DIY Kitchens Can You Do It?

Like everything else ,kitchens get old and worn. Cabinets need to be updated. Sinks need to be replaced.Besides redoing the room is always a lift. There's nothing like a brand new kitchen to cook in. There is one problem - cost. Can  you afford it? Or do you think you can do it yourself.

The average cost of kitchen remodeling in the States is anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000. A usual remodel consists of upgrading your sink and faucet, installing or replacing your counter tops,along with adding a tile back splash. The biggest transformation are the cabinets. It's refacing or refinishing.  If they're really old then a complete tear out is necessary and new ones will be installed. A new oven and microwave may be installed as well. It's an expensive deal that only a home loan can cover. Many remodeling companies can redo kitchens but the price can be extraordinarily steep. You can save money by remodeling it yourself. If you're handy and ambitious , then this is the project for you and your friends. Just know your limits. DIY stores like Home Depot has classes for this. Take them. Garner as much info about reconstruction  and plumbing as you can. Don't be afraid to ask questions. You have to be well prepared before you start. One small mistake could lead to something major disaster later on.

Before you start , look over decorating sites and magazines. Get an idea of what you want. Whether you do it yourself or get a company in , have a clear vision of what you want in your kitchen. Do you want solid cabinets or one with glass panes? Then there's the question of what wood to choose. Do you go for maple which is the sturdiest  but the staining it could come out blotchy? What about the most inexpensive pine? It's pretty and rustic looking but can easily dent or scratch due to it being soft wood. Cherry is another beautiful  choice, but's it's super expensive. The same goes for walnut and oak.What kind of sink do you fancy. A double or a single basin? Counter tops are important too. There are a mouth watering array of different stones. Granite is by far the most popular yet again, it's costly. However it does add to a home's resale value. Soapstone is also popular because it can absorb water along with giving the kitchen a rich antique look. Of course there is marble, the lushest of all the counter top materials. The deep grey random veining will give any kitchen, large or small, a glam vibe. Like quartz  countertops, it's expensive and heavy. A more affordable material are the classic tiles. They're pretty, come in a variety of different patterns and add charm to any kitchen.Other choices are laminate and wood.

Do it yourself kitchens can be a rewarding and fun fall project. Just know what you're getting into. There's a lot of work but then end product is a beautiful new kitchen. 

Clean Up Time

                                          When you have a fridge like this:

As you can see it's a mess. Thanks to the plethora of ants, everything, from crackers to honey , from candy to even fruit has to be put inside the fridge. This creates a total mess. The door and the ledge in front of the crisper were so sticky that the door stuck to the ledge . Thankfully there is hydrogen peroxide.

This is the magic elixir that friends recommended.  Hydrogen peroxide is the best bet in cleaning the goo off of fridges and  kitchen sinks .It also disinfects wood cutting boards along with plastic and marble ones too. Should you clean the stove with it? I will say no. Even though the hydrogen peroxide from your drug store is a whopping 97 percent water, it still is hydrogen peroxide. Use  heavily diluted apple cider or white vinegar to get rid of stubborn stains on the burners. Dish soap works well too.

I still have more cleaning to do. There's a floor that has to be scrubbed twice. Plastic bags that have to get sent to a bin at the grocery store. Cooking in a kitchen is hard. Keeping it clean and sparkling is even harder.

Home Alone Your Kitchen On Vacation

This is the time of year when millions of home chefs frantically clean out their pantries and fridges.Why? It's vacation time when kitchens are devoid of all action for anywhere from one to two weeks to even a month. Yet is all this purging necessary?

Many home chefs feel they have to clean out the entire fridge. That's where some odd dinner combinations come in, from pepper hummus omelets to a fruit salad consisting mostly of berries. Yet do you have to have a complete clean out before you leave on vacation? How long will various foods last?Eggs can last three to five weeks after you buy them. Leave them be just purchased them  if you purchased them a day or two ago. Butter is the same. It won't turn  until it reaches the fourth month mark. Fresh milk isn't so flexible. It can only last three to eight days and then toss.You can bring it with you on vacation, with the kids drinking it instead of juice and soda.The same theory applies to almond milk when it's opened.Its' shelf life is a mere seven to ten days. Again it can be drunk plain or add chocolate syrup for a refreshing sip on a road trip. Luckily soy milk can last much longer . You can open it now, go on a trip for a week and then return home to still good milk.

