My Favorite Electronic Kitchen Appliance ~ Part I

First, I want to thank you all for the e-mails, information and comments about my Dad. The wonderful support means a lot to me.  Just a quick update.  Dad's blood sugar levels continue the up and down swings. Learning new concepts is challenging, and they are really trying.  My step-sister, who lives next door, is doing her best to help them.  Dad's leg pain is also preventing him from being as mobile as he could be. He is getting very weak.  I will be making trips to Ohio often. I have hope their quality of life will improve.

On to today's blog post!

iPad
Google Image Search
Venturebeat.com 

There were two iPads at Thanksgiving dinner. Well, not at the table. My brother-in-law's cousin brought the iPads for his two kids.  His four year old girl and six year old boy were astonishingly proficient at using it. Their dad is the comuuter guru at university, so they have a natural curiosity and a live in help desk. Their dad used it to keep up with the news, look at websites, you know the usual way we use computers to keep informed away from home.

   

MacBook Pro
Google Image Search
PRlog.org

MacBook Air
Google Image Search
Bloomberg Business Week

I had been researching what would best replace my six year old hand-me-down kitchen iBook.The iPad was the option the Apple Associate recommended the day before at the Apple Store.  Of course I was being seduced by the sleek, thin MacBook Air. I still had doubts the iPad could handle the web needs, e-mail and moderately complicated word processing and spread sheets. Great rationalization!

I believe in coincidences and life's little quirky moments. Remember this was Thanksgiving Day.  . . Computer Guru showed me how the iPad worked and I played with it awhile. It was easy to learn, fun to use, and it could manage the kitchen tasks fairly well.  Certainly the iPad was the least expensive option. Something to think about.

One day a year Apple discounts computers. The next day was Friday. Black Friday.  The Apple Black Friday Sale.   Coincidence? Yeah, that or I am a terribly impatient person once I make up my mind. I had these on my list to chose from: 16GB (without 3G) iPad was $449,  MacBook Air somewhere around $1,100, and the MacBook Pro in the $1,400 range.  Price won.





The iPad is a handy little gadget.  It's nice to check the news, e-mail, blogs and fourms in down in the Kitchen sipping a cup of coffee while sitting in the morning sun. Okay, it was a dark day when I took this picture. The sun streams in, I promise.














Electronic recipes are great. With the brush of a copule of fingers, the page zooms in to make it readable from across the room.















