The travel distances in the kitchen are excessive and inefficient. You have created too many work counters too far apart for one person. I find your comment intriguing. You are clear in conveying the gist of your opinion but you've completely left out any reference to WHY you hold this opinion. Why are the travel distances in an 8x12 open space excessive and inefficient? Is there a kitchen designer's study which suggesst kitchen designers limit the point to point travel to less than 12'? Is that what you're basing your opinion on? As for the inefficiency, here too I'm lost. Efficiency is a concept related to productivity, at least when it refers to human labor. Most of the labor in a kitchen involves either work at the sink, fridge or stove. This kitchen design minimizes travel between these fixtures. To the right of the stove is 5'6" of counter space before the sink interupts the work space. Within easy reach of the fridge are two counters upon which I can place items removed from the fridge. In terms of labor productivity I think that the kitchen works efficiently. What are you seeing that I'm missing? On the side of the kitchen opposite the work triangle is the dishwasher and plenty of uninteruptted counterspace. This counterspace has a grain mill at the end, it allows for baking to take place without intruding on the work triangle, it allows for me to place 60 canning jars without worrying about crowding, it allows me to place any gadgets that I decide I simply must have. Now perhaps you're concluding that the space is being inefficiently used because it's not being used as centrally or as frequently as the space within the work triangle and if so, yes, I'll cop to that, it's not, but if this is the line of your criticism, then it should be the case that every kitchen that incorporates space outside of a work triangle is using space inefficiently. Rather than me guessing WHY you reach your conclusion it would help me to have you TELL me WHY. What would help me even more is a suggestion from you on what I should do differently. That would be golden. A statement that the layout is inefficient and excessive doesn't help me much at all. A better configuration is a double loaded work area with support elements either side like a pantry or pastry station that you would not use as often as the central area and appliances. What is a "double loaded work area" and how would 1 person use this work area efficiently? Other than the bar sink I have located in the area outside of the triangle, what else, specifically would you suggest be included to make my time in the kitchen proceed more efficiently? If you think the basic design, a G-Kitchen, is beyond salvage, what would you suggest replace that layout? The kitchen is overly generous with space, the stair is an overly grand staircase but the entrance is into a cramped back hall with far too many doors. The elements of the house seem oddly out of scale with each other. In another thread I wrote that I couldn't offer an informed critique of someone else's plan until I knew what was guiding their choices. In this thread, in my original post, I wrote the following: The requirements were: - Big kitchen, disproportionately so compared to the remainder of the rooms. So I find it odd that, after you chimed in and agreed with me in the other thread that you needed to know more about the other person's goals before you could offer feedback, that here, knowing that I want a large kitchen, your feedback to me is "The kitchen is overly generous with space." The entrace isn't into a "cramped back hall", it's into a "cramped vestibule." Most vestibules are cramped, it's kind of the nature of the beast, isn't it? I agree that there are too many doors. I've since remedied that by removing two doors, so now the vestibule has an entry door, a closet door and two glass doors leading into the home. I moved the powder room to the back of the home and created more landing space around the bottom of the stairs and I removed the closet door on the right side of the house, across from the stairs and I use that volume of enclosed wall for a built-in accessable from the living room. See below: The space at the center of the staircase is to be used by a curving masonry bench which forms part of the fireplace and which will retain some of the heat from the fireplace. I've experienced such benches in my travels in Europe and I really enjoyed curling up on them and reading, or napping, after coming inside from a cold day of skiing. The gentle radiative heat seeping into my bones was luxurious. I admit that the inclusion of this space now is a design compromise but it's one that I'm happy to make for it gives me a space that I will use, it creates more radiative mass into which heat can be stored and it's out of the ordinary. It wasn't a "must have" but as a space filler it hits the mark on a number of fronts, far better than how I see people fill up space in their homes with chairs of tables that will never be used. The space at the foot of the stairs is available for a table, art, a build-in of some sort. The space midway up the stairs allows for a shelf for a plant next to a window. The staircase is overly grand. I've been struggling with how to incorporate it without wasting a lot of space. It's been quite a struggle. If I did away with the curve and went to a simple straight staircase I could slice a 6'x 15' section off of the plans and make an even smaller home, thereby making the kitchen disprortionately larger in a smaller home. Look, my garage is 24x24, space for my truck, motorcycle,sports car plus room to spare at the front. I'll have a metal/wood workshop in a separate barn. I have a large kitchen. These are all spaces that are useful to me. My dining room is small because I don't have large family gatherings and when I have guests it is only every a handful of people, a lady friend over for dinner, a buddy over for beer and to watch a game, one or two couples over for an evening - there are no grand dinner parties where I have 20 people crammed into my house. The living room is primarily for my own use but has space for 6 people sitting around conversing - I don't need space for more people and I don't need space, like a family of six would, for 6 people doing their own things in the LR - when I have six people in that room, I can assure you that one won't be watching TV, while another is reading, while another is doing needlepoint, and while two others are playing Monopoly. In the basement will be the utility and laundry rooms. I'll have an endless pool down there, a sauna or possibly a steamroom, I haven't decided yet, as well as a workout room of some size, and open space for whatever may strike my fancy in the future. Upstairs will have two master suites and an office if I can squeeze it in and if not, no matter, I can do office work anywhere in the house because I don't have kids or a spouse to distract me, so I don't need to cocoon myself away to find a quiet space to work. The elements of the house seem oddly out of scale with each other. There is some truth to this. Large kitchen, large garage (considering many 2 car garages are 20x20 or thereabouts), large staircase, fair sized mastersuite, small dining room, small living room. I'm not sure what I should be doing about this though. Should I scale back all the large rooms where I want space or should I scale up the the LR/DR where I don't want space and should I make my mastersuite larger or smaller and should I do away with the secondary mastersuite which might be used by one of my parents at some point in the future if they move in? Any suggestions? Criticism is useful, to a degree, but what really helps people in the design phase are actual, concrete, suggestions and alternatives. As I noted in the thread title, fresh eyes and fresh ideas would help me a lot.

