Fall Kitchen Tour: Last Stop… The Belle

Missy, here. I was sick last week so didn't pull together a post of my kitchen. Today I'm going to share a couple of photos and also a nice homey recipe.

For me, the kitchen is the heart of the home. And if you read my stories, you'll see that that's is true in most of my books. In fact, I have to make sure I don't do too many "sit down to eat" scenes! I tend to get carried away. :)

Way back when, I shared my coffee corner. Here's the old photo, but since it was taken, I've also added my latte machine thanks to Virginia and Ruthy.

In the corner, behind all the coffee paraphernalia, is a huge stack of recipes printed from the internet, jotted on note cards and on real recipe cards. Many are from church members in our previous churches. A lot of those smaller cards are stored in an old Keds shoe box from some of my oldest son's first shoes. It's the perfect size!

The recipes remind me of old friends. Favorite recipes shared among church members. And of all of you here who've shared your recipes and your life and have added to my recipe stack!

These days, I put all my K-cups in a pretty copper basket.

My favorite thing about my kitchen?? The view. You've seen a good many photos of food taken on my counter. And the bay window is behind the table. Outside, is a small screened in porch, and then the deck. Off the deck, is a gorgeous view of tall pines and hardwoods. I went digging and found one of the photos. You can see the table and windows behind the little egg cooking gadget.

To give the full effect, here's an outside view off the deck.

It's peaceful to sit at the table and look at the woods, especially in the different seasons. I went digging for a better photo and found this panorama, the first time I used the feature on my camera…

Now, on to the business of making a nice, homey… breakfast. I just watched this recipe on a video from Everyday Food with Sarah Carey (from the Martha Stewart website). I love all her videos. And this one made my mouth water.

Soft Boiled Egg with Toast

from Everyday Food with Sarah Carey

Put on a pot of water to boil
Gently drop eggs into boiling water using a spoon
Let boil for 5 minutes (for soft boiled). Set a timer! :)

While eggs are cooking, put bread in toaster. Sarah recommended good ol' white bread. Which I don't normally allow in the house. :) But my husband bought some when I was sick last week. I figured while I'm supposed to be eating a low-fiber diet, I'd take advantage of doing the recipe like she says.

Slather with butter. The real thing. The only thing worth spreading on toast! Well, except for Jelly or apple butter. :)

Once your timer (you DID remember to set the timer, didn't you?) goes off, pour off the water and run cold water over the eggs to make them cool enough to touch.

Take a knife and tap a circle around the shell to crack it.

Then slice through the crack.

Tear toast to fit your bowl. Use a spoon to scoop the egg out on top of your buttered toast. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Oh my goodness, this was a fantastic breakfast. Crunchy, buttery toast. Creamy, rich egg, salted and peppered just right. Just some down home cooking.

With a cup of coffee from my corner and a nice view, it's the perfect morning!

Kitchen Tour -The Scary History of the Fresh Pioneer Kitchen

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back and she's ready to show you her kitchen! (I'm popping in a day early because Missy is feeling under the weather. Praying for a quick recovery, Missy!)

Anyway, my tour is some scary stuff, so hold on to your hats. This tour made me face some hard facts about my kitchen. Number one: I've always thought those bright white kitchens with pale cabinets were pretty... but when I get a chance, I go for the COLOR. I will never have a white or cream or even tan kitchen. It's not in me. 

 First of all... some pretty flowers. Try to keep this in mind on the journey. It will relieve the psychological stress.

                                            
When we first moved to this house in the year 2001, for some reason there was a blue outdoor carpet in the kitchen. Don't ask me why. I have no idea. The cabinets were also dark green. The kitchen was small. Maybe (I'm too lazy to get up and find a measuring tape) 16X12. So, imagine stained weird carpet, dark green cabinets. Long winter. But, I was a (relative) newlywed and life was grand so it only depressed me a little! This is Jacob, born in 2003. I thought I had ripped out that carpet right away, but apparently having three kids under 3 made this not a very high priority!  (Oh, this is also my dear friend Eleanor's cat. Pumpkin had been ordered on a diet and she couldn't figure out why he wasn't shedding the weight. Uh huh. I caught Jacob sharing his snacks with Pumpkin.)
                                                       
OK, next shot that I could find: Sammy just learning to walk, clutching the cabinets for dear life. Sammy was born in 2005, so I know that the new floor was in.  One summer day, I ripped out the carpet, bought some industrial tile at a yard sale, painted half of it bright red, and laid a checkerboard floor. Don't ask me why. I had four kids under five and it had to be better than blue carpet. In the background is a drop-in stove my dad gave us when they did a custom remodel on their kitchen. The cabinet Sammy is clutching is also a donation from their house. We only had one counter before, at this point we had three. Heaven!

