Our kitchen went through a face lift this week which left us with all of our dishes and cabinet contents sprawled throughout the house. Making meals was quite a challenge hunting down this and that. I can’t imagine going through a kitchen reno that lasted for months!
I am counting down the days until daylight saving time ends – I want my morning light back! It feels unnatural to get up before the sun, and our wake time is usually close to 6am. I feel like I’m getting up in the middle of the night this time of year.
Thus, dark photos!
Breakfast I: Eggs, cinnamon swirl toast, banana + pear with Cinnamon Vanilla Sunflower Butter.
The next day we made pumpkin pancakes! I used our Great Harvest mix and added 1/3 cup pumpkin to the batter. Topped with a little melted butter, maple syrup drizzle, chia seeds and coconut.
The next day: leftover ‘cakes! They reheat so well in our toaster oven, and I love having them on hand for Mazen’s snacks too. Topped with Barney Butter + banana
I made overnight oats to simplify breakfast the next day.
Pumpkin was stirred in and a dollop of Barney Butter added on top.
Day 2 of kitchen project we had family scrambled eggs, High Five toast with Smucker’s Natural Raspberry and banana.
This is definitely my favorite breakfast these days!
Coming off the weekend I had leftover hamburger with sweet potato fries over salad. Goat Feta and red peppers to round it out.
Matt brought us lunch from the bakery one day – a hot pimento cheese sandwich with a salad made quickly in the middle of our kitchen painting zone – some hummus and tuna salad in the middle. Apple on top!
Another day I went to the bakery for a salad and brought it home – lemon hummus and kalamata olive over greens with tomato, cucumber and dressing.
My friend Sarah invited us over to her place to get out of the dust and served tuna salad salads. M didn’t love the tuna as much as I did, but he was wild about those crunchy crackers. I thought Sarah’s tuna salad was excellent! So creamy and perfect on the crackers.
And finally, a mug of Tomato Basil Revolutionary Soup with toast and orange on a dreary day
We ordered a pizza from Belmont Pizza with Karen one night and made salads with feta and olives on the side. Red wine to sip.
Our first night of renos we had Panko-Baked Wild Alaskan salmon, leftover quinoa (from the freezer – it froze so well!) peppered with parmesan and butter, and sautéed Swiss chard with mushrooms.
Mid week we had an out-to-dinner treat.
We met Karen at Zocalo and enjoyed some wine and wonderful entrees.
DOG guys DOG!
Lurve their carrot-vanilla scallops!!! Mazen wanted to get up and play about the time our entrees came, so Matt and I had to tag-team the rest of the meal. I’m not sure how much longer he’ll be able to sit through dinners out.
Finally we enjoyed the leftovers from our salmon night over a salad. A little leftover scallop from the night before snuck in too. I’m so glad we have our dining room table back!!
Michelle @ A Healthy Mrs says
Looks delicious, as always! 🙂
Jackie says
This scallops made my mouth water!
Chelsea @ TableForOne says
I also can’t wait to get some light back in my mornings! It isn’t getting light until about 7am here which means that it is still dark after I finish my workout and leave the gym. It just makes me want to go back to sleep! What a quick renovation. I bet it looks terrific!!
Katie @ Peace Love & Oats says
This is a great reminder that I need to make more salads! I haven’t been to great about getting veggies in recently so they’re the perfect way! I guess I just never like my homemade salads as much as I like salads that I buy when eating out! Especially from the Whole Foods salad bar…
Lisa says
Oh, you tease! I can’t wait to see the reveal.
Karen looks beautiful!
[email protected] says
I cant wait to see the kitchen facelift! I know it will look great.
Allison says
Hi, love these posts! Just curious though, when you make “leftover’ salads, do typically put dressing on them? I’m finding now that I’m tracking my food choices, I have so many wasted condiment calories, but I don’t know if I could do dry salad.
