lindag

I recently discovered a new snack. Vidalia Onion Petals. A friend served these with our other chips and cheese at our weekly card game. They are amazingly good. I love anything salty and these are the best I've had in a very long time.

I haven't seen any signs of panic-buying here; one of the benefits of living in a remote area. I'll stop in at my nearby grocer's this morning when I take Lucy to the groomer's. Buying vegetables to cut up for a veggie tray for our card game on Saturday. ETA: Montana has one case of the virus and that is only a technicality; the person resides here but has been in WA state for the last three months and contacted it there and is still living there.

I received my seafood ordered from my local grocer in anticipation of Cioppino this weekend. Shrimp, cod, scallops (no mussels - keeping it simple since it's a soup for one).

My go-to pans for just about everything are All-Clad's 3 qt. sauté and 1 qt. sauté..12-inch and 8-inch. I've had these for at least 15 years and both are still going strong. Maybe not quite as non-stick as they once were but still workable. One of these days I'll have to replace them but All-Clad no longer makes these units.

A feast!

BTDT.

Thanks so much for taking the time to add your advice. I have many, many decisions to make so input like yours is priceless. I’ll look carefully at the hoods, there are huge price differentials among them.

I have heard others say this too but, for me, that's not been the case.

Yes. A necessity, for sure. I actually think I'll have an outlet on each of the long sides...There are times when that would be pretty handy, especially now with so many ipots and electric grills around,

Very nice.

Thanks for your input. I made a note on my plans for the slide-out pantry shelving. I can see that as a big improvement. i can’t have my sink and stove on the same wall but they will be adjacent which is how my current kitchen is arranged and I’m okay with that. I’m not planning for a sink in the island, I want all that real-estate available for prepping and assembly. Your needs are much bigger than mine. I mostly cook for one or two and my meals are fairly simple. As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, the vent hood is a biggie for me and I plan to get a good one with direct venting. My current kitchen doesn’t and can’t have a vent of any kind due to the location and it’s been a thorn in my side all these years. New kitchen has the range on an outside wall so venting is easy. ETA: The drawer depth was an item mentioned by my friend who will be a neighbor in the new community...I measured the drawers I currently have (3-½ inch deep) and decided to specify at least four inches for the new ones.

So? How'd they turn out? The recipe looks quite good.

Yesterday I hosted some friends for an afternoon card party. i made a gorgeous layered salad made with iceberg lettuce, English cucumber, radish, red onion, beets, red pepper, green peas, mayo and cheddar. It was beautiful as were my sourdough rolls that I served alongside, Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of it all. My friends enjoyed it very much.

I use these. I'm getting rid of all my stem wineglasses (for the upcoming move). The Reidels can easily go into the dishwasher and their stemless design leads to a lot fewer tip-overs and breakage.

I got some nice looking asparagus today that is going onto my PAG tonight!

I have a couple different mandolines. I get the best results with the v-slicer that I bought on QVC. I also use the no-cut glove (which is not foolproof).

I’m shopping for a new fridge, would you recommend that brand?

is that you fridge on the right? If so, what brand?

Here’s my pile-up on my dining room table:

You've inspired me. When my house cleaning people leave I’ll take a photo of my dining room table where I store the overflow from the kitchen.

My love of cookware is consuming. My cabinets are full of pots and pans, cast iron, pressure cookers, small appliances and gadgets galore....many of which never get used! Since I'm moving in a few months to much smaller house I have to get rid of at least half of all this. It's going to be tough to part with these things that were acquired with much happiness. My current home has loads of storage, almost a dozen big closets which helped to feed my addiction. No more. Sign...

Sorry, it’s a microwave.

I don't like how the standard size sticks out. My current model sits out about six inches into the kitchen. With the S-Z counter-depth I can get one that's 42" wide which adds a good amount of space, plus it's 84" tall. More space there.

My new house is in the early stages; it is barely framed up but I'm already dreaming of my dream kitchen. Yesterday I went to our one big appliance store (other than HD and Lowe's) and I think I'm going to go wild with the new units. First up I'm thinking of a Sub-Zero side by side. A Thermador 30" slide-in dual fuel range, a Bosch d/w as well as a new m/w and a new hood of a type yet to be determined. All this is really overkill since I'm by no means a big presence in the kitchen, and these expensive appliances do not define the home which is really rather modest. But I'm figuring this is my last rodeo, if you will. I have heard of some folk having trouble with Sub-Zero repairs so I plan to add a warranty protection plan.. Anyone have any negative experiences with any of these brands?\ ETA: I have been reading reviews online about Sub-Zero fridges and I may have to re-think that choice. Those reviews are not good. Much as I'd like to have a custom-size I'm beginning to have grave concerns about repairs.

I got mine from Amazon. It's this one. Make sure you get the 8x10" to fit the CSO.