Kitchen renovation one week in

Today was in many ways annoying, y'all. For one, although I love the Olympics, I just cannot abide by curling and, to a lesser degree of irritation, the biathlon. Thank goodness two friends sent me this hilarious video of cat curling, aka purrling. Now that's a sport!

Also thank goodness I had lunch with one of my favorite people in the world. And thank goodness that I have wonderful neighbors because in addition to dealing with 983 workmen in the house today, various hiccups, and more rain, I needed to make the King Cakes I promised the boys. Every year I send one into each of their classes, and it's a tradition we all love. However, without an oven, baking King Cakes is hard.

Hence my gratitude for neighbors. One gave me her key for today and in her oven I baked up these beauties which I'd made in my basement kitchen and kneaded and rolled on the boys' craft table. I have not located my stash of plastic Jesus babies, so the cakes will be without this year, but alas. 

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

We are entering the realm of extreme holeage. Not pictured here are the new holes in the basement, garage, and exterior of our home. Progress!

Demolition is one of the most fun parts of a kitchen renovation

This week has given me a better understanding of why my boys love demolition so much. Or, there is just something incredibly therapeutic for stress, especially of the politics-induced variety, in ripping things down to their bare bones. Maybe both.

In any case, what was a whole kitchen (albeit messy and in mid-pack) on Monday night is now a hammered, chiseled, sawed room of gaping holes and capped wires and to-be-rerouted PVC piping cut off from the rest of our house by an enormous plastic sheet with a zipper up its middle. While I often found the planning for this renovation stressful, I am loving every single bit of what it's taking to raze the kitchen to its foundation. 

This is in part because we have such a great team of responsible, lovely professionals doing the job. Trust is so essential, and honestly liking the people you're working with makes everything that much better. Our contractor renovated the kitchen at our old house, and while one or two of the original team is no longer with him, everyone else is. I love that. 

It is definitely crucial to prepare for being without a kitchen, and a lot of y'all have asked how in god's name am I feeding my family. Good question! 

Last time around, we invested in a high-quality two-burner hot plate and kept our grill's propane tank full. Two friends doing kitchen remodels subsequently used the hot plate, and now I have it in my rotation once more. It is really easy to use, compact, and portable. I have been cooking and freezing things (we have a chest freezer in our storage room) that don't require the use of an oven for months now so that we can regularly have hot, home-cooked meals during the coming weeks. Eating out is expensive and often less healthy than eating at home. Plus, sometimes I want to be in my jammies well before I eat dinner. Last night, T and I ate steaming bowls of chili while we watched some TV. 

It is also infinitely helpful to have your refrigerator relocated to an open space in your house so that you can still use it. Ours is now in our living room. We are lucky to have a bar fridge and wet bar area in our basement. There we have a sink and enough counter space to have our coffee maker and the hot plate set up, some prep area, a garbage can, and cabinetry in which to put plates and such. On another wall of our basement we have counter space where we've put our microwave and toaster oven. So while it does feel a bit scattered and like we're camping, it's fun and totally doable. 

During the pack-up, I thought long and hard about what we need and use daily, and what we can do without for a while. The photo above gives you some sense of what I kept out, including most-used spices, tupperware, and essential utensils. 

I also thought about what I might need to cook for during our renovation. Each Mardi Gras, for example, I make King Cakes for the boys' classes, and Oliver's birthday is on St. Patty's Day. So, I kept out the ingredients and necessary pans for King Cake and will rely on my wonderful next door neighbor's oven for the actual baking. I'll do the same for Oliver's birthday cake if my new range isn't ready for use yet when the time comes. 

As you might have surmised, it is crucial to have a good attitude about all this and to have fun with the inconveniences when you can. Keeping your eye on the end product is helpful as are gratitude and reminders that the renovation will only last for a finite time period. Things will go wrong but a good and capable team will help you find the best solution.

In the meantime, if you're stressed, be sure and watch the demo as it takes place. I've been floating on air this week as truckload after truckload of refuse is taken away, a blank canvas left behind. Progress unfolding before my eyes. What fun!

Has it been a week? King Cake, pasta, salad, Nutmeg

It has just occurred to me that I've not slept through the night since January 19, and even then, I was tired. Politics, the March, our kitchen, Nutmeg, various ailments racing through our house and community...I am so tired that today I watched a hilarious skit featuring Seth Meyers (SNL, The Late Show, and a former college-mate of mine) and Kelly Clarkson day-drinking and immediately wondered if I was drunk without my own knowledge.

I am that tired.

So, I have little for you except some recent kitchen wins and a kitchen update and an enormous spot of gratitude for hot tea and the fact that my in-laws have the boys tonight. Praise whomever for local grandparents being a fact of my life.

It's Mardi Gras season, y'all, and so, King Cake. This one was for Jack's family culture evening at school. Although we will have no kitchen starting Tuesday, I have promised cakes for both boys' classes on Mardi Gras Day. Hmm. As usual, I use Southern Living's Traditional King Cake recipe but I do NOT add the lemon juice to the icing. 

Last night: pasta with Brussels sprouts, speck, and parm. Amen for good carbs on cold nights. Also, it has a distinctly Mardi Gras feel, which I love. 

Lastly, a gorgeous winter salad of shaved fennel, avocado, pomelo, roasted and salted pistachios, shaved manchego, salt, pepper, basil olive oil, and blackberry balsamic. Is this not just glorious? It tasted as good!

The Nut acts as if he were never injured, and mercifully, our kitchen renovation finally commences on Tuesday with demolition day 1. If I could take the first swipe at it all, I would. Maybe I'll ask. I mean, this stupid Nunes memo nonsense has made my blood boil, so perhaps the crew wants a lady eager to crank through some cortisol via sledge hammer?!

Our new range -a stunning charcoal gray beauty from Lacanche via France- arrived last Monday. I have nicknamed her Gal Gadot because she is not only stunning but also strong and charismatic. She will anchor our new kitchen, but many other beautiful treasures will complete the room. I'll keep you posted, but here's a sneak peek of Gal. 

As an aside, why is not all language written in the beautiful scripts of Europe? Just look at those handwritten letters and numbers on the crate. Mon dieu.