Sunday, January 17, 2010

"The 'Cupboards are Bare' Giveaway"

This is what our kitchen......looks like now. We live in this room and have wanted to remodel for years.


We've got lots
of space.
And pretty
good light
through the
windows but
the cabinets
really darken
the room.



Plus...


Some of the cabinets...like this weird one in the corner...are
designed so poorly it's so tough to get anything in or out at all.


We're going to keep the brick work. That's my favorite part of the kitchen. And our oven is fairly new so we'll keep that.










But the microwave's got to go. Can you see the crack in the picture on the right. That can't be good. I hate to think of the radiation leaking out of that think.

If you've been following along, you know we've been counting down to construction, which starts tomorrow. And giving away cool stuff along the way. Today the grand prize giveaway.
And it begins with a rhyme:

The cupboards are bare
not a thing is left in them...
...Except a little brown dog
doing last minute sniffin'.


I packed up my pans
I packed up my pots.
I know in my heart
I will miss them a lot.


I packed every herb
I packed every spice.
I packed all the extracts,
that make my pastries taste nice.



In a box go my tools
for making cookies and pies...

Oh, and here making boxes
is my favorite guy.



So long to bay leaves, to fresh nutmeg,
And cinnamon sticks
Pepper, curries and saffron,
What are your favorite picks?

A question about flavors
I feel a giveaway coming on.
I'm just not sure how much longer
This rhyme can go on.

Let's see...


I picked up this Dutch oven
That's pretty and blue
And I really would love
to give it to you.

For stews and for pot roast
there's no better pot.
You can braise, you can sear
You can roast and what not.

No kitchen's complete without
a Dutch oven.
And now you can have one
If you are spice lovin'.

So, what is your pleasure
sage, rosemary or thyme?
Tell me your favorite flavor or seasoning
you don't have to rhyme.

Leave your comments right here
the same old rules apply.
If I don't get lots of takers
I'll just sit down and cry.

The contest expires
on Friday at noon.
Just think what you could do
with this pot and a spoon

And a nice cut of beef
and an onion or two.
And a carrot and garlic
oh, I'm starting to drool.
GOOD LUCK!!! CONTEST EXPIRES FRIDAY AT 5 PM CST
post signature












40 comments:

  1. Garlic! Put in in almost every recipe except cookies! Good luck with the remodel! Can't wait to see the pictures!

    Patty in TX

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  2. Look forward to seeing the progress of your kitchen remodel.

    One of my favorite spices is mint. I use it in my homemade spaghetti and meatballs. It gives a great flavor!

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  3. Well one can always use a big pot to cook in. It looks devine!

    My favorite spice is fresh garlic. I try to put it in everything. I also love rosemary on a good roast.

    We remodeled our kitchen 8 yrs ago about this time of year. Good time to get a contractor when things slow down for them in winter. We lived in our basement for about 3 weeks. It was well worth it. Good luck with your renovation. I look forward to progress photos.

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  4. Oh dear, oh my!
    Have you been reading my mind?
    I've longed for a Dutch oven
    For quite a long time!

    Cloves and nutmeg
    are a couple of my favs.
    But if I had to pick one
    Cinnamon makes me rave!

    It's good in nearly everything
    Cakes, bread and don't forget the cookie.
    I've even been known
    To add it to my coffee.

    That Dutch oven
    Would look smashing in my kitchen.
    And the meals I could prepare with it?
    There are too many to mention!

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  5. Oh Garlic is our best friend at home. We put it in everything, and house always smells so wonderful.

    I can't wait to follow the remodel! Please tell me you are going to post update pictures!

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  6. Wish I was a poet as well as you and the wonderful response prose of Nicole but sadly am not - you don't want to hear me sing either :)

    It will be so exciting to follow the progress of your kitchen remodel and I do hope you show the steps in photos. Did you have to set up a temp kitchen in another room to rough it for a while? I LOVE your wall of windows in the kitchen - but they do "tell" you took those shots in the summer :)

    Looking forward to following the progress and yes, I would love to win the beautiful blue dutch oven!

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  7. OH a dutch oven would splendid to make my potato soup in!

    My favorite spice is cinnamon, I am a baker at heart and I LOVE making things with cinnamon in them!

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  8. So excited to see what is being done with your kitchen! Can't wait to see it when it is finished!!!

    I use fresh garlic or spike in almost anything I make!

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  9. A dutch oven giveaway!? Amazing!

    It's a good thing we don't have to rhyme! I'm terrible at it! =)

    One of my favorite parts of our last move was unpacking our spices. We use curry a lot.

    But for baking my favorites are cinn. cloves and nutmeg. They are great in my pumpkin bread!

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  10. Cayenne Pepper! But this is quite mean of you to make me pick just one...we sure love seasonings around here! Hope your remodeling goes very quickly and you're back to cooking again soon.

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  11. Oh my, oh my, oh my. That is a BEAUTIFUL dutch oven ... I can't believe you are giving it away!!! Especially in light of the remodel going on at your house.

    I love basil. I think it adds a great deal to any pasta dish. I also love to throw some in while cooking green beans. I also love fresh mint ... regular and chocolate mint. Mmmm .... Now that I'm out of an apartment and in my first home, I'm looking forward to growing an herb garden this spring! :)

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  12. Can't wait to see pictures of your new kitchen. We redid our cabinets, counters and sink a few weeks ago and I remember washing dishes in the mudroom sink!

    My new favorite spice is freshly grated nutmeg!

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  13. We really like garlic in our house. My brother-in-law is from Egypt and taught me to make an Egyptian dish. LOTS OF ONION AND GARLIC!!! YUM.

    Can't wait to see pictures of the remodel!! YAY for you. Hope it goes quickly.

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  14. So exciting about the remodel!!

