RoundAbout San Diego

After a hard day of construction work (see previous entry - Hallway Bathroom Remodel - Day 1) I just wanted to relax with a good meal and some chilled wine. I had planned on making Grilled Lemon Chicken with Moraccan Couscous Salad but instead marinated the chicken in chipotle grill sauce from Trader Joe's and just made the couscous salad to go with it.

I used whole wheat couscous, shredded the carrots, used a lime instead of lemon, and had only about 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro left. It turned out really well and the colors looked so pretty.

Moroccan Couscous Salad

2 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 10-ounce box plain couscous
1/2 cup raisins
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
1 large carrot, peeled, quartered lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
1 cup thinly sliced green beans or trimmed sugar snap peas
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup (loosely packed) chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds (optional)

Bring chicken broth, 1 tablespoon oil, ginger, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, turmeric, cinnamon, and cumin to boil in heavy large saucepan. Stir in couscous and remove from heat. Scatter raisins over, cover, and let stand until couscous softens, about 10 minutes. Fluff couscous with fork, breaking up any lumps with fingertips. Transfer couscous to large bowl. Add cucumber, red bell pepper, carrot, green beans, and lemon peel. Whisk remaining 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and lemon juice in small bowl. Add to couscous; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving. Stir in cilantro and sprinkle with toasted almonds if using.

The original plan was to remodel the kitchen first, then the master bath, and finally the hallway bathroom. But one issue after another kept pushing the plans back and we were getting a little frustrated with the delays.

On the spur of the moment we decided to start with the hallway bathroom. So on Sunday, before we could change our minds, I removed the medicine cabinet, the drawers and doors from the sink unit, and the tile trim from the bottom of the walls. No turning back now.

The bathroom has most of the original fixtures from 1940 and although I think it adds character to the house everything is so old and dingy that we just wanted to update it all. Note the interesting color scheme - gold/yellow walls, bright green ceiling and cabinet doors/drawers. The yellow/burgundy tiles are original as is the bathtub and sink/sink unit. We're going to keep the bathtub but get rid of everything else down to the studs. Alex will rewire the whole bathroom and then we will start putting together an inviting guest bathroom.





Then there is the big crack in the floor and flaking wall.



Day 1 of our latest project got off to a good start. We removed the sink cabinet and the adjoining wall. Alex did most of the wall removal (although I did swing the hammer a few times) and I filled the buckets with the trash and lugged them out to the back driveway. I wish I had been wearing my pedometer - I'm sure I racked up over 1 million steps.

At the end of the day this is the status of our bathroom remodel. I was hoping to get a bit more done but it was harder going than we thought it would be.

A disappointing day as far as the hallway bathroom remodel goes. We started with the demolition but quickly realized we had the wrong equipment. After doing some research and talking to Klaus (Alex's Dad) we went to Home Depot and Lowe's to pick up various items. By the time we got back it was too late to do much. We had an early happy hour at the top of the garden with some gin and tonics and a yogurt dip with some whole wheat crackers.

For dinner I decided on these spicy turkey burgers. They were delicious. I didn't have any chipotle-flavored hot sauce so I just used chipotle grill sauce from Trader Joe's which did not give the spicyness I was expecting. For the salsa I used Trader Joe's peach salsa sold in jars.

Spicy Turkey Burgers

1 1/4 pounds lean ground turkey
1 cup mild salsa, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 tablespoon chipotle-flavored hot sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 crusty rolls, halved horizontally, toasted if desired
4 lettuce leaves

Mix ground turkey, 1/2 cup salsa, shallots, cilantro, 3 tablespoons oil, hot sauce, cumin, salt, and pepper in large bowl. Shape turkey mixture into four 3 1/2- to 4-inch-diameter patties.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add burgers; cook until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Reduce heat to low. Sauté until burgers are cooked through, about 4 minutes, turning occasionally.

