snowangel

Marlene, this is a great idea. One of the things that I noticed in your photos is that the wall oven doesn't look like it's very conveniently located. And, don't forget that if there's an appropriate space in the basement, you can store that "used once or twice" a year stuff down there.

I got a dilly of a deal on a LeCrueset at Marshall's. The lid and bottom didn't match, so I "bartered" for an even better deal. The two "strays" look great together, and it was way less than budget busting. Have you looked on Ebay or a place like TJ Maxx or Marshalls? I know, also, that when I look at the Dining section of the NY Times on Wednesdays, Broadway Panhandler will sometimes have a particular Le Crueset dutch oven heavily discounted; perhaps they ship? Yes, it is what you need (per fifi).

Smoked green bean casserole?

The walls are painted. They are beautiful. I have replaced the outlets, switches and covers. This is the good news. The bad news is that this has made the ceilings look even worse. Sort of a dark brown color. They are so bad that they detract from the hideousness of the awful cigarette burned harvest gold vinyl floor. I'm going to find out just how much it would cost to have them sprayed with more popcorn before I just bite the bullet and do it myself. I have ruled out removing the popcorn. My neighbor did this, and the ceiling will need to be taped and mudded, and it makes me dizzy to work over my head for the amount of time that would be necessary. My new mantra: never again buy a fixer upper. Do not buy a house on a dim, dark December day. Oh, wait, I'm never moving again. And, with that happy thought, I'm off to a spaghetti dinner at Peter's elementary school.

Some immediate thoughts, Marlene. Putting gas at the cooktop. Gas doesn't take up a lot of space, but given that you have drawers, that could be a problem unless you want to run it up through the wall to the cooktop. Island without power? No way. Bad idea. It means you can't do anything there that will require an electrical appliance. If you are going to do the island up right, you will need to tear into that basement ceiling. (I am a big believer of suspended ceilings in basements. Makes it easy to get to electrical, plumbing, wire speakers into other areas of the house, etc. but that's beside the point right now). Your kitchen is huge. My kitchen. I have four double door cuboards/cabinets and six drawers. I am not counting the drawer and cabinet that are almost too narrow for anything. But, I have gas!

For various and sundry reasons, dinner did not happen tonight. Chalk it up to kid activities, kitchen renno, whatever. It just wasn't happening. So, it was about toast, and what one does with toast. My first piece of toast was slathered wih Hope Butter. But, I should digress, and in the hopes of a deer in the deep freeze, I am all about empting said out. That would include some Acme bread, which had been removed earlier in the day, so it was thawed. It is good. Diana's first slice was with peanut butter (Jiff). Heidi and Paul opted for easy over eggs (fried in bacon grease). Peter opted to make tuna salad (tuna packed in olive oil,, dressed with Hellman's and a tidge of mustard). I opted for another piece with Hope butter, while I contemplated the alternatives. As I contemplated said alternatives, I espied a thing of some spanish roasted peppers in the cupboard. Added an anchovie (salt packed, natch) and a tidge of crushed red pepper. Following this, Heidi and I each ahd a slice of toast with dijon and liverwurst. The toast was almost blackened. I do like my toast well toasted. No wimpy barely-golden toast in this household. Toast is a wonderful vehicle. I am reminded on another of my favorite toast things, but sadly, now out of season Some bacon, somewhat, but not too much, fried. A piece of toast. A slice of cheese. A slice of a tomato (must be fresh, in season, no styrofoam need apply). Topped with that bacon which has been started, but not finished. The whole thing finished under the broiler. Cheese, melted. Bacon, more cooked. On TOAST. Eat. I love toast. I just might go and make another piece of toast. Perhaps topped with a scrambled egg? How you do you love toast, outside of butter and perhaps some jam?

Good on you for getting one! And, I do recall a friend breaking a joist in the roof of a garage hoisting a big ass deer...

I LOVE the sideboard (or whatever it's called). It's sleek and funky. So, first coat of paint on the dining room/kitchen. The kids were hot to help me paint, for the firs 10 minutes. Reminder to self. Never paint anything a dark color. The fairly dark green that was under the (swear words inserted) wallpaper was a fairly dark green. Two coats. What's under the chair rail in the dining area sure looked white under the green. Now it looks tan (is nicotine a color?). Better send Paul to get more paint during lunch tomorrow. And, the paint (a bright grey/white) makes the ceilings look even worse. I really hate the domino effect. Sad, isn't it, when you want hingest and light fixtures for presents, isn't is?

