Kitchen Stuff

A couple of weeks ago I was at a coffee morning for Macmillan Nurse Fund Raising at a neighbours. It took place in her new kitchen. Like ours the units were white but the entire kitchen felt so much more homely than ours. Artwork hung on the walls and various trinkets and accessories brought the place to life.

So I have decided to inject some "soul" into our kitchen.
We went up to Ikea and bought a kitchen island and I love it. It's a great transitional piece of kit as when the Rayburn is not on ie warm days/summer we use the electric oven so it's good to be able to put pans and dishes onto the surface - on a stand ofcourse, rather than walk over to the granite worktops - ideally placed next to the Rayburn.

The duck-egg blue of the Rayburn is very in vogue at the moment so I have been buying bits and bobs from charity shops and sales.

In sharp contrast I bought this large canvas print for £4 - bargain.

Watch this space!

Keeping warm in the kitchen

Tomorrow we have the family coming for a Birthday Celebration meal as Jon's mum was 83 yesterday. As it wasn't so long ago we had a lovely Sunday Roast for Mother's Day I decided to do something different. I bought this book, a bargain at £4.99 and it is fantastic! Normally I follow my own recipe when making a curry but for once I am following the ingredients and method to the letter.

The reason I am being so precise is because I have decided to have a theme of a "Curry Festival" or as I am calling it a "Curry Fest" so I want to cook a variety of curries - each with a distinct flavour. If I cooked a range of curries from my own recipe - which is basically shake a few jars into the pan/casserols - they would all taste the same.

Yesterday I bought a few new jars of various spices and am now beavering away in the kitchen.
Using crushed corriander I tossed some chunky carrots into a simple brown rice I had cooked - was lush. This was just an idea - nothing mentioned in the book.

As we all have our own preferences regarding the heat of a curry I am making sure the curries vary too. Last night I experimented with the Lamb Rogan Gosh.  Note I didn't use lamb steaks as I wanted a slow cooked version (no hassle and all that!)
SW Lamb Rogan Gosh
Ingredients
 1 onion, peeled and chopped
 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
 Frylight
 1 tsp each of ground coriander, paprika, ground ginger and chilli powder
 454g/1lb lamb steak, all visible fat removed and cut into bite-sized pieces (I used shoulder with all fat cut off) Approximately £8 in price
 400g can chopped tomatoes
 1 bay leaf
 2 x 2.5cm/1in pieces of cinnamon stick
 4 cardamom pods
 3 cloves
 198ml/7fl oz chicken stock
 2 tsp artificial sweetener

 Method
1. Fry the onion and garlic in frylight until soft. Add all the powdered spices and fry for 1 minute (add a little water if it gets too dry).
2. Add the lamb steak, tomatoes, bay leaf, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, cloves, stock and sweetener and simmer for 30-35 minutes until reduced. (or transfer to oven if using shoulder and cook for several hours)
3. Remove the bay leaf and cinnamon sticks. Stir in the chopped coriander and serve immediately.

We tried this last night and it was beautiful.

Looking in my freezer I discovered a packet of low far pork sausagemeat so I used it in place of the the turkey mince in another recipe from the book....

Turkey Shami Kebabs
794g/1lb 12 oz lean minced turkey
1 small red onion, peeled and finely grated
1 tsp peeled and finely grated ginger
1tbsp medium curry powder
 1tsp finely grated lime zest
 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely choppped
3 tbsp chopped coriander
2 tbsp chopped mint
2 tbsp fat free natural yoghurt
salt and freshly ground black pepper
low calorie cooking spray
red onion rings and lime wedges, to serve

1. Place the turkey in a mixing bowl with the onion, ginger, curry powder, lime zest, red chilli, chopped coriander and mint, and the yoghurt. Season well and using your hands, mix until well combined. cover and chill in the fridge for 6-8 hurs (or overnight if time permits) to allow the flavours to develop.

2. Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6.Divide the turkey mixture into 12 portions and shape each portion into a flat, oval kebab shape. Place on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and spray with low calorie cooking spray. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through.

