Varmint's New Kitchen

[maggiethecat]

My Bohemian buddies seem to go for stews and dumplings in a very big way; potato dumplings, bread dumplings, fruit dumplings. I remember an excellent veal stew with caraway and mushrooms. Don't forget the beer!

[Boris_A]

The Czech signature dish is pork roast, bread dumplings and sauerkraut.

Try to find "Budvar" (from České Budějovice or formerly Budweis) called "Czechvar" in the US. It's a really good Czech beer.

[Toliver]

The Czech signature dish is pork roast, bread dumplings and sauerkraut.

Try to find "Budvar" (from České Budějovice or formerly Budweis) called "Czechvar" in the US. It's a really good Czech beer.

←

I concur with this menu. I've posted previously in some other thread how my mom makes it.

My mom made friends with a woman of Polish decent after she got married who taught her how to make potato pancakes, too. It's not authentically Czech but certainly was a welcome addition on our table.

That's very thoughtful of you. Kitchen Karma is a good thing to develop.

[Daddy-A]

I don't understand the government, and I think I shouldn't begin to try.

Congratulations! You now know what it feels like to be Canadian!

A.

[andiesenji]

I saw a Czech beer at Trader Joe's when I was in the store last week. Apparently there are enough people around who find it interesting that TJ's stocks it.

[snowangel]

Glad, Dean, that it is going well. When we were actually doing the reno, it was fine. It was an adventure, and I planned well, as have you. What I think was stressful for us was that day I did a demo that took the kitchen to the point of no return. Would have been better had I told Paul I was doing it before hand. We had "mentioned" changing things a bit in passing, which I took as approval for getting out the sledgehammer. Think Mayhaw Man might just understand this.

And, when you take out the sledgehammer without having thoroughly thinking out the project, it does bring new things to the table...

Glad you are eating well, and still speaking. Glad the inspector has come and gone so the project can progess to the point where there will be things to photo that people will want to see (although, some of us fins pictures of wiring in walls fasctinating, but then again, I am a woman who wants power tools for gifts and gets giddy in the electrical aisle at the local home improvement joint).

[Varmint]

You asked for photos, so here you go.

My nice, level concrete floor.

My almost smooth ceiling, with new recessed lights. Note the cut-out for the window to the right. We'll break through there in about a week. The frame to the left is for the wall which will be at the end of the SubZeros.

Duct for the hood.

Where the range will be.

Where the eating bar will be. That's the single post that'll go through the eating bar. The framing is for the new closet. You can also see the rough-in plumbing. The wires hanging from the overhead beam are for the low voltage lights that'll be over the eating bar.

The new doorway for the extended pantry. The old door was where the insulation and brown tile flooring ended.

The workers store a lot of their tools in the pantry. Note the new breaker panel to the right.

The baking area.

Here's a view looking back towards the laundry room.

Looking at the kitchen from the living room.

So, as you can see, a lot of work remains. They'll be fixing up the walls over the next few days, complete the ceiling drywall work, and then wait for the cabinets. The electrician can now come in and finish his work.

[snowangel]

Be still my beating heart! A work of art in progress. Framing, insulation, drywall, outlets, lighting fixture holes. This is all big stuff (trust me, I've done it myself!) I loved these photos. I think we have that same ladder!

Progress is being made, and rapidly. Breaker panel looks sleek.

[Daddy-A]

That looks great Dean!

The first thing I noticed is how clean & tidy the job site is. I realize you've had the floor level, so most of the dust & wire clippings will have been swept up already, but it still looks great. A good sign in my estimation.

One small thing ... the pot lights on either side of the sink window look like they might be a little close to the wall. The cabinets are 12" deep and those lights look about 18" away from the wall. They'll end up casting "scallops" on the face of the wall cabinets. How about a single light over the sink? PM me you need clarification.

A.

[Varmint]

That looks great Dean! 

The first thing I noticed is how clean & tidy the job site is.  I realize you've had the floor level, so most of the dust & wire clippings will have been swept up already, but it still looks great.  A good sign in my estimation.

