Fairfax Avenue's Profile

I have seen pictures of counters that have so many things on them that I wonder where the food prep gets done!

In my very small apartment kitchen I keep only the big appliances (counter-top oven, microwave) on the counters, freeing up all the remaining space for prep. The coffee maker, Magic Mill and Kitchen Aid (I really love and use them both) are convenient on a table in the breakfast room, and the food processor (least used of all my machines) is behind the closed doors of a cabinet. Personal touches are on the fridge door and on the windowsill over the sink. I have usable counter tops and I have personal touches. It's a balance that gives me a good working environment.

I put two quartz sinks in my kitchen about 10 years ago. Sinks get more wear and tear than counters; now there are some hairline cracks, minor stains and minor chips. On the positive side, they look fresh and are quiet in use.

Seeing polished slabs in the daylight can be different than by interior light. The black sections of the stone we used appeared clear in the daylight and there was an impression of great depth, like looking into deep, clear water. It was breathtaking. The stone looks beautiful installed, but not so dramatic.

I've used Sunshine Glass at 1556 North Highland Avenue Los Angeles,
for milk glass in my 1926 duplex. Good luck!

Years ago I sent my then 15 year old daughter across country to visit her newlywed brother and sister-in-law for Passover. The newlyweds were having 80 – 100 Seder guests (they have a Chabad House) and meal preparation must have been going very slowly. When my daughter called to check in with me, she complained, “All they have are paring knives!” Thankfully, no one took offense when I sent along few good chefs’ knives the next time my daughter came to help out!

Having made many from-scratch batches of Monkey Bread, I can tell you that the amount time invested in making it is TOTALLY worthwhile! My favorite recipe (originally from a Sunset Magazine publication) uses canned pumpkin in the dough for a flavorful and colorful loaf.

I certainly learned to cook in my childhood home. Both my parents cooked well, and we sat down as a family nightly (this was the 1950s - '70s). Salads and scrambled eggs were my first talents. It's interesting now to see how my cooking varies from what I learned at home. I certainly use more fresh fruits and vegetables and less canned and frozen. And as a child I was never served fresh artichokes or broccoli! And I have never made a Jello mold. Bread, cookies and desserts came from the store, but I bake weekly. My father's cooking was original and inventive -- and quite good. My mother, however, didn't particularly like cooking but did it excellently. Out of respect for that, once he retired, my father took over the dinner cooking and clean up for a number of years.

Now I have married children and I have had the pleasure of my daughters-in-law thanking me that their husbands cook.

Not only has some furniture been outmoded or repurposed, so have some architectural details! My home was built (around 1925) with an arched nook for the telephone. Unfortunately it is one inch to short for my grandfather clock, so it houses the filing cabinet.

Nutone Blenders! They no longer make them...my father was an appliance repairman and he made sure my mother's kitchen had one. (He made sure she had the first dishwasher and the first self-cleaning oven on the block, too!) It had the BEST meat grinder attachment. However, all the attachments had to be stored somewhere so it really took plenty of space, and if something broke you had to wait for a service call.

I've cleaned blackened silver numerous times in an aluminum foil pan with baking soda and boiling water (no rubbing!). However, this serves only to clean off the tarnish. Actual silver polish has ingredients that shine the silver and prevent the immediate return of the tarnish. Both methods have their uses.