3. Remove from the oven and serve with red onion rings and lime wedges to squeeze over.

Again delicious!

So.......as Jon has been busy with his saw.....I have plenty of fuel..........

The Rayburn is behaving.....

I will be busy in the kitchen where today I will be cooking a Beef Madrass and a Creamy Chicken Korma!

Watch this space.

R is for.....Rayburn!

Well the Rayburn is certainly in full operation and I can not begin to describe the difference between this year and the last few years - regarding the heating of this house. The same time last year we always seemed to be cold yet now the house is most definitely warm as toast.

Yes - it is different from the Aga - the top oven may be as hot but the bottom oven really is ok for warming through - not quite the capacity to slow cook like the Aga. The hotplates too - not as hot as the Aga but we are getting use to it all. The HUGE difference is this little beauty has a boiler which generates the central heating - yes the house is warm! Loving it! What makes me smile too are the comments we have received about the lovely colour - yes whilst my girly friends and neighbours comment the remarkable ones have come from the chimney sweep, the roofer and the windowcleaner! lol! Strange yet so so true!

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In for the Night - Try again!

The clocks are set to go back tonight - a few minutes ago Jon was chopping up some more logs to store until next year at the earliest. The hens were having their supper of warm rice mixed with their corn.

This is log store number 2 - now full. This was the original henhouse which was built 2 years ago.

Inside the current henhouse I notice Bev is not laying every day - her eggs are blue, but she lays every other day - really pleased that the cold weather has not stopped them laying - yet!- The hens noticed more logs invading their space! Wouldn't you love to know what they were saying and thinking?

Here Mabel and Bev are examining the latest logs! The henhouse is now full of logs - well allowing room for the hens that is! lol!

Each night when I lock them safe I notice the sleeping order is the same - margie always sleeps next to the door, then Ernest the cockerel, Mabel (his sweetheart), Olwyn and Eva  May and lastly Bev next to the logs,just settling in for the night.

They sleep next to the window - all secure and with a deep warm layer of woodshavings.

Meanwhile - back at the range the logs piled up for the cold night ahead! Yes, Autumn is here - hence my tootling with my blog - that's what happens when you visit a friend for lunch! Thanks for the inspiration Jill!

Dadaaaaaaa! (As in DRUM Roll!)

A couple of hours ago - the very first breakfast cooked on the Rayburn! This was Jon's suggestion - I said it is ABC theme and it must contain a letter "D" so he came up with TuesDAY's breakfast! Hmmmm!
Although it is summertime and apparently August,  the weather leaves a lot to be desired and we have lit the Rayburn! Originally we  tested it out so that when the colder months came along we would know what to do in a relative short space of time - but the weather has taken a definite turn for the worse and we needed to keep warm, hence the rayburn being on. We are still in the experimental phase - Jon is trying out a variety of fuel - mostly logs during the day and a mixture of logs and coal during the night, I am getting use to cooking with it. I have roasted a joint of pork and made a chicken curry - both quite nice, even if I say so myself.
It seems quite a while since we were actually warm throughout the house and I am so pleased we had the Rayburn fitted when we did - nobody anticipated this drop in climate. Jon is currently modifying the set up so we have an independent pump feature - not sure as whilst he was explaining the technical details to me I was lost in the translation! A typical occurance in the everyday life when married to an engineer!

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Another episode with a pyromaniac!

The fitter would come on Tuesday to fit the Rayburn into the chimney. He came, he fitted, he left. The cement had to "go off." ie dry out. 

Jon's eyes were glowing with excitement and anticipation when he said "Shall we light it?"

Now as I have mentioned before, Jon is an avid instruction manual reader and  has been reading up on the scientific operation of a Rayburn for weeks now. The Rayburn was not connected to the central heating system, it was so to speak a stand alone log burner. 

Jon brought in some kindle, paper and logs and lo the Rayburn was lit!

In no time at all the fire was glowing and the room warmed up.

Making use of the warm oven I popped a pie inside, would be defrosted and nicely heated through for Jon's dinner.

