(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

I have determined that I am lacking the home decor gene.  I don't do window treatments or table linens, I don't have rugs, I just let the furniture and the family be my decor.  Whatever has to be in a room is in it.  It's far from the 'put together' look I'd like to have.  I think I'm lacking time and money to 'do it right.'  But this Christmas I wanted to do a little better.

All that's left... And the donkey
has only one ear

My Christmas decor has usually been limited to a tree, lights in the living areas (I LOVE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS...They hugely brighten my day, figuratively as well as literally), and our Nativity set... Which I talked about last year, because, thanks to a raccoon in our storage room, it's seen better days.  Oh, and, of course, there's a Christmas themed picture on my desktop background!

The books piled behind the table don't do much for the decor attempt.
But Hubby is working on my bookshelf!  YAAAYYY!

This year, so far, as a leap into improvement, I redid the wedding candle holders we used at Thanksgiving (Princess Bossy's orange worked well for that) in Christmas colors.  








And I put lights in the kitchen, and up our stairway.                                                                                                                                                                  

I thought that looked pretty amazing... 












until I saw a photo of someone else's stairway with garland and ornaments... So I added to ours.                                                                                                                                                                                           

I think I need lighter colored ornaments, because in our darkish entry they hardly show

I asked Princess Artiste if it looked good.... She said it did.   But, I just had to ask further, "...Or does it look tacky?"  She said, "Yeah, it is a little tacky, but it still looks good."  

Hm.  Ah, well.  We'll call it a work in progress...

TKO Tuesday: Clean-Up Zone

Time to discuss the other major zone in the kitchen, the clean-up and dish storage area.

This, of course, includes the main (or only) sink, 

dishwasher(s), and, essential for me, dish storage. 


It's also great to have this area close to and/or where there can be a direct path to and from the eating areas... 
Hopefully, avoiding a walk through the cooking zone.  In our house this means someone can clear dishwashers and set the table during meal prep without disturbing the cooks, creating dangerous traffic situations around knives and hot food.



Dishes:  Some people store their dishes close to the eating area, but I find it easier to carry the needed dishes to the table, rather than carry all the clean dishes during dishwasher clearing, when I'm in a hurry to get cleanup accomplished... Just a turn from the dishwasher and into the shelf or drawer.

We have the glass, but need to install it!

In previous homes our dishes were stored in upper cabinets.  By the time I designed this kitchen, I'd heard about storing dishware in base cabinet drawers.  This seemed like a much easier way to grab a big stack of heavy-ish plates, and that has proven to be so.  This leaves our hutch for glasses, cups, serving bowls, and pitchers, with flatware in the drawers.  We really like this new method, and it's also much easier for the 2 youngest kids to reach their own dishes and help clear the dishwasher.  


Dishwasher placement:  In our last house, when we added a 2nd dishwasher, I had the brilliant idea, I thought at the time, to put a buffet counter in the dining room with the 2nd dishwasher, small sink, and tableware and flatware storage.  
Right away, it was a problem.  We needed both some silverware and some dishes in the kitchen for use with the microwave, and when the kids ate at the breakfast bar.  



I got a 2nd set of flatware specifically for kitchen use.  Even though it looked completely different than our usual set, there were always parts of both sets in each room.


Mostly, the separation of the 2 dishwashers was a problem.  I thought it made sense to wash the dishes in one, and the things used for prep and cooking in the other.  It doesn't work.  If there wasn't room in one dishwasher for more dishes or a large item, but there was still room in the other, the items traveled to the other room.  (Thankfully, we had a former window that served as a pass-through, so most of the time during dish-doing, we could station one person on each side to trade things back and forth.)  Also, if one dishwasher was 2/3 full and the other was 2/3 full, it was better to fill one all the way and run it, rather than leave 2 dishwashers almost full of dirty dishes.  


We always ended up with kitchen things in the dining room dishwasher and vice-versa.  It was a challenge to find a clean utensil or bowl.  There was a lot of walking or 'passing-through' to get clean dishes organized correctly.  It was a great-sounding theory that didn't at all work in practical, daily use... and a plan I certainly didn't repeat in this house.


Some people who visit the Gardenweb kitchen forum ask about which side of the sink they should place the dishwasher, and wonder if the fact that they're left or right-handed should factor in.  For me, that doesn't matter.  The open dishwasher should not be too close to the stove or in the prep and cooking work path.  It should also, in my opinion, be on the side closest to dish storage.  

Most guests can't find our paneled dishwashers,
as each appear to be a cabinet door with drawer above

I have one on each side of the sink, and I don't find either any easier or more difficult to load.  I do find it more frustrating to clear the one on the opposite side of the sink from the dish cabinets, as I miss the ability to take things right from the dishwasher and turn to plop them into the proper shelf.  I also miss the ability to stack things on the counter above the dishwasher, toward the dish storage, and just move them directly into place.  The spot that is "above the dishwasher, but toward the dish storage" from our left dishwasher is full of sink!  I'm not complaining, because with a 10-person household, we find 2 dishwashers VERY helpful and a great blessing... But if I had only one dishwasher, it wouldn't have the sink between it and the dish storage.



Sink:  Most of my life I had a 2-basin kitchen sink.  When I had a single, I missed the ability to separate dirty dishes from food prep... although it was good for bathing kids, sometimes 2 at a time.  So for this kitchen I never considered a single basin sink, and that was a mistake.  I hadn't thought about how the presence of our prep sink would change the requirements for the main sink.  I would be happier to have a large single basin, so I could scrub my rangetop parts and larger skillets, etc., than to have the division I no longer need.


