India is such a huge country, with such a diversity of cultures, races, ethnic origins, available ingredients, outside influences, historical events...basically such a diversity of everything, that the term "Indian Cuisine" shouldn't even be used, except in the broadest sense. To know that the British held sway in India for as long as they did, one can't really credit that cream was not adapted as a culinary ingredient. Even if it had been completely unknown prior to that era, which can hardly be the case in any culture where milk is utilized, it surely would have worked it's way into usage by now. Yogurt is much more common (which isn't surprising, considering the lack of refrigeration in a primarily warm country)of course, but I have seen quite a few recipes calling for cream. And, though considering the antiquity represented by the cuisines of India, I am but the merest novice (I've only been playing with it for about 10 years), I think I can trust myself to recognize recipes that have been re-written for the non-Indian cook. Potatoes are quite the popular ingredient, used by many of the Indian peoples, both in meat dishes, vegetable dishes, and alone. In fact, one of the things I love about the use of the potato in India, is that with the creative and judicious use of spices, herbs and other vegetables, the potato as cooked by an Indian housewife can be the nutritious, healthy food that it so often isn't in Western cooking, by the time we lace it with butter, cream, or cheese as is so often our wont. Jessica, Indian cooking can be very healthy indeed! (Leaving out the tendency toward deep fried snack foods!) While many recipes call for ghee (a form of toasty, clarified butter), you needn't add it with a lavish hand as the flavor is quite rich and distinctive. In many recipes, you can substitute olive oil quite easily, if you prefer. The use of so many spices and herbs, and the various methods in which they are used lends such flavor to meats, vegetables and grains that the addition of copious amounts of fats or yet salt, becomes unnecessary. Naturally, there are those curries that include fatty coconut milk, but then, if you eat the way a person in India eats, you won't be eating a big bowl of it, but a small portion along with vegetables, legumes and grains. My love affair with the cuisines of India began with Dal. The lowly lentil, which was to my knowledge just something one made a pot of soup with sometimes, has been transformed into a magical food ingredient by the hands of Indian cooks. I have read that it is a rare meal in India that does not include some version of legume. What we classify as lentils, peas and beans are all, "dal." Dal can be served in soups, porridge, breads, crackers, chips, snack nibbles, fritters, used as a base for thick sauces, toasted into crunchy bits to add texture, as a base for curries and stews...gosh, I'm sure I've left some uses out. And they are so good for us! High in fiber, satisfyingly filling, cheap sources of protein, minerals and vitamins. Okay, enough of my raptures...:D Earlier in the thread, someone mentioned wanting a Southern Indian cook book? I've a wonderful book that introduced me to the Vegetarian cuisine of Southern India, a style of eating quite different from much of what we Westerners think of when we think Indian foods. The recipes are mostly excellent but I must caution that the use of hot chilies is quite lavish. I have been accused of having an "asbestos mouth" by friends, but still I cut back quite a bit on the number of green, hot chilies and dried peppers the recipes call for. I figure, I can always add some hot sauce at table if needs be. Here is a link that might be useful: Dakshin-vegetarian cuisine from south India

-Vanessa, thank you. I would also love to hear what you brought home with you! Did Glenn's enthusiasm for The Minnesota Mafia get you too? Lol. BTW...Did you see the kittens? OMG, I wanted to take the little blonde ones home! When you post your newbies, add Cabbage Patch too? I've been meaning to ask you how it's doing? Mine seemed "tame" last year. Yours? -BC, I said Hi to Glenn for you and he had a big grin on his face when he realized who it was I was referring to. Such a friendly and likeable fellow. :). I asked how he fertilizes and it's all granular, time release little green bb's! -Jerry, yes, ecstatic is a good description...about everything! I'm not sure how many he actually dug up for me (I was all over and everywhere) but it is standard practice for them to be potted up in new pots, and filled with a freshly mixed, lovely fluffy mixture that resembles my own! Mini Skirt was dug right up from a growing bed! I was very lucky to get it that day. Lets talk budget then, lol! I took a set amount in cash (more than I needed) and when my order was rung through, which included 4 more hostas than my list, I still had $ left over. i laughingly said, "I can't go home with this money, I brought it to buy hostas so... I need to get more hostas!" Two more hostas, a bit of fertilizer and I was efficiently shopped out, Lol - my job was done! So....Attach a box like Paula and her husband had, got on that bike, and head on over to Glenn's! There are many gorgeous hostas waiting for you! -NHL, thank you for that and yes, I'll be posting progress pics for sure. Golden Gate will get brighter, Beet Salad beefier, Jujen will finish unfurling as will its Mama .. and the list goes on... -Dave, Mickfields is enormous! Almost too large an assembly? it gives a totally different vibe, doesn't it? We have one or two that are huge, full nurseries (trees/shrubs/vines/perennials of all sorts) but have gone overboard, IMO on all kinds of extraneous non-gardening doo-dads, including clothing! and don't specialize in hostas but at least offer a broad enough selection. I prefer the home-based or family-run businesses/nurseries for the personal approach and display gardens. We need more like them. The hosta business has been booming for many years in North America. I don't think it will ever "go out of style". Regardless of what some say, the hosta business is a cash cow...but you have to love hostas a lot not to mind all the countless hours of work.

We did a custom height liquor drawer here, for those tall bottles. And placed it next to the refrigerator drawers, with the hutch above for the glassware. The custom island has pot and pan drawers facing the range, and the trash facing the sink. And a custom powder coated iron counter support system. The oven stack was custom, and placed the french door oven above a microwave drawer. The corner drawers are next to a custom sized tray base. There were some compromises for homeowner preferences, but for the whole, the project turned out well because the homeowner was open to listening to ideas to improve the layout. Your layout has room for improvement that will make it easier to work in your kitchen. I would hope that you are open to all ideas, and not just about cabinet customizations.

I have a tremor, so can't use a pencil etc. I used Live Home 3D app to design my house. It worked out great. However..... I couldn't handle the 3D mode. I used 2D only. I also found that it helped at the very beginning just to use the rectangle/square tool (with a color for each room) to make rooms and then drag the rooms around, change sizes, etc. Once I got more or less what I wanted, I used the tools for wall thickness, etc. to fine tune. I used this tool also to figure out a layout for my kitchen, cabinet sizes, etc. If you do a lot of versions of your house in Live Home 3D, I would recommend creating new sheets (files) frequently. Rendering for design changes can be slow and bog you down: the fewer versions on one sheet, the better. IIRC I created a new file every 2 weeks or so. Once I had my plan more or less, I handed the plan over to the "designer", who put it in her CAD software, made corrections, did zoning compliance, inserted electric, etc.