mouse_rants

the appliances are here and installed, and i'm already playing with them.


i did the chicken tonight - it was a tad underdone, but that was my fault - i was trying out the timed cook, and set it at the shorter time - and the chicken was a bit larger than the recipe specifies, so i should have gone longer.  still, quite tasty, and i can cook the thighs a bit more when i reheat them.  it ended up being so late because i didn't get home till about 7, and then it took longer than expected to reduce the sauce.  the smoke alarm and i may have to come to some sort of understanding about how high i can turn up the burners.

i've only just started on putting things away, which limited my cooking somewhat, since i can't find most of the things i needed.  the stuffing, for example, was perhaps a bit more piquant than one would expect, because it called for lemon zest, and the grater is still packed away, but the vegetable peeler was at hand, so i used that, and then chopped the peel - so there were rather sudden spurts of lemon, rather than an overall lemonyness.  pretty tasty, though.

tomorrow:  grilled scallops a la benny (seethed in jealousy)!

for some reason my pictures are a bit fuzzy, but i'll try to pick the best
all the guys got done before 3, so i did have time to do some shopping.  hit lowe's because i had a gift card there, but they were a bit disappointing - i had really hoped to get shelf paper there (since i need a lot), but they just had a small selection, and it was all pretty ugly.  home depot's selection wasn't much better when i checked on the weekend, but they had a sort of marble-patterned one that is acceptable.  everyone just seems to stock ribbed no-stick stuff - but i know i will be pushing things around in the cabinets, so i don't want some texture impeding things, and i certainly don't want the shelf paper sliding around.  lowe's is right nest to ikea, so of course i had to check in there, just in case, you know, they had shelf paper (they did, actually - more ribbed no-stick).  somehow, though, i managed to find a few other things i just _had_ to have...like a new teakettle, and a decent 13X9 inch pan (mine is pretty old and grotty), and some new potholders, and somehow this cute little milk frother seems to have slipped in (only $2.99! - oh wait - it must need batteries).  then to the container store - ended up with a wire mesh silverware holder (so those odd little bits of things will sift through) and a couple other drawer-organizer sorts of things, and a few travel odds and ends, and a shower caddy which i think i will need to return because it doesn't have suction cups and it keeps sliding down the shower head.

the plumber comes tomorrow morning to hook the sinks up, and put in the garbage disposal - and i will be really, really happy to have my kitchen sink back.  i really don't know how people managed before indoor plumbing - no wonder diseases were rampant, it must have been such a hassle just to wash your hands, let alone the vegetables and the dishes.  then saturday the new appliances come...and i am already planning my first meal.  i went to a play sunday, and hit the gift shop, which had a cookbook called "shakespeare's kitchen", of renaissance recipes - so i'm thinking capon with peppercorn and onion dressing, six onions simmered with raisins (if i can find verjuice, which the cookbook says is increasingly available), and winter salad (even though it's spring) - it uses beets and cucumbers (which i have) and savoy cabbage and olives (which can be obtained).  there is a lovely-looking recipe for orient red quinces, but i don't know if quinces are available at the moment.  oooo - i have a countertop to pound things on - i can make dwarf cake!  (if i can find the ingredients, i had them all somewhere).

just one pic, because progress is mostly continuing to face the cabinets.  but he put up a couple of doors - so this is getting close to final (the crown moldings go on last).  but all the cabinets that will get new counters are faced...hopefully it won't be too much longer till the counters (AND THE SINK!) come.

but the doors mean the kittens can't explore the light fixtures any more :(

well, the old dishwasher and stove are gone, the measurements for the countertops have been made, and the new doors and drawers are here and stacked around the place.  no sign of a gas stub, so i've got a plumber coming in on monday...which will be another chunk of change, but i really do want a gas stove...even though the beans and rice i may need to live on to pay for it will cook better in a slow-cooker.