crouching tyler

Thanks for all your suggestions. There are a ton of good ideas here. Putting a refrigerator/freezer on the back porch hadn't occured to us at all. A word about the "fixer-upper" - the public rooms are actually in pretty good shape, and need the least work. It is everything else that makes it a fixer-upper. If I showed you photos of the deck, the basement, the bathroom, the bedrooms, or the exterior, you might understand why I call it a fixer-upper. We spent some time on Saturday investigating appliance options all over the spectrum - from second hand to built-in beauties. I think we have to the conclusion that many of you have; we should wait and live in the house for a bit before we make any purchases. Although, we are getting estimates for getting a new gas furnace and water heater this week - and we are going to see what it would cost to get gas lines to the kitchen for a stove. That may take precedence over the refrigerator for a while. Having a gas stove would be lovely! The expansion of the kitchen towards the deck will probably happen in 4 or 5 years, I am guessing. So, I don't think we will tackle enclosing that into pantry any time soon.

What? You mean we shouldn't complicate our lives unneccesarily with greedy desires for a perfect little instant kitchen? Oh wait. That is a really good point. I think our goal is really to consider all our options before we invest in a new refrigerator, or a new stove. But it does seem like whatever we might do that would gain us access to the window might require equally annoying sacrifices. Really, I was mostly hoping that one of ya'll would spy some simple work-around that we hadn't yet considered. In other news, we are going to look at an old wooden, free-standing butcher block that someone is selling. We are thinking it would fit nicely next to the stove, if we scoot the stove over a bit.

One of the reason we bought this particular little house is that it comes with a nice, big, overgrown yard for the giant dog (and the dreamy vegetable garden/herb garden ....).

Thanks. We are excited since it is a pretty simple house, and a small one (which is a good thing, in our opinion).

A few more photos, just to give you another view of the kitchen: and a sense of the size of the house. This is the view from the kitchen into the living room: I have idyllic hopes of being in the kitchen and still being able to chat with Larry while he is in the living room, and or being able to chat with guests at the small dinner parties we will be hosting regularly. Or even lounging on the couch, watching Larry cook dinner for me (this is not actually unlikely). It is more likely, however, that I will just use the open space to be hollering at the dog, and making sure the entire house smells roasted chicken for days on end.

We have considered switching the fridge and the range - but worry about the sound emanating from the back of the fridge. And I am not sure we want to sacrifice the view from the kitchen into the living room and vice versa. It is a small house ( less than 800 square feet indoors) and the open kitchen/living room is one of the nice things about it. Of course, it is also part of the problem.

We need the back door. It is too bad, becuase that would have been a great solution. But, we have a giant dog who will be traipsing in and out of the back door a couple hundred times a day. And the back door will also be necessary for reaching the vegetable garden (that I am currently building in my dreams).

I just found myself the proud owner of sweet little fixer up in Seattle. Vintage 1913. It needs a lot of work. And the kitchen is the least of it. So, major kitchen renovations plans will have to wait until the bank account recovers, and we have had a chance to live in the place and get a feel for how it operates. But, in the meantime, Larry and I are looking for some Short-term Solutions to fixing what is basically an awkward layout. The major dilemma is that only place you can fit a full size refrigerator is either: (a) in front of the only window in the kitchen (2) with its back to the living room So, I was hoping some of you wonderfully creative, kitchen-focused people out there might see some creative solutions to our problem. A sketch and few photos are below for your viewing pleasure. We would like to be able use the window for both viewing and ventilation. We would like to not have to gaze upon the back of the refrigerator. We are planning to buy a new refrigerator/freezer, and probably a new stove. But since this is just a short term solution, we probably shouldn't spend more than $1,500. What do you think about under-the-counter refrigerators? Unfortunately, we cannot give up freezer space (we just need an average amount). And we use an average amount of refrigerator space, too. Particularly since we just joined a CSA and so now our refrigerator is stuffed with produce. ( By the way, the tall fellow on the right in the living room photo is my spouse, Larry. The other fellow is our real estate agent, Sherm). Any suggestions at all would be appreciated. Thanks so much.

And most of the neighborhood hardware stores seem to carry them (i.e., Greenwood True Value). edit for the sake of spelling.

This week's CSA bounty of produce included: Green butter head lettuce French breakfast radishes Scallions Flat leaf italian parsley Strawberries Lavender Asiatic lilies and Garlic Scapes - which I am planning on experimenting with tonight.

