Cutting Board Re-Purposed...Re-imagined ... A Cook top Cutting Board?

We can use a few more clichés because cutting boards like the ones in your kitchen are in fact multi-use surfaces. They come in different forms and sizes, not counting the kind of materials they are made from. So, it is not a stretch when we think of re-imagining them.

A while back a friend gave me some discarded material when he renovated their kitchen. It was a section of a countertop that served as a large built-in cutting board.  I've kept this large maple piece for years.  Then one day I finally found a way to use or repurpose it.

Below, I ripped a section to the size of 15 X 18 inches

These ripped narrow pieces will be used as shown two photos down.

At the router table I created a 1/4 X 3/4 inch rabbet on three edge sides

I clamped the long, narrow pieces. This allows the board to be elevated to a certain height

The glue should be enough to hold the narrow pieces but I decided to strengthen it further with dowels, using my drill installed on a jig (By the way, Woodsmith published this tip I submitted in their coming March issue.

Good dowels are typically just a tad larger than the holes. Tip: Chuck one into a drill.  Sand it ever so slightly as it rotates with the drill running at slow speed.

Cut the protruding dowels flush with the surface.

For the woodworkers out there, I recommend this router bit to chamfer the edges of the board. It has replaceable cutters, sharp on all sides, so they can be turned a quarter at a time to expose the unused sharp edges once one  side gets dull.  There are two cutters on opposite sides.

At the router table, again, I routed a finger hold at each edge to easily lift and move the board if needed.

I routed "juice channels" along four edges and one at the center.

Sanding

I glued another piece at one end.  This will serve as a stop.

This is a cutting board so the only finish needed is bee's wax - butcher block finish.

The question then is why make this cutting board in the first place? Why, indeed? For what special purpose? 

The stove top below was over 25 years old when we decided to replace it. There was one problem: the manufacturer no longer makes one unit with that width of 45 inches.  The latest versions are typically just 30 inches.

The existing cut out in the counter top was 45 inches wide, naturally. One solution was to get the 30 inch stove top and install another cooking equipment that was 15 inches wide.  I had to do some carpentry work to provide the proper support.  And get an electrician to run another 220 volt line to power the griddle that we purchased (same brand to match)

One down side is that the griddle costs as much as most entire stove tops.  The upside is that it is one versatile cooking appliance - a joy to use. Its top is a thick stainless steel, polished to a mirror finish. The entire appliance is permanently installed but cleaning it is a breeze.

Having said all that, I must mention that there are plug-in, commercially available stand alone countertop griddle models that are absolutely capable at cooking food no differently from the griddle featured here.  I purchased ours because that was the only option I had on the specific countertop.

 

Below is what I occasionally prepare - the Hawaiian breakfast. Don't laugh but Spam is gourmet category in Hawaii and other Asian countries. There is a yearly Spam festival in Honolulu.  It's fun to do it on this griddle. 

Below is the first stage of a particular fried rice.  The only thing you can't do on this griddle is make soup.

French toast, anyone? I have a great recipe for this at the bottom of this blog.

I usually make several in one session. They will keep very well in the fridge.  30 seconds in a microwave are all it takes to warm up a piece.

It's my wife's birthday today. She deserved a lovingly prepared breakfast to start her day.  Slices of papaya, blueberries and strawberries are almost a daily fare I prepare for her. Then lunch ...

Shrimp on the griddle?

Tip: de-veining a shrimp. Halfway along the length of the shrimp, insert a toothpick or pin on the back of the shrimp ..

Pull the toothpick up and away  to extract the shrimp's vein (its intestine actually)

This was what the birthday girl had for lunch. Included was  store bought lobster's pinchers.

With her Parkinson's, this beats going to a restaurant.  And I don't mind preparing home cooked meals.  It's a chore that I decided to embrace rather than treat it as burden and psyched myself to enjoy it. For sure, 90% of those who prepare the meals at restaurants are men; so, I might as well be the chef at home.😇

Back to the question of why this particular cutting board.  When frying on the stove top, the griddle gets oil splatters all the time. The cutting board acts as a de facto cover.

I like it that it also serves as a nearby staging platform for the ingredients I prepare ahead of time for fried rice, in this example below.  It is a cutting board so it also serves well for any last minute chopping or slicing. 

It also serves as a platform where a hot pot can be moved to temporarily instead of on the countertop.

Like all cutting boards it can be washed with soap and water.  Alternatively, one may put some other smaller cutting board on top of it.  By the way, I renew re-finishing it with beeswax.  Alternatively, cooking oil will work too. Smear it over the surface and wipe it dry.

One recipe for French toast. A while back, many while years ago, at the downtown building where I used to work had a cafeteria just below the ground floor. Every now and then co-workers and I would go down there for breakfast. The French toast was our favorite. One day I asked the lady who was cooking it for the recipe.

It's simple as 3-2-1.  3 eggs, 2 cups of milk, 1 pinch of salt. (optional: 2-3 drops of vanilla extract.  Mix all in a bowl. Spray the pan with Pam, set stove at medium heat, melt some butter and spread. Dip one piece of bread at a time to soak the mixture (no more than 2-3 seconds). Set the soaked bread, one side first, flip and do the other. You decide how brown one side before flipping it over to complete the cooking.  Of course, you can use any flat pan. The griddle just makes it convenient to do 3-4 pieces at a time.

