Kitchen Tour

I was able to get home tonight from work in time to make dinner.  Usually, on work nights it's "get your own" which means a bowl of cereal for me and a can of soup for Brett.  But tonight my last meeting of the day finished a bit early so I scooted on home and headed to the kitchen after chores.

When we made the move from suburbia to our little ranch, it involved building our own home.  We bought an empty piece of property, a big meadow, and built there.  Brett researched house plans and diagrammed out the layout.  I cared about the kitchen, the barn and the arena.  The rest -- Brett's baby.  Our builder had a cow over the kitchen.  Brett told him that we would scrimp on the rest of the house but that I was to have my Viking stove, etc.  So, here's the kitchen tour and tonight's dinner...

I wanted it big enough for all my gadgets, but small enough to work in without hiking from one end to the other.

For the center island, I wanted a big wood table.  The top of this is maple and it's a great work surface.  I wanted lots of room.  Our builder couldn't believe that I didn't want granite with a sink.  He actually put plumbing in for a sink in case I ever "come to my senses."  I have not, for one minute, regretted having a big wood work surface.













The biggest splurge in the kitchen is my Viking stove.  It has four burners with a griddle in the middle.  I use the griddle for everything from French toast to warming tortillas.  The stove doesn't work perfectly -- the transition from gas to propane caused some trouble -- but, for the most part, I love this stove.  And, I think it is just the most gorgeous thing ever.

If you look to the left of the picture, you can see the barn.  I love that the kitchen opens to the great room and, past that, the horses.  I didn't want a kitchen that isolated me from the rest of the house, friends or family.

The other thing I had never had, but always wanted, was a walk-in pantry.















The other side of the kitchen faces north with windows our to the dog area.  You can see my espresso machine -- well used.  My two serious addictions are horses and espresso.  I buy my coffee beans green and roast them myself so they are exactly how I like them.  Very dark, but not burnt.  Is it morning yet?  I'm ready for a shot!

Dinner tonight: rack of lamb, couscous with butternut squash, raisins and cashews.

...and a good Austalian shiraz.