sapphires, I don't even like bananas, I don't even eat banana bread, but I eat this cake. Ashley says it's her favorite, the best she's ever had and it is darned good. It was posted on the Cooking Forum by a former poster, J. Garner, who worked as a pastry chef. Banana Cake (Rose Levy BerenbaumÂs Cordon Rose Cake) Jgarner-Cooking Forum (good as layer cake, elegant, delicate texture) mix together: sifted cake flour 2 cups sugar 3/4 c + 2 Tbs baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp puree together: 2 large ripe bananas 1 c sour cream 2 Tbs or up to 1/2 c 2 large eggs 2 grated lemon zest 2 tsp (I left this out since I don't like the flavor of lemon with banana) vanilla 1-1/2 tsp soften: Butter 10 Tbs (5 oz) Add butter and half of pureed mixture to dry ingredients in stand mixer and mix at medium with paddle for 1-1/2 minutes. Scrape bowl and add rest of banana mixture in two batches, mixing 20 seconds after each addition. Pour into 9"x2" round pan (I just lined the bottom with parchment, no spray or butter) and bake at 350 F for 30 to 40 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in pan and then turn out onto rack to cool completely. Hint: Use smallest amount of sour cream and 3 bananas for more pronounced banana flavor Cream Cheese Icing Cream cheese, softened 8 oz. Butter, softened 5 TBS (2.5 oz) Sour cream 1 Tbs Vanilla extract 1/2 tsp. Rum 1 Tbs Powdered sugar 1 1/4 C (5 oz) Process (yeah, the food processor) or beat cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla until smooth. Add powdered sugar and pulse until smooth. Makes enough to frost the top of a 9x13 sheet cake. I used regular flour, because I never have cake flour, and it always comes out great. Annie

Johnliu, regarding the shared garage wall, there is a huge three door antique mahogany cabinet that is on that shared wall between the kitchen and garage that can't be moved. I use it as my pantry storage. The fridge would have to go in the very corner where the stove is now and would only be able to be recessed about 6 inches back to allow for the interior access door to the garage to still open fully and I'm not sure that it would be worth cutting into the wall like that although it would stop the fridge from sticking out so far and that's a good thing. Remodelfla, do you think it it easier to access the full susan rather than the blind corner? The blind corner would allow the sink to be more under the window and would give me about an extra 12 inches on that wall to put towards something (blind 39x24 or corner susan 36x36). I was going to get the fancy pull out for the half susan and keep my pots and pans there. I see that some corner susans come in 33x33 but the door opening is about 3 inches smaller and this may not work so easily for the skillet or dutch oven? I see that you have your smaller appliances in there - do you also store the pots and pans in there? I don't think I have many accessories: the food processor (basement - rarely used, this is probably why), KA stand mixer (basement - brought up for the holidays and kept on top of the fridge) and a toaster (top of fridge) but when I want to use it I have to unplug the coffee maker to make toast. It would be nice to have a place for these in the actual kitchen but I have to be realistic about the footprint I have to work with, don't I? Mnerg, I don't know why I am struggling so much with the thought of an 18 in dw. I know I want a DW and when I went to see an 18 next to a 24, my thoughts were not much difference, most visible on top with one less row for cups, glasses or small dishes but we seem to use so many more glasses during the day than actual dishes! And thank you for the comment about the best stretch of counter space - that did not occur to me but makes great sense - you open the fridge, close the fridge and you are done. The stove is in constant use while cooking and having more than just that 18 in between the sink and stove on the outside wall may not be enough and is actually a throwback to my parent's kitchen growing up - my mother's kitchen was an L and big enough for a table with 4 chairs but on the short L she only had the wall, the stove, 6 inches of counter, the sink and then the blind corner with a stack of drawers, the 24 in dw, then the fridge and a small pantry. She always complained about lack of counterspace when cooking. Personally I don't think she needed to squeeze a table in there but that's what she wanted. Thank you everyone for taking the time to post. I appreciate your comments.

Ruttiger This plant, Portulacaria afra, is not jade. Ppl refer to it as mini jade, baby jade and similar, but it is not jade - different family and genus. There should be nothing wrong with pruning roots if done correctly - as Bonsai experts do, in order to keep it in small container. That is how plants are manipulated if one to want grow Bonsai. If that's what you want to grow it like, it may be best to read and learn Bonsai techniques, IMO. This plant will grow relatively slowly in containers, and will probably stay quite small. They will grow larger in ground. Maybe you didn't water it enough (possibility, but can't tell from photo). Mine will loose leaves if I don't water it - I almost killed it some time ago by keeping it too dry. Or it could have been overwatered. Soil visible in the photo may not be draining well. Can you tell what it is like? Perhaps contains sand? Not that good for containers. You could use soil with lots of perlite to improve drainage. I use gritty, inorganic mix or all my succulents, and keep them outside where they get lots of sunshine, until late Fall. Mix drains very well, and they get rained on. I have taken quite a few cuttings, and they look much better outside. I don't do any trimming/pruning - they keep pretty decent shape. This one, grown from cutting, is in similar pot used for Bonsai:

Italian meringue buttercream is a bit more work than the decorator icing above but the texture is silky smooth and because it is made with only butter it is perfect to eat. The process is to combine sugar and water over medium heat until every sugar crystal is dissolved. Then increase heat to high and cook to a temp of 230. If you don't have a thermometer to check the temp you can do it the old fashioned way by dropping a bit from a spoon into ice water and checking to see if it gloms together in a soft ball that you can grasp with your fingertips. Meanwhile beat egg whites in a stand mixer until soft peaks and still shiny. When the sugar syrup is at the proper temp, pour it over the meringue in a slow stream with the mixer running at medium speed. Increase speed to high and beat until cooled. Then beat in unsalted softened butter. Flavor as desired. The icing will keep for at least 1 week in the fridge. It is a classic recipe so you can easily Google the proportions. It is stiff enough to pipe roses.