Pots and Pins

Duh...Tapenade...

My dear friend in Sacramento sent me this in an email:

"Hey, you nut-- that olive spread is called Tapenade in France, and something else in Italy, I forget what.  Anyway, it's heavenly, huh?  Go on line and look for other tapenade recipes-- yum!"

Duh.  I knew that.  And of course she's right - there are recipes up the wazooo on-line....but when the waitress said, "Enjoy the olive spread and the baked garlic,"  I thought to myself...olive spread?  Hmmmm, never had that before!  Again....duh.  Of course I've had Tapenade...but my pea-brain didn't make the connection from Tapenade to Olive Spread...like I said before, I'm just a little mountain girl...trying to live and learn and sometimes it's easier than others!

Fabulous Quilt Group Friday...

You know, I've taken a lot of flack over the years for being a quilter...and last week while doing some research on the computer...okay, wasting time...I came across a blog where the person actually said, "Who would be a quilter - and if you were a quilter, why would you admit it?"  I think some people still have this image in their heads of little rotund women with gray hair rolled into a bun covered with netting, wearing quilted vests and orthopedic shoes, sitting in rockers around a large quilt in a Victorian house talking about the latest rheumatoid treatment while they diligently stitched on the quilt - needle up, needle down...and in some parts of the country I'm sure you can still find this - and thank heavens!  How can anyone get a good night's sleep unless they sleep under a hand-made quilt?!? 

There is not one person in my quilt group who is rotund or vexed with rheumatoid arthritis - they are young and vibrant and the most interesting women I know - and by far the most creative - here is a sampling of what they brought to our meeting on Friday:

Stephanie is nothing if not resourceful...when we met a few months ago to make Sock Quilts - we left the scraps at Stephanies - in the trash.  She pulled them out - rescued them - and sewed those bits of fabric together, thereby making new fabric, and then cut them into these little squares - which she will now sew together into a wonderful scrappy quilt...we were speechless...

For a while Helen was stuck with red, white and blue...Americana everywhere...and then she met Kaffe.  Kaffe Fassett, the king of color and pattern, changed Helen's life and most of ours too.  She used her scraps to make this wonderful bag - attached a big green flower as her finishing touch - isn't it wonderful?  I could see myself using this on my many trips to SLC...perhaps Helen will send it to me for my half-yearly birthday in June?   She's also into little purses - presumably to hold her $100 bills - I would use them to hold my lottery tickets in the hopes of having $100 bills!  

Stephanie also brought these wonderful little weavings - she is an art teachers and with the salvaged scraps her students weaved these wonderful little things...there is no end to her cleverness!

This is also from Stephanie - the first of 3 sock quilt tops that were shown yesterday - all the same quilt - yet all different.  Stephanie put on a wide border and made sure to incorporate fabric from the border into some of the socks.

The quilt on the right is one Stephanie is going to donate to the American Hero Quilts project.  The Seattle Times did a story about this woman, Sue Nebeker of Vashon Island, who was so moved by the injured veterans who were returning from Irag that she vowed to make each of them a quilt.  Over the last several years - as the war has dragged on and on - Sue and her friends have donated hundreds and hundreds of quilts to veterans and their families.  You can learn more about their organization and their need for quilt tops by clicking here.  Our group is going to meet in June for a marathan sew day to make as many quilt tops as we can to help Sue continue in this worthwhile project.

Back to Helen...a year ago we saw Helen working on this quilt - a circle quilt to beat all others - as it's hand appliqued - something our group doesn't see too much of anymore!  This is not finished - Helen still needs to add some kind of borders - it will be great to see how she ends up finishing this!

 

Our "assignment" this month was to bring pink pinwheel blocks for Dawn's annual Play For Pink auction quilt - last year her quilt made a fist-full of money and we're hoping she'll double it this year!  Everyone in our group is busy - but they always have time to help make a few blocks - this quilt will be raffled off and all proceeds will go to help fight the battle with breast cancer. 

