Day 10: In the Kitchen

One of the big tasks this week is to finalize the kitchen design.  We have been making progress and things are going relatively smoothly.

Ms. Client has decided to go with KitchenAid appliances, in stainless steel.  I think that's a great choice.  This is a kitchen that wants to be nice and well appointed, without needing to be The. Most. Expensive. Thing. Evar.

Mr. Client has decided that whatever Ms. Client wants to do with the kitchen is fine with him.  Thus far, this arrangement is working out well.

The floor will be the same wood that is throughout the rest of the main level, which is yet to be determined, but will be a medium-dark color.  The spaces themselves will be rather lofty and bright, for the most part, and will be able to handle a dark-ish wood floor really well.  The cabinets will be a lighter colored wood, perhaps maple, to give some contrast to the floor.  This kitchen has hardly any upper cabinets, because it's all windows to the view of the Smoky Mountains.  There is, however, one wall with the range and stainless steel hood on it, that has a few upper cabinets as well.

At present, the Clients are living in this little house down the hill from the house now under construction:

That was taken last February when I was here for a preliminary site visit.  You can barely see the house behind those giant pine trees.

That thing is 3 bedrooms, kitchen, living room, laundry/utility, and bathroom and its 1,000 square feet.  Cramped is an understatement, but they're managing.  I'm staying in a few rooms of the existing garage building, onto which we are attaching with the new house:

The doorway between my area and the kitchen has been walled off temporarily, and the hallway, laundry room (which is just an empty room at this stage - the laundry part will be added after I leave) and little bathroom are my monastic cell.  Paul and Todd sleep in there with me, and I have my computers set up in there also.  The dogs spend their days outside, either penned or on long leads over by the barn.  They get to watch the donkeys most of the time, and bark at the subcontractors as they come and go throughout the day.

Ms. Client has been making the most of her little kitchen in the house down the hill, and her project for the past few days has been roasting her homegrown roma tomatoes.

Before:

After (after most of them were already packaged for the freezer):

Photos and words can't begin to convey their amazing flavor.

BeBop the little injured puppy is also hanging out in the kitchen.  What is she up to?  Doesn't she look timid and subdued?  Poor thing :(

But, don't be fooled.  She is still a puppy after all.

And, I've been grilling.  I love to cook and I love to grill out.  Lately it's been kabobs and kabobs and kabobs.  Shrimp, chicken, veggies, turkey meatballs, NY steaks (not as kabobs) and lots of mushrooms.  Mushrooms on those bamboo skewers, reduced to 2/3 their original size, with olive oil and some salt, are absolutely heavenly.

This was my first time putting shrimp on the grill, and I have to say, they were amazing.  The flavor of the shrimp was really accentuated and concentrated.  I think it was similar in principle to cooking the water out of the mushrooms, which concentrates their flavor.

It's fun cooking for and with the Clients, especially knowing they will enjoy their new kitchen so much, and get so much out of it.  Any time there is a particular interest of one of my clients, about which they are especially passionate, I am all the more inspired to make it the best it can be.