That’s life chez nous these days.
More time was spent this last week unpacking, rearranging, repacking, and rearranging again than actually getting anything substantial accomplished.
But there were some milestones:
You may admire the mirror and new towel rack – but please take note of the handle on the door….
It’s finally out of the box!!
Remember when one operated ovens by turning them on and setting a temperature?
Now the manufacturers, apparently, think that, first, I’m an idiot, and second that I want my oven to do everything, including the ironing. (That would be nice….)
It was easier to find out how to put in a frozen chicken in the morning and have it perfectly done by evening than it was to figure out how to set the damn clock! I still don’t know how to set the timer. But I know how to set it for ‘frozen chicken’!
Remember this photo from Vlad’s house?
Is it possible that I overcompensated?
I love this! It heats up faster than the gas cook top I’ve been using for the past 4 months, and I can get it low enough to melt chocolate! I’m in kitchen heaven!
We tried out the wallpaper, and if I only look at part of the wall I can pretend the kitchen is done.
That is my ‘giant spice rack’, aka: the pantry. The shelves are not very deep so I can see everything.
Enchiladas, anyone?
This was how I was cooking the first couple of nights, until mon mari took pity on me, got the tractor out and unburied my center island.
I cleaned and oiled it…. Now I’m afraid to cut on it…. It’s so pretty.
And my pot rack got hung above it last night. (To ma belle soeur in Kona: make sure Zman sees this….)
Now…
The enchiladas…
I made these before the cook top was wired so, in my version, there is no sautéed onion or garlic and I made the sauce, as best I could, using my electric kettle and the micro. I will not bore you with those methods.
Do as I say; not as I do!
Tuna and White Bean Enchiladas
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp olive oil
4oz (125gr) pimiento
4oz (125gr) green chilies
9oz (270gr) tuna
15oz (450gr) white beans (cannellini)
1 cup shredded cheese – divided
1/2 cup green olives – pimento stuffed
2 cups chicken stock
3 tbs cornstarch (maizena) dissolved in 3 tbs chicken stock
1/2 cup (4oz, 125ml) Greek or plain yogurt or sour cream
4 corn or wheat tortillas
Chop onion, mince garlic. Drain chilies, pimiento, and tuna. Drain and rinse beans.
Chop chilies if whole. Slice pimiento. Slice olives.
Heat oil in medium nonstick skillet. Add onion, garlic and sauté until tender, 5 – 7 minutes. Remove from heat. and put into a large bowl. Add green chilies, tuna and white beans.
Heat chicken stock to boiling. Dissolve cornstarch in chicken stock. Stir cornstarch into simmering broth to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in yogurt.
Put 1/2 cup of the sauce into a baking dish large enough to hold 4 enchiladas.
Add 1/2 cup of the sauce and 1/2 cup of the cheese to the tuna mixture. Divide the tuna mixture into fourths.
Lay 1/4 of the pimiento slices on each tortilla. Spoon 1/4 of the tuna/bean mixture on top and roll up. Place seam side down on the sauce in the baking dish. Pour the rest of the sauce over the finished enchiladas, sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese and the olives. Bake at 375F (190C) for 20 minutes, until heated through and cheese is bubbly.
Mine were good, these would be better.
Sorry about the photo – I had to hold the plate in one hand, stand under a bare light bulb, and snap the pic with the other… After a couple glasses of wine. You did notice the wine in the ‘prep area’ didn’t you?
Did I mention that I don’t have any running water in my kitchen yet?
Cheers
Huge, I say, HUGE progress! I’m truly impressed! You talk a lot about what ton mari does to fix the house – what do you do while he’s doing that? Supervise? Get out your tool kit and help out? What?
Very impressive indeed! And a beautiful new oven. I can’t wait to see what you do with it.
Your pantry is beautiful! This is going to be a lovely space for you to work in.
Things are coming along nicely. You will soon have an oven to bake some wonderful treats you may have been missing:D
Your kitchen will be amazing when it is done! What a wonderful space in which to cook! I love your giant serving platters in the photo of your kitchen before you got your island…
You are really coming along there! It seems quick now.
Love the bathroom – complete with handle!
Your enchiladas look tasty, I like the tuna in them.
I am very familiar with the handheld shots after a few glasses of wine..
Ah Katie…a girl after my own heart! I would almost rather have a glass of wine WHILE I am preparing dinner than with the dinner itself. Almost. Actually, I want one glass whilst preparing and one while eating!
Kitchen is coming along nicely. And thank God for the handle on the bathroom door!
I would never have believed it without the photo! You are going to have a kitchen you can actually cook in AND it’s going to be dreamy looking too! Katie there really is promise here!!
Hi Katie Opened up your blog put it on hold and ran to get my coffee so I could relax and catch up on your Trials and Tribulations and the Wonderful Successes.
So near eh?
Hope it is not still too cold. It is so warm here we’re loving. it.
Cheers
Katie, you are amazing! I love what’s happening to the house! What an incredible transformation… and believe me, I understand what it takes to make this happen. I’ve been through it.
Your take on enchiladas is fascinating. I never thought of tuna enchiladas, but these are intriguing.
Hand held under a bare light bulb after a glass of wine? If I tried that, you’d only see a blur! (My lens isn’t very fast).
Katie, Love the kitchen so far. I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with cabinets etc. This is such a wonderful evolving story and so glad you are sharing it with us.
Watching this renovation has been really thrilling! One day we will have to remodel our own house, and this is very inspiring.
I guess this is a very thrilling AND tiring time of your life! I am very excited to see what you’ll be cooking on that gorgeous stove …
I have a magnet on my fridge that says: “I like to cook with wine…sometimes I even put it in the food.”
It looks like things are shaping up around there. I love that pot rack…and I think I’ll make those enchiladas for supper.
Back to say that I made your enchiladas for lunch…absolutely excellent!
Zoomie, I sit on my throne and dictate. Sometimes, I scrub and scour and strip wallpaper and grout and lay tiles and unpack and organize and draw plans and do laundry and cook…. but not often.
Ruth, me too! As soon as I figure out how to use it.
Lulu, I’ll tell mon mari – he’s made a few for our friends, too.
Thanks, Val, yes, there is progress!
Henhouse, thanks, I can see it in my mind’s eye…
Cindy, that’s how it’s supposed to work… 1 cooking, 1 eating…. and sometimes 1 for after… (I’m so bad!)
Tanna, isn’t photo shop fantastic ;-))
Natashya, one can get to be, um, too creative with the help of the wine…
Hi Gilli, so near and yet… Yes, it’s warming up. and our house is warmer as well!
Toni, the enchiladas had to be made with out pre-cooking…. Thanks, I know you understand :-))
Penny, I have to get busy and get my cabinet drawings finished….
Perky Skeptic, you have my empathy…. for the remodel…
Gorel, isn’t it pretty!!!!
Meredith, woman after my own heart…. Glad you liked the enchiladas!!!
Just wanted to say that we tried your enchiladas last night–my French husband had never heard of them–and they were a real success! Thanks so much for the recipe and for inspiring me to try and broaden my husband’s culinary palette!
Erin, I’m so glad you liked them – and your hubs, too.
We are renovating our place too. It can be so frusutrating along the way, waiting for the job to be completed and fixing all those things that aren’t quite right. But at the end there is a real feeling of satisfaction and acheivement. Will be watching to see how it turns out. Good luck !