     

All of the above were made by Marsha - a visitor to our humble little group and a potential member, if we didn't scare her off.  She brought in these wonderful quilts - showing us all up!  Of course, we loved it!  Click on the image to see a larger one.

This is a hotpad - made by Michelle...out of selvedges!  She made two of them and when someone pointed out that it was too bad they will never be seen she reminded them that SHE will see them every time she cooks - and they'll make her smile - just like they did all of us.

Th top on the right is Michelle's sock quilt - bordered with scraps from the socks - sorry it's so hard to see! 

The top pictured on the left is Barbara's quilt - she added two borders - the last one is red and green stripped so her quilt has more of a Christmasy feel to it - at least I thought so.

I always look forward to the last Friday of each month - I know I'll be inspired and motivated - and maybe next month I'll have something to show you that I made!

 

Olive Tapenade...

It was a picture-perfect day - the sun was out, the temp was up and the mister was game - so we headed out, as my dad likes to say, "to hitherparts unknown to the hearts of man"...I have no idea where he got that but it's one of his favorite sayings - that and "we're off - like a dirty shirt!"  Our first stop was the gas station - $3.69 a gallon - I pushed the premium button by mistake because I was distracted by the TV on the gas pump....how can I be expected to pump gas AND watch President Bush be trashed at the Washington Press Corp Dinner that was shown on CNN at the same time!?  I'm just a little Mountain girl for Pete's sake!  (I must offer a defense for the mister - something I never feel the need to do...but he usually pumps my gas - in fact, that is something he has always done for me - along with always meeting me inside the airport - never out front - and cleaning the shower - so you see, he's not all bad...but yesterday he was starving so he went inside the convenience store to get himself something to tide him over while I operated the pump...)

Our next stop was Newcastle Golf Course - it's on top of a mountain and the views are unbeatable...

I don't know who the guy in the red shirt is - but after I snapped this picture he waved...In the background is Lake Washington and in the far, far distance is Seattle - barely visible in this shot but the "white line" above the horizon is actually the Olympic Mountains covered in snow...the view was just incredible...we could have broken out in song..."We can see for miles and miles...we can see for miles and miles..."  but our life is not a musical - it's a dramedy - no singing allowed.  We had lunch at the club and this brings me to the Olive spread...we were served it, along with a garlic spread and butter when the first course came out...it was so good that I had to recreate it when I got home!

Olive Tapenade - ME

Olive Spread

I can (12 oz.) pitted Black Olives, drained

1 garlic clove, finely minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Put all into a food processor or blender and process in 5 second intervals just until the olives are finely chopped - leaving a few larger bits of olive is a good thing - even Martha would agree. 

Spread on Italian bread or crackers - I will definitely serve this at my next soiree...

I'll fill you in on the rest of our adventure in another post...but here's a teaser for you...the mister was very talkative and regaled me with all sorts of interesting tidbits - like - 39 years ago today the DaNang fuel dump, which he oversaw while stationed as a Marine in Vietnam, blew up...surprisingly, it was not his doing, but rather the VC's...who had somehow infiltrated their perimeter...now where else are you going to get this kind of infotainment?!?  I promptly took two valium....Semper Fi. 

Trophy Cupcakes...

When my sugar-freak-friends told me about Trophy Cupcakes- declaring it their new dream place - I had high hopes - they've yet to lead me astray....Trophy Cupcakes is located on 45th Street in the Wallingford Center in Wallingford, a nice old, yet trendy community just north of the city. 

It's a darling little place and the cupcakes were beautiful - they had many different flavors to choose from - including their green tea cupcake which Trophy said was one of their best sellers...and for the life of me, I can't figure out why!  It tasted like a cross between a granola bar and sugared Cream of Wheat...proving once again that looks can be deceiving!

