pushed to the back and forgotten.

Realistic door handles that 'click' when they latch.

>click<

It even came with some of the original metal food.

Frank: Mmmmm, steak!

Having a refrigerator has created a new pastime: standing in front of the open door and staring inside.

Anthony: Are you trying to air condition the whole house?

Tyler & Mikko: We're hungry!

In our household, one things always seems to lead to another.  Now that we had a refrigerator, we naturally had to find a companion stove.  And sink.  And cookware.  And utensils.

Both the stove and sink are in stylish 1950s pink.  They have a bit more play wear, but are still in good shape for their age.  The sink basin was rusty, but I was able to remove it and give it a coat of metallic spray paint.  Good as new!

Oliver: Does this mean I'll have to do the dishes now?

Finding cookware turned out to be the difficult part.  It seemed like everything was either a little too big or a little too small.  Most of the pots and pans came from an eBay seller in Germany, which seems to be a good source for nice, older toy kitchen items.

Tyler: Are you going to make an Angel Food cake?

Anthony: It's Devil's Food cake for you two.

Frankly, Anthony was a little skeptical about the stove at first.

Anthony: Well...it's certainly not the latest model.

Daddy Steve: But Anthony, older appliances were built so much better!

Anthony: Hmmmm.  I've never used an electric stove before.

Daddy Steve: I'm sure you'll get the hang of it in no time.

Eventually he pronounced it 'satisfactory.'

By contrast, Holly Belle gave the new kitchen her unqualified endorsement because, as she explained, "it matches my outfit."  You certainly can't argue with that kind of logic.