The iPad sits in a very readable position on the detachable keyboard. A touch of any key wakes it up if it has gone to sleep.  Editing while using the recipe is easy with the keyboard. It would be messy using the built-in keyboard.

~~~~~~~~~~~  I highly recommend the iPad as a kitchen appliance.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That's all for now.  Y'all come back. :-)  In Part 2 I'll discuss ways to use the Web and iPad! 

The Old Kitchen After

I tried to make the new kitchen work in the original space. Before pictures and post here. Then I expanded into the next room. It was okay, but there were many inklings things were not right. I was weary and ready to 'settle' for a kitchen across the entire back of the house, but the bid was way over budget.  I tried relocating the kitchen into the space on the left side of the hall. It worked perfectly and saved a little on the budget without 'settling'. Ha, ha!  At least at first. Here is the result. I apologize for the picture quality. The images will be replaced when better ones are available. A photographer I am not! The Old Kitchen Bakery will be posted separately soon.

Architect:  Mary Elen Rudisel-Jordan 
General Contractor: D & C Construction

Cabinets: Kline Cabinetmakers quatersawn oak with burnt sugar stain.  

Countertops: The Stone Studio Santa Renta Vaneta soapstone (tormenta)

Sinks: Belle Foret  F4KIT 30'' and  F3KIT 24''

Faucets: Chicago wall mount with spray at clean up sink, Kohler Vanetta at prep sink, 
Pot Filler: Belle Foret 

Appliances:

• Induction Cooktop: Miele KM5773-36 inch 
• Dishwasher:  Miele Inspira G 1181 fully integrated
• Refrigerator: Samsung Quatro (sic)
• Modernaire 600 CFM vent
• Microwave: Panasonic
• Garbage disposal: batch feed insinkerator
• Double Ovens in the bakery (see The Old Bakery): GE Monogram

****I do not recommend these GE Monogram ovens.*****

Floor: white oak, custom stain, Street Shoe finish

Lights: Hinkley Mayflower Collection

Windows: Kolbe & Kolbe

Antique Doors: locally salvage quartersawn oak 

Hardware: Horton Brasssses Victorian knobs and pulls

Floor Vent Covers: House of Antique Hardware

North/top: cooktop wall
South/bottom: clean up wall, dishwasher, dish storage
West/left: refrigerator wall
East/right: Keeping Room not shown

Looking west from the Keeping Room

Looking northeast toward Main Street and side yard.

Looking southeast.
Doors to the hall at each end of the cabinet run.

Looking east.  Dishwasher to the left of the sink.
The backsplash is a work in progress. The matte board is temporary-trying to settle on something I like.

China cabinet.
Everyday dishes and flatware in drawers below.
Dishwasher to the right.

Breakfast station and food storage.

Looking west. Door to the hall at left.

Doorway into bakery and to garage at right.

Cutting board is prep space.

Cabinet next to refrigerator.
Tea, coffee, mugs, glasses , tea pots, French presses, and insulated liquid storage in the tin cupboard.
Food storage wraps, containers, baking dishes on the base cabinets.

Cooktop, pot and pan storage.
Looking north northwest.
Door to the left to the bakery and garage.

~~ Watch for more to come ~~

The Old Bakery (There is a sneak peek beyond the door by the cooktop.)

The Keeping Room

What is in the cupboards? 

Plans for the original kitchen space

The Old Kitchen Before

Kitchen in the house we bought, the room was not part of the original 1892 house. The two back rooms were added on when the house was moved and reoriented on the lot, sometime around 1913. 

Kitchen looking north into the second room
 added after 1913 move

The  original all wood cabinetry was made by Napanee Kitchens. It was a orange tan, and it had particle board back.  The cabinetry was updated in the 1950s with white paint and gold French provincial trim and pulls.   Some of the original finish shows on the cabinet over the stove. Countertops had a pink and gray boomerang design. The edge was crimped metal. Impossible to keep the edge seam clean. The metal rim on drop-in sink had the same problem. Gunk would get under the metal and it wouldn't come out.

Looking west toward a very busy street.
Garage to the left, door to other back room to the right.

The layout was very inefficient. Sink and stove on one side of the room, and the refrigerator on the other. The room was rearranged endlessly-everything that wasn't built in-in many futile attempts to improve the efficiency and increase work space. There was not enough storage.  Cabinets were very difficult to open or close.

Looking east toward the front door.
In the hall, the basement door (not seen) is immediately to the left.
A bedroom door is at the foot of the stairs to the right.
The new old kitchen is on the left side of the hall.

The west facing, windows have never been operable. Mr. C caulked around the sashes in 1982. It is still very cold in that room! Desperate for workspace, a handy man put in a very cheap island with DW c. 1984. I started trying improve the appearance to remove the gold trim applied to cabinet doors.  In 1986, we hired a couple to work on the walls. They pulled the masonite from the lower half of the walls, repaired the plaster, and wallpapered. 1980s pin, and big flowered valances! Ah, well, it looked good twenty-something years ago.   Cold air in the crawl space and inadequate heat kept the floors and our feet freezing in winter. We put in commercial carpet in an attempt to warm up the floor. (yuck!) I would never do that again!!