One small thing ... the pot lights on either side of the sink window look like they might be a little close to the wall.  The cabinets are 12" deep and those lights look about 18" away from the wall.  They'll end up casting "scallops" on the face of the wall cabinets.  How about a single light over the sink?  PM me you need clarification.

A.

←

Yes, the work site has been kept very clean. They take care of that every single day.

As far as the lights are concerned, there's only one that sits above the sink, where there will be no cabinets. The other one is not by the cabinets -- it just looks that way. It's located in the "open" end of the kitchen. Thanks for looking closely, though!

[Varmint]

Oops, Arne was right about one of those cans. Damn. It does sit about 18-20 inches away from the wall, and it is too close to that upper cabinet. I'm probably just going to live with it, though, as otherwise, I'd have to get the workers to change the position of 6 cans, and I'm not going to do that. Geesh, I had to have something that wasn't perfect!

[Varmint]

Progress is being made, and rapidly.  Breaker panel looks sleek.

←

Just for you, then:

This breaker panel was in the middle of the kitchen, and we had planned on moving it to the other side of the same wall, towards the baking area. This would not conform to code, as you need to be able to stand in front of the box, apparently. So, we moved it into the pantry, where no one can see it anymore! All the wires will be covered with plywood, of course, matching the rest of the pantry.

Also recognize that we had to put in a new breaker box in the laundry room broom closet, as that was the dangerous one.

So far, we've paid the carpenters about $6,600 for labor and materials, including the new casement window, two slab doors, floor underlayment, lumber, drywall, hardware, and dump fees. There isn't a heck of a lot more lumber to buy, except for the deck for the countertop. The electrician will be billing us half his fee, which is about $1,800, now that he passed the rough-in inspection. The plumber just billed us $500 for his part so far.

Of course, we are asking the workers to do "other stuff" for us, including burying a french drain to offset the additional run-off we're getting from the construction site behind us. We'll have them build us some more shelves for the pantry and laundry room. It's obviously the right time to do this.

I'm looking for some counter stools to replace what we have. Here are the requirements: no swiveling; arms not ideal; they should have a base of 4 legs; they must be easy to clean; they must be fairly well-built, to endure the abuse of several children. Oh, and they need to be no more than $150 a piece, as we'll probably be getting 6 or 7 of them. I'm going to Ikea in a week, so I'll see what they have. Anyone else have any ideas?

Have I mentioned that I'm really having fun with this?!

[fifi]

I am on a similar hunt for bar stools. Actually, I think I will be looking for "counter" stools as they are for the island. I don't need as many as you so I am not quite as price sensitive but I am a notorious cheapskate. I also have the same criteria as you described. I don't have kids but friends can get rowdy over roasted cauliflower. I was actually not all that impressed with what Ikea had. (Surprise!) I found more selection at Crate and Barrel. I haven't started a comprehensive search yet, just noting in passing. Cost Plus World Market usually has an impressive variety of chairs and stools but I haven't been in there in a while.

[patti]

Varmint and fifi, here's a nice selection of counter and/or bar stools.

[fifi]

Heh, heh . . .

I thought Patti had found Barstools 'r' Us (cool site) and then I did a bit more googling and found The Barstool Superstore. For some reason, I find the concept of a barstool "superstore" hilarious. I know nothing about this place. I just found it interesting.

[patti]

Heh, heh . . .

I thought Patti had found Barstools 'r' Us (cool site) and then I did a bit more googling and found The Barstool Superstore. For some reason, I find the concept of a barstool "superstore" hilarious. I know nothing about this place. I just found it interesting.

←

Wow, that is a comprehensive barstool site! Good thing I'm not in the market, because I'd never be able to make a decision with all of those choices.

What's your color scheme going to be, Varmint?

[Raoul Duke]

As a suggestion, in the wall, on the left side of the range, you could cut an opening that is finished with sheetrock. Similar to a medicine cabinet opening, that utilizes the space between studs. This would act as extra storage adjacent to the range for oils, seasonings, etc. We had extra granite that we used to cover the bottom, but even on old cutting board would do nicely. Project looks great.

[Toliver]

Varmint and fifi, here's a nice selection of counter and/or bar stools.

←

I was going to post Williams-Sonoma retro barstools but your link has them at such a better price!