The dial was moving in the right direction.

Jon went into the bath and left me to enjoy the lovely warm kitchen. I thought it was a tad smoky but didn't worry too much - and put a couple more logs on.

After a short while Jon came downstairs and I said I would go and have a bath too.

Now Jon is a very calm, unassuming  chap, so when he said, "Em don't go in the bath just yet, we may have a fire!" I did indeed smile - thinking he was joking! He wasn't!

There was a fire in the Rayburn.

We threw a water soaked old towel onto the burning logs and then, using BBQ tools, Jon lifted the burning logs out and threw them into a bucket outside.

After a while the flames inside settled and the fire was under control.

Jon hadn't read the part of the instructions which stated "Never light the Rayburn without filling the water tank with water!" 

The thermostat control ie wires etc had melted with the heat of the flames!

The new thermostat arrived today!

Bird's Eye View.

This is the plan of our new kitchen. The quality of the photographs is poor but it gives an idea of what it will all look like.

The rear patio door, now 20 years old is to be replaced by a door and window. The door has a glazed top and the window is joined on - so the line at the top will continue from the door - it's just the computer software will only show certain options. The sink will be under the window and next to the sink is the dishwasher. The corner unit has concealed opening baskets and next to that are a couple of cupboards, again containing baskets. I am not having any wall cupboards - being 5'1" I can't reach. However I am having a roller shutter unit which is visible next to the black pillar. The pillar wont be black - again the software shows hidden structures which need to be considered in the design. The roller shutter unit will store the kettle and toaster - and will be out of sight.

Here the roller shutter can be seen and then we have a corner unit again with baskets which utilise the space next to a pan drawer unit. The drawer unit has lots of features which help with storage of pans, crockery and cutlery. Next to this is the rayburn - again software just has certain options and the range cooker has the same dimensions as the rayburn. The black wall shows the chimney breast - the walls will be pale yellow/green - or something similar to snug. Next to this is a space where we will store logs. The top gap between the rayburn and the drawer unit will be completed with a chopping board one of our farmer neighbours is making for us, from wood grown in our village. The cupboards above the drawer unit will go right up to the ceiling so there wont be any gaps - solid fuel = dust, another reason why I did not want wall units. They normally have a gap which is ideal for dust to settle! The glass cupboards will be for the various kitchenalia (is there such a word) I have accumulated over the years. I went for the glass doors so I would always have to ensure the cupboards were tidy! There are lights in these cupboards too.

On the back wall we have a double larder/storage unit where all food stuffs will be stored. Again these have pull out baskets. Next to these is the built in microwave (where space is) and underneath, the fan oven - for the summer months (I think this is what they are called - we get them so rarely!) Next to this is the built in fridge-freezer.

We may have an island/table but once the kitchen is fitted we will decide - we currently have a large table.

We have spent a great deal of time thinking and discussing the various aspects of this and I can "picture" how it will work. 

So that's it! Order will be processed on Tuesday and delivery will take 4-6 weeks. This fits in with the various preparations which need to take place - the removal of current units, electrics, plumbing and plastering. The rayburn will be plumbed into the chimney sometime soon - then will be connected to the central heating system and we will fire it up for a trial run!

Watch this space!

The past 24 hours!

Tuesday morning saw us drive over to the Forrestry Commission where our nephew 3 works. There were some recently felled trees which were available for a contribution to the "Friends" funds.
We received a pick up full together with some useful tips on chopping wood. Our neighbour chops wood regularly so when we basically asked him about using a chainsaw he said he would be round in a few minutes to show Jon how it was done! We had had a long busy day but were keen to deal with the trees - so last night Jon and Malcolm worked until 9pm. Anne and I moved the logs and stacked them so they could dry out for a year.