Holy radish! It is amazing how such a simple preparation can completely change my appreciation for a food. I really thought I did not like radishes. And now, every day at 5:30, I am having a snack of bread with butter, salt and sliced radishes. Cool and spicy, and so perfectly crunchy. And dare I exagerrate and call those delectable little squares of radished, buttered, salted bread - beautiful?

My husband ( abbreviate it into some obtuse acronym if you prefer) uses a corn eating style that is perhaps, singular. At first, it appears as if he is taking random bites all over the corn on the cob. But, then, it becomes apparent that until it becomes inevitable, none of the bites are next to each other. His goal is to take as many fresh, clean bites as possible - bites in which all teeth are hitting previously untouched kernels - so as many bites as possible can feel like the first bite. Obsessive? Maybe. Original ? Definitely.

I was at a book sale for charity yesterday - just to help out, of course. Not planning on buying anything. As I was helping box up the books that didn't sell, I found a few gems, of course. I came home with: The Cuisines of Mexico by Diane Kennedy French Provinicial Cooking by Elizabeth David Total Cost: $1

We just joined a CSA ( Helsing Junction Farm ), and picked up our first box of the season. We are splitting a large share with some friends. I don't think I have ever been this excited about produce. I have wanted to participate in CSA for years, and am finally in a place where I can do so. Our share of the box included: Strawberries - heavenly Artichokes French breakfast radishes Spinach Arugula Red Oak leaf lettuce Cilantro Asiatic lilies So, here is a question - what can I do with these radishes? I am not sure that I like radishes, but perhaps I have never had radishes like these? I'd love some suggestions.

I got the exact same response today, as well. -Robin

Thanks for alerting me to this issue. I am a big fan of their milk, and have been buying it regularly at PCC for years, now (though I miss the glass bottle packaging). Is this issue as straight forward as it seems (i.e., big business and the USDA squashing successful, local businesses that operate on a different model than the big boys)? Does anyone have any further insight into the subject?

Ditto. I grew up in the US, but we never had grape-flavored anything in the house (except, of course, for Dimetapp!). The grape-flavored jams, jellies, popsicles, etc. - all absolutely, universally horrid. ← and of course, with the exception of Grape Nehi, all those "grape flavored" things taste mostly like Dimetapp (or however you spell that awful cold medicine liquid).

I think I saw a price of $27.99 at PCC - Greenwood for King Copper River Salmon. It was this morning early, though, so I was not at my most alert. edited because I wasn't alert to grammar either.

Holy Crap. The above post reads like a list of the places I ate at while skipping classes at Palmetto Senior High (class of 1990). I live in Seattle now, so I don't have a clue if any of these places are still around, or any good. But, in the late eighties, they were a major part of my diet. The only place I can think to add is that there was an Italian restaurant in the strip mall where Sea Star Thai was. Hmmm, the name is escaping me. I loved it, and used any excuse to splurge on their Veal Piccata. Mind you, all this food was great when I was a sixteen year old, with a fairly uneducated palate. But, thanks for the flashback.

I just spent the weekend in portland last weekend - The meal that I am remembering most fondly was dinner at Taqueria Nueve (address: 28 NE 28th, phone: 236-6195). New mexican is the way I would describe it (there was not a burrito in sight). It is a gem of a space, in a small neighborhood center. There has been some attention to detail in the design of the space (great looking bar made of steel i-beams and a mosiac of tile in all the colors of the oceans ~ there was also a nice effect with bamboo and light in the ceiling that came quite close to the feeling of being on a patio in the late afternoon). And the cocktails were beautiful. Oh, the food - I recommend the mole, and the tacos. But perhaps the people of portland will let you know whether this was a one-hit wonder or a real gem.

I hope it will be open in time for summer! edited to make myself useful: boat street kitchen website

Weetabix is available at our local Trader Joe's (Seattle) - so if you live near a Trader Joe's check it out. Unfortunately, they don't carry Fruitabix!

Is that like fruit-flavoured Weetabix? Personally, I like my Weetabix mushed up a bit with milk and with a generous slather of maple cream (which reminds, it's maple season - time to stock up! ) ← Fruitabix is Weetabix with raisins and nuts, and maybe some sugar, if I remember correctly. It has been a few years now -- and it is so sad, that I am still searching for it.

Right now I am stuck on some vanilla almond granola - cereal wise. If I am shopping somewhere other than the co-op, I will always grab a bag of Cranberry Almond Crunch. But what I really want is Fruitabix - which I became seriously addicted to while in Ireland, and now cannot find in Seattle. All of these are served with super cold, non-fat milk from Faith Dairy - I love milk in glass bottles. It just makes me happy.

I am glad to know there are windows.