Garden in the Kitchen

 The hope was to keep the soapstone natural or naked.  I like the cadet blue-grey.  However, a kitchen accident splashing chicken fat all over the stone was the straw that broke this camel's back.  The stone was cleaned, dried, then wax was applied.  The wax makes the surface a little more forgiving to everyday wear.  I like the way it turned out so giving up the naked stone wasn't so hard.  Now I need to  decorate the walls.

Soapstone - naked

Soapstone - waxed

A photograph applied to canvas is something that I'm considering.  An extra large canvas (48" x 36") should work great on one of the empty walls (not shown here).  So I'm thinking of bringing some of the garden into the kitchen and don't know which version of my tomato looks best.

Tomato - bright

Tomato - dark

But 1st I need to find a reliable source to print the photograph to canvas.  Any suggestions or opinions are welcome. 

Neglected Garden

Iceberg Rose

Today I finally had some time to work out in the garden.  Still no bending, lifting (over 5 lbs), or twisting.  This is lovingly known at BLT.  However, the surgeon showed me a few tricks that enable me to work more in the garden.  Everything under the pergola got a pruning*, weeding, raking and fertilized.  It's kinda late in the year to apply fertilizer but one last shot of nutrition before winter arrives may provide stronger plants in the spring.  I don't know.  I simply felt like giving the neglected plants a boost.

In the evening, I started pruning the espalier trees.  The Santa Rosa plum has the top lateral pruned with a mind toward not crowding the 2014 crop.  2013 provided a bounty of plums.  I thinned out the branches but left enough new growth from this summer to allow buds to form in February.  The trees won't get fertilized until then.  It's time for them to go to sleep.  Granny Smith is still providing a nice load of tart apples to help us enjoy this cooler weather.  Dormant spray will be applied once all the trees have been pruned.

*Pruning plants under the pergola consisted of dead heading while pruning the espalier is a bit more sever - but not much.  Harder pruning will occur in January.

Kitchen Update
Now the item that has been soaking up most of my time is the kitchen remodel.  There are a few minor items (blinds, stools, range apron, wall decor) left to complete but the kitchen is fully functional and I love it.  Farmer MacGregor only strayed a little bit over estimates but well below what a professional designer initially quoted.  Today he prepared a rehearsal Thanksgiving dinner to determine how best to use the new range.  It was a wonderful success.

Labor Day

Who takes Labor Day off?  There's work to be done.

Garlic Chives

The garlic chives are in bloom.  Really they are.  Rather than chop the heads off the flowers, I'm letting them go to seed.  This will give me plenty of chives through the winter for baked potatoes and such.  Letting the chives go to seed attracts loads of pollinators.

Butterflies and honey bees love this stuff.  I can only imagine what the honey must taste like.  I wouldn't mind a garlic chive honey to baste over a barbecued ham.  BBQ ham?  Baked potatoes?  I must be hungry.  Hope I can remember how to cook.

Kitchen Update:

Cody's backside poses for the photo while his frontside continues to work.

The soapstone is in and the travertine floor is being grouted today.  Loads left to do:  mahogany butcher block counter top, electric plates, glass and lights for the hutch, cabinet hardware, trim molding,  appliances, plumbing, and counter stools.  But we're moving in the right direction.  I didn't think it would ever be possible but Farmer MacGregor is tired of painting. 

Kitchen Update

Recent gardening activity consists of weeding which is pretty difficult because I'm not allowed to bend or twist yet since my back surgeries. I came across a long handled dandelion weeder; so I use that to pop out weeds one at a time.

Peaches (O'Henry) are ripening and eaten fresh daily.  This tree was on the short list a few summers ago because of sun scald.  But after using wrap around the truck of this espalier it's thriving and producing well.

Kitchen Update:

The cabinets were finally completed down at the cabinet shop.  They were installed this week.  Now Farmer MacGregor is varnishing and painting everything in anticipation for the soapstone countertops. The blue tape tabs are on the drawers until painting is complete.  Then, the hardware will be installed.  Note:  the countertop on the china cabinet/hutch is mahogany butcher block that will be lightly stained and lacquered.

No Salsa in 2013

During this time of year, I should be harvesting the salsa garden and preserving some of my favorite stuff while I having growing.  This year, The peppers are puny and my back still is not allowed to get into gardening.  Dang it.  Farmer MacGregor's tomatoes are coming along nicely though.  His zucchini is getting away from him.  Those suckers have moved on to watermelon size and the squash bugs look like they will win the war again this summer.

 However, there is an even bigger reason I am unable to can. 