I did like their peanut butter and jam cupcake - the strawberry jam found inside the cake was a nice little surprise and the peanut butter frosting was light and good - but not worth the 25 minute drive.  Neither was the lemon-strawberry cupcake - pictured in the middle, top row...it too is deceiving because of the domed top - making you think the cake itself has a wonderful round top - it didn't - it was solid frosting - not normally a bad thing but I KNOW I detected shortening in the frosting - it was just a little too "slippery" for me...I also tried the triple chocolate cupcake - a worthy attempt - possibly worth the drive.  The red velvet cupcakes are just so-so...red velvet cake mixes make up better and their frosting was just too cream-cheesy...the vanilla cupcake was fine....nothing to post about other than that.

They are beautifully decorated - I will give them that...but for the price they should taste as good as they look!

To my sugar-freak-friends....sorry, but this time, I think you missed the mark.  Trophy Cupcakes are good - not great and certainly nothing special - and definitely not worth the $3.00 each one of them cost! 

I hope you keep searching though, one day you're bound to find a cupcake that will make the rise in my blood sugar worth it.

Note to Self...

I cannot believe I screwed this up...our anniversary is April 19th - NOT the 24th!  But I wasn't the only one who forgot - the mister did too, only I totally forgot but he thought it was last night...we were both wrong - so like him, so unlike me!  I just can't believe it!  Freudian maybe?  But this anniversary is not the legal one, since his divorce papers weren't signed until the 20th - even though he had been divorced for TWO YEARS already....the papers had never been signed by the judge - thereby making our marriage on the 19th null and void...not really a problem in Tennessee where we were married but I really didn't want to be barefoot, pregnant (which I was by the time we discovered our marriage was a sham - 5 months later!), unwed and living in the South - too much of a cliche....so we got married again on August 23rd - this time it was legal - and it's now plainly marked on my calendar in red so I won't forget it...there are two bad things about forgetting an anniversary....first, there is no present to open and second, there is no present to open.  I must remember this - after 29 years I deserve a present!  Good thing I have two anniversaries - I'll now have a second chance at a present! 

Black Bean Soup With Bananas...

Years ago we ate at a restaurant in Tampa where I had what I thought was the best black bean soup in the world - I asked for the recipe and they laughed.  The restaurant was completely covered with blue and white tile, inside and out, and was said to be the oldest restaurant in the country - and I can't remember the name of it but I've never forgotten the soup. We'd been in Tampa for a week on vacation and this was the first real restaurant we'd been to and our last night in Tampa - the kids were little so we were forced to eat at McDonald's for practically every meal just to keep the peace.  I was so taken with this soup that when the boy had a mini-meltdown - too much sun and not enough of a nap - I immediately foisted him off on the mister and told him to walk him around - I was NOT leaving my soup!  Why is this significant?  Well, it was the first time the mister had EVER held his son for more than 5 minutes - and in public no less!  What can I say, he was never nominated for Father of the Year.  I saw this as a win/win situation - the mister got to bond with his son and I got to finish my soup.    

This recipe is close to the soup I remember eating...time has a way of making things seem better, I'm sure, but this soup is really good and the bananas are the thing that sets it apart from all the other black bean soup recipes out there...they are a happy little surprise for your tongue!  There's no trick to this soup either - soak your beans overnight, skim off the foam, add ALL of the Tabasco sauce and if you don't have an immersion blender then now is the time to buy one - or else you can use your regular blender but it's such a pain!

Black Bean Soup With Bananas from Jacques Pepin's Kitchen, Cooking With Claudine

(Yep, Jacques again - before I stuck his cookbook back on the shelf I just had to give this recipe a try because he said it was his favorite black bean soup.  I served this to my quilt group today and everyone said they liked it - and they loved the bananas!)

1 pound dried black beans

3 quarts cool water

1/2 cup brown rice

8 ounces pancetta or lightly smoked bacon

2 medium onions, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

8 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped, about 1/4 cup

1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence (available in the grocery store in the spice section)

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 (14 1/2 oz.) can diced tomatoes in juice

1 tablespoon salt (less if the pancetta is salty)

2 tablespoons virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons Tabasco Sauce

4 bananas

2 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

sour cream - optional

Remove and discard any debris or damaged beans, and wash the remaining beans well in cool water.  Drain the beans, place them in a bowl, cover with cold water, and soak overnight or for 12 hours.