Looking southeast. Garage door is to the right. Hallway door to the left.

I started suggesting a remodel about 1990, but Mr. C, having never cooked, didn't understand why new cabinets, countertops, appliances and floor didn't do it.  I continued rearranging, and resisted new appliances hoping for a gut remodel project.  I got a new dishwasher in 1996. We replaced wobbly fan/light with halogen light over the island ten years later.  The only overhead light in the kitchen. 

By 2006 the dishwasher was broken, the oven heated, but the self clean didn't work. One burner on the stove worked, sometimes. See the induction burner on the counter next to the stove? I cooked on that for 3 years. Doing laundry and cooking at the same time was a challenge.  A previous owner pushed the wall into the Model-T size garage. Really, the turn lock is still on the garage floor. The cupboards above the washer and dryer are three feet deep.  Finally, in 2008 plans began for a new kitchen and a new garage.  We replaced out 20 year old washer and dryer as well as a new refrigerator.  

Mr. C's grandmother's Napanee Kitchenet was the only treasure. My one absolute requirement was that it have a useful place in the new kitchen.

Mr. C's grandmother's Napanee Kitchenet.
She lived in West Virginia.
The same company that made
the kitchen cabinets.

Most of my baking supplies.

Continue to The Old Kitchen After

Early Marriage and Graduate School Meals

Once I decided to start this project, I've been thinking about favorite foods, and how they changed over time. Meals we ate in grad school were based on complex carbs such as rice, potatoes and pasta. But the rest of the meal usually included something frozen (veggies and/or soy-wheat gluten), canned (pasta sauce, soup, fruit) or some fresh veggies. The meals needed to be inexpensive and fairly fast. Friends were in the same situation; not much money to live on. One friend scrambled eggs with a can of chinese vegetables. Not bad, really. The big splurge for the week was Baker's Tuesday night "Dental School Special" - 3 (big bean) Burritos  for $1.00.  Lots of students were at Baker's on Tuesday night.

Most of our food was processed in some way and supplemented with a few fresh fruit and vegetables. I tried and tried to make bread. It rarely rose nicely. Always thought it was the temperature. Now I know it must have been the yeast. (I use SAF yeast now. The dough will rise at just about any temperature.) The Pillsbury dough boy was my friend. Canned biscuits, turnovers, and bread sticks were favorites. A treat we had often were frozen honey buns. They came four in a box, but rarely lasted two days.  Popped the honey buns in the toaster oven and they were warm and gooey in 10 minutes.

My mother-in-law taught me the basics of cooking after I was married. She must have worried about her son's diet although she never said a word to me.  She patiently answered my stupid questions and gave me recipes and cookbooks. I always appreciated the left overs she sent home with us! We went to their house for Friday night supper and Sabbath afternoon dinner.  My sister-in-law and her husband were usually there. Cooking with her was fun and enlightening. It was a fun family tradition that we no longer manage because families live in three states.

About the time we moved to the other side of the country, she gave me the "More with Less" cookbook. It is based on using less of the earth's resources, eating in moderation and reducing protein intake.  American meals are primarily protein rather than eating mainly veggies and carbohydrates with a bit of protein. There are a variety of protein sources in the cookbook:  legumes, dairy and grains as well as meats, poultry and seafood.   One of our favorite is Lentil Stew made with lentils, of course, tomatoes, carrots, green peppers, celery, herbs and cheese. It was baked, however, I now make it in a crookpot or on the stovetop. Recipes are made to be tinkered with, and I can never leave a recipe alone. I  add potatoes or we sometimes have the stew over rice.

Another family recipe (from my husband's family) is breakfast hash served over buttered toast. It's very simple to make, can be made ahead, and is good for any meal.  Ingredients are potatoes, celery, chicken stock and chicken. I substitute the chicken and broth because we are vegetarian.

Rice with tomatoes and cheese is one of my early-marriage favorites. My husband does not care for canned tomatoes. There is a 'taste' he doesn't like.  So we don't have this often.

I have started November meal planning by making lists of inexpensive ingredients and dishes we enjoy. Half of our dinners are combining ingredients I have on hand at the last minute (as my husband is on his way home from work).  Often I chop an onion and garlic as I try to think what to have for supper.  Carbohydrate is the next choice: bread, pasta, rice or potato?  Deciding what spices and flavorings skews the remainder of the ingredient choices.  Most days it is pretty good, occasionally, yuck!  Fortunately he is good about my experiments! I always tease that he has no taste buds. :-)

Food Stamp Meals for a Month

The budget was very tight we were in graduate school. We lived on an austerity program.  I didn’t know how to cook very well then, although I thought I was doing well.  The concept of using only ingredients my grandmother would have recognized and few ingredients per dish were not anywhere in my consciousness.  That was more than 30 years ago.  Conservation of resources, making healthy food choices, and as much as possible, making and baking foods from scratch are the way we prefer to live.  The food budget didn’t exist.  I purchased everything I needed to make the meals we loved to eat.    We ate well!  We are healthy, are a healthy weight, exercise almost daily.   So this is not an attempt to morph to a healthier life style.

