Falling in Line

I read a blog at www.thepioneerwoman.com every day. She's funny and wise and takes great pictures. She's also a pretty good cook and keeps a recipe section at her website with step by step instructions. Most of what she posts is pretty down home stuff, lasagna, dump cake, doughnuts, etc. Things for which I already have recipes I love. However, there are lots of women out in cyber space singing the praises of PW mashed potatoes (She puts in cream cheese and lots of butter. I already knew that secret.) I did keep an eye on the site though just in case she posted something I might want to try.

She did this week: risotto. I've always been curious about the stuff, heard foodies rave about it and all that. It's just tediously cooked rice, right? A few months ago though, Steve took me to a nice restaurant where I was served risotto as a side dish. It was heavenly. Risotto is pilaf on steroids. Creamy, savory, cheesy.

However, the standard risotto recipe starts by dumping a cup of white wine into the rice. I don't cook with wine because I don't buy wine or keep it in my home. Pioneer Woman saved me though. Her risotto is a complete teetotaler. No alcohol allowed. Anyway, go to this web page right here and cook some. It's not cheap. I spent over $10 on enough risotto to feed 4-6 adults a side portion. I served it with a romaine salad and grilled chicken but next time I'm going to serve it with Chicken Kiev.

Update? what update?

ooooh, this update.

The kitchen is almost done. It only waits on money to finish it. We still need to buy the lighting and the tile for the back splash. I'm ok with that because I used to have an ugly old kitchen that looked like this:

yes, it was that bad. Those cabinets you see there? That was all I had. (I used to laugh at my mother when she would tell me how badly I needed a rice cooker. Where was I going to put a rice cooker??) The entry into the living room is there to the left beyond the fridge. The entry into the kids' rooms and the basement is down photo to the right. The kids would be running through the kitchen all day long and trying to play in there while I cooked. The cabinets were original but I believe that nasty floor was updated in the late 60's. I could be wrong, of course.

However, the lack of new lights and back splash is easy to get over because now I have this:

yeah, I think I could find somewhere for a rice cooker now.

This is the view from the living room:

The cabinet that faces the living room is my game cupboard. I love that I can keep a better eye on the games and it encourages the kids to play them on the table. I need more bar stools, too. The bar will fit five stools, just right for breakfast time.

and the view from the kitchen into the living room:

Isn't it pretty? The counter tops are Formica with a solid surface edging in a color that's very close to the floor tile. I love the way it ties it all together. I went with half cup drawer pulls and simple knobs. The microwave on the counter top will be replaced with an over the stove model. You can't see the best part of my kitchen in these pictures: the dishwasher. sigh. I love my dishwasher. My dishes actually get done and when they aren't done they are hiding away so no one knows there are dirty dishes in the house. Isn't that lovely?