Drain the beans, and place them in a pot with the 3 quarts of cool water.  Add the rice.  Cut the pancetta or bacon into 1/4-inch pieces, and add them to the pot.  Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, uncovered (which will take about 20 minutes) stirring occasionally.  Skim off and discard any foam that rises to the top.  Reduce the heat to very low, cover, and cook for 1 hour.

Add the onions, garlic, Herbes de Provence, chili powder, tomatoes, and salt to the pot, then stir well, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to very low, cover and cook for an additional 1 1/2 hours.

Using a hand blender, emulsify the mixture in the pot for about 5 to 10 seconds.  (Or remove 2 cups of the mixture, puree it in a food processor or blender, and put back in the pot.)  The object is to thicken the mixture slightly wihile still maintaining its overall chunkiness.

In a small bowl, mix together the oil, vinegar, and Tabasco, then add  the mixture to the soup.  Peel the bananas and cut them into 1/2-inch by 1/2-inch pieces.  Toss them in a small bowl with the lemon juice and pepper.  Pour the hot soup into bowls and add about 2 heaping tablespoons of the bananas to the soup.  Serve immediately and pass the sour cream.  Makes 8 servings. 

"Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence.  Talent will not; nothing is more commonplace than unsuccessful men with talent.  Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.  Persistence and Determination alone are omnipotent."  Calvin Coolidge 

(I'd like to add that finding and making a great Black Bean Soup is pretty darn close to omnipotent.)

Creme au Chocolat...

I always seem to want what I don't have or can't have....like when my foot was in a boot for 4 months all I wanted to do was go outside and walk...now that it's out of the boot I've yet to set foot outdoors - strange how that happens.  My oven is still dead and all I want to do is bake.  I'm starting to pity the Maytag Repairman if he can't fix my oven....

Fortunately, Jacques Pepin came to my rescue...by way of his wonderful book, Cooking With Claudine, and his Creme au Chocolat which does not require an oven. 

This is a fast and easy dessert to make - yet it's creamy and rich and definitely "company worthy" - a little goes a long way and it's sure to satisfy even the nastiest sweet tooth. 

Just in case you think I lead a dull life and have nothing better to do than blog about oven issues and sweet tooth fantasies....the Mister and I went out to dinner tonight where inbetween bites of hot spinach salad and French onion soup I was able to witness an PDA that almost took my appetite away...(public display of affection, mom)...there was this OLD guy who wore a half unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt, sported a gold chain around his neck and a Rolex the size of an egg timer - but all of that was secondary to his two-tone comb-over and white patent-leather shoes...his "squeeze" was easily 40 years his junior - yet she was no spring chicken...she looked like she'd been rode hard over 40 miles of bad roads and that was her good side!  I tried not to stare but it's not everyday that a Dolly Parton look-a-like-from-the-neck-down saunters into the local watering hole!  As Dolly herself likes to say - it takes a lot of money to look that cheap - and this gal was definitely working on getting her next plastic surgery installment....it was fascinating!  I wasn't the only one trying not to stare - when their smooching got too disgusting I would turn away only to see everyone else watching them!  The mister's back was turned to these two and he couldn't see them - he just saw me smiling and I'm sure he thought I was thoroughly entertained by his rapier wit and charm...so I let him think it - afterall it's our anniversary and that was probably the best gift I could give him!

Creme au Chocolat -  Adapted from Jacques Pepin's Kitchen, Cooking With Claudine

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 tablespoon instant coffee granules (regular or decaf)

1 whole egg, plus 1 egg yolk

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips

Cookies, optional

Bring milk and instant coffee granules to a boil in a saucepan.  Meanwhile, place the egg, egg yolk and sugar in a bowl, and mix well.  Add the flour, and mix it in well.  Whisk about 1 cup of the hot milk and coffee into the egg mixture in the bowl, and combine well.  Then, pour the contents of the bowl back into the suacepan, and bring the mixture to a boil stirring constantly with a whisk.  Transfer the hot mixture to a bowl, add the chocolate chips, and stir gently until the chocolate has melted and is mixed in well.  Cool, then refrigerate until serving time.  Serves 4.