I just found this one as well.... Canning experts? I think I like the sound of Jessica's version a bit better. Fresh Fig Chutney Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2003 2 1/2 cups red wine vinegar 1/2 pound light brown sugar 1 onion, chopped 1/4 cup chopped fresh ginger 1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds 1/4 lemon, zested 1/2 cinnamon stick 1 3/4 teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves 1 1/4 pounds firm, slightly underripe fresh figs, rinsed, stems removed and halved In a large saucepan combine the vinegar, sugar, onion, ginger, mustard seeds, lemon zest, cinnamon stick, salt, allspice, and cloves and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until mixture is thickened and reduced by 2/3, forming a thick syrup. Add the figs and cook gently until the figs are very soft and beginning to fall apart and most of the liquid they've given off has evaporated, about 30 minutes. Transfer the chutney to a non-reactive container and allow to come to room temperature before serving. The chutney may be made up to 3 weeks in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. (Alternately, hot chutney may be ladled into hot sterilized canning jars and processed in a hot-water bath according to manufacturer's directions.) Jessica, I think the Udon Noodle recipe is tomorrow's lunch! (By the way, the fig-vanilla bean jam is the only one I make now... it's by far the best of what I've tried.) Glenda, Thanks. Puff pastry is sometimes more calories than what I'd like. Good idea to put it in a quesadilla. And as an added bonus, DS eats about anything if I put it in quesadilla form! Annie, Thanks for posting Diane's Fig Newton recipe. The one I used last year was so-so. I like the orange zest addition... think it will make the difference. Kayskats. if I get past the "pickle" title, the recipe sounds good... it's in the running with the compote and the chutney.

The orange mayo is on hold. Got tired of waiting for the library to find Spice on the ILL, and bought a copy. It's as great a book as everybody says. But Lo! Right there on page 17: Fried Squid with Avocado Hummus. Boy or boy, does that sound good. So it's next on the calimari hit parade: 2 ripe avocados, split, seeded and scooped 1/4 cup tahini 1 tbls chopped garlic about 5 cloves) 2 tsp ground cumin 4 tbls freeshly squeezed lemon juice (I'll likely cut this down) 1/4 cup EVOO Salt to taste Blend everything in a food processor untiol smooth and creamy like sour cream. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, placing the wrap directly on top of the avocado so that no air gets into it to turn it brown. Set it aside while you prepare the squid.

Hahahaha Bates. Well I am taking it easy today. Watered house plants and just drinking coffee. Checked to see if I can see Hosta noses poking through yet. Yes some are. There really is nothing I can do. I think the pass out was because I had diarrhea so bad and the cramping pain. Sweat going on. I am now wondering if a piece of meat I had in the fridge and ate last night might have been there too long.It smelled and tasted fine. I have one more piece of pork and I am not going to eat it. I will toss it. Honestly I do not know pass out from faint it all happened so fast. I thought I was done with the toilet so got up to get a wash cloth to cool my face. Which was my first intention when I headed to the bathroom but ended up suddenly on the toilet. I had wash cloth in hand when I was picking myself off the floor. I do not remember falling. I just remember hitting cause it hurt me. I was not unconscious after I hit the floor. I will go to the chiropractor tomorrow to get my neck sorted out. My primary care doctor is such a worry wort. He gets really upset when I fall. Remember I also have vertigo. He will make a big deal over it. I like the boys night out with the band story. Hahahahaha