Believe me, we were exhausted last night and slept like logs! (groan)
We slept through the 7am alarm, rousing at about 7.40. The rayburn was to be delivered between 8am and 9am - so as we were both tired we said we would get up at 8! As I was just about to doze off for another few minutes I heard a van pull up outside our house - in our village we get to recognise the morning traffic - usually being Mick's tractor at 8am as he makes his way to Ronnie's farm. Yes - you've guessed - the Rayburn was early! We jumped out of bed and dressed as quickly as possible before flying down the stairs.

The Rayburn was moved to the garage where a couple of hours later a few pals and neighbours together with Jon, rope, trolley and roller negotiated the Rayburn into the kitchen.

She (we have called her Sheba as in the arrival of the Queen of Sheba - as never in the history of the Nesbitt household has something been discussed and planned to this degree) now rests on her own concrete plinth, made by Jon's fair hands in the kitchen.

On Monday the heating engineer is coming to assess what needs to be done before we can fire her up and rock and roll!

I am quite exhausted but love it! The colour is wonderful don't you think?

Watch this space!

Zero hour 9am!

Rocket Man is one of my all time favourite pop songs by Elton John and the words are so appropriate because, after the many months of discussion, planning and preparation, tomorrow morning at 9am the Rayburn is being delivered.
Jon has a few pals and neighbours coming round at 11am and between them, using a variety of devices they will lift it into the house and then into the kitchen!
We will then have to wait for a Heating Engineer to come and plumb it into the central heating system and we should be ready to move onto the next phase in the kitchen.
For now however,we can hardly wait until tomorrow!

Will have the camera ready to capture the events!
Watch this space!

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Y....Yes it is all go!

The kitchen is currently a site - a real sight a building site very soon. Today we had the logs delivered and they take up the best part of the garage. The motorbike is now in the shed with the wooden kitchen units and fireplaces (where else?) The Rayburn is coming next Wednesday and it too will go into the garage until Jon organises some pals to come round with various muscles, trolleys and devices and they bring it into the kitchen, onto it's plinth. We will then wait for it to be commissioned ie plumbed into the central heating system and then the kitchen re-fit will happen. Not sure how and in what order, but the plastering and electrics will have to be done first.

The weather is set to change so it just might be a good time to concentrate on a couple of garden projects - not much else I can do in the house - but the garden ideas I want to implement should be fun - Watch this space!

The Waiting Game!

Last weekend was a very strenuous one here in the Nesbitt household. The plinth which had been put down for the Aga had to be removed and it was quite a beast to break up - but armed with his sledge hammer and crow-bar, Jon did the deed! We then had to take the rubble to the tip and lay the new plinth ready for the Rayburn, due around the 2nd week of July. The flu is set in a different position from the Aga, this is why a new plinth had to go down - so the flu would go into the chimney in the correct position. It all got rather technical so I left it to Jon! lol! Once the Rayburn arrives the rest of the kitchen re-fitting can go ahead.

It seems only a matter of minutes ago that I first mentioned my early retirement plans - and now it is 3 days away! Had confirmation from Teacher's Pensions on Saturday so am well excited. We are going out for dinner to our favourite restaurant on Wednesday, a party on Saturday for family and friends and we are talking about going to France in September..........until then however - the DIY continues!!!!

Watch this space!

It's a first!

Read here!


Never done this before - so it is all very exciting!

With under 2 weeks to go before we go on our annual pilgrimage to the Isle of Man we are now taking a rest from the DIY around the house. There is little we can do to be honest as once the Aga is removed and dismantled, the concrete plinth will have to be modified for the Rayburn. This is because the  flu is located on the right hand side of the Rayburn, unlike the Aga where it is central. The flu goes straight into the chimney and as we don't want a flu-pipe on a severe slant we will re-position the stove itself. Jon will have to assemble a new plinth which he will do when we return. Once this has set we will be able to re-position and modify the units.

The Rayburn is due to be delivered 2nd or 3rd week of July and everything will need to be in place by then. Normally I feel quite flat when we return from holiday but this year it couldn't be further from the truth.
I am making plans for our holiday - the pets are all booked into their various places of accommodation and the neighbours are looking after the hens. Over the next few days I will be making copious lists for our holiday and ofcourse I have the Take That concert to look forward to on Saturday - I am very excited about everything coming along - I will just have to exercise a little..............