 This is a newer shot of the counter (Hi, Edna!), but this is relevant, I promise. Originally the counters were a chipped formica. I retiled them in white. I really didn't know what I was doing (even though I checked out several books at the library) so they've got some issues. Mostly the front edges. That was tough. Some day I'll replace them... when I think of it and don't have anything else I'm doing, hahaha.

 A closer look at the tile. Looking back, I wanted something charming, but I should have just picked more formica or stone or something. Tile is a lot of work. I think mainly I just wanted a project and buying a slab of counter wasn't really a project. (This was pre-writing days and I needed to do something.)
Oh, side note. When we built on, our kitchen ceiling fell in and had to be replaced. (They took off the roofing and then it rained for three days and soaked the insulation and... BAM. Fun times.)

 So, here's our second stove. The drop in stove died, so we had to tear our that part of the counter. At the same time, we redid the floor in wood. I still miss my checkerboard floor! We also did the rest of the floors in the house since we had about 5 different kinds of linoleum. This isn't a whole house tour so I won't go there. (Let me just say there was also green carpet in the BATHROOM when we moved in. I can promise you it didn't take me 5 years to rip that stuff out.) By this point, I've painted the cabinets white several times but then decide to go with teal.

This is my friend Lili's baker's rack/ It was green but I painted it red.I love this rack so much!
                                   
I found this random piece of a picture and zoomed in... the rack has doodads and pictures and things on it now. Oh, the picture behind the photos of friends... Our honeymoon site. Let me find a better picture.
                                       
This was my last deadline and I was standing at the kitchen counter because I couldn't SIT IN THAT CHAIR ONE MORE MINUTE. I felt very Mrs. Gaskell-ish, writing at the kitchen counter while kids rampaged through my workspace.
Oh, right. The map in the background. I saw on Pinterest where you take a map of a special place and cut out a heart. I love this little picture because we honeymooned on the coast so our map looks like a broken heart! This is so us. We can't ever do anything the normal way and it shows.
                                     
Oh, I found an old picture of the sink. I did the blue tile in the background. This was before I knew the kitchen would be red. So, then I had a red, white, and blue kitchen. My Mexican husband was not amused. Haha! It's a little less noticeable when I went to teal for the walls and cabinets, but you still feel rather patriotic in that space. I love the old farmhouse sink. There was another in the laundry room when we moved in but we took out it for pantry space.
                                            
I tried to find a picture to show how long the opposite counter/cabinet is. Close to six feet, which is great for our fruit bowls. We eat a lot of fruit. This is the winter edition, but in the summer this is all home grown peaches, plums, grapes and cherries. Soon, it will be fall and we'll have boxes of apples!

 Side note: this came from our peach trees this year! Almost two hundred pounds... but both trees split in a storm. I'm trying not to mourn, but be thankful for what we've been given. Next year I will cry over this picture!
                                    
And our grapes are ripe! Our friend Noe the cellar rat turned vintner says they're Himrod variety.
                                             
I love my kitchen because when I look around I see how very blessed we are. So much fresh food, healthy and ready to eat. Some of our blueberries this year, washed and drying, ready to be frozen for wintertime treats.

 Also, our sunflowers are blooming. This is my kitchen table. (I know we're drifting from the kitchen. I'll head back over there.)

  Random shot of a teacup my friend Christalee sent me for my birthday. And a pepper from the garden. That was my husband's addition.

 I have a collection of old ink bottle vases. I line them up on the counters...

 The fridge is covered with kid art. You actually can't see the fridge. Here's my marriage proposal from a few months ago. Made by my five year old. I love the top hat but am suspicious of the frowny face.

 Every day I get love notes and flower bouquets. I can't save them all but I but a rotating display on the fridge.

 I have plates on the wall from the dollar store. They have no particular meaning but for some reason I liked them... maybe the fruit? Or the red? Or the polka dots? I got these at the same time I did the red tile floor. I know, I know. What can I say? A white show kitchen would drive me batty.

 Apple pie made by my 13 year old. This is what happens in my kitchen. Art, pies, fruit, kids.

 This was a batch of peaches from a few days ago. I had to can a LOT this weekend. I made dark vanilla bean syrup for the sliced peaches. YUM. They won't make it to winter, but I tried.