Kitchen Update:

The kitchen remodel leaves me with only a refrigerator.  No sink.  No stove.  No counter.  No nothing.

The drywall covers the new plumbing and electrical.  The only thing left from the original kitchen is the window and the door to the garage.  Even those were an upgrade years ago. 

So, it seems there is absolutely nothing left of the original 1968 kitchen.  We will suffer through the ordeal of the process of construction and not being able to have a kitchen so that a new, highly functional kitchen will be available for next salsa season.

Kitchen Scale

Infestation on Boysenberry Canes

What us this junk?  AND what is that black bug with a green dot on its back?  The infestation looks like blisters on the spent canes of the thorneless boysenberries.  I suspect scale because this can be scraped off easily with my fingernail.

Ants seem to be involved.  I see them scurrying up and down the canes.  However, ants are everywhere in the garden.  They herd pests all over the place.

I'm not too worried about this because these canes will be pruned out soon in preparation for next season's berry producing canes that will be tied up to the supports.  But, if this is something I need to be concerned about I would like to know what I'm dealing with.

Kitchen Remodel:

Here is a view into the kitchen as destruction began.  It's not a fair image of what the kitchen looked like; but it will do.  The cabinets are original to the 1968 house.  The double oven (Dacor) no longer works. The Kitchen Aid refrigerator replaces the garage GE refrigerator (1986).  The Viking cook top is looking for a new home.  The blue tape on the floor marks the estimated location of the expanded counter.  The old kitchen table is where a wall of cabinets will be hung.  They will look spectacular!  The only upper cabinets in the kitchen will be on this wall.  They will have glass fronts.  The counter for this piece is mahogany.

Today, the 2 X 4s are exposed allowing for new copper pipes and electrical. The old light fixtures are gone and are being replaced with pot lights.  The fixture above the window will stay. Cabinets, counter, appliances, and flooring are all gone.  The new cabinets will be Shaker style in creamy white.  Every cabinet and draw will have pull-outs making my ability to access items so much easier.  The corner cabinet has a cool doo dad that will be featured later on.  The counter top is soapstone.  The appliances are all stainless steel.  The flooring will be a continuation of the stone flooring in the rest of the house.  Ajax can be seen laying on the stone in the 1st image.

A stainless steel Frigidaire is in use and will be housed in an area where the doorway will be walled in.  A Frigidaire side-by-side was chosen because of the accessibility for me and it gets the job done.  We have spent money on expensive appliances and breakdown just as quickly (if not quicker) than basic appliances.  The trashcan is blocking the use of the doorway because plumbing and electrical gadgets are dangling down.  Ajax casually waking through could cause a disaster.  The pantry is currently housing the shop vac, step ladder, and broom.

Hope you enjoy being a looky lou as much as me.

Boy Oh Boy! Boysenberries in the Kitchen

Thornless Boysenberries

It's hot.  No one wants to be outside.  So, what do you do?  Crack out the frozen boysenberries.  They're great by themselves.  But they're really great blended with some vanilla ice cream.  Further inspired, I cranked up the oven (Really smart on a hot day.), and made a cobbler.  Yet another great use of berries and vanilla ice cream.

Cranking up the oven is as simple as it sounds.  I need to go out to the breakers and flip on some power to these 2 pricey Dacor ovens that sporatically work.  Come back inside and see if the oven will stay on long enough to heat up.  It did.  I proceeded to  assemble the cobbler.  Amazingly, the oven stayed on to completion of the golden brown crust with boysenberry juices bubbling through.  Unbelievable success.  I really didn't expect the oven to work at all.  I have been using the BBQ, crockpot, and stovetop to prepare meals.

The kitchen is on the verge of being demolished.  The 1969 kitchen designed by a man that never had to work in a home kitchen will be brought up to speed.  I hope to chronicle the metamorphosis here with before, during, and after images along with notes on suggestions of what to do and what to avoid.  The garden will be mostly on auto pilot with chores done in the evenings as needed.


If anyone has suggestions of things that MUST be included in a kitchen, I would appreciate an email or comment to consider your suggestions.  Anything.  Now the plan is for stainless steel appliances, Shaker cabinets with pull out features.  No hanging cabinets.  Built in china cabinet.  Soapstone counters. Stone floors.  Pot lights.  My inspiration is FUNCTIONAL.  Everything must be easy to clean and keep clean.  Extra little frills are not going to make the cut.  Oh, and overpriced fluff will get the ax too.

So, by mid July the kitchen should be complete and thoroughly enjoyed. Fingers crossed.