KathEats says
I usually drIzzle a little olive oil and honey
Amanda Cowan says
I agree on the dry salad thing, but I do find that when I mix it up, like she does on here, that I don’t even miss the dressing! Sometimes though, if you dip your fork in dressing, you get the flavor without all the extra calories, etc. When I eat out especially I notice a difference. If I ask for the dressing on the side, even if I dip generously, I use only a small portion of what they bring. Also, at home, I’ll mix it up with some oven roasted veggies and raw veggies. Sometimes even a sprinkling of cooked egg or bacon (yum!) allows for tons of flavor without as much calories and extra ingredients as bottled dressing. Of course, honey and olive oil is always fun too! 😉 I just wanted to share my experience with the dry salad thing.
Kim says
Try a balsamic vinegar that has been flavoured and aged. I use a dark chocolate one a lot. Just a drizzle of it adds so much taste and if your eating a salad with something rich it is even better as it helps cut that
Julie Rosene says
Your week looked like mine- lots of fish. I want pumpkin pancakes now! Can’t wait to see the changes in your kitchen!
Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says
I’ve got a hankerin’ for pumpkin pancakes now…your fault! 😉
Katie says
I agree, I teach yoga at 6 am twice a week, and I do not like finishing class and having it still be dark out.
Livi says
I want to try that salmon! do you have a recipe?
KathEats says
we simply dipped in egg and then coated in panko. Then we baked in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the saLmon was done
Livi says
yum- thanks!
Andrea says
Karen looks great!
Olivia at ohmy Olivia says
Your meals look SO good! I love the salads xo
Dana @ Conscious Kitchen Blog says
I’m ready for daylight savings too! I want to switch my workout routine to before work, so any sunlight in those morning hours would be greatly appreciate. I can sympathize with your kitchen renovations. We replaced the floor in our kitchen this past weekend and it was so challenging to be without a proper kitchen for a few days. Hope your project turns out great.
Theresa says
I can’t wait to see the kitchen!!
Theresa says
I can’t wait to see the kitchen! And those scallops look amazing!
Parita @ myinnershakti says
Each and every one of those salads looks delicious! And I too am in the “can’t wait until DLS time is over” camp. 🙂
Janelle says
I thought that you misspelled redo with reno until I realized you were abbreviating renovation – ha! Can’t wait to see the final result.
Melissa says
oohh the tag teaming during meals. I remember it well. My daughter does much better these days (she’s 5 today! aaahhh!!!!) LOL
Heather says
Wow, I think you did an amazing job preparing such food during a kitchen renovation! Well done. A nice mix of eating out / pizza and so many healthy, beautiful foods to make up such a great week. I hear you about the dark mornings – I left for work before 6am, got to work before the sun came up, I felt like I was working the night shift until 7AM!
Justeen says
The scallops at Zocalo are the incredible! As is the black bean and corn relleno. Your restaurant/dining out posts make me miss Cville so much!
JessicaR says
I’m the total opposite! I hate getting up when it’s light outside. I don’t know why… I guess when I get up when it’s still dark outside, it makes me feel like I have a little time to myself (to workout, usually) before the rest of the world gets up. 🙂
Jesse says
i totally hear you on these dark mornings, kath. atticus doesn’t get up till 7ish, but it feels like 4am because it’s SO dark outside! the first thing i do when we come downstairs is turn on all the lights and some tunes. it really wakes me up. oh and coffee, lots of coffee.
http://semiweeklyeats.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-best-kind-of-date-night.html
Leslie says
When is the kitchen reno reveal?
lisa says
Yes, when?? I am super excited to see it 🙂
Barca Mama says
Freezing quinoa- what a great idea!!! I made way too much and thought I was going to have to throw it out.
[email protected] says
Great to see Karen out and about!!! Totally just inspired me to stick on some tricolor quinoa…love it’s unique nutty texture!
Alisha @ Alisha's Appetite says
Everything looks to die for- like usual!
Amanda Cowan says
Okay, so I know you might already have comments on this, or lots of suggestions for this. When my kiddos started getting to that phase, I started packing a light “restaurant bag” full of things for entertainment. Cloth books, a few chunky blocks or “Little People” really go a long way at this age. You’d be amazed how a few toys can help. My little ones’ faves were always the toy cell phones and keys. Looks like a delicious week as usual!