Lots of hot water and a putty knife, a ton of elbow grease and even more swearing. Been there, done that. In fact, still doing it. Bad taste. No accounting for it. Once you get the fabric off, it's even more of the above mentioned nasties to get the adhesive off. Me, I can't understand wall coverings. Paint is cheap and easily redone. And, thanks for the Bulls Eye recomendation. I'm a big fan of their shellac. Stove. For me, it's more about the cooktop than the oven. IMHO.

I'll chime in on the stove thing. I had a kitchenaide (looks to be the same one you are looking at) and I really liked the burners that could be small or big (that's why they have two rings on them.) It was solid and a good performer. I went with gas in this house, but that was a no-brainer since there was a gas thingie right under where the stove was (I do believe there was originally gas and they went electric when they put in a really awful, cheap, horrible, terrible, no good stove). Dave, yes, the stove is a serious dent. But, it would be a serious dent later on, too. For the sideboard thing, go funky. You and your dog are cute enough to pull it off. I'm still debating what to do about the ceilings. Right now, I'm leaning toward a smoked butt/beer thing so people can help me do the prep work. Now, my debate is spray or roll. The idea of 1200 feet of popcorn in my hair, then mudding/taping, and then painting is ageing me. Word to the wise. Never buy a house in the dim light of a late December day. It sure looked like less work then. I'm really starting to dislike the looks of my cupboards and cabinets. It's the color (the style is nothing great, either). They are oak, and they are solid and decent, so I can't justify replacing them (especially since we need a new furnace). Dave, what did you do to prep your cabinets to paint them? What kind of paint did you use? Dave, have you had any more thoughts about lighting? We have an awful "cloud" flourescent fixture. It does a great job of lighting the space, but I swear it isn't 10 minutes after I clean out and replace the cover that it's full of bugs, and it's November in MN! My new knobs were a real deal. Now, I think I need new hinges. Maybe on the one a week program. The sad thing is that I did a kitchen remodel, single handedly, barely 18 months before we realized we had to move. I'm having deja vu. And, I have floor samples. CVT. A whole bunch of them. I'm planning to display them during the birthday parties I'm having for my mom and getting opinions. My family is being less than helpful about this, feeling that the harvest gold vinyl with chips, dings and cigarette burns looks just fine with my grey granite counters. .

Marlene, did your tomato sauce have meat in it? How did the leftovers reheat? (assuming there were leftovers)

But, I'm assuming that if one put these into a home-made cookbook, that book would count...yes?

Yes, that is cilantro root. At the local Asian markets in the Twin Cities, cilantro is almost always sold with the root. It has a stronger cilantro taste. I'm not sure if it's used in other cuisines, but I always include it in larb and most Thai dishes that call for cilantro. I also put it in salsa, but I don't know if that's typical or just me not wanting to waste those tasty morsels.

A quick stir fry with a bit of garlic and some fish sauce?

Trust me, Jin, if it's Hormel chili, you need the mustard. Like I said, we'll eat these again in a year.

So, I'm on a kick to clean out the freezer and cupboards. In addition, I made chili today for tomorrow night. So, in my freezer, I found a package of Oscar Meyer or Hormel (can't remember) beef weiners. Also so venison weiners. In the cupboard I found a can of Hormel chili. Some of these items (the supermarket hot dogs and the Hormel chili) were "courtesy" of a houseguest. So, when I asked what we should have for dinner tonight, Peter said "Chili dogs!" I figured it was time for taste testing. So, we did. Hands down winner were the supermarket hot dogs with Hormel Chili. The venison dogs with homemade chili were actually better tasting, at least each item on it's own. But, together, they weren't what we associated with chili dogs. SOmetimes, cheap, crappy, over processed food is OK. Incidentally, they were adorned with chopped onions and French's yellow mustard, just as they are at the State Fair, whereever. They were, in an odd way, comforting. We will have them again in another year or so. In true State Fair fashion, we washed these down with Coca Cola and had Old Dutch chips (ruffles) as a side. Tomorrow night, we will go heavy on the veg. Maybe I'll save the chili (which is really great) for Sunday night.

I would really rather avoid Thanksgiving dinner. I leave every thanksgiving for a weekend away with old college buds (to a posh resort in northern MN), but my family objects to me not sharing this meal with them. So, thanks to all for exciting me so much for the ritual. The dried out turkey, the gravy thickened with raw flour. The green bean casserole. That's how they do in in at my in-laws. Put the way too big turkey in way too late, and then all exclaim over how wonderful the strings are. I'm brining appetizers this year, and am bringing summer rolls and larb. At least I won't leave hungry this year.