Ancient Origins:

The origins of French toast actually date back much further than France itself. In fact, many believe that this dish can be traced back to ancient times, where it was known by different names. The Romans, for example, had a similar dish called “pan dulcis,” which consisted of soaking stale bread in a mixture of milk and eggs before frying it. This was a way to make use of leftover bread and avoid waste. 

The usual French name is pain perdu (French: [pɛ̃ pɛʁdy] ⓘ 'lost bread', reflecting its use of stale or otherwise "lost" bread. It may also be called pain doré 'golden bread' in Canada.[9]

This was a long story to get to a French toast recipe. To someone, retired like me and enjoying retirement, I like to think that simple stories like this is worthwhile re-telling for those who some day will be looking to see what they too can do in their ample spare time of their own golden years and hopefully get to enjoy them as well.  Bon Appetit!

Refrigerator Magnets, Going Beyond

I am not talking about refrigerator magnets used to display our kids artwork or self-reminders.  What will always remain true, of course,  is that refrigerators are truly indeed magnet heavens.

A while back we purchased a new refrigerator (photo below). The channel below the glass serves as handle for opening both side doors, which is quite a well designed system. A knob located below the left corner of the upper right quadrant when pressed opens the glass door only.  Quite a good design except there is no horizontal bar for a hand towel or dry cloth.  I have taken over the kitchen since after my wife was diagnosed with Parkinson's so I made it a mini-mission to have a towel bar there as part of a few ways to improve kitchen work.

From the scrap heap I found just the right length and width in a piece of red cherry. I sketched what each end will look like.

I don't have a band saw so a Japanese hand saw finished what the table saw cannot. It was tricky with the table saw because it calls for positioning the workpiece above the table, then gradually raising the blade so I can make the cut in the middle of the workpiece without going through either end. A band saw would have made the work a lot easier but to this day I refuse to own one.

Some hand filing

A spindle drum sander did the rest

The router table made quick work in creating two channels to accommodate two stainless steel bars (one shown)

The stainless steel bars are not just for aesthetics but they provide excellent rigidity and strength to the bar

Some chisel work to "square" the ends of the channel.

Both ends of the handle were shaped at the router table as well

Drilling the two one-inch shallow holes for the magnets

The stainless steel bars fit snugly in the channels so only thin CA glue was needed to further secure them (clamped for 30 minutes)

Polishing

Neodymium magnet fastened at each end with wood screw

Finishing with water-based polyurethane.

Voila! A towel bar is attached but will detach with some effort, but leaving no mark. To make sure in avoiding scratch marks, either recess the magnet just by  "hair" through the depth of the hole or, alternatively, tape the magnet's face with Scotch or masking tape.  The bar can be easily relocated anywhere on the refrigerator or anywhere else - really, for as long as there is any iron plate or any large enough flat head screw or washer attached to any non-ferrous surface.

 

Why this sudden fascination with a refrigerator? To use  1980's lingo I heard teenagers used to say when one  of their friends  had to do household chores, they were referred to as having become "domestic".  I have become that since taking over most of the household chore.  As the saying goes, if you take up something and not treat it as a chore, it takes away a lot of the usual grief; perhaps even enjoy it or, at least, have some fun doing it.  

Well, one little woodworking project out of it was fun.  Let me tell the reader why I have now embraced refrigerators. Aside from their intended purpose, this one we have, for not a whole lot of money, offers some joy.

You can tap or knock on the glass door and a light comes on to show the most often used items - like butter, milk, frequently used condiments, bottled water, etc.

If all I needed is in that section I will only open that small glass window

Of course, the left and right doors open normally

In today's age, I will have to say that going "domestic" is not so bad.

One Note on shop safety: I often preached to rest, stop and step away from the workshop after two hours of work and do something else - a cup of coffee, check the news on TV, etc.  Only then, about half an hour later, should one resume the work.  Well, I violated that rule.

It was almost three hours working straight when during the delicate chisel work, a quarter inch chisel slipped and sliced across and caused a half inch, 1/8 inch deep gash on my right thumb. If you don't like blood dripping on the floor, make a note of this rule. I hurried inside, washed it under  warm water running from the faucet, using soap to vigorously clean both hands, pressed hard on closing the laceration, applied antibiotic cream, then wrapped it tight with band aid.

I decided to drive to the nearest urgent care clinic because I was certain it needed to be stitched up.  The nurse cleaned it well although he was surprised it was no longer bleeding. He teased me about really getting my "blood, sweat and tears" into the project. When the doctor came in, after a brief exam and testing for movement of the hand and fingers he said, "You're fine, no need for sutures, but you were just lucky".  Maybe I sharpened the chisel too well, it did a clean laceration as to have closed the wound easily.  Don't listen to that theory. 😌  Do the 2-hour rule 😇

I only missed the following day of woodworking and resumed to finish the project two days later.

Word on Magnets: Two commercially available magnets - neodymium and molybdenum - are reasonably priced for household and shop applications. I used a few for all kinds of jigs or for hanging tools and for attaching stuff temporarily.  Please read up on proper handling of these powerful magnets.