Wish I could do a retro kitchen with these barstools and matching kitchen table...

[Varmint]

As a suggestion, in the wall, on the left side of the range, you could cut an opening that is finished with sheetrock.  Similar to a medicine cabinet opening, that utilizes the space between studs.  This would act as extra storage adjacent to the range for oils, seasonings, etc.  We had extra granite that we used to cover the bottom, but even on old cutting board would do nicely.  Project looks great.

←

That's a great idea. I'll look at the space tonight and see if we can't do that!

[Varmint]

Oh, by the way, last night I decided to make fried catfish in our little kitchen. It was great, and I served it with guacamole and grilled zucchini. However, one should not make fried catfish in a kitchen that is poorly ventilated that sits above (and is open to) the master bedroom. When I woke up this morning, it still smelled like fried catfish. I'll be cooking for friends at the in-laws' tonight!

[andiesenji]

If you want to kill odors like this rapidly this is an easy and inexpensive way that knocks down any stench without covering it up with perfume.

You will need an old, fairly heavy saucepan with a handle

and a couple of bricks or a concrete block you can place in the center of the room and on which the pan will set steady.

In the pan place 1 + cups of Epsom salts - it should be close to an inch deep.

Add 6 ounces of denatured alcohol, rubbing alcohol will do if you can't get the other.

Hold it away from you and light the alcohol.

If the room is large, walk around the room with the pan, if the room is small simply set it on the bricks or block in the center of the room and let the alcohol burn off completely.

Needless to say, keep the flame clear of curtains, drapes, clothing, etc.

[Tela T]

Varmit (and of course anyone else who can offer a suggestion),

Wondering in all the research you've been doing if you'd heard anything about countertop monuments for islands - not sure if I can describe... Seems that according to code when designing islands you either need an electrical outlet mounted in the side (below countertop) or you can add on an electrical monument for your actual plugs. Yes, I know to have some bulky thing (around 4-5" square) takes up room, and yes, we should have added the outlets to the side, but we're done with our island design and rather than have to commit the room inside to the wiring and give up drawer space - we'd rather mount a monument that we can access from either side... But, the real question is .... Does anyone know of a distributor for monuments - we're located in Sacramento - but we haven't had any luck finding a source... Any ideas??

[Safran]

Oh, by the way, last night I decided to make fried catfish in our little kitchen.  It was great, and I served it with guacamole and grilled zucchini.  However, one should not make fried catfish in a kitchen that is poorly ventilated that sits above (and is open to) the master bedroom.  When I woke up this morning, it still smelled like fried catfish.  I'll be cooking for friends at the in-laws' tonight!

←

You need a Berger lamp!!!! They were once used in hospitals and clinics in France and are now sold worldwide. Of course, they now have different perfumed "oils" (which are actually more like alcohol) but I prefer the neutral kind. My kitchen is poorly ventilated and this simply cleans everything up nicely. Of course, you could also put a pan of vinegar next to your range next time you cook fish or anything smelly.

Edited March 6, 2005 by Safran (log)

[Tela T]

Varmint,

Just went over the pictures of your remodel - wow your original subfloor is tough - when was the house built?

We took our entire house back to the one load-bearing wall and every pipe, wire, duct, wall is brand new... I respect your endeavors with the kids in tow... it looks as though it's coming together. The worst thing about our job was not having a kitchen for about two years....

[Varmint]

Cabinets will be completed this week, and although we could have them in the house Friday afternoon, I'm thinking that we may wait until Monday or Tuesday. This is primarily because the cabinets will take up a lot of space, we don't want them sitting around all weekend, and we also have a house guest. My foreman gets back today after being gone Friday and Monday, so we'll talk about the scheduling. He may want to get them here Friday, regardless, and if that's the case, so be it!

I then need to call the appliance guy to set up his delivery for the middle of next week. This is fun!

On a cooking note, I made a "vegetable plate" sort of dinner last night: Steamed artichokes, baked potatoes, grilled asparagus, and a grape tomato and feta salad. Clementines for dessert. It was quite a tasty meal!

Raoul Duke, I think we're going to use your idea to create a recessed space between the studs. We don't have as much room as we'd like, but it'll work! Thanks for that great idea.