One thing I remember well from the one time I took codeine was that it made some nasty taste in my mouth that made food taste icky. Administering meds can be tricky, too. One of Heidi's meds is a really, really vile tasting liquid, one for which the "cherry" flavor doesn't really cover up. Imagine Robitusun that tastes 50 times worse. Her other med is a capsule, meant to be opened and sprinkled on food. We put the sprinkles on syrup (sticky) and this seems to obliviate the nasty taste. And, she takes her meds in the am before she gets anything to drink, so the drink washes it all down nicely. She likes cranberry or OJ (strong flavors) to wash it down.

For those of you who don't have the time to checkout the course that Hillvalley linked, reminder to check with your pharmicist to see if there are any medication contra-indications with foods or other meds. My daughter Heidi takes a lot of neurological medication (to control seizures), and diet pop and all OTC cough preps are no-nos. My grandmother always said that if you were nauseous or had a cold to only drink things you could see through. She swore than stuff like milk just increased mucous.

Thanks. Stock is on the stove, chicken heads staring at me. Peter (age 8) will get a real hoot out of this when he gets home from school. Cheap entertainment, as it was.

I'll answer this one. Da Up is that part of Michigan ABOVE the lake. ← Well, er, that depends on which lake you mean. The Upper Peninsula, fondly known as the UP (pronounced " Da Yoop") is indeed that part of Michigan north of Lake Michigan, but it's on the south shore of Lake Superior. If one imagines Lake Superior to be a wolf's head (facing left, mouth every so slightly open, just readying itself to swallow another ship - sorry, but it IS the anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, and I did need to work in something to do with eating) the UP is along the wolf's throat. I live just above the nose, and work up toward the eye. If you go inland just a little bit, you'll be on the Iron Range, fondly known as Da Raynche. Culturally similar to da UP, come to think of it, but don't tell that to the natives. ← Well, of course, The (excuse me, Da) Lake is Superior. In many, many ways. And, Da Raynche. We drive through Cloquet, Eveleth, Cook, and turn off at Cusson (just try and find that on your map!). We have stopped, camped, peed, eaten and had car work done in all of these Raynche cities. Rumor has it that there is a good Jamacian restaurant in Gilbert. As I got in the car this afternoon after working at Peter's school, noticed that the wind had dramatically increased, and the temp decreased. Turned on the radio to hear Gordon Lightfoot singing none other than "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." Gave new meaning to the Gales of November. OK, back to your regularly scheduled program. Smithy and I have had our fun.

My father is a former butcher. He suggested if you wanted to age beef in your fridge (which he did not advise because of humidity and temp variables), he advised buying a big hunk, aging it, scraping off the mold and crap, and when aged, cutting up your own steaks. Further to this thread, potato salad. Everyone I know says that when it goes bad, it is because of the mayo (always purchased mayo). Me does think that it has more to do with the potatoes than the purchased mayo (or, god forbid, miracle whip). Those starches and sugars in potatoes must be a virtual breeding ground, no?

I've also been buying my chickens (whole) at the local Asian market, where they come complete, with heads and feet. I'm not sure what to do with the heads, but by cutting up my own, I end up with all sorts of cool little pieces that are great for stock. Stock without feet, in my book, isn't stock. Add to it all of those extra bits of skin, ribs, neck, wing tips, etc. Wonderful stuff. And, occasionally, there's another farang in their, who wants their chicken cut up for them, without all of the stuff I want. The ladies at the meat counter, after cutting up said chicken for said farang, will just give me the leavings. Gold. They can't speak English, and I can't speak Hmong, but they know I know the good stuff. And, that I'm a good customer. Plus, it's an adventure of an 8-year old boy to help pick out the chicken with the "prettiest face" and to learn to cut up a chicken. Edited to add: I've got a bag of frozen chicken heads. What do I do with them?

Listening to fifi on the subject of LeCrueset is taking an immediate hit on the wallet. Trust me. Trust a bunch of us. She hypnotizes all of us on this topic. Me in a chair. fifi in a chair. Look at this. Watch it. Want to buy it. Need to buy it. Become possessed with needing it. Repeat after me. Must have. Now. And, you know, she's right. This is grand stuff.

I'll answer this one. Da Up is that part of Michigan ABOVE the lake.