Monday, December 16, 2013

Under A Hundred

I have a book that is full of projects. Some are finished in the design stages and ready for construction and others are just a simple idea wrote down waiting to be worked through.
This book is filled with some costly projects, some cheap ones, some that will take months to complete and others that will only take a few hours. I often go to this book when I am bored and want to dream a little.

Saturday morning was just one of those days. I was in my shop tinkering around and got bored. I picked up my project book and flipped through the pages until I found one interesting enough to hold my attention. The outdoor kitchen was what I stopped at. I studied the elaborate plans I drew up many months ago and looked at the cost column and mumbled to myself, "there was no way."
I asked myself why I needed something so costly and over built just to cook on so I started scribbling on the page again. I don't need the sink right now, I don't need the built in fish fryers at the moment either. I also did not need to sink my grill in the counter top and I really didn't need to cover the whole thing with stone and tile. I also didn't need to have it wrap all the way abound the patio at the moment either. So what I ended up with was a project under $100.00 instead of one that cost $1500.00
On top of all that, this is a lot more piratical for what I need at the moment.
A friend gave me the counter top cook stove a year or so ago. All I had to do was buy a Propane regulator for it and adjust the needle valves to change it from natural gas to LP. I already had the granite for the counter tops and most of the wood. I did have to buy the plywood and a couple of boards. Total cost was $40.00.
All the wood is sealed from the weather and sure, it would look better with doors and stone wrapped around it but why? It will serve it's purpose just the way it is.
Instead of doing the whole project at once, I have broke it into sections. This one being the first and the next one being a drop down corner section that my little upright smoker will sit on. Then on to the other sections after that.

I built it yesterday and last night we had some friends over and gave it a test run, everything worked great. We had grilled chicken and pasta with home made aristocrat sauce, unbelievable on how good this food was.  
 I am so happy to have a gas stove again making where I am not so dependent on the electric one in the house or having to start a fire to use coals to cook off of.

I already have my Cajun Microwave so next on the list is the dutch oven cooking area, then the pizza oven and then maybe a rocket stove. Maybe the rocket stove first.

Thanks for reading, talk to ya later,
Jerry       
   
 

15 comments:

  1. Love it!
    Rocket stoves are NEAT!!!! They look pretty simple to do too. I like the ones where you build a bench/butt warmer on each side :)

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    1. Thanks Kelly.
      I agree, I like the bench ones as well.

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  2. MDR,

    Now that's an outdoor kitchen. This would be great for canning food outside. Enjoy your outdoor kitchen!!!!

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    1. Thanks Sandy, This is just one part of the kitchen and yes, I do plan to do a bunch of canning on it. That was one of the reasons why I wanted to build it.

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  3. A man of outstanding abilities. If I'm ever stranded on an island with just a string and a nail, I want you along. You would have a house built by nightfall.

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    1. Thanks LJ, I would probably need a little more than that but we could build something constructive for sure.

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  4. Thats great. It helps to be resourceful!

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    1. Thanks J&M, it will be than resourceful you can bet on that. More like a life saver.

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  5. Always love visiting! Keep up the great work!!

    Steve
    Common Cents
    http://www.commoncts.blogspot.com

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  6. I've been searching outdoor stoves for a while and most on the market are the steel-framed camping stoves. I came across something similar to yours on Pinterest and it's been on my husband's to-do list for about a month. Your outdoor kitchen looks awesome!

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    1. Thanks Anony, this one is on Pinterest as well. We use it all the time and so far so good. It's better then heating the house up that is for sure.
      Good luck with it.

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  7. Do you keep this covered when not in use? I'm particularly wondering about the gas cooktop. Thanks!

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    1. Anony, yes I built a wood cover that goes over the cook top. It has handles on the sides so it is easy to remove and by turning it over it also doubles as a large tray to carry all the cooking stuff.
      Thanks for the question

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