3 posts from June 2009

OK. I know you all don't read my blog to marvel at a picture of my husband's dirty feet . . . or a dirty floor. BUT that dirty floor just happens to belong to our beloved kitchen. Shortly after this photo was taken, we tidied up a bit . . . vacuumed, mopped, etc. . . . and for the first time ever enjoyed cooking in our carpet-less kitchen.

That's right! Our kitchen was carpeted by the previous owner. When we bought the house last June, we had grand plans to gut the little room (which is only about a 10' x 11') -- foremost on the to-do list was hard-surface flooring. Here's a glamor shot of the old, low-pile carpet that was impossible to clean, ??? years old, and probably full of funk, gunk, and countless allergens.


Sexy. Now, here's a shot of what was beneath all this . . . (the carpet was glued to ancient vinyl flooring, which we lifted up to expose a smoother, less-sticky underlay).

Initially, we wanted to replace this mess with hardwood or tile. We also wanted to buy new cabinets. New countertops. Oh yeah, and a sink, etc. We wanted a lot of things, really. I have a food blog, for goodness sake! Kitchens are important! So, we planned to start this work this summer . . . paying for it all with my teacher-husband-camp director extraordinaire's summer money. Enter swine flu -- which canceled his camp geared toward Tiwanese exchance stduents -- and we're not doing so well, at least not renovate-your-entire-kitchen well, financially right now.

Plan B: We prioritized. The carpet just HAD to go -- and ASAP. But we didn't want to spend lots of money installing a temporary hardwood or expensive tile floor (because we do need new cabinets when we can afford them). We've used some of those vinyl flooring tiles in our tiny bathroom, so my first idea was to find two colors of that (thinking like a beige and lighted beige . . . or just two variations, slightly, slightly different colors) and create a subdued checkerboard style -- with class.

When we got to Home Depot, we discovered a product that still blows my mind: Trafficmaster Allure Resilient Flooring. It's vinyl plank flooring that looks like wood (or tile). Now, I'm as skeptical and picky as all get out, but honestly . . . there are several "wood-types" in their collection that can trick even a discerning eye like mine. Not all are created equally, so if you go and check it out, keep this in mind (yes, some look very tacky, I'm sorry to say). We decided to go with the Hickory color, because it was relatively close to the other real wood floors in our house. Planks come in boxes that cover 24 square feet, and each square foot is only $1.99! We snatched six (heavy!) boxes, changed into our working clothes, and spent the next six hours on the floor.



Result: It was the perfect solution for our temporary flooring needs (I see us keeping this down for maybe 2-3 years), it looks GREAT (see photos below), it's extremely water (dropped eggs, milk, random sauces, etc.) resistant, and it was easy to install! The tricky part was finding a good staggering effect, but thanks to some crafty internet searching -- we went with 1st plank was full length, 2nd was 2/3 length, third was 1/2 length, fourth was 1/3 length, then back to the full length, and so on.

Now all we have left to do is install quarter round, buy some new window treatments, and a few other small things to spiff up the place. And we're off to do all of that now.

Here's one last before photo:

And some pretty afters!

<3

VEGAN BANANA CAKE

What you'll need . . .

• 1/2 cup vegan butter (I like Earth Balance), softened
• 1/2 cup raw sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 medium bananas
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1 and 1/2 cup wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup instant oats
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• (soy milk, if batter is too dry)

Method . . .

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch square pan (I used a glass one).
2. Cream sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.
3. Add bananas, applesauce, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
4. Add flour, oats, cornmeal, and baking powder. Mix. Add soy milk if batter is too dry.
5. Pour mixture into the pan . . . and then bake for 35 to 40 minutes (until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out dry).
6. Let cool completely before frosting (also, I cut mine in half to make a layer cake).

CHOCOLATE FROSTING

What you'll need . . .

• 6 tablespoons vegan butter (Earth Balance)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups vegan confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup soy milk (or your favorite non-dairy substitute -- I think it'd be interesting to try coconut milk)

Method . . .

1. Cream the butter and vanilla together with an electric mixer on low to medium speed.
2. In a separate (large) bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder with a whisk.
3. Add dry ingredients to the wet until fully integrated. Slowly add the soy milk to the mix until you have reached the desired consistency. (I found that I thought I'd added too much milk . . . because the frosting was dense and heavy . . . but actually I needed to add a few more splashes, and it turned out fine. Just add the milk s-l-o-w-l-y.)
4. Spread onto cake -- and I added some walnuts to my middle layer.
   

Have a lovely Tuesday!