A full Dumpster and an empty kitchen

 
There used to be a kitchen there! 
Thanks to some help (actually, A LOT of help) from my in-laws, we were able to tear down the entire kitchen on Saturday. It was a long day, but went much more quickly than we’d anticipated. (Especially since the tear-down crew was down to three while I took a very long lunch [...]

Ready to remodel

It’s been two days since we packed up the kitchen, and I already miss it! The cat, however, is enjoying free run of the newly doorless cabinets.

He only has one day left to play, though. The cabinets — and the walls — come down tomorrow.  Wish us luck.

A sweet send off: Two cupcake recipes

 
I decided to send my oven off on a sweet note by spending Sunday morning experimenting with cupcake recipes I found on other food blogs.
First, Billy’s Vanilla, Vanilla Cupcakes from “The Cupcake Queen” at 52 Cupcakes, because I. Love. Vanilla.
Second, a slightly modified version of Bailey’s Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes from Baking Bites, because Bailey’s [...]

From KCC: Chardonnay-Poached Oysters

Fresh shucked oysters, as I mentioned in today’s column, can be eaten raw. But it’s by no means the only way to enjoy them. Oysters in the shell can be served baked, steamed and grilled; shucked oysters can be batter-fried, sauteed, grilled or used in dishes like soups, stuffings and drinks. 
Get your start cooking oysters with [...]

Where to go for CR’s best cheap eats?

Since we’re talking about my upcoming kitchen remodel, I could use some recommendations.
While my husband and I hope to use our grill and microwave to prepare some meals while our kitchen is, um, dismantled, we also know we’re going to end up eating a lot more restaurant food than usual.
What are your favorite places for good, inexpensive, [...]

Counting down the last days of home baking: Butter Brickle Biscotti

In approximately 7 days, there will be no more baking or broiling or simmering or sauteing in my house.
This is because in approximately 7 days my kitchen will be in shambles.
I’ve been wanting to remodel the usable but not very attractive kitchen in my 60-year-old home since I moved in about 5 years ago. Now [...]

How do their vegetable gardens grow?

This photo from Laura Dowd of Local Food Connection shows a typical midsummer large share from Local Harvest/ZJ Farm in Solon.  
One thing I didn’t have space to include in today’s cover story about CSA farms is a list of typical Iowa CSA crops and harvest times. Specific crops, of course, vary by farmer, but here’s [...]

Iron Chef slide show

Check out Gazette photographer Liz Martin’s audio slide show on Iron Chef Cedar Rapids here.

The luck o’ the Irish doesn’t look like I remember

While everyone else celebrated their Irishness with boiled dinners and pints of Guinness, I decided to use the holiday an excuse to eat breakfast with my old childhood pal, Lucky the Leprechaun.
But what happened to his yellow moons, orange stars and green clovers?!
They’ve been replaced by multi-colored rainbows, BLUE moons, green hats, mishappen pineapples (”pots of gold,” according to [...]

A non-food post: Check us out on Facebook!

This post has nothing to do with food.
But I wanted to let you know about my latest non-food project: The Gazette has a page on Facebook! It includes news headlines and blog feeds, behind-the-scenes photos of the newsroom and our printing press,  quick links to GazetteOnline and some of our other products, a discussion board where you can talk [...]