A Fresh Start in the NEW Kitchen with Lemon Miso Stir-Fry

If you have read any of my "about me" section, you would have seen that my husband and I have enjoyed moving around the country. We never really moved with a real reason other than wanting a change of pace, new outlook on careers and a fresh start. Well, since we have moved back home and are settled in here in the beautiful Bluegrass, it was time for a fresh start with a remodeled kitchen. It was time to be rid of the old musty cabinets and grimy countertops to reveal the bright personality of our house, or better yet, us!

And what better time than summer to enjoy the new kitchen! I can't wait to bring in produce from my garden and plop it down on our clean, gleaming countertop. This past weekend I couldn't wait any longer and had to get back to cooking. Here's the highlights of a meal we enjoyed.

Lemon Miso Chicken

1 tbsp peanut oil
4 or 5 green onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
11/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, diced (I like cutting into 1 inch chunks)
1/2 cup white miso (I use Westbrae Organic Miso)
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp honey
4 large carrots, peeled and julienned
1 small bunch of broccoli rabe
1 tsp lemon rind

Directions:
Heat large skillet or wok with oil and add only the white part of the onion. Let cook until tender then add garlic and chicken. Keep skillet at medium heat and allow the chicken to cook completely. In small bowl whisk together miso, vinegar, lemon juice and honey. When chicken is cooked, add carrots and drizzle with half of the sauce. Push all ingredients in the skillet over to the side and add broccoli to the pan. Carefully flash fry the broccoli for two minutes on each side. Next, grate lemon rind and toss with chicken. When ready to plate the dish pour equal parts of sauce over each dish and sprinkle with green onions for color and extra flavor. Serve on top of noddles or rice. It works well on both.

Look What Happened While I Was Gone: Kitchen Update!

Boy oh boy, was I in deep when I reminded my husband that the dates for the BlogHer Food '11 conference happened to fall during the same time frame as our kitchen remodel. Here I was packing and worrying about catching a flight on time last week when the kitchen was nothing but drywall dust. And to make matters even worse, my husband and girls had to escape the odor and dust to another house. You might say- poor planning. But, we have the BEST kitchen designer and she helped take care of everything- even sent me pictures of the action!

There is still a lot to be done but it feels good to see progress! Next up will be the upper cabinets and countertops this week. Still need to pick our paint color and order our subway tiles.

More on BlogHer Food up next!

A Behind the Scenes Look: The "Before"!

When you read other food blogs do you ever wonder what their kitchen really looks like? You know, if you'd push the camera to the right a little. Well, I thought it was time for you to learn about what's behind the scene in the McD house.

This is what my kitchen looked like when I did my Strawberry Sweet Roll post!

And another from that post.

I have alluded to our remodel before, but I haven't really shown you what's going on. We are in the middle of a major kitchen remodel!!!  Step one: We had these crazy useless soffits that had to come out. So we decided to push the ceiling up allowing for taller cabinets in some places. Step two: The floors have also been pulled up. (UPDATE: we have NEW floors!!)  Step three: With all this new space there needed to be new lighting as well. Step four: And of course the cabinets and counter tops. This is something we've had planned for a long time! Really since we first saw this house 5 years ago! But it just hasn't been the right time to do our remodel until now. HA- but now that I think about it, is there ever really a good time to do a remodel? Nope, but oh well, we're doing ours now.

I chuckle when I think about our previous kitchens. Our first one in our apartment in Portland had a very hip 40's style look to it, but too bad the grim and gunk on the cabinets was probably that old as well. Then the first house we bought had a very spacious kitchen, but too bad it was the largest room in the house. Next was our house in Asheville- great space around the house but what were we thinking buying a house with a  cabin style kitchen with pine cabinets? Then the townhouse in Lexington that had cabinets too small for our dishes. No doors shut! Flash forward a few years and we finally get to our current house in Lexington. Great space, smallish and cozy but cabinets that have been pulling off the wall with shelves that bow from the weight of our cups and draws that slide in sideways. Functioning but not fun. You would have thought that as much as I love cooking and kitchens, that by our third house, I would have found my dream kitchen. Not so much...until, hopefully...soon!


I must give this little bit of information-- we, or I should say, my husband and father, have done the demolition part of the job, but we have decided to hire others to do the rest.










Stay tuned for more updates on the kitchen and hopefully some enjoyable recipes to share as well. Hmm... maybe I'll share with you some ways to survive without a kitchen! HAHA!

Let me know your kitchen stories. What's the worst one you have ever had? And- please feel free to leave me any words of encouragement!!! I need plenty of it seeing that we still have a long way to go. UGH!