It’s just five days away – our first trip to Walt Disney World with the kids. 🙂 “Excited” does not begin to cover it around here. I have planned and researched and planned some more. I thought I’d make a quick list of some of the blogs that have helped!

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4c. dried green lentils
2 1/2 cups chicken broth, plus 2 cups
1 bay leaf
1 cup long-grain white rice
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
2 tsps. finely grated lemon peel
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Heat 1 Tbsp. of oil in large saucepan. Add the carrot, onion, and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lentils. Add 2 1/2 cups of broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer gently until the lentils are just tender, about 15 minutes. (Note: if you use red lentils, the proportions stay the same but it will take 45 minutes to an hour to cook the lentils to tender.) Drain well. Transfer the lentils to a large bowl. (Note: I prefer to save the liquid and use in the next step, only adding enough new broth to make the measure.)


Meanwhile, bring the remaining 2 cups broth and bay leaf to a boil over high heat. Add the rice and return the broth to a simmer. Cover and simmer gently over low heat until the rice is tender and liquid is absorved, about 20 minutes. Do not stir the rice as it cooks. (Note: you can use brown rice, but cooking time will increase to 50 minutes-1 hours.) Remove the saucepan from the heat. Fluff the rice with a fork.

Transfer rice to the bowl with the lentils. Add the olives, parsley, thyme, and lemon peel. Toss the rice mixture with the remaining 3 Tbsp oil to coat. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

So, I’m dream-shopping again. Well, this time I’m going to call it “research” because we move in 49 days and have decided to leave behind our current kitchen table. That means we need to buy a new set pretty much immediately when we arrive in Owensboro.

I don’t want to buy anything before we get there, though – I’m afraid my memory and photos of the kitchen won’t make for a good match on colors.

The way the new kitchen is laid out, there’s a narrow half-height wall separating the eat-in area from the family room. I’m guessing it’s about four feet long, and chair-rail height. This half-wall makes a corner with the floor-length window and door to the patio. (I don’t know the proper term for that feature: it looks like french doors with a 12-pane window, but it’s actually one stationary window and a door with matching windowpanes. Does that make any sense?)

The previous owners have a round four-top here, but since we’ll be a family of five very shortly after moving in, I know we’ll need a bit more space than that! We’ll have a separate dining room, but furnishing that is further down on the priority list so this will be the main eating space for a while. Even after we have a “real” dining room table, I’m guessing the kitchen table will still be the primary place for
-breakfast for five
-school for three
-crafts and games for any combination of Nebels + friends
-lunch for four

The kitchen also has a built-in island that has bar-height seating for two. We asked for the current owners to leave their barstools, but they changed that in the counter-offer. So I’ll need to get two barstools as well, and if I can find a dining set that has matching (or coordinating) barstools, that will be an extra ‘plus.’

I’m thinking of a rectangular or oval table… I love pedestals and farmhouse style tables. I can’t go too “rustic” or “country,” since that’s not really Chris’ favorite look, but it can’t be too minimalist or European either (which he leans toward but rubs me the wrong way). I’d LOVE to get a table with a bench seat and four chairs. I’m thinking we could have the bench up against the half-height wall, and then we could keep 2 chairs (and eventually, a highchair) out all the time. We could stash 2 additional chairs in the under-stairs closet that’s just a step outside of the kitchen, and pull those out when we have company but keep them out of the way for less visual clutter the rest of the time.

A few contenders:

Antique Honey Verona Trestle Table from Cost Plus World Market

Example of a custom table & chairs from Cottage Home Furniture.