What about meats? Fresh deli meats can only last five to six days. It's good to clear the fridge of them. Shred ham for omelets or even create a chef's salad with those extra slices of turkey and roast beef before you go or make these dishes for the road. Packaged meats such as Boar's Head and Oscar Meyer can stay one to two weeks in the fridge. Italian cold cuts such as hard salami has a shelf life of two to three months. The same goes for pepperoni. Many home chefs worry about keeping fruits and veggies in a fridge for too long. Salad greens are the most delicate. They can only last three to five days before getting moldy. Green veggies last that long too. You may want to think about making a pepper or spinach omelet or salad  the night before leaving. Tomatoes will last longer  - about a week more however be warned. They can have a bitter taste as they age, especially the grape variety. A better solution would be bringing them on the road with you. Fruits have the same short shelf life. Try to get rid of them before you leave . Another solution is freezing the fruit and then thawing it out when you return.

Should you clean out your whole fridge or pantry when you go on vacation? No. Be prudent though. Keep the products that will last while eating the ones that won't. Doing so will make for a more efficient kitchen when you return.

A Piedmontese Picnic

Piemonte , located in the northern and most western part of Italy has summers are pure perfection at times, especially up in the Alps. Many trek to these mountains to enjoy the fresh air and cool streams. However they're also there to enjoy something far greater - Piemontese picnic dishes.

This is the food my mother and I grew up on. Piemontese food is more like what you'd get along the French Riviera (remember that our cuisine is the origin of French cooking).One of the most famous is cold veal with  tuna sauce - vitello tonnato. The simplest version of the sauce is mashed tuna in water mixed with mayo.Capers and their brine are added along with salt and pepper. The veal is boiled - bollito - along with such vegetables as carrots , leeks and parsnips. The last you can switch it up with subbing in cauliflower and broccoli for the leeks and parsnips. Also you can nix the meat if you feel it's too much trouble to make.Insalata rizzo is another favorite - and a family one too. It's taking a can of peas and carrots and mixing it rice. Again mayo is added to give it creaminess. Capers could be added if you want more saltiness. Another picnic must is insalata di carne cruda,is a minced raw beef or veal appetizer, prepared with lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. It's sort of like steak tatare and served with salad greens.

Salumeria - the Piemontese version of charcuterie - is always a big thing. There's a variety of different cured meats and a large baguette to slice for sandwiches. You could make bagnet verde, a cold sauce made from parsley, garlic, and those Piemontese staple breadcrumbs and anchovies for the meats. It's a nice alternative to aioli and plain olive oil. There is also bagnet ross, a combination of ripe tomatoes, onions, peppers, celery and parsley. Mashed anchovies and mustard are added for texture.All the ingredients are cooked and then pureed. Bagnet ross can be  chilled. Use it for dipping raw veggies or just hunks of bread. A great picnic idea is having the province's many cheeses with sliced rolls or baguettes.Tuma is a very strong, almost Limburger type cheese that would pair well with a hearty Barolo., the region's famed red wine.A less  - overpowering - fromage is Robiola, a Brie type cheese that would pair with grissini, the ultra thin bread sticks first made in Torino.

A Piemontese picnic is a sophisticated and delicious way to enjoy eating outdoors.There's a 's variety of refreshing and chilled dishes that make for good eating. Plan one and enjoy the flavors' of one of Italy most beautiful provinces.

Discovering A Culinary Gem

Doreen Gamboa may not be known to many American chefs, yet she was a force majeure in Filipino cooking.  She was not a chef or a restaurant owner. She was a food writer who not only helped fellow Filipinos fighting for a better government but also one who captured the best of her country's cooking.

Ligaya Mishan, a regular contributor and restaurant critic for The New York Times food section wrote this informative piece in yesterday's Food section. Ms. Gamboa was , in a way, unusual for a food writer.She helped the National Democratic Front, the anti- Ferdinand Marcos government in the 1980's, tending to their bullet wounds and letting them recuperate in her yard. She also fed them elaborate meals in a lush , art filled dining room as she wrote amazing descriptions of all sorts of native.Even though she came from money and always had chefs and cooks at home , she wrote about all aspects of Filipino cooking. She was no snob as she rhapsodized about a wide variety of dishes. Some put her on a par with another great food writer, M.F. K. Fisher, Her writing style could be considered poetic and direct. Ms. Gamboa once described as having "a distinctive rasp and whisper" while in another essay she cataloged the textures of the giant fluted clam. Sadly she died relatively young at the age of 67 in New York City.

