Is it Nancy's pasties? Do I win the prize? Pasties - Nancy Dough 4 C unbleached all pupose flour 1 Tabsp sugar ½ tsp salt 1 C shortening 1 C unsalted butter, cold, cut in pieces ½ C water 1 lg egg 1Tabsp vinegar In large bowl or food processor, combine dry ingrediens, cut in shortening and butter, to the size of small peas. Combine in a small bowl, water egg and vinegar, gradually add to flour mixture tossing to combine. Donot overwork. If it seems dry, gradually add more cold water, Tablespoon at a time. You need a firm dough, that is not sticky. If I am going to double the recipe, I make the dough in my food processor up thru cutting in the butter, in single batches, then empty the processor into a lg bowl, doubling the egg mixture and tossing it all together at once. Form dough into a disk shape and refridgerate until ready to use. Filling 2 Lbs coarsly ground beef 1 Lb coarsly ground pork Note: I have used different cuts of lean beef and pork, grinding it myself using the grinder of my KA. If you use a knife, mince it well, no larger than ½ inch pieces, smaller is better. 3 C finely chopped potatoes 2 C finely chopped rutabaga 1 C finely chopped carrots 2 med cooking onions, finely chopped 1 Tablsp minced garlic 1 tsp salt ½ tsp pepper butter, approx ½ C Combine all, EXCEPT butter, in a large bowl. I use a food prosessor on the vegetables, but be careful not to grind them too much. You want chunks. Preheat oven to 400° Roll out dough , leaving it a little thicker than you would for pie crust. Cut into 6-8 inch circles. HINT: I use the lid from an older 3 qt saucepan. It has a sharp enough edge to use like a giant cookie cutter. If you have to, use a lid and cut around it with a knife. Fill with about 1 cup of filling and dot with a teaspoon of butter. Fold in half and use a fork to press the cut egde to seal. You might want to moisten the cut edge with a pastry brush dipped in water to insure a good seal. You can also roll the edge a bit before using the fork if your pastry is uneven. Combine 1 egg and 1 Tabsp of water, brush top of pastie and with a small sharp knife, slash the top about 1 inch. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet, Bake 1 hour, or until a fork inserted through the slash meets no resistance, and pastry is golden. Special Gravy Brown 2 C of filling, in rendered fat or butter. You can use more or less depending on what you have left over, but I always save at least 2 C. When browned add 2 cups of water and simmer until vegetables are well cooked,about 15 min. Mash with a potato masher or tranfer to food processor bowl and pulse to smooth slightly. Return to pan,if you like lots of gravey, you can add etra beef stock or water at this point. Bring to a boil and thicken if needed with ¼ C of flour mixed with ¾ C of water. Add gradually to meat mixture, to desired gravy consistancy. Ladel over hot pastie or serve on the side. Salt and pepper to taste. You should get about 6-8 pasties from this recipe, depending on size and amount of filling you put in each one. I like to double or triple the recipe as they freeze very well, I freeze the gravey also, in small amounts. Nancy

Color me skeptical, but I see some changes in colors and textures and a LOT of changes in lighting, camera angles, and lenses. Some of the afters look as though they were taken with a wide-angle lens as well. Don't get me wrong, I think the afters are lovely, but the photos remind me a little of some plastic surgery ads and I'd rather see them taken under the same circumstances. Re. the colors -- I think darker wall colors photograph better, but I prefer lighter ones in my own house. Go figure. :)