Arrange roll bottoms on 4 plates. Place lettuce, then burgers on roll bottoms. Top each burger with 2 tablespoons of remaining salsa, then roll tops.

Today Alex and I decided to go with a designer from Home Expo to help us out with the master bathroom. They offer a great deal and are very reasonably priced. Everytime we chose a cabinet or a counter top it didn't go well with the rest of the room and we (me, Alex is a lot more accepting of various options than I am) were so tired of traipsing around the various stores looking and trying to furnish our bathroom. You'd think that with all the HGTV shows I watch this would be easy for me. Not so! Anyway, a huge relief for me and our reward for making a positive decision was to go home and eat and drink.

Below is the recipe we started with for our dinner. The changes I made were as follows: I used a ham steak instead of pancetta, cut into little cubes and browned as in recipe. After transferring ham to plate I added a 1/2 onion, chopped, and carmelized in a bit of butter. Just before turning off heat I added 2 cloves crushed garlic and stirred until fragrant. Then added 1/2 cup white wine to deglaze. Everything else I followed exactly tossing in my additions at the end.

Lemon Fettuccine with Broccoli and Pancetta "Croutons"

4 ounces 1/4- to 1/3- inch-thick slices pancetta (Italian bacon) or thick-cut bacon slices, cut into 1/4- to1/3-inch cubes
5 1/2 cups 1-inch broccoli florets (from 1 pound broccoli crowns)
9 ounces fresh or dried fettuccine
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Sauté pancetta in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat until almost crisp and brown. Transfer to paper towels.

Cook broccoli in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender but still bright green, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer broccoli to medium bowl. Add pasta to same boiling water; cook until tender, stirring occasionally.

Drain pasta; return to same pot. Add next 5 ingredients. Toss over low heat to coat. Add pancetta, broccoli, and cheese; toss to blend. Season pasta with pepper. I served the pasta with golden garlic/herb bread.

The unsightly 40-gallon water heater was removed today and a tankless water heater installed. Many thanks to Bill Howe Plumbing who sent over Brandon to do the job. It took him 2 days to finish but the end result is incredible. We went from this



to this.





It's so compact and produces unlimited hot water to the whole house. It does take a couple of extra seconds for the hot water to reach the guest bathroom but in the end this works out best for us.

The empty spot left by the removal of the old water heater will have to stay like this for a while. When we start working on the kitchen later this year we plan on installing a pocket door through to the bedroom.

Fred and Ginger are our backyard doves-in-residence. Soon after we moved in we hung up our bird feeder but didn't really do much with it. I would occasionally give the local wildlife some breadcrumbs but didn't get much appreciation from them. I started putting in bird feed but not on a regular basis until I noticed these doves kept coming back for more. I don't know if they are the same doves that have been around for 3-4 years but no matter because we now call all doves Fred and Ginger

We recently had a new front door and storm door installed and I just finished painting the door to match the trim around the house. The storm door creates a great sound barrier to the main road. We've also planted horsetails along the front planter area creating a very clean, minimalist look that I love.

Hope you've all had a great July 4th. A short while ago Alex and I climbed up on our roof hoping to see some fireworks in the distance but it was a little foggy out there so we didn't see much. Over a hill in the distance we did see a few starbursts in red, white and blue that I ooood and aaaad over.

We spent part of the day doing some yard work but mostly just hung out and read while enjoying the weather. For dinner I prepared what I consider an all-American July 4th meal. We had ribs, potato salad, baked beans, grilled corn-on-the-cob, and apple and rum/raisin crisp with ice-cream for dessert. The rib recipe is from Stonewall Kitchen, a great resource for various gourmet items. The other recipes are all from Epicurious.com which is probably my favorite page when looking for a recipe.