I love the light in my kitchen. Bright, sunny, welcoming. (More food.)

 Every now and then I find a piece of fruit and decide it needs to be showcased. A freckled pear. It was my dish washing company for several days. Loveliness.

 A freckled green apple. Doesn't this look like it should be a painting?

 In the end, I don't think I'd trade my kitchen for any other. I have wonderful memories of our ten years here. We're a colorful bunch (and maybe a bit fruity) so it fits just perfectly. Add in Miss Edna and Mr. Latte, and we have everything we need (now that the blue rug is gone).

One more picture, not in the kitchen. Looking for old pictures, I found this one. The pine tree was lost in a storm. The little toy car has been given away. That old fence has been replaced. The back of the house was rebuilt when we added two rooms, bathroom, laundry room. This little girl towing a wagon of pumpkins is now 13, and the baby in the background is 11. Things change so quickly, but the people are what matter.

Favorite spot: I like to stand near my coffee cup, which is usually set next to the stove. I think I stand here because there's an odd little cut out area that leads to the living room and I've had 14 years of trying to keep an eye on littles while drinking coffee.

Favorite thing about my kitchen: the people in it!

Favorite kitchen tip: I don't know what to offer as kitchen advice... Maybe use your kitchen to cook. Don't let it hold your junk. Don't make it the mailbox, the library, or the entertainment center. I have to fight to keep mail from creeping into the kitchen. Bring in friends, family, make food, create memories. Also, don't be afraid to make bold decorating choices (unless you're moving and then the next tenants may not enjoy your mural of Paris at night time).

 I hope you enjoyed this tour of my kitchen and are inspired to go make some memories!

Fall Kitchen Tour: Surrounded By Ancestors And Cottage Style

I blame the cover of an old Country Living magazine. Nothing less than seeing my dream kitchen come to life would've made me go through a couple months of remodeling hell. Cooking with a microwave, the refrigerator taking over the family room, and dealing with the dust from refinishing and laying down wood flooring. At least we did it after ManO and I became empty nesters.

I wish I could show you a before picture of my kitchen. Didn't take any. My bad. When we broke down and redid our two decades old house, worn white linoleum, cheap, splattered cabinet fronts, and counters with stains of meals gone wrong made the room an eyesore. Every single room had a different dark wall color. The Duke blue dining room led to a Robin Hood green kitchen. And then there was the built in desk no one liked to use.

But all that inconvenience was worth it. After adding wood floors, lightening the wall color to a nice Tuscan beige, putting on beadboard doors, new hardware, tile back splash and a lovely gray Corian type counter, it looks like this:

Well, I might be fibbing a little. The counters are never this clean or uncluttered.  I'm always chopping or staging or using them for a project with the grandkidlets.

When we originally built the house, we made sure one piece of furniture had a special place in the kitchen, the pie safe that ManO and his father built back the year my son was born. What I always remember is being exhausted all the time and not hearing ManO punch the copper panels in the next room. Pregnancy takes it out of a girl. 

My kitchen is decorated with family heirlooms from both sides of the family. The clock? It's from our newlywed days and reminds us where we came from!  

Everything has a purpose or is repurposed or has memories attached.

We have a regular old counter top microwave after having to repair or remove THREE over the stove appliances in the course of our thirty year marriage. The desk counter no one used has converted into deep drawers and cabinets to hold the turkey roaster, turkey platter and small appliances. All the items above are heirlooms from my grandparents, pictures of my grandparents or paintings of the family farm I visited every summer.   

Favorite spot in the kitchen:  I love standing at my sink and checking out the bird feeder and the squirrels' antics.

Favorite thing about my kitchen:We managed to create a cottage style kitchen with lots of storage, something a real centuries old cottage probably wouldn't have! And it's pretty close to that cover of Country Living I found years ago.

Favorite kitchen organizing tip: You don't see the huge pantry to the right of the cabinets and can barely see the little spice cabinet on the wall (another newlywed purchase). I make sure to keep all my spices, baking items, cereals and canned goods as far away from the heat of the stove as possible to keep them lasting longer.

So, have you ever remodeled a kitchen? What do you like best about your cooking space? What do you wish you could change?

Fall Kitchen Tour: Stop #2 - The Texan's Kitchen

Isn't it a lovely day in the cafe? I just pulled out a fresh tray of warm cinnamon rolls, so y'all help yourselves. 