My BF was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer 3 1/2 yrs ago and after chemo, radiation, loss of part of his tongue, jaw replacement and throat replacement with muscle from his arm was told he would have to live with a PEG tube for the rest of his life. He refused and learned to down Ensure, aspirating a little each time but swallowing tests show it is not detrimental as he has learned to drink over a sink and he coughs out the last little bit. He has not been able to gain weight beyond 140 lbs (he looks like a stick man) even downing 16 bottles of Ensure a day and eventually adding whey protein powder until I met him. He likes to race in Enduro motorcycle competitions so is high energy. I am an RN and can't stand to see people using Ensure as a meal replacement, it is only meant to be a supplement and other than the vitamins and protein only contains oil and sugar with milk solids. I figured if he could down anything I could get him back to consuming vitamins, fat, etc. through natural foods and put some weight on him. The sugar in the Ensure has also taken a toll on what was beautiful white teeth. He had purchased a Vitamix 5200 (pricey but worth it) to mix another powdered sweet drink he found (can't remember the name) to put weight on. The vitamix will actually dessimate anything you place in it and is so fast it will heat the food so hot that you can't drink it. I have learned to blend the weirdest foods together to get the high calories and the only problem I've had is with the broths/juices/milk you have to add to get it to the very liquid consistency will sometimes dilute the flavors. I literally blend anything I eat for him and he is eating better than ever. I now taste everything (sometimes it sounds like it would be gross) and have been astounded at how flavorful meals can be. He has gained 10 lbs over the last 2 months since I add cheese, butter, use whole milk, and for shakes blend high fat nuts like Macadamia and coconut (he loves) and add to them. I have noticed that chicken and dumplings is his favorite because the base of the soup is all I need to use to thin it so it is full flavor. Also for some reason the italian dishes like spaghetti, lasagna, etc. even when thinned severely with beef broth keep the original taste. White sauces are best thinned with chicken broth and milk (both) and sweet and sour chicken is best thinned with apple juice. He is Jewish so when we made potato latke's I put the apple sauce and sour cream in and thinned with apple juice and milk and it tasted almost just like mine in a liquid version. One potato latke thinned equalled 64 ounces so thank goodness he can drink alot! Next time I may add a few potato flakes for extra calories. He has started blending sushi and thins with seafood broth found only at Central Market here. I've done steak with potato including sour cream, butter, bacon bits and thinned one time with milk and another with beef broth and added beef gravy...he loved it! Most of our "soups" come out restaurant quality:-)My next jump is to make steak with Au Jus and Demi Glace to try to get the flavor to come out better. I encourage you all not to be afraid to try different things together and remember that on a liquid diet you need to increase your calories significantly. His Oncologist said he can't believe I've been able to put weight on him but he's defied all of them from the start:-)

Great ideas! Thank you all so much! herbflavor-Thank you for the kind words about the cabinets as they are:) Most of the feedback I've gotten from other sources is about how awful they look, so it's nice to get a different perspective (and I never saw them as hideous myself). I did consider leaving the maple cabs in their natural state, but when we replaced our dishwasher with a nearly new panel-ready Asko Craigslist find, we realized how much the maple had yellowed/oranged despite the lack of direct sunlight. Plus, these cabinets are absolutely everywhere throughout the house---every bathroom, storage closet, laundry room, you name it. The real problem is that I think they might be too warm for the cool grays in the granite. So, I'm thinking paint would be the answer. I was not sure about gray paint on the cabinets, either, yet something is calling me to try it. It's only weeks of hard physical labor, right?! When you suggest the right and left flanking cabinets for glass inserts, do you mean both cab doors on the right and left, leaving 2 solid center doors? Or just the single far door on each side? Also, you mentioned changing the back of the peninsula. Do you have any suggestions? I think it needs improvement but have no clue here. Gigi4321, I like the idea of an open cabinet with shelves or glass shelves, and I adore that look when I see it in other kitchens. I may try that first after removing the doors to see how it looks; my concern would be with keeping the items clean since that is where we keep our everyday dishes and wine glasses. I'm fairly clean, but would hate to feel the need to dust my dishes before company arrives:) I love what you did with your kitchen, Annac54. Love, love, love the stain and the fact that you also DIY'd the majority of it, as we will be doing . It gives me hope. Btw, we had the exact same tile. Ten years of cleaning that grout spurred this facelift. Sadly,I still have the same tile in all 3 bathrooms. But that's a future post... Thanks for the photo of your center cabs a2gemini. That is some beautiful seeded glass. I think I may need to copy that, if you don't mind. Can't wait to see the finished pics. Artichokey, thank you! I feel so much better about my kitchen after reading your comments. It's easy to see these gorgeous, spacious gw kitchens and feel somewhat embarrassed by the fact that most of the butler pantries here are larger and nicer than my entire kitchen, nook, and family room combined. And I never knew that my ledge (as I always referred to it) was the dreaded and outdated "soffit" until I found gardenweb:). But with 15 foot ceilings and ample storage space, I could not see the value in reworking the entire space by adding cabs to the ceiling. I do love our kitchen and think it's functional and perfect for us. You asked about the area to the right of the kitchen, and here it is. This is the wall flanking the kitchen nook, on the way to the family room (open plan). Yet more cabinets, and a built in desk to boot (also an outdated feature, but yet again I do love its functionality). I've chosen a gray 2 shades darker than the "repose gray" for the main kitchen cabs (SW Dovetail) in hopes that it pulls both areas together while maintaining some continuity. Not sure yet about the desktop color... Again, thank you all so much. I truly appreciate your thoughtful responses. Love this forum!