Maple Chipotle Baby Back Ribs

4 racks of baby back ribs
3 cans of Guinness beer
1 1/2 gallons of water (more if needed)
3 Tbsp. Stonewall Kitchen Spice Rub for Steak & Barbecue
1 bottle Stonewall Kitchen Maple Chipotle Grille Sauce

In a large stock pot bring beer, water and spice rub to a boil and stir.
Cut each rack of ribs in half and place in boiling liquid. Be certain all ribs are submerged (add more water if necessary).
Boil for 1 1/2 hours partially covered.
Remove ribs onto a cookie sheet and generously coat with Maple Chipotle Grille Sauce. (You can prep to this point hours in advance).
Finish ribs off on a medium hot grill.
Ribs can also be finished in the oven at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes.

Potato Salad with Garlic Mayonnaise and Chives

2 pounds small boiling potatoes (about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter)
3 garlic cloves, minced and mashed to a paste with 1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice plus additional to taste if desired
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon hot water
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

In a large saucepan combine potatoes with salted water to cover by 1 inch and simmer until just tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain potatoes and cool until they can be handled.
While potatoes are cooling, in a large bowl whisk together garlic paste, 3 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice, mayonnaise, and hot water.

Peel potatoes and cut in half. Add potatoes and chives to dressing and toss well. Season salad with additional lemon juice and salt and pepper. Salad may be made 1 day ahead and kept chilled, covered. Before serving, toss salad with 1 to 2 tablespoons water to moisten dressing.

Serve salad at room temperature.

Baked Beans with Bacon and Brown Sugar

1 (14- to 15-oz) can crushed tomatoes in thick purée
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 (19-oz) cans small white beans, rinsed and drained (4 cups)
1 medium onion, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
6 bacon slices (1/4 lb)

Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.
Stir together tomatoes, brown sugar, mustard, and salt in a bowl. Gently stir in beans and transfer to a 2-quart shallow baking dish.

Arrange onion slices in 1 layer over beans, then cover onion with bacon.

Bake, uncovered, until bacon is browned and beans have absorbed most of liquid, about 1 1/4 hours.

I did make a few changes to the above recipe. I added some chipotle grill sauce (Trader Joe's) to the mixture to spice it up a bit. I also sauteed the onions and stirred into the bean mix instead of putting them raw on top. This was a pretty good recipe for baked beans.

Corn-on-the-cob

Shucked some white corn cobs. Rubbed with butter and wrapped in foil. Put on the grill for about 7 minutes turning every now and again.

Apple and Quince Crisp with Rum Raisins

Rum Raisins:
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 cup dark rum

Crisp Topping:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:
4 cups water
3 1/2 cups sugar, divided
2 pounds quinces (about 5 medium), peeled, quartered, cored
4 large Gala apples, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

For rum raisins:
Simmer raisins and rum in small saucepan 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Ignite with match; let flames burn out, about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer 2 tablespoons liquid to small bowl for crisp topping.

For crisp topping:
Melt butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer until butter is golden brown, about 6 minutes. Cool.

Mix flour, sugar, nutmeg, and salt in medium bowl. Add browned butter and 2 tablespoons reserved liquid from rum raisins; stir until moist clumps form. DO AHEAD: Raisins and topping can be made 1 day ahead. Cover each; chill.

For filling:
Combine 4 cups water and 3 cups sugar in large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add quinces; simmer until tender, 15 minutes. Remove from syrup; cool. Reserve syrup for another use. Cut quinces into 1-inch cubes. Transfer to large bowl. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Add apples, lemon juice, flour, salt, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and rum raisin mixture to bowl with quinces; toss to blend. Transfer to baking dish. Crumble topping over.

Bake apple and quince crisp until golden and bubbling, about 55 minutes. Cool at least 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with softly whipped cream or ice cream.

The only change I made was to use 7 apples and not use the quince.

This was a huge meal and we suffered greatly when it was over. I had originally planned to invite people over but when I remembered they were out of town I decided that there was no reason to not have the meal. We ended up eating leftovers for days but everything seemed to just get better and better so it turned out to be a good time anyway.