Even though she wrote for Filipino newspapers and magazines Ms Gamboa is still not widely known among Filipinos here and back in the Philippines. Yet a new generation of Filipino-American chefs are looking to her writings for guidance. There's only problem. Many of Ms. Ganboa's books are out of print. Luckily, one, Tikim is coming back into print. It offers a compilation of all sorts of Filipino cooking, from home recipes to traditional street food from vendors. The book can be found on Amazon and expensive (the hardcover is $198 on Amazon while the paperback is a whopping five grand!!!!). Her works were only published in the Philippines so finding them in the States is a rarity.  ,Filipino-American chef and owner of Bad Saint, Genevieve Villamora scoured used books sites to buy up every book that Ms. Gamboa wrote. Another chef, Charles Olalia of Los Angeles' Ma'am Sir found imported copies at No Serving, an LA cookbook store. There will be  a new printing of Tikim by the Danish publisher , Brill, thanks to lobbying from Filipino chefs.

Thanks to a vanguard of Filipino chefs, Ms. Gamboa's work is now coming to light. It is a fascinating insight into centuries old recipes and the people who created them. Her light will always shine on in kitchens around the world.

A Cool Rice Salad For Hot Days

It is hard to come up with dinner ideas when the temps reach the 90's and 100's. What is easy to cook and easy to eat? The answer came in today's New York Times Food section. David Tanis' rice salad! Of course .It's a snap to make and a delicious way to beat the heat.

Mr. Tanis' recipe calls for arborio rice mixed with a tahini based dressing. His is crunchy and herby, thanks to the inclusion of currents, pistachios and almonds mixed with mint and chives. I veered off.
First the rice. Arborio does take a longer time to cook. Instant rice is easier. I used Stop & Shop's brand.

I cooked  three cups of it because anything with rice goes quick in my house.

Then I added the veggies,grape tomatoes and one orange pepper.

They were diced into bite size pieces.

I bought already cut celery and broccoli from Stop & Shop's salad bar. I included black

olives into the mix for a Mediterranean vibe.

As for the dressing olive oil and I went for a red wine vinegar instead of my usual apple cider one. Again it gives it a nice dinner in Capri feel.

A sprinkle of sea salt and a quick grind of pepper, mix and you have a salad that takes you through steamy days and nights. As Mr. Tanis suggests you can toss in some chopped hard boiled eggs.Add tuna for a Roman flavor. I'd suggest putting in some chopped roasted chicken to make it more filling.

Thank you David Tanis of A City Kitchen for inspiring

me to create my own rice salad recipe. This is another summer go to recipe that I'll be using in the dog days ahead. It's easy to make and so cool to eat.

Colonel Popper Old Fashioned Goodness

There's nothing like old fashioned popcorn. It definitely tastes better than the boxed, seasoned kind and its' not soaked in preservatives. However there is one problem. You have to stand by the stove and constantly shake the pan or pot to prevent burning. There's a solution - Colonel Popper. This is a silicone popper that gives you microwave popcorn.

I bought this for my brother - the absolute popcorn fanatic - for his birthday. I thought it would be a fun - much more healthier way to enjoy his favorite snack.

It folds within itself and pops out when you want to use it.

Neat huh? It has a cute lid with popcorn embossed on it.

To make the popcorn we bought the Stop & Shop kernels and Bertoli olive oil.

It was three tablespoons of oil and half a cup of the corn.

Three minutes later we had this.

It produced light fluffy and delicious popcorn. If you're going to pop corn, then use olive oil. It adds a sweetness to the flavor along with creating a deeper corn flavor. I sprinkled Celtic gray salt over it and this is by far this best tasting popcorn ever. I will never go back to those packets of microwave stuff. I may add some rosemary or Parmesan cheese next for something different. 

Get the Colonel Popper if you want good , old fashioned popcorn in a new fashioned microwave, then buy this container. You'll enjoy an all natural snack that beyond delicious and super healthy.

Colonel Popper can be bought at Amazon for $14.00