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eG Foodblog: *Deborah* - Power, Convection and Lies

*Deborah*
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*Deborah*

*Deborah*

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
I'm excited to see a blog from one of our local Egullet members. Good luck with your reno! And I like the idea of those Report Card Dinners. We may have to adopt a similar strategy for my older daughter.

If your daughter likes to eat, it can be a good motivator!

Yes, the eating part won't be a problem. So tell me, was there some sort of sliding scale involved, or was it a "good/bad report card--go/no go" system? Inquiring minds want to know! :biggrin:

Never having had a bad report card while this system was in effect, I can't really say :blush: And once I went off to college and university, I had to make my own celebrations :wink:

Agenda-free since 1966.

Foodblog: Power, Convection and Lies

annanstee

annanstee

Posted
Posted

Excellent !

Really looking forward to this Deborah!

At least your kitchen is a fabulous colour now!

Can't wait to see the range in motion :biggrin:

The sea was angry that day my friends... like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.

George Costanza

SushiCat

SushiCat

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Ok, it is crazy at work today, but I took five minutes out to see the first of the blog - go Deborah!

Kitchen looks fab! I would be jealous but I just got my new Fisher and Paykel today - refrigerator bliss! These little things make life 'in the burbs' worth living! [for those who do not know Vancouver, Deborah is not really in the suburbs, just compared to downtown highrise living ...]

Blog on - but I had to post - you need some real coffee (meow) for a kitchen warming present - I must spend some coffee time with you!

Sivia

Megan Blocker

Megan Blocker

Posted
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Love your orange kitchen, Deborah! Like bathrooms, kitchens are such great places to play with bold color...yay!

This is going to be an excellent blog. :biggrin:

Edited by Megan Blocker (log)

"We had dry martinis; great wing-shaped glasses of perfumed fire, tangy as the early morning air." - Elaine Dundy, The Dud Avocado

Queenie Takes Manhattan

eG Foodblogs: 2006 - 2007

*Deborah*

*Deborah*

Posted
  • Topic Starter
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Well, thanks everyone for the encouragement and compliments to my taste :smile:

My creamsicle orange glass tile backsplash might be in by the time this is done, even!

Tonight's schedule has been revised to include dinner out, since I'm fairly confident there will be men in my kitchen from around 5:00 till around 8:00, and Junior Mouse's bedtime is 8:30. Alas.

I should be doing some cooking tonight though....:shock:

Agenda-free since 1966.

Foodblog: Power, Convection and Lies

Zucchini Mama

Zucchini Mama

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Hey *Deborah*, you back onto Trout Lake? Lucky girl. That sink is outrageous! I love it.

Looking especially forward to tea and pics of the luau. I have a collection of garlands in my tickle trunk if you need to get leied. (Sorry--had to do that). I think I composted all my grass skirts though.

Have fun!

Edited by Zucchini Mama (log)

"I used to be Snow White, but I drifted."

--Mae West

annanstee

annanstee

Posted
Posted
Zuke, one must wonder then about your coconut bras.

Not to mention your wheat coop bra. :raz:

The sea was angry that day my friends... like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli.

George Costanza

*Deborah*

*Deborah*

Posted
  • Topic Starter
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Wow, Deborah, at first I thought Daddy-A was going to get the Lie Blaster.  Whew!  Nice work, you two.

I look forward to seeing the new kitchen in action.  Give Ms. Mouse a hug for me.

Not at all! :laugh:

I wouldn't pick a fight with him on eG even if it were true (which it really isn't).

Hugs back at you, Abra :smile:

Agenda-free since 1966.

Foodblog: Power, Convection and Lies

*Deborah*

*Deborah*

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
Hey *Deborah*, you back onto Trout Lake? Lucky girl. That sink is outrageous! I love it.

Looking especially forward to tea and pics of the luau. I have a collection of garlands in my tickle trunk if you need to get leied. (Sorry--had to do that). I think I composted all my grass skirts though.

Have fun!

Pics to come sometime...

Agenda-free since 1966.

Foodblog: Power, Convection and Lies

Mooshmouse

Mooshmouse

Posted
Posted
Give Ms. Mouse a hug for me.

