Of all of the tasks associated with the kitchen expansion project, the one that gave me the most trepidation was figuring out how to get the 750 lb (350 kg) granite hearthstone up onto its brick masonry base. In the end, I lured Drew Dow and his assistant Jake up to the farm under false pretenses (taking a load of cherry logs to the sawmill), and, true to form, it turned out that they were up for any task I could muster. It took a little creativity with levers and rollers and plenty of blocking, but in the end, we got it into place without anyone getting killed or maimed.
In Progress
It’s not much of a photo, but it does give a good indication of progress on the new fireplace in the expanded kitchen. The goal is, for those who don’t know, to be able to do wood-fired open-hearth cooking. Seems like just the thing for cold dark evenings. Now that I’ve gotten it this far, I’m incredibly anxious to get the chimney up through the roof and try it out…
Enjoying the Final Product
There’s something about lamb chops, marinated in olive oil, garlic, and rosemary and grilled over a fire of grapevines. Since we spent a good part of the day pruning the grapes it seemed like a fitting dinner, along with a few shrimp, eggplant, asparagus, and a bit of risotto. Oh, and about that bottle of Burgundy, it was as good as it looks.
And now that the evenings are cooler, we can start using the fireplace in the kitchen again. There is very little that does more for ambiance on a cold damp evening than the crackling of a wood fire mingling with the clink of wine glasses. The smell of the sizzling bits of pancetta (for the Brussels sprouts) isn’t such a bad thing either.
