An Amish Kitchen - Via Quality Custom Cabinetry

I had lunch in an Amish home on Tuesday.

What a privilege that was. I have yet to write about it, (more about the event and what I learned soon) but, one of my major cabinet suppliers, Quality Custom Cabinetry, invited all of their representative kitchen design firms around the country, to celebrate their 40 years of business in this two day event, Monday and Tuesday of this week, in Lancaster Country, PA. For the second day of the event, three types of recreation were offered, at no charge. I ALWAYS rush back to the office, and when I heard that an Amish tour was offered, I decided to slow it down a bit and take advantage of this particular tour.

We toured the area, saw the horse drawn buggies, saw the corn being cut by men and horses, and entered this beautiful, different world of farms, one room school houses (many) and lovely people with strong values.

I had one of the best lunches in quite awhile, with some of the best food ever. Since the Amish do not have electricity, food is prepared in simple, traditional, ways. They cook with gas, and they may use battery power. There were no lights on of any sort in the kitchen where we had our lunch.

I wish I had taken a picture of all the food on the table, it just kept coming. Here's what was served:

• several types of preserved vegetables, previously home grown 
  preserved apricots in syrup in a bowl
  
• applesauce 
• fresh beans
• fresh potatoes, roughly mashed
• noodles
• fried chicken
• ham loaf
• white, sliced bread
• homemade jam
• pumpkin pie (best I ever tasted)
• shoofly pie
• iced tea
• coffee

Here is an image of three generations of women in an Amish kitchen, that I took. They have lovely homes, the Amish. The women grow their hair and put it in a bun. They have a quiet elegance, which perhaps you can see here. No dishwasher, only their hands to wash dishes, serving dishes, glasses, and pots, from a group of 20. Afterward, little recipe books came out, selling for $3.50 each. I bought one.

I must mention this too...after lunch, we went to a large Amish gift/food shop. As I was lingering outside, I glanced over at the ramp and spotted a woman being pushed in a wheelchair by another woman, with a man accompanying them. These people were my husband's relatives, also from Pennsylvania! I had not seen them since 2003, and shouting, hugging, and more ensued.

They live 3 hours away from the gift store we were at, and were in the area for a doctor's appointment for my husband's aunt. How could that happen? What if lunch were 5 minutes delayed? What if I went back to the bus 5 minutes earlier or to the restroom around the corner...that was a real WOW for me! Serendipity!

This is an image of the open kitchen just beyond the sales counter in the Amish store we stopped at.  

Kitchen Accessories

Everyone loves kitchen accessories, right? I go through spurts.  I'll take apart all my decorative "stuff" in the kitchen and redo it again. It takes me forever, but sometimes, I just need a new, fresh, look in the kitchen. And, with kitchen accessories, we can get a new look anytime we want. Here are a few accessories that will freshen everything up quick and easy.

First, I'm wild about these little disc plate hangers I spotted on decor8, when my jaw dropped at the perfection of the concept! It makes me want to go out and start hunting for lots of plates. I love how these plates are hung in such a modern way, too.

Here's your source for them, DISChangers.com. How, absolutely, awesome, are these??

Next, I want you to take a look at another fresh idea, from Design Public. Design Public happens to have a great collection of hip ideas for your walls.

These decorative wall art ideas are usually seen in other rooms of the home, but who cares? Be innovative and incorporate these ideas into the kitchen. Very easy to do.  

OK, maybe not what you wished for, but, hear me out...found these "trash chic" trash bags on Apartment Therapy -  Kitchen. The price isn't bad either, I was surprised...$14.95 for 80 liners. Makes trash removal something to look forward to now! Ok, it's a stretch...

 

Kitchen Artwork - You're The Arteeest!

I went to a serious, very serious (no smile is on my face) art gallery in New York City over last weekend. As I walked around, a thought occurred to me..."I can do this too!" As I walked and gazed (seriously) at the images before me, I knew I had to talk to you, my readers, about this thought.

I took 8 of MY images below and added 3 of the images that were in this gallery show that I attended.

I'd like you to tell me which images, below, you think were done by the artist in the show. That's all. Maybe mine are so bad this will be a simple task, and everyone will guess correctly! Oh, the embarrassment!

What's the point here?

The point, is that you have talent, perhaps unused talent, too. If these images can hang in this prestigious gallery, sometimes two or three next to each other with no space in between the white, simple, frames, a nice look, then you can enlarge your images too (or go out and take some) and hang them in your kitchen and look at them as art (which they are! You don't need to spend bundles on what you perceive to be "real" art. Find the artist inside you, hang your work in your kitchen, be proud of it, and you will feel something special. It's fun and rewarding, and relatively low in cost. 8x10s at mpix are $1.99. The matting and framing can be artfully done as well.

Those who know me know that I am a big proponent of putting art in the kitchen. Whether it is photographs, artfully framed and arranged, or oil paintings purchased from an artist, or other art forms, makes no difference.  I love to see space for art in the kitchen, and this is one way to do it, with meaning, AND, low cost.

OK, so which ones are the artist's images? Put the mouse over each image and its name will pop up at the top left of the small thumbnails.

Built in Coffee Maker Appliances - Rethinking Kitchen Design

The coffee pot! It used to be a non issue, never on the radar screen when planning a kitchen. Now, it's absolutely a checklist issue to discuss.

I'm in the middle of the kitchen design process with a client. Up to now, we had talked about having a place for his coffee/espresso maker and other small appliances, perhaps in one area of the kitchen. Sort of an appliance "center."

Then, I received an email from the client saying he would like a built in coffee maker system. Shortly after, he said, "oh, let's just put a pot on the counter, that's good enough." I then realized that I had not told him the concept behind the built in coffee maker.

It's about convenience. Convenience is nice. It means always having a cup of coffee when you are ready. 

Here are the reasons why one may want to consider a built in coffee maker appliance:

• convenience - always ready for one cup

• time saver - no more multiple steps of prep/clean up for one or two cups
  

• infrequent water filling, if at all (tank or plumbed)

• fast response, rather than waiting for the whole pot

• choice of different coffees and grinds

• no coffee wasted by making more than you need

• may select specific amount for a small or large coffee cup

Here is more information from The Appliancist on coffee maker systems. It has good information for comparative purposes.

 
You may read that the coffee maker system will "declutter" your countertops. I'm not so sure of that. The reason is, these appliances are fairly large in width, often 24". Now, space has to be found in the kitchen design, another challenge, which usually eliminates counter space and storage and has a large impact on cabinetry and the entire design.

In our house, the coffee addict (my husband) has, for now, found his solution. The one cup Tassimo. Can this $100 coffee maker compete with these gorgeous appliances in terms of taste? I'm sure the answer is no, especially, as most of the built in appliances grind the coffee beans to taste. So, there is convenience in the countertop one-cup models. The question then becomes, "at what price, taste??" (Shhhhh....don't remind my husband these appliances are available!)

Would you like one of these?