Amanda Cowan says
I forgot to mention that we used to just leave the bag in the car so we always had it with us, plus then it was easy to carry it in the house to clean up as needed too
Sara says
Totally agree with this. We also used to tag-team wandering around the restaurant lobby (or even outside) during the ordering and waiting-on-the-food time. By the time the food got there, the kiddos were ready to sit at the table and we hadn’t used up all their patience beforehand. Our kids are 10.5 and 9 and we STILL keep small games, markers, and pads of paper in the car for boredom emergencies! 🙂
Katherine says
Wow, great job with the makeover : ) Can’t wait to see it!
Emily says
Hello! I too make Overnight oats most weekdays…but I’m just curious, do you not cover yours overnight in the fridge?
Emily says
Also, I love your little white bowls!! Where did you get them? Thanks!!
Danielle says
Those scallops look AMAZING!!! We did a kitchen reno about 2 years ago in our little apartment with 1 bathroom. Washing dishes in the tub is the worst. We did make some excellent dinners on our panini press on the floor though!
RJ says
Karen looks great!
Julie @ RDelicious Kitchen says
Can’t wait to see what you did to the kitchen!
Sammy @ Peace Love and Ice Cream says
A kitchen renovation – that’s exciting!!
YUM and YUM! Btw, pizza & salad is one of my favorite meals 🙂
-Sammy @ www.peaceandloveandicecream.com
Stephanie says
Your meals are looking very cozy this week. Just wondering, how do you reheat fish a couple nights later and have it still be edible (not rubbery or off-tasting)? I usually try not make too much fish because if there are leftovers they never taste or feel right the second time around. I’d love to know your technique!
KathEats says
I don’t really have a secret but it has always tasted ok to me. I usually use the toaster oven
Kylie @ immaeatthat says
Carrot-vanilla scallops?! Sounds like a dream!
I was hoping you would have been at FNCE! Would have LOVED to meet you:)
KathEats says
Someday!
Elisabeth says
Karen looks fantastic & I can’t wait to see the big kitchen reveal 😉
Alex @ Kenzie Life says
Can you come design my apartment? 🙂 I love your taste in decorations/home furnishings! And your french toast always makes me so hungry and craving some! My favorite french toast is one that is topped with a mascarpone with orange rind grated into it…
Emily - It Comes Naturally Blog says
I tried to make pumpkin pancakes last week – total flop. Motivation to try again though!
Jess says
I’ve never been to a Great Harvest but everything looks absolutely delicious! Maybe there will be a franchise op in Europe one day…fingers crossed!
robin says
Good to see Miss Karen:) Cant wait to see the kitchen!!
Laura says
I am wondering how you like the butcher block counters? We are planning a kitchen reno and I REALLY want butcher block but we have heard mixed reviews….
KathEats says
Hate them! We’re replacing them
Jack O'Brien says
Just wondering what you hate so much about them? I’ve never had them, but have always liked the idea of having a “built in” cutting board in my future kitchen. Are they awful to clean?
KathEats says
This is our second house to have them. The first had a really good seal and it was sticky and picked up the print from package labels and stuff just stuck to it. The shine kind of countered the natural look of the wood too. In our current house they aren’t sealed well at all and every little stain…. including water. .. leaves a mark for days. You really can’t cut on it unless you want permanent knife marks and it’s harder to clean than a cutting board just because you can’t rinse it off. I love the look but wood is just so impractical in the kitchen
Emma says
It’s so nice to see Karen up and around, and feeling up to a dinner out! Hooray for her!
Anna @ Fitness à la Anna says
I didn’t realize that you could freeze quinoa, such a great idea for meal prep!
Leila Dishes says
I’m excited to see the kitchen when it’s finished. We’re about to start a kitchen reno and I am dreading it! The hubs thinks it is a-ok to take MONTHS and do it mostly on our own. Clearly I am the cook – that idea sounds awful!