Trash and towels:  We use our trash most during prep and during clean-up, so we situated it to serve both.  

An older photo showing how the trash (the white can
in the right end of the island)
orients to prep and cleanup areas

While we load the dishwashers, the trash pullout, across the aisle in the island, often stands open as we take dishes from the sink or counter, scrape solids and throw away napkins in the trash, then turn to load the dishwasher.  A very efficient system that we're quite happy with.

Towels in top drawer.
Small appliances to be used
in adjacent cooking area
in lower drawers.

Since towels are also needed near the sink, I keep them in the top drawer to the left of the left dishwasher.  It'd be handier to have them next to the sink, but this was a decent compromise.  I miss my old dishwasher with the metal front and wide handle that was so useful for hanging damp dish towels.  Eventually there will be towel bars tucked under the overhang on the end of the island for drying, and I look forward to those.  Right now our towels end up scattered about the room, or hanging on the oven handles, so aren't that handy to the sink.

Late-Night Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

We needed a healthy, quick to eat breakfast to grab Sunday morning before church... Which I realized at 10 PM Saturday night.  Princess Artiste and her friend had just made pumpkin bars, so there was a container of pumpkin in the fridge, needing to be used.

Previous Post: Baking Experiment -
Different Flours in same Banana Bread

I found a wonderful sounding, partially whole-wheat pumpkin muffin recipe that I thought would kill the 2 birds:  offering a healthy breakfast item, while also using the leftover pumpkin.  I replaced the combination of whole grain pastry flour and all-purpose with freshly ground whole soft wheat flour and a bit of vital wheat gluten.  Remembering my crumbly banana bread made from soft wheat flour, I was hoping the vital wheat gluten would help create enough gluten in the batter so that the muffins weren't too delicate to handle.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

adapted from the recipe for Pumpkin Muffins by Ellie Krieger, Food Network.com

Makes 24 muffins
Preheat oven to 375 degrees on convection, or 400 degrees on bake
Spray 2 12-cup muffin tins with Pam, or grease using your favored method

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together

4 cups whole soft wheat (pastry) flour 

2 Tablespoons vital wheat gluten 

2 teaspoons baking soda 

3/4 teaspoon salt 

1 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 teaspoon ground ginger 

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

In a large bowl, mix

1 cup packed brown sugar 

3/8 cup (6 Tablespoons) unsulphered molasses 

1/2 cup canola oil

Whisk in

4 eggs, 2 at a time

Add

2 cups pureed/canned pumpkin 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Alternating with the dry ingredients, mix into the pumpkin 

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt 

1/2 Tablespoon cider vinegar (Wasn't sure if this was necessary, but I wanted to make sure the baking soda had enough acid for the reaction.  Now reading, I see that the yogurt and molasses were probably acidic enough.)

Divide batter into the muffin cups into the 2 well-greased muffin pans.

I didn't think to stir in nuts or Craisins, which would have been good options, so made a crunchy topping instead.                                                              
Mix

3 Tablespoons brown sugar 

1 cup chopped walnuts

and sprinkle over the muffin batter before baking.




Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the internal temperature is about 200 degrees and/or a toothpick inserted just off center comes out clean or crumbly, but not gooey.


These came out of the pan very easily, and didn't fall apart as they were handled and eaten.  This makes me think that the vital wheat gluten addition was a reasonable way to make up for not using the all-purpose flour, which is higher protein than the soft wheat flour.

Thanksgiving Meal

Convection made for a bit too much browning
too soon.  Baking the stuffing separately will help.

Why I like NOT to see the kitchen from the dining table

SO MUCH left over!!

The gang did a GREAT job cleaning up before dessert

Their names may say "Princess," but our girls
are the QUEENS of cheesecake!

Which to choose?  Cranberry-Eggnog or Pumpkin?

Ha!  Who am I kidding?  After taking the other photo,
I put them both on one plate.  Yum!

Credits:                                                                                                                                                          

Turkey & Stuffing.................................................................... Prince Steadfast
Roasted Sweet Potatoes (plus onions, carrots, garlic, and beets)........... Princess Sassy
Mashed Potatoes....................................................................... Princess Sassy
3 kinds of dip for Appetizers......................................................... Princess Sassy
Smoked Salmon for one of the dips............................................... Prince Go-for-It
Green Salad.............................................................................. Princess Eager
Green Bean Casserole................................................................ Princess Artiste
Rolls................................................................................................... Mom
Gravy.................................................................................................. Mom
Pumpkin Cheesecake.................................................................. Princess Eager
Cranberry Eggnog Cheesecake...................................................... Princess Artiste
Supporting Cast (garbage takeout, table setting, etc).......................Princes Go-for-It, Inventive, and CuddleBunny

Thanksgiving Prep - The Day Of

Before...

We planned dinner for 18 or 19.  However, since Prince CuddleBunny had a virus early in the week, most of our guests, including my health-fragile parents and a newborn, decided to stay away.  So we hosted our own family and Prince Stoic's roommate.  We were sorry the others couldn't join us, but we had a fun and relaxing day, feeling free of the stresses of meeting a particular timeline.


It's a good thing we weren't too set on a dinner time, because the turkey, or more precisely, the stuffing, did not cooperate.  We have decided that next year, the stuffing will bake outside the turkey, since the turkey (and most of the rest of the dinner) was done far ahead of the stuffing reaching a safe-to-eat temperature.


Here are a bunch of pics of the prep and family fun that day.