A big ole' virtual hug from me right back at you and the Mr. :wink:

And so it begins, Deb: six days out of the coming seven that we'll be spending together! Let the eating commence! See you in a few hours for dinner.

:cool:

Joie Alvaro Kent

"I like rice. Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2,000 of something." ~ Mitch Hedberg

peppyre

peppyre

Posted
Posted (edited)

Plus she was the other night, so really, Deb, you're just another member of the household. It's going to be a very busy week with lots of food and drink. Any updates from the contractor guys? I forgot to ask, did you get your floor installed?

Edited by peppyre (log)
*Deborah*

*Deborah*

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Well as of yesterday the hallway was floored, and about 1/3 of the dining room.

I think today he was going to start tiling the bathroom. Supposedly!

I just want the power on in the kitchen and the stove levelled so I can fire her up!

Agenda-free since 1966.

Foodblog: Power, Convection and Lies

*Deborah*

*Deborah*

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
Give Ms. Mouse a hug for me.

A big ole' virtual hug from me right back at you and the Mr. :wink:

And so it begins, Deb: six days out of the coming seven that we'll be spending together! Let the eating commence! See you in a few hours for dinner.

:cool:

Looking forward!

Agenda-free since 1966.

Foodblog: Power, Convection and Lies

*Deborah*

*Deborah*

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
I love the Wolf range, Deborah! Does it have coloured knobs?

Can't wait to see your dinner party pics tomorrow!  :biggrin:

Official red ones, rather than colour-coordinated black ones, of course!

:biggrin:

Oh, and dinner will be a bit lowkey, in the (uncertain) circumstances. Sigh. But there is promise of fabulosity in the future! Thank heavens I've been in the Advanced Serious Foodie lately, or I wouldn't even remember how to turn on a burner :rolleyes:

Agenda-free since 1966.

Foodblog: Power, Convection and Lies

samasutra

samasutra

Posted
Posted
Once upon a time, there was a little girl whose Mum used to take her out for Report Card Dinners, beginning with Grade 1, the onset of thirteen years of straight As (...then university happened. Let’s not go there :wink:). We would go to fancy places when we could afford them, and less-fancy places when we couldn’t. My palate wasn’t too discriminating at the age of 5: I was happy to go out, period, and had as much fun at Le Champignon as I did at The Old Spaghetti Factory (I have an abiding love for spumoni and pistachio gelato to this day) or The Noodlemaker (watching the koi madly swim beneath the little bridges, summoned to their dinner by the gong--was there ever anything more enchanting for a child?). The waiters at Le Champignon were charmed by my nascent French-language skills and always gave me extra desserts off the pastry tray.

The Report Card Dinner underwent a few changes over time, as circumstances and location changed (when we moved to the East Coast to live with my stepdad, the economic situation meant that an RCD was more likely to just be something special, home-made, than a dinner out in NYC or, later, Philadelphia), but the concept of good food as a reward for good behaviour or good marks was set. When I have something to celebrate, the first thing I want to do, still, is go out for a good meal.

Fast-forward 30-something years, and I’m back in Vancouver, living in a flash condo just outside of Yaletown, with a gas stove and granite counters...

gallery_28661_2918_16411.jpg

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cooking now and then, baking a lot of homely but tasty birthday cakes for my co-workers, finding eGullet thanks to Jamie Maw’s column in Vancouver Magazine, finding some bosom pals who appreciate food the way that I do...real estate goes insane, I decide to sell my condo, take my profit and run, and buy a little house in East Vancouver.

The little house has an enormous problem, though: the kitchen is a joke. It comes complete with an electric range and a built-in banquette, reminiscent of an RV. Just my style....NOT!

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It just so happens, I know this kitchen designer...:biggrin:

I decide I need a new kitchen, dining room, and refurbished bathroom upstairs (the living space is up, bedrooms are down). I hire a guy I know to act as my General Contractor and do this work for me, with kitchen design, cabinetry and so forth from Daddy-A.

Now we come to the matter of the title of this blog: Power, Convection and Lies. Some of you may recognize a riff on a favourite 1980s New Order album. I’ve kind of always wanted a big fancy range, somewhat for snobby reasons (I mean, let’s be honest here!), but also for practical reasons. I got a real jones on for Power when I took the Serious Foodie cooking class at Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver. Then I had a dinner party which brought home to me the utility and desirability of two ovens and an extra burner or two...