I feel a little odd being part of this kitchen tour for a couple of reasons. The first is because not long ago I shared our kitchen redo. Of course, in those photos my kitchen was pristine and nice, while today's kitchen is a little more lived in. 

The pristine version.

The second reason is that I'm in the process of trying to decide what my dream kitchen might look like. You've heard me mention that we'll be moving to the ranch in a few years and renovating my MIL's house. The kitchen is huge, however it is trapped in 1976, complete with orange countertops, gold flooring and brown appliances. Definitely not my dream kitchen. However, my tastes seem to gravitate in two different directions--the light and bright of cottage style or the rich wood tones of a more rustic style.

But that's a decision for another day.

Here's today's reality check.

Right after breakfast seems to be the worst for my kitchen.

Dishes left from late evening snacks, groceries I've unloaded, but have yet to put away (I almost always make my Walmart run right after I drop #2 son off at band practice. That means I'm in and out  and back home well before 8 o'clock) and various other things, some of which have no business being in the kitchen.

What is the one thing I wish I had in my kitchen?

More counter space. One can never have too much counter space.

This is our hot beverage station. The coffee maker is hubby's, while the kettle is mine.

Here I've got a nice cuppa Margaret's Hope blend steeping in my favorite Penzey's mug. :)

This is the snack/breakfast/baking corner of the kitchen.

All the things we use most are within easy reach. 

Of course, the boys get the Little Debbies and Fritos while hubs and I have the oatmeal, Truvia and whey protein.

And then there's my pot rack. 

I'd be lost without this thing. Storage is at a premium in my kitchen and there's not nearly enough cupboard space to store all of my pots, so the rack is a must. 

My cast iron stays in the cupboard, though. Or on the stove. All that weight would likely bring the whole thing crashing down.

You know, I've had a lot of kitchens over the years, from a tiny room with an even tinier stove and absolutely no counter space in Germany to galley-style apartment kitchens to where I am today. So if there's one thing I've learned, it's to adapt. 

Which is probably why I'm struggling so with planning my dream kitchen.

So here's your question for the day.

If you were building YOUR dream kitchen, what would it look like?

Fall Kitchen Tour: Stop #1 - the Mid-Western Kitchen

Welcome to the Fall Kitchen Tour!

This week you're going to see some pretty cool kitchens.

And then there's mine.

I know there are other kitchens like mine. The sink is clean - sometimes. The counter is usable - sometimes. The dishwasher is empty - only long enough to put the next batch of dirty dishes in it.

My kitchen is lived in.

We have six adults living in our house. We all have different schedules and different cooking styles.

Oldest son likes meals he can stick in the microwave...at 10 PM. And when he's done eating, everyone else is asleep and the dishwasher is full of clean dishes. So where do his dirty dishes go? Yup. In the sink.

Yes, there are dirty dishes. Even with frozen meals.

My dear daughter is next. She's a fabulous baker and works retail. So her meals can be scattered - she'll pack her lunch while she eats her breakfast, leave in a whirlwind rush to get to work by 9:00, and add her dishes to her brother's pile. Sometimes she's home for dinner, but often she's also fixing something quick when she gets home from work or symphony rehearsal.

Fabulous baking....

...vs.a quick supper after work. Which would you choose?

#2 son works full time, early mornings, and goes to school full time in the evenings. His empty coffee cup usually greets me in the morning. He'll grab something at 2:30 when he gets home from work, and then he's busy doing homework or going to classes.

A nutritious meal before hitting the books.

#3 son goes to school full time, days, and works part time on evenings and weekends. He loves to cook at strange times like 9:00 at night or 8:00 Sunday morning. His specialties include braised salmon with a plethora of spices, and a bacon/potato/apple/egg concoction that's pretty good.

(Sorry, no photo here. Youngest son actually had a date, so no supper at home!)

What that means is that I don't have any beautiful kitchen pictures to show you. I have a narrow window - somewhere around 9:00 AM - where the dishes are done, the sink is clean and the counter MIGHT be cleaned off.

But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Epilogue!

Just like in most good romance books, there has to be an epilogue, right?

I had my camera ready for that brief window of time today when my kitchen was clean.

Ta da!

Look quick, because it won't last :)

One thing about this kitchen that's different from any other house we've lived in is that it's part of the living area. I'm standing in the living room to take the picture, and our dining area is just to your right. That makes a small kitchen seem much bigger, and I like it more than I thought I would when we first moved in.

On the other hand, there's no hiding anything in a corner of the kitchen when company comes over. Everyone can see everything!

So, who would like to join me for a cup of tea?