Someday...

[ksmith]

...in the dream home, I will have (in addition to the mudroom):


A dishwasher. Not exactly cutting-edge tech, I know. But we never had one when I was growing up, and none of the rentals I lived in over the years had one. My current house is not, afaik, fitted for one. Even if it was, I would need to give up a largish cupboard in exchange. I would only do this as part of a renovation project, which isn't in the cards at the moment. So, handwashing continues. When you're an every-damned-bowl-in-the-cupboard cook like I am, you wind up spending more time washing up than cooking.

A biiig sink. One of those deep, wide mini-bathtubs with a detachable faucet.

A walk-in pantry with stainless steel rack shelving and a cool bin for root veggies. I don't know if they make a cool bin for root veggies, but if they don't, they should.

This is in addition to the office with the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and the upper tier of shelves with one of those little doors at one end that opens into L-space. The office overlooks the vast lawns that slope down to the babbling brook and the woods beyond.

That being said, stuffed. The pot roast came out well. I stuck with the Cooks Illustrated recipe. Pretty much. I didn't have stock, so I used some beef soup base and water. I added sliced mushrooms and a shot of cognac at the end, and thickened the gravy. Had mashed parsnip&carrots and broccoli rabe on the side.

Used the dutch oven in the oven for the first time, after browning the chuck roast atop the stove and adding the veggies. I really, really like that pot. The meat browned beautifully, and clean-up was a snap. I should have taken a picture of the finished product, but I was hungry and I forgot. So. Leftovers:



In other news, the Winter Storm Watch is now a Warning. Snow amounts are all over the place, but seem to be settling around 6-8 inches, with local bursts of up to 10 inches. Rockford is supposed to get pounded, and that's some distance from me, so here's hoping for an easy 4-5 inches and a relatively easy drive to work.

Hockey tonight. USA vs Canada. Canada is heavily favored to win it all. I'm just going to watch.

Comments

[trolleypup.livejournal.com]

The stacks on the half balcony with all the wrought iron implies a higher than 7 foot ceiling!

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I like high ceilings.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the storm, and commiserations on having to drive into work tomorrow morning.

I have one of those apartment dishwashers that's on wheels, and you just roll it over to the sink and hook it up to the faucet when you need to run it. I never even knew they existed, but the first one came with the house when I bought it, and when it died, I replaced it. Given how much water I use when I was dishes by hand, I'm sure it's better for the environment.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

You know, I was reading about those, and went as far as to start pricing one. How well does yours handle large pots and pans?

[pbray.livejournal.com]

They come in two sizes--a smaller size and a size that is the same as a full-sized dishwasher. The one that came with the house was full-sized, but when it was time to replace it I bought the smaller size, which is fine for what I need. It has the standard light/regular/powerwash cycle choices, as well as a "water heat" option in case your house's hot water setting isn't hot enough.

Mine's a Kenmore, probably around 5 years old. The only drawback is that unlike a regular dishwasher you can't use the faucet and sink while you're running it, but that's not a huge inconvenience.

[nlbarber]

Let me add to your specs: get a dishwasher with a top-rack-only cycle. That's what I use most of the time, except for weekend cooking or baking periods, and on mine it only uses 1.9 gallons of water. I'd have to be careful to hand-wash with only that much water.

Biiig sink, check. Pullout faucet, check. Walk-in pantry was here when I bought the place, though I could use a cool bin. Floor-to-ceiling shelves in office and den, check. However, the contractor screwed up and the door into L-space is invisible. I only know it's here because books disappear when I'm not looking...

[(Anonymous)]

We have an old house with a small kitchen, and we have a full-sized roll-around dishwasher, too. I think we've had it 7-8 years and it is still going strong.

If I put pots and pans in I usually do a quick pre-rinse in the sink. I also always set the dishwasher off with a pre-rinse cycle, which I think basically wets everything down and lets it sit for 15 minutes before the wash cycle begins. I use baking soda in the pre-treat cup instead of dishwashing detergent.

I usually stuff the dishwasher as full as I can, occasionally I'll have a couple items that need more attention when the dishwasher is through with them.

We do have a bit of a problem with dog hair getting in the wheels over time, though. Something else to think about.

Jody in PA