Archive for July 2010


I Need HELP!!!

July 6th, 2010 — 7:28pm

I’ve been in a mild state of panic ever since arriving at the new house.  It’s huge and nice and everything I imagined BUT the kitchen has VERY little storage space.  I’m freaking out and trying to figure out what to do.  I came from a kitchen that had 26 cupboards and 9 drawers.  This kitchen has 8 cupboards and 3 drawers. I know that if I lived in New York, this would be a ton of space.  I don’t live in New York and I don’t know how anything is going to fit!

I thought I’d show you the space constraints and tell you my ideas and see if anyone has any clever ideas.

So remember my cute kitchen?

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Well, it doesn’t have much space.

First there’s the open shelf…Lucy has claimed it as her own:

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She put all of that there.  I don’t foresee being able to use the shelf for anything.

Next up we have my one, yes one, large drawer:

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There are 2 other small drawers in the entire kitchen:

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I have this cupboard:

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That thankfully rolls out:

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Then there’s the cupboards on the other side of the stove.

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Cupboard and drawer by the sink (sorry for the blur):

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A little ledge above the sink:

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A lazy susan (that I’d like to keep my kitchen appliances in-food gets lost):

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And my last 3 cupboards:

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Dishes will go here:

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Interesting shelf that doesn’t fit many non-perishable items (unless they are in cans):

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While I was doing the dishes tonight, I decided to record a video (on my phone) so that you could get a feel for how limited I am. (it’s about 4 minutes long)

And you get to hear my voice (and my bird scream). 

Our thoughts are that we will put a pot rack/shelf, like this:

image  (source)

on the wall, in between the fridge and sink (above the awesome new trash can). I’ll then use the roll out cupboard for things like mixing bowls, glass storage containers, breakable things as I can get a non-damaging child lock (like the one on the kitchen sink) for this cupboard.

If you watched the video, you know that I’m planning on using my upstairs closet as a pantry which will free up the lazy susan for larger appliances.

Where do I put my spices?  Where do I put my cooking utensils?  Where do I put my kitchen towels and pot holders?  ACK!

Thoughts? Ideas? HELP?

19 comments » | Uncategorized

POMijito

July 5th, 2010 — 5:14am

It’s POM Summer Menu Series time again! 

POM Summer Series Badge

This week I was charged with making a cocktail and I instantly knew what I wanted to make-a Pomegranate Mojito or what I lovingly named it, a POMijito!

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Ingredients:

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-3 large mint leaves
-2 TBSP of sugar
-Juice of 2 limes
-1 jigger of Rum
-1 jigger of POM Wonderful
-Ice
-Splash of 7-Up

Instructions:

-Muddle together the mint and 1 TBSP of sugar-just enough to get the oils of the mint on the sugar-no need to pulverize it (it’s tempting!)

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-Add the mint/sugar mixture to a glass.

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-Add remaining sugar, rum, lime juice, and POM Wonderful to the glass and stir well.

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-Add ice and top off with 7-Up (or Sprite or Sierra Mist). Garnish with mint (optional).

-Enjoy!

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My sister claims to be a Mojito expert and even did a blind taste testing with multiple friends of 7-Up vs. simple syrup and 7-Up won hands down.  I DECLARE that my sister *IS* a Mojito expert.  This was awesome.  It was very refreshing and just the thing for a 4th of July BBQ-which is exactly what we had.

You can check out all the other lovely ladies that are participating in the POM Summer Menu Series:

Danica’s Daily
Fitness and Spice
Kitchen Confidante

Next week, I’ll be making a POMerific salad!

6 comments » | Gluten Free, Recipes

Fourth of July BBQ Take Two!

July 4th, 2010 — 8:52pm

We decided to have everyone who has been hosting us over for a BBQ.

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I made a Carne Asada feast!  With limited kitchen supplies it surprisingly turned out really well!  The girls liked it!

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Here’s the gluten and dairy free version:

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-Bed of lettuce
-Carne Asada
-Rice
– Black Beans
-Salsa
Tapatio
-Un-pictured yummy guacamole, courtesy of the wonderful Aunt Megan!

The others had flour tortillas, cheese, and sour cream. 