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  - George Bernard Shaw

Mammograms

A man invented the "mammogram machine"...it's true - a machine that mashes womens breasts...no man, however, has ever invented a "weinergram machine" or should I say a "MANogram?"  Why is that?

I had my semi-annual mammogram today - I'm on the 6th month plan - by the time my breasts return to their original shape it will be time for another mashing.

I was once trapped in the masher - trapped with tears streaming down my face, unable to breathe, unable to move while the technician scrambled from behind her radioactive safe lair to free me with a stamp of her foot...alas, I was not freed.  She tried again and again while I gasped for air, afraid that at any moment my breast would burst - thereby ruining the pretty pink patterned carpet...finally the tech went to the back of the machine and bending down she hit some button - raised her head to see if I was free - only to hit her head on one of the many "wings" of the masher...then she fell to the ground holding her head - moaning!! I was delirious with pain and moments away from losing consciousness...and she's on the ground holding her little forehead...with superhuman effort I let out a scream -actually I think it was loud enough to register on the Richter scale but it did the trick and brought her back to reality - she slowly reached up and pushed the button again...and there it was - a little burst of air and the masher was lifted...the tech got a bandaid for her forehead and I got a creased boob and an appointment for a biopsy.  The biopsy was benign - and 6 months later I was back for a recheck - I tell the new tech that I was once trapped in the machine and she says, "That was you?!  Oh we've laughed about that for the longest time!"  Infamy is not all it's cracked up to be.   

I've had two breast biopsies in the last 5 years - fortunately both were benign.  I was reassured today that the old "foot pedal mashers" are no longer in use - they've been replaced with computerized mashers...which offered me little comfort. 

Have you had a mammogram lately?

Lasagna With Sausage...

If you are one of "those people" who buys frozen lasagna from Costco then this is not the post for you...not that there's anything wrong with Costco lasagna - heaven knows I've eaten my share of it - in fact, I've reached my limit of Costco lasagna...having been served it at every church and social function I've attended in the last 20 years...I've physically OH-DEED on the stuff and now I can sniff it out a mile away and I steer clear.  But I love lasagna - it's my one weakness - yes, I'll admit to having one...and in my pursuit to find the best lasagna recipe in the world I decided to make Ina Garten's Lasagna with Turkey Sausage - sans the turkey sausage - as I hate it because I just think that turkey should only be served whole on Thanksgiving - closed minded and mouthed of me but there you have it.

But...how to bake lasagna without an oven?!?  Mine is still dead.  Every now and then I push a few buttons just to make sure and not even a flicker of life happens - the repairman doesn't come until Monday so I'm having to get creative...enter the roaster:

This is what I cook my turkey in on Thanksgiving - it's a wonder machine - frees up my ovens for pies and rolls - couldn't live without it!  And now it's on my counter taking the place of my ovens...thank you Mom and Rival!

Let's go back to sausage for a minute...I must clarify - it's only turkey sausage that I hate - and speaking of sausages...take a look at my daughter's feet AFTER giving birth - don't they remind you of sausages?  They are so swollen!  Well, they might not look like it to you but I couldn't help taking this picture - little sausages with pink toenails...her feet are back to normal now, just so you know.  Now here's something interesting about sausages, or rather, where they come from...I have it on good authority (a writer friend in Sacramento who's up to date on these sorts of things) that wild hogs are running rampant in the Midwest and South...wild hogs!  And hog hunts are being held to curtail these creatures!  Who knew?!?  So expect to see more sausage availabe for sale in your local market or from unmarked vans on the side of the road!  