So I’ve sold my soul to the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce for a 48 in. Wolf range with 6 burners and a chargrill--and two ovens, one of which is Convection. My first! we'll see what it does to my baking.

That brings us to the Lies. :hmmm:

I know that construction is always later than they say it will be, and I mean they’ve only been working on the 300 sq. ft or so of the renovation since the beginning of March :rolleyes: ...everyone told me the millwork would be late, bla bla bla. The first thing that was supposed to be finished was the bathroom, since it’s rather inconvenient running down and upstairs all the time, and I didn't have water available upstairs for about two months. Then things were to be done as much as possible so that the millwork could come in, the countertops could be installed, the appliances could be installed, and Bob was supposed to be my uncle....

Well, I rescheduled my blog when it became apparent that the earlier date would be impossible.

The millwork was right on time, the countertops were early, the appliances came in a week ago...and they’re still not completely installed. The other rooms are in even worse shape! My contractor has a habit of saying "I’m going to do X tomorrow, Deborah," and then not only not doing X, not doing anything.

If I had more money, I’d fire him and hire someone a little more reliable, but I won’t go into the whole rigmarole. Suffice to say that, while I thought about calling this blog Power, Convection and Size, Lies seems more appropriate just now.

So here I am. Blogging.

My house continues to be a work in progress, but I hope it progresses rather quickly as I have invited 7 Gulleters/spouses over for dinner on Saturday :hmmm:  The menu is sort of set; the wine has been bought; the crystal has been unpacked :shock: and I just hope I can get my house in shape in time!

Aside from Saturday dinner, we’ll do some Vespa shopping (I commute to work on my new Vespa, Enzo, every day :wub:), go to the first Trout Lake Market of the year (since my house conveniently backs onto Trout Lake :wink:), hit a luau, and I’ll show you a couple of my favourite restaurants. With luck, God and the electrician willing, I’ll even be able to do some cooking in the midst of all this! and watch some hockey! Go Oilers!

I will have more pics in the morning. Well, a few. Everything is still pretty topsy-turvy, but I am determined to make my coffee in the new kitchen tomorrow, for the first time.

Time for bed.

Good night, Gullet!

Really loved your title....quite clever. I used to take my daughter for report card dinners. I also took her for paycheque dinners. I was a single mom and put myself through school to earn a better living and work 9-5 hours then my previous living as a cook...being a single mom, daycare is too difficult with cooks hours. I became a social worker. Major career change!!! I had always wanted to do that as well. Anyway, my very first pay cheque, I took my little girl to the White Spot...not a gourmet restaurant but my budget and she liked their pirate packs. To this day, she talk about those memories and still likes to go to the White Spot for special events not because of the food but because of the pleasant memories it evokes.

So your story did resonate with me.

I am really looking forward to hearing the outcome of your story. I have lived in construction about me. I was married to a contractor though he was not doing that at the time but he was renovating our home. The upheaval!! It is very disconcerting. Just one word on side of contractors, they do have a hard time getting reliable trades people...its a real balancing act. My ex is a really hard worker and puts in really long days but try getting all the trades balanced and coming when they are supposed to makes him tear his hair out so I really sympathize with you.

I have really wanted two ovens as well so I am major green. Looking forward to this ongoing saga.

Samasutra

Never met a vegetable I never liked except well okra!
Daddy-A

Daddy-A

Posted
Posted
hit a luau,

Please let that be a Victoria Day luau. That seems to be an appropriately Vancouver-ish thing to do (I have no idea why - it just does!).

Without giving too much away (this is after all Deb's blog) it is a day-before-Victoria-Day Luau.

It's a little known fact that Queen Victoria was a real glutton when it came to roast sucking pig. :blink: There's your connection.

A.

snacky_cat

snacky_cat

Posted
Posted

Deeb - as an effective demonstration of the size of your oven oven and sink, I may come over for a drink on Saturday and then climb in both of them and pose for photos.

Jenn

"She's not that kind of a girl, Booger!"

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