Today, I baked my first loaf of yeast bread. It wasn’t pretty, but it was tasty. I followed the method laid out in Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. It took me a bit more than 5 minutes, but it wasn’t difficult at all. For dinner, I toasted slices of bread under the broiler, slathered on some goat cheese, topped them with diced tomatoes and cucumbers, and drizzled them with balsamic glaze. It was most tasty. I like eating real food. Even more surprising, I like cooking it, too. Go figure.
It’s been quite a while since my last kitchen update. Since the major work was completed, progress has slowed considerably; but enjoyment of the kitchen has multiplied. I’ve been cooking for guests and just for us. My favorite new recipe is crispy rosemary flat bread. I found the recipe on the Smitten Kitchen blog. Today I made variations with cracked pepper and Parmesan cheese. I cut mine into small crackers and eat them with goat cheese. Good stuff.
For Christmas, Greg got me a tv that fits the nook in the cabinets. Now while I’m slaving over his dinner (not), I can watch the news at the same time. I also got the book How to Cook Everything so I’m set.
Greg and I have been working hard to finish up the kitchen. I put up glass tile on the backsplash. Cutting tiles on the wet saw was, well, wet; and the waviness of the wall made things tough. All in all, I think it went well. I still need to grout. Greg has been slaving away on the crown molding. That, too, has proved to be difficult since the ceiling is not level and the walls are not square. It’s taking him longer than he would like, but he’s getting there.
Today I used the new speed oven twice, to great success. At lunch, I reheated some Ledo’s Pizza and it worked great. The crust was flaky, and everything. I’ve never had such good results in the regular oven.
For dinner, I made rosemary and Parmesan crusted potato slices. 15 minutes in the oven and they were tender on the inside and golden brown on the outside. It’s a recipe from the cookbook that came with the oven. I wish I had thought to take a picture of it for the blog. Figuring out the right settings for my own recipes will be trickier, but I’m looking forward to it.
Friday, we were able to host our regular get together with Maria, Brian, and the boys. We haven’t done that since August, so it’s something of a milestone. The house stood up to the scrutiny and abuse of the kids (ages 5 and 3), and we came to appreciate the relative peace and quiet of a major construction project.
Finish work is continuing. Shoe molding and toe kicks are on the agenda for tomorrow.
Last week we hung the last of the cabinets. Dan M. came to help (once again) with the heavy lifting. I love the glass display cabinets over the peninsula, very pretty. Thursday morning we hung new light fixtures before heading to my sister’s for the big meal. The one over the table proved to be very difficult to get level, but our persistence paid off. Friday, I brought all the dishes up from the basement and put them away (after running them through the dishwasher). My dishwasher has a quick cycle it calls “Party Wash” for glasses and lightly soiled dishes. That came in handy since everything was coated with demolition dust (despite careful packing).
Everything was ready to show off to Mom, Dad, and Dan on Saturday. I made lasagna, which was a big hit; and cleanup was a breeze. The Bosch dishwasher really will clean unrinsed dishes, even the next day.
There is still finish work to be done (crown molding, backsplash, paint touch-up, etc), but everything is in it’s place and the kitchen is fully functional.
Our countertops are in and they’re beautiful! I wish the photos could convey the gorgeous color and intricate patterns. All of the drama about the sink cutout was for naught. It all worked out fine. It’s a tight fit, but everything does fit. Dan M. came yesterday and helped us get all the plumbing hooked up. We now have faucets (one regular tap, and one filtered drinking water), a garbage disposal, and a working dishwasher (yay). It was a 3-Home-Depot-trip day.
That funky light under the sink is the water filter. It treats the drinking water with a UV light. All I wanted was a simple carbon filter to replace the Brita in the fridge, but that proved difficult to find. This one uses the UV light, ozone, and a carbon filter. Whatever. The water tastes good; that’s what counts.
We are working on putting up the last of the cabinets and I’m finally pulling up all of the floor protection so we can enjoy our pretty new floor. I’m hoping to get the house more or less in order by next Saturday. That’s when we’ll be showing it off to family for the first time.
This weekend we got the microwave/speed oven and most of the base molding installed. Greg’s friend, Jim, came to lend a hand. Most exciting to me, I’ve moved the food and dishes back into the kitchen! It’s nice to have the food, dishes, cooking appliances, and sink all in the same room again. Add some temporary countertops, and it is actually a functioning kitchen again.
Learning to use the speed oven will take some time, but I did heat some frozen French bread pizzas in less than 10 minutes instead of the usual 30. It was perfectly crispy/chewy, none of the hard cardboard crust of a microwaved pizza.
The baseboard looks great. It really finishes the walls and floors. We still need to add quarter-round at the bottom, but it’s painted and ready to go.
The countertop people came and measured on Friday, and Saturday we went to see how it would all lay out on the slab. There was some drama regarding the sink, because our sink cabinet was made 1.5″ too shallow. They told us the sink wouldn’t fit, but now it looks like it will. There was some concern that the stone will be too fragile for transport after the sink hole is cut, but now they think it will work out OK. I’ll be holding my breath ’til it’s all installed on Friday.
This evening I actually cooked in my kitchen for the first time in more than 2 months. By “cooked” I mean I boiled some water for spaghetti; but still, that’s something. The kitchen is far from finished, but the range is hooked up and working. I have new “induction friendly” pots. None of my 20 year old Ikea pots were magnetic.
Induction cooking is really cool. Here is a picture of my hand on the burner that is boiling the water.
That big pot of water took about 5 minutes to come to a full rolling boil, and it responded immediately (maybe even faster than gas) when I turned it down. And here is my gourmet meal. Yes, I like a little pasta with my cheese.
It’s finally starting to look like a kitchen again! With help from Dan M. and David (a friend of Greg’s from work), we have most of the cabinets installed. David brought us some much needed tools and expertise, while Dan provided some extra muscle and plumbing skills. Our uneven walls and floors have required some shimming and planing to get them all to sit level and flush. So far it looks great! There is a little more work to do before the countertop folks can come and template, but I hope to get them scheduled by the end of the week.
Peninsula cabinets on the kitchen side…
Peninsula cabinets on the dining room side…
The range wall…
We were able to put the old sink in the new sink cabinet temporarily. It’s the last vestige of the old kitchen. The upper cabinets near the sink will have to wait ’til the countertop is in, since they sit on the countertop.
Brown-eyed Girl is enjoying the newfound floor space in the dining room…
Friday, we rented a truck and picked up our cabinets. Brian helped us unload the truck, and we packed all of the cabinets into the dining room.
Luckily, the hurricane hasn’t knocked out power (yet), so we were able to start installing today. It’s slow going, since we don’t really know what we are doing; but the first 2 are in.
So far, so good. If we are lucky enough to still have power in the morning, hopefully we’ll get more in tomorrow.
After a very long day, yesterday,the hardwood floors are done on the whole 1st floor. Today we moved furniture and reclaimed the living room. The kitties are very pleased that their cat tree has returned to it’s rightful place, and the living room is downright spacious without all the extra boxes. The floor in the dining room and kitchen is covered with protective cardboard (and will stay that way while we install the cabinets), but most of the living room is uncovered. I am so happy with the way it looks! It’s beautiful!
Base molding will be installed after the cabinets go in.
Tomorrow morning we are renting a truck and heading up to PA to pick up cabinets. Then the adventure of cabinet installation can begin.
Sherri's Kitchen Blog 