Ina's recipe is a bit easier than you might think as it calls for soaking the lasagna noodles in hot water instead of cooking them.  But you've still got to cook the sausage, make the sauce, blend the cheeses and then assemble so it's not a quick recipe but one that is well worth making.  I love how the mozzarella melts in this dish - and the goat cheese, which might not be something you would think would work, but blended in with the ricotta it's heavenly...and the sauce - it's thick and rich and had me thinking that I should have made a double batch of it because it would be fabulous on spaghetti or penne or any other pasta!

One last thing about Ina...every recipe of hers that I've ever made has always turned out great.  She knows her stuff and it's been tested and tested.  Anthony Bourdain, the cobra-heart-while-still-beating-eating-globe-trotting-New-York-restauranteur-celeb was recently interviewed about why he left Food Network and about their celebrity chefs - he didn't have a kind word to say about any of them - especially Sanda Lee whom he loathes - smart man - but Ina Garten was his one standout - he criticized her invisible husband and her gay friends but said she can cook like nobody's business...

Lasagna with Sausage - Adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Family Style

2 tablespooons olive oil

1 cup chopped yellow onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

3/4 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed

1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes in tomato puree

1 6-oz. can tomato paste

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pound lasagna noodles

15 oz. ricotta cheese

4 oz. creamy goat cheese, crumbled

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling

1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

1 lb. fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

Preheat oven (or roaster) to 400 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a large (10 to 12-inch) skillet.  Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.  Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink.  Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tabblespoons of the parsley, the basil, 1 1/2 teaspons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.  Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, until thickened.

Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water.  Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes.  Drain.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.  Set aside.

Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9x12x2-inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish.  Then add the layers as follows:  half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one third of the sauce.  Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce.  Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.  Bake for 30 ,minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.

(To make ahead, refrigerate the assembled, unbaked lasagna.  Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until bubbly.)

Yes, another blurry shot...I give up!  I'm going to have to take Photography 101 at some point just so I can get a decent picture!  Oh wait, here's a decent photo for you...Baby Max in his crib...

He's been "burritoized" and he loves it!  Max has gained back the weight he lost in the hospital and is now a whopping 5 lbs. 14 ounces!!! 

My Boy Mike...

My soon-to-be 24 year old boy and I have an arrangement....he doesn't pay rent and in return he does my bidding...when asked, no excuses...like vacuuming, running errands, cleaning bathrooms, etc., he's basically a slave at my beck and call.  I've always thought this was an extremely fair arrangement and he always held up his end - until recently when he began slacking off and - gasp - actually saying NO!!  Yes, hard to believe isn't it?!  So I had no recourse but to put him on notice - as of June 15th he's going to start paying rent - to the tune of $200 a month.  And that $200 a month would nicely cover the cost of a cleaning lady except that I could never have a cleaning lady - I'm the type that would clean FOR the cleaning lady - then she would have nothing to do when she came and I'd have to make her a nice lunch, offer her a chair and a magazine and give her a neck massage for her trouble to drive to my home - sick, I know.  I'm actually going to put the rent money in the bank...so IF and when he does move out I'll have plenty of money to redecorate his room!  Oh who am I kidding - I'm sure I'll never see a dime!

Last week my mom and I went "thrifting" and I found this old golf towel and thought it would make a great pillow for my boy's room - he's an avid golfer so I know he'll get a kick out of it...

His headboard is from a garage sale - it's a very heavy old iron headboard that I snagged for $20!  When we tied the thing to the top of the car I pulled on the rope and the leg of the thing slid straight into my forehead - the giant egg that ensued went away after a day then the black and blue bruise appeared and now, three weeks later, the yellowish remains of the bruise are finally fading...I'm no longer looking like a cyclops...

The boy's bathroom is finally finished...it was 99% finished last November but today the very last detail was installed and so it is officially done...I love the color of the granite countertop!  It's my favorite thing in the house - the floor and shower is tiled with travertine - I am so happy with how it all turned out!  Our bathroom is almost finished too...just one more thing to do then I'll be able to show you pictures of it.