    So my last name is Dutch...it means "cheese" that has to earn me big points in this! :)

    I LOVE garlic and basil!

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  15. Nicole,
    Rock on, you poet.

    Harmonysong,
    I love learning what Dutch names mean. They all mean something. But cheese...that's a new one. I love it. Mine means 'from the town of Pilsum. I actually visited the tiny town a number of years ago. The folks there thought it was very cool that my last name bore the name of their town.

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  16. I love garlic!! I could put it almost anything I make! I also love cooking with cilantro!

    And my dads recipe for beef stew would be perfect for the dutch oven!!

    Good luck with the remodel. Looking forward to seeing pics.

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  17. A dutch oven
    I would love to win
    To say that I wouldn't
    would be a sin

    Sage has to be
    My favorite spice
    especially in my stuffing
    The flavor is quite nice

    But, I like garlic too
    It is great for the heart
    You have a big one
    that sets you a part

    So, thank you for giving
    me this chance to win
    a roast would be yummy
    for all of my Kin.

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  18. Awesome, Jeffrey! Another poet. I love it.

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  19. Lemon Pepper! I love it on chicken or salmon! I asked for a dutch oven for christmas, but I guess no one thought it was exciting enough to get me! So I'd LOVE to win this!!! It will help my chili making efforts:)

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  20. I have recently discovered basil and cilantro ( yeah, I was pretty boring before) and love them. I love the way they smell when I'm cutting them and they way my hands smell after. I also love almond extract and put it in the awesome sugar cookie recipe I got from a friend. My bunny-girl hates almond flavoring, so that just means more cookies for mama! I would love to have a dutch oven to make my grandma's beef stew in, I bet it would make it taste just like hers! Please post pictures of the progress of the new kitchen. I like to remodel vicariously (since I can't do it myself!)

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  21. My fave would be almond Extract. It smells sooo good. When my great grandparents were courting, my great grandma would dab a bit of it behind her ears. I think that is so sweet! Guess it worked, they had 10 children and were married till he passed away several years ago.

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  22. We use lots of fresh herbs...well not 'we' i guess. my hubby does all of the cooking and he has wished for a dutch oven for almost a year. It seems there is always something else to by first. He also has his own concoction of spices that he bottles...so we use that on lots of our meats!

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  23. Oh, a Dutch oven so pretty and blue;
    I would love to win too!
    When your remodel is done,
    You’ll have a lot of fun.
    Add a little ITALIAN SEASONING when you cook,
    And your family will give your recipe a second look!

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  24. I LOVE cumin and adobo :) Good luck with the remodel :)

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  25. I love my Dutch Oven. It is great for keeping things warm when you have to eat in shifts. My favorite herb is cilantro. Although I do not get to eat it much because my husband does not like it. Sometimes he has not choice.

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  26. Same goes at my house. I love cilantro. My husband does not. It seems like it's a guy thing with a lot of couples I know.

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  27. I have always wanted a Dutch Oven, but have never had one!!! :)

    As far as spice...or flavor...mine would be DILL!! In fact, my entire family and close friends ALWAYS ask (no matter what I'm cooking) if I put dill in it?!?! Now it's just become a standing joke. :) I don't remember when I first starting using dill, but I've pretty much mastered knowing how and when to use it. I even got my brother-in-law to start liking it, which in turn has prompted my sis to start cooking with it!!!

    I also love fresh garlic and onions. I know, I know...more than one! SORRY ~ I'm just a BIG cook and LOVE fun ingredients/spices/flavors!

    Looking forward to seeing your new kitchen!

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  28. I love cilantro. My husband has simple tastes, so I've found that he needs more subtle flavors if I am going to get him to eat the dish. I can sneak in parsley, even celery seeds without him raising a brow. Don't even think about any garlic, though!

    Thanks for this giveaway - I would love to win. My sister and I were just talking at Thanksgiving about dutch ovens, and I'm now seeing so many uses for one that I would love to win.

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  29. I think my favorite spice is all spice. It has such a wonderful flavor.

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  30. I love herbs and spices. I would have to say garlic is the one I use most often. I love onions, too. I would love to win this dutch oven, especially since the baking part of my oven is not working at the moment!

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  31. Another garlic lover here! I couldn't get along with it.

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  32. I love to use lemon/garlic seasoning with chicken dishes espeically! i would love a dutch oven! have never had one before but that pot roast you made looks heavenly!!!!

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  33. Have fun with the remodel! We remodeled our kitchen a year ago. We love it!
    I could really use that dutch oven! And my pots are blue! Perfect!
    I love to bake and I love the smell of cinnamon.

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  34. Garlic! My garlic press is rarely clean I use it almost daily.

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  35. What a wonderful giveaway Trish! Hmm, I don't have a favorite really, but I think I'll have to agree with a lot of people and say fresh garlic. Yumm-o.

    So good to see you tonight!

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  36. Goodluck with the remodel. I'm currently replacing my 40 year old stove that just went kaput. I'm looking forward to cooking again. I wrote a haiku about my favorite spices.

    Cinnamon, garlic.
    Both are good in their own way,
    But not together.

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  37. OMG. Haiku. Sooo clever. Your english teacher would be so proud. I love it.

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  38. Garlic and Vanilla, not necessarily together. I have seen Garlic ice cream, though! Hmmmmm :)

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  39. lol LOVED your poem!! How creative are you? You should be on TV or somethin'. :)

    I would LOVE a dutch oven!

    God bless-
    Amanda

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  40. Oh wow, that blue matches my kitchen, so I must, must, triple must win this. LOL. My favorite spice is ground mustard. I try to sneak it into everything I cook. You really can't taste it, but since everything I cook turns out so delicious, it must be the secret ground mustard, right?

    Thanks for the opportunity to enter my name.

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