Handy Ideas for a Remodeled Kitchen

Since we are renovating the kitchen and dining room (we’ve completely gutted the rooms down to the studs and subflooring), I have the opportunity to build a new one from scratch. Of course, I am restricted by a few things: we have only one exterior wall, so the stove must go against that wall if I want to have a range hood venting outside; I will have a space heater on another wall, so the fridge cannot be in that vicinity; etc. It’s taken a good deal of planning to make sure that everything will be *finally* efficient and economical, like car insurance haha. I wish I could spend more time planning it, actually. There is just SO MUCH to plan all at once, but I just can’t have the walls gutted forever. I’m “winging it” here, hoping that the decisions I’m making are both affordable and will work to make the kitchen MORE pleasant and efficient, and not less.

Anyway, one thing we are working toward is a “beverage center.” The kids love their teas, and we adults love our coffees…. and it was kind of cramped in the Old Kitchen to try to cook and move around in the kitchen when people were in the corner, making tea or coffee. So I decided to separate the area away from the main cooking area. And to emphasize the separation, I am going to be installing a small refrigerator in the beverage area, too. This will hold the creamers, the snack items, the orange juice, etc. The fridge will take up valuable cabinet space, to be sure, but I think it will enhance the flow of the kitchen– so it’s worth it, in my estimation. I’ve seen those drawer fridge thingies, but they are twice as expensive. I’m going to try to put this new compact fridge up on a shelf, next to the wall cabinets. This will make it so that I do not have to bend over to get things (which is a problem right now with the current refrigerator). I would just LOVE to get a refrigerator without a freezer at all– those freezer on the top /fridge on the bottom models are a royal pain. I have to get on my hands and knees to get to the food in the fridge. Unfortunately, the no-freezer refrigerators are very pricey. So it will have to wait.

Another idea I’m coming up with is ceiling fans for lighting. Lots of modern kitchens have fluorescent lighting or recessed lighting. I dislike recessed lighting, because they generate so much heat for so little light (comparatively– after all, recessed lighting is a CAN of light inserted into a hole in the ceiling!). I like a LOT of light, so recessed is not for me. I am opting for ceiling fans with lights. This will help keep the kitchen cooler in the summer (the late afternoon sun blasts into the kitchen during the summer) and warmer throughout the house in the winter; we will have a small gas heater unit in the kitchen, and the fans will help to circulate the heat throughout the room and the house.

So it really pays to try to think ahead. I’m sure there are many more things I am missing. My dread is that I will complete the kitchen, and then have lots of “Oh no! I should have done this!” :S

Fancy Breakfast in Soho

Now THAT’s a fancy breakfast.

Oooo la la!!

I stayed at the Soho Grand Hotel last week, and ordered breakfast. I opened the aluminum tray cover (wow, just like in the movies!) and that is what I saw. I believe it’s called Eggs Benedict. It was an English muffin sliced into halves, with a sliver of smoked salmon, a soft-cooked egg on top of that, and melted butter with parsley. It was incredibly good. It also came with hash browns, which were good but rather mild. The smoked salmon was a little too pungent for me that early in the morning, but it was good. I will have to make some of these sometime for the family (when I have a kitchen again, soon!). I also got coffee… but it was just ONE cup in the carafe. The complimentary New York Times was nice. Not much to read in it, though, except some weird ads for best eye cream and Broadway shows. It went to serve its more important use as papers for the doggies. Guess how much this breakfast cost, total? $35.

O_o

Oy vey. Such is New York.

It was nice getting pampered a bit. Don’t worry, it didn’t all go to my head. I’m back into the daily grind of pounding the keys for work by day, and drilling and wiring for the new kitchen by night…

How Do You Cook….. ??

… when you have no kitchen?!

In case you don’t follow my other blogs, I’m renovating my 1855 home. This year, we’re tackling the kitchen and the dining room… and I’m having a problem cooking. For one, after ripping apart plaster and lathe in 80-degree heat all day, I just don’t *feel* like standing in the garage (where we have our “temporary” kitchen) cooking a meal. Then, there’s the cleanup. Ugh ugh ugh. I’m finding us eating takeout food (like pizzas, or deli sandwiches from the grocery store), and I hate that. It’s so expensive, it’s not healthy eating, and it’s fattening meals! If this keeps up, we’ll all be stuck on an hcg diet or something, whoa. lol.

ANYWAY. How do you cook like this? I have the grill, but I’m just so tired after a long day of work. It’s quite the enigma… I’m happy munching on dry Frosted Mini Wheats and an apple… but the others want meals. Hmmmm….

Good Sale on Dinnerware!

We have a large family, and when we have guests over for dinner, the dinnerware goes REAL fast. I hate having to give some people the nice china, others the “medium” quality cheapo Chinese stuff, and others the plastic plates because we do not have enough dishes for everyone. :-p I finally ditched my Chinese-made lead laden, chipped dinnerware last year. I wish I’d seen this sale then on dinnerware sets, though. It’s terrific! I fell in love with the Garden Party set.

We had an IKEA that sold Pfaltzgraff, many years ago, but it closed. The nice thing is you can buy Pfaltzgraff dinnerware, linens, flatware, and etc online, and usually for better deals. The sale on dinnerware that I saw is phenomenal: the 16 piece Garden Party set usually sells for over $200, but it’s on sale now for under $140! For a SIXTEEN PIECE set, that is a terrific price. Plus, who can beat Pfaltzgraff quality? Pfaltzgraff is the creme de la creme of dinnerware.

Well, if you’re looking for a great excuse to toss out the cheapo plastic plates, or to finally have enough dinnerware for the entire guest party, or are just looking to spend some of that tax refund money, check out the sales there.