Why eat on a Food Stamp budget for a month? I catered a wedding dinner for a friend last week. Now, I normally cook for two or occasionally for four or six.  Planning a dinner for 30 is way beyond my comfort zone.  I didn’t want to not have enough food, so I over planned. This week we have been eating up some of the left over fresh food.  We had left over roasted vegetables for breakfast this morning in an egg blanket with left over biscuits.  I was so pleased with myself that all breakfast “cost” was two eggs and a half-ounce of cheese. Then I got to wondering could we eat on well on a very small budget?   It seems to fit the way we eat: all fresh ingredients, foods made from scratch, moderate portions, use everything (I need to work on this more!).  I like a challenge, can I do it?  I love the incentive to create new ways of eating foods and new recipes. 

Although we can afford to buy premium ingredients, I want to see if it is not necessary to spend so much on food.  My husband would like to retire soon. Saving a few hundred dollars a month on food will not determine when he may retire. I am retired, and do not contribute financially. So if I can save some money on food, I feel as if I am earning a little, helping so to speak. I bake and occasionally make meals for friends’ that also earn a little spending money. I am not at all certain these hobbies are profitable, but I earn enough to pay for some of the baked goods we eat.  

I’m getting off track here! November is my experiment month. A challenge because of Thanksgiving.  I expect it will be a humbling, learning experience. The food will be on a budget; how it is processed will not. Last year we built a new kitchen. Induction cooktop, double ovens, tools and utensils, small appliances (toaster oven, mixers, breadmaker, blender, rice cooker, food processor, microwave). I enjoy spending time in the kitchen. Finally there are no frustrations about layout, efficiency, storage, and appliances. I’ve learned a lot about how to cook and plan to use that knowledge to make this experiment work.  We’ll see . .   

Thanksgiving is a great time for this experiment.  One thing I’ve been wondering recently:  food plays an essential role in society, friendships, entertaining, and traditions. What effect does the food budget have on how these human needs are met?  If one does not have enough money for basic food needs, is how human interaction occurs, the frequency and what form it takes different? This may not answer such complex questions. Perhaps that has already been studied. If not, it would be interesting. Do cultural norms arise from one’s financial status? Country club dinners vs. backyard picnics? Okay, side tracked again! 

I plan to prepare these last two weeks of October.  Budgeting will be backwards, because that is just how I do things.  Decide what I need/want, find the least expensive way to get it, adjust or vary ingredients, and take advantage of sales.  Coupons sound good, but rarely do I come across coupons for fresh ingredients.  They are mostly for expensive, processed foods.  Last week the market had a sale on many of the ingredients I use: 10 for $10 and the 11th free.  Bags of fresh spinach; red, yellow and orange peppers, mushrooms.  Buy inexpensive and freeze or use it before it spoils.  So the menus will not be ridged. A good bargain will change my plans. 

I will try to post along the way, every day if possible. How planning is going, menus, recipes, and photos.  It may be pretty basic! I am not a writer or a photographer.  Good luck to me! I think I’ll need it. :-D

Inspiration and Plan

The cabinets will be quatersawn oak with recessed flat panel doors and slab drawer fronts. Countertops will be oak butcherblock. This Kenebec butler's pantry is one of the inspirations for the design.











Just a peek at the kitchen layout.
We have an odd-shaped lot with a streets in front and behind the house. The streets intersect just beyond the house making our lot V-shaped. There is no backyard and very little front yard. Luckily, there is a bit of lawn and gardens beyond the garage.

The Kitchen End

The kitchen is at this end of the room.




A closet made with cheap paneling was built like a pass-thru with openings on both sides of the closet.

The closet and the wall on the back side was demolished.

The Reveal

This is the opposite end of the room from the kitchen. It has not looked like this for at least 40 years.

Crown

Crown molding hidden by the acoustic ceiling tile.

A New Home

The old house had a tired kitchen. It had made many meals. The old, worn out cabinets didn't want to open, their faces were chipped and the French Provincial makeover someone else had tried was insulting to the simple Victorian lady.

The old kitchen is getting a new home in the heart of the house. It will look at trees, flowers and people. The layers of time stripped reveal the graceful lady hidden behind vinyl wall board and acoustic ceiling tiles.

A New Home

The old kitchen is getting a new home in the heart of the house. It will look at trees, flowers and people. The layers of time stripped reveal the graceful lady hidden behind vinyl wall board and acoustic ceiling tiles.