R is for Rayburn!

After months of deliberation, negotiation and discussion we narrowed it down to the model we wanted. The technical information is as follows....

Product Variation Name	355SFW
Function	Cooking / Domestic Hot Water / Central Heating
Fuel	Smokeless selected bituminous coals, seasoned wood and peat briquettes
Controls	Thermostatic and Manual
Initial Flue Pipe (minimum internal diameter)	Conventional 150mm (6ins)
Ventilation (minimum air vent for room)	182.5cm2
Electrical Supply	No
Water Output	Up to 40,000Btu/h - 11.7kW 8 Radiators
Hot Water System	Gravity DHW and pumped heating
Water Cylinder Size Option	190 litres (40 Gallons)
Lower Oven	Warming Oven

Jon has spent the last few days negotiating prices, delivery dates etc and we finally went with our local dealer. The deposit is paid and delivery will be around the second week in July. The flu is on the right hand side, slightly different to the Aga so some moving and shaking will need to happen, but not until the Rayburn is in situ. Jon will have some lights to sort out in the kitchen, and the ceiling will be plastered BEFORE the Rayburn is delivered, but that is all we can do really - well in the kitchen anyway......so the lounge is now our focus.

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And the next room is......

The Lounge!

This is the lounge at the moment - very untidy as it is where we have just dumped a lot of the furniture etc from other parts of the house. We have moved the furniture so the view is the back garden rather than the fireplace. Originally this part of the room was the dining area...

 

but the dining area will be at the front of the room. The doors at the right hand side of the picture look out onto the garden and it is still a bright room. The curtains need  hemming which we will work out more accurately when the carpet is down.

 

 

We have a large expanse of wall which we are working on next.

The fireplace has been removed. This is not a wall with a chimney - only a flu for a gas fire. We had constant problems with the gas, bottled type as we do not have mains gas in the village.

We are going to have a wall mounted modern electric coal effect fire and Jon will build a false chimney breast to give the room a feature, bookshelves etc will then be planned for the recess.

The laminate floor is being replaced with a carpet. The laminate has been down for 12 years but we really want a carpet. The noise from the floor - ie 2 german shepherds tip tapping across the room of a nightime does become rather tedious. 

We will be drawing up our plans later this week and then work will commence. 

We will also be ordering the Rayburn which will look something like this - but ours will have a flu. Colour is Aqua - I think it will match the colour scheme going on throughout downatairs.

So - back to work! Watch this space.

J - just when you thought all was sorted!

ABC Wednesday is here again

Like many people out there we are concerned about the rising costs of heating our home. Our central heating is oil fuelled. The tank holds 1,000 litres of heating oil - when we first had the oil tank installed it cost £200 for 1,000 litres. This winter we have been paying £300+ for 500 litres. We have gone back to the drawing board and decided NOT to replace the Aga I repeat NOT to replace the Aga. It only heats one radiator - a Rayburn will heat up to 10 radiators and is multi-fuelled. It will run on coal, peat and wood. Whilst when burning wood on it the heat will not be as intense as it would be if we used coal, nevertheless we have a good source of wood and logs in the village.
As Jon is chief heating engineer we went to visit a chap who was selling his Rayburn in order to have a good discussion about the general running and maintenance of such a beast. Jon's eyes lit up at the sight of the various controls - thermostats, knobs, dials, levers, you name it, the Rayburn has it with bells on. Jon liked the idea of managing the efficiency with a twiddle of a few knobs.
The Rayburn is slightly smaller than the Aga but this will not present any problems. Now colour - I am fancying a pistachio/green/aqua one - will fit in nicely with my colour scheme.
If the nice weather continues we may have a period of time where we will let our Aga go out and be dismantled but no hurry just yet. We still have lots to do. Our Aga will be recycled and will be sold on to somebody else probably in part exchange for the refurbished one we will buy. Costs are cheaper than the Aga and should allow us to save considerably on our fuel bills!

Watch this space!