Our $25 grill from Craigslist, did it’s job!

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After dinner, the boys moved my $15 Craigslist desk (can you tell we’re LOVING Craigslist?) into my office.  It was heavy!!!

Dropping it:

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Getting it up the step!

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Well, maybe…

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It made it!

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I LOVE my old school, metal desk-it’s exactly what I wanted.  I just need to get some Goo Gone (oh wait, I have a gallon sitting in San Francisco) to clean it well.

While the guys moved the desk, Lu, Megan, and I played “cheese” (taking pictures of Lu while she tries to put the lens cap on my camera).

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Another wonderful day in Boise!

2 comments » | Uncategorized

Happy Fourth!

July 4th, 2010 — 11:18am

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Blueberry oatmeal with farmer’s market raspberries and strawberries.  Topped with my sister’s GF banana bread and almond butter. 

Yesterday was the epitome of a perfect day for me.  I met my sister and we walked down to the farmer’s market and got some great local produce.  After shopping, we ran into a parade.  I didn’t have my camera but it was cool!  The bagpipers and old fire engines were the highlight.  (Crappy phone pictures)

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A random parade is not something I would have found in San Mateo!  After the parade we took the girls to the park where they had a blast! (I was so bummed I forgot my camera).

In the afternoon, we went over to my old college roommate (and good friend) Megan’s house for a BBQ.  I’ve written about Megan and Luke before. I am so excited that Megan and Luke live here!  And?  Luke and Shaun will be working together.  How awesome is that?  Shaun starts work on Tuesday and I imagine that we’ll be seeing a lot of Megan and Luke. YAY!

They had set up a table out in their backyard, in the shade.

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With beautiful flowers from their garden.

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And yummy appetizers!

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Lu had a great time running around the backyard.

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Dinner was served!

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Chicken, steak, fish, grilled veggies and rice salad. YOM.

After dinner Lu went for a swing in the hammock.

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Lucy LOVED Aunt Megan.  Lu is pretty shy and takes time to warm up to people.  NOT MEGAN.  She was like Megan’s shadow and couldn’t get enough of her.  Megan is a teacher and is going to be a great Mommy (around Christmas!).

Megan had picked up some fireworks for Lu and we were unsure how she’d react.  What do you think she thought of them?

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She kept asking for “Mo! Mo! Mo!”  It was very sweet. 

At the end of the night, Lu christened Megan and Luke’s new tub-they just got a fantastic bathroom remodel and Lu had a popsicle that got all over.

Before we left, Lu gave Aunt Megan a huge hug.

We’ve made the right decision 😉

~~~~~

Yes, that is a plastic bowl and a spoon of Lucy’s up there in the first picture of my morning oatmeal.  Our stuff isn’t here :(.  It was supposed to be here by July 2nd at the latest but it is now sitting in San Francisco.  They can’t find a driver.  I didn’t even know that that was a possibility.  When they schedule a move, shouldn’t the driver be scheduled too?  Mayflower is paying us $125 everyday that our stuff isn’t here and they don’t seem too concerned.  They’ve basically told us that our stuff will get here when it gets here.  So, we wait.  I’m not very happy with Mayflower right now.

BUT

We haven’t let it slow us down.  My sister let us borrow 2 arm chairs and a table with 4 chairs.  We bought a picnic table for outside and we’re having a good time “camping out”.  I was wondering today if we really even needed our 5,000 pounds of stuff?  We do, of course, but it hasn’t been that bad. We have each other, family, and friends-it’s all we really need.

7 comments » | Uncategorized

Honey Balsamic Glaze

July 1st, 2010 — 6:04am

The movers still haven’t arrived with all of our stuff so I’m living on a very limited pantry.  Last night I made a delicious glaze for chicken with what I had on hand-it was so easy and yummy that I thought I’d share.

Ingredients:

-3 TBSP honey
-2 TBSP olive oil
-1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

Instructions:

-Mix ingredients together in a zip top bag and add your protein.  Make sure protein is well covered with the glaze.

-Marinate for as long as you’d like.  I only let my sit for about 15 minutes and it was still incredibly flavorful.

-Throw it on the grill!

YOM!

2 comments » | Gluten Free, Recipes

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