carinb's Profile

I like that the knobs are a different colour, though I probably would have gone for something other than gold. It's a very slick design now, nice blank canvas for the renter to work with.

One common theme with the before-and-after posts on AT is that the new kitchen hasn't been used. It's either completely empty or styled to fair-thee-well. I'd really like to see these "clinical white" kitchens with all the stuff that ends up on the counters when you've used it for a month or so.

I agree that it's a bit OTT for me, but I like a lot of the individual pieces. I'd probably spread them over the whole house though, instead of putting them in one room. But I like the pictures, since it looks like she's actually using the kitchen while someone takes pictures.

I have a few friends with dietary issues, and it's true that they are difficult to cook for. So I would have titled the article The most difficult to cook for dinner guest, but then, I you actually READ the article, it's pretty clear that that's what the term "difficult" is referring to, not to the persons who have the dietary issues.

I didn't know eggs are classified as dairy :) And maybe the list should be headed: Do not freeze and thaw list.

I can well imagine that the texture of things frozen whole would change after freezing and defrosting. The ice crystals that form will poke holes in the membranes of the plant cells, meaning all the liquid will start leaking out when defrosting - essentially it would look wilted. Anything creamy might be salvaged by blending it again, if it has split. Cheddar becomes more crumbly after freezing, but mozzarella (the pizza-cheese type) still works fine. We grate both anyway, before freezing.

With a lot of the "other" stuff, it depends what you want to do with it. My mom freezes rice and pasta all the time, and it turns out okay. Maybe the texture isn't perfect, but it's better than nothing.

All my muffin recipes take around 20 minutes to bake - they're medium size (about 2 inches across). Mini cupcakes would bake faster.

I'd say do a test batch if you have time.

@SMULTRONSOUL.BLOGSPOT

According to Wikipedia the edible flax oil can be heated to 350F for 2 hours, but the boiled oil (which is used for oiling wood etc.) is highly combustible even without heat.

I've baked with flax seed, without any exploding muffins, so maybe it's just the processed oil that can't take the heat.

The food we took on hikes with us - instant potato mash, tinned viennas, spaghetti & meatballs, processed cheese slices. When you're hungry after a long day's hike it tastes great, no so much when you're lazy at home.

I love the marble tiles - it breaks the "whiteness" just enough. I'd also add a bit of colour in the island (red stools as noire suggested), but I like the light cabinetry with the darker wood floor. We have beech cabinets with a chocolate tile on the floor, same idea.

Maybe a longer, skinnier painting would have looked better over the window, but since it's temporary, please put the finished product up too, when it's done :).

Rim up in my mom's kitchen, but when I get my own place I'll put rails on the top so I can slide the wine glasses into them and put the other glasses (rim-up) on the bottom.

I don't really host formal dinners, so people carry their plates back to the kitchen when they're done. I'd rather pack the dishwasher myself, but my guest are welcome in the kitchen, though I live in a university town, so most of my friends are or were recently students.

If I hosted a formal sit-down dinner, I'd stack the dishes out of sight and clean up when they left.