Recipe: Peach Crisp
Here’s a good fall recipe to try. It was a hit last weekend at our family Labor Day gathering. It is easy to make and is delicious!
Peach Crisp
6-8 fresh peaches
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 cup flour
Crumble Topping
1-1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar, or brown sugar
3/4 cup softened butter
To remove the skin off the peaches, boil some water in a large pot. Add the peaches in the water for several minutes. Remove the peaches and and place them in another pot of cold water. Skins should be peel off peaches easily now. When skin is removed, slice the peaches in a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and flour and stir until all coated.
Spray a 13 x 9″ baking pan with cooking spray. Pour the peach mixture in the pan.
Mix the flour, sugar and butter together in a separate bowl for the crumble topping. Spread the topping over the peaches. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon and sugar over the top. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Serve with cool whip, or ice cream.
Enjoy!
Barb
Posted in Cooking in your kitchen on September 13th, 2009 by Barb | | 0 Comments
Granite Countertops—Spotlight On Cutting
At PGC, every piece of granite that leaves our fabrication shop for installation, is custom cut to fit the customer’s specifcations for cabinets. After all of the color selections have been made by the customer, and the final measure is completed by our measuring technician, the fabrication process can begin.
Fabrication starts with a either a remnant piece, or a full slab of granite (ranging to approximately 9′-10′ x 5′-6′) that is placed on our Yukon saw. Our sawman, or Pipe, as we like to call him, then places the templates on the granite to layout the material. When seams are required, he does the best job possible to create a clean flow from one piece to the next .
After all of the pieces of the project are cut, they move down the line to the next stage in the fabrication process, which we will spotlight later.
Please see the photos below of the Yukon and Pipe in action:
Pipe removing a remnant of granite
Slab of granite, flat for fabrication
Templating
Programming the dimensions into the Yukon
Getting started
Posted in Granite on September 10th, 2009 by Angie | | 1 Comments
Granite Countertops—Beautiful, Durable, and…Heavy!
We often hear many questions about granite from customers who visit our showroom. One question we hear repeatedly is, “How heavy is granite?” While most people know that granite is heavy, they are often surprised to hear that it actually weighs 18 pounds per square foot for 3 cm material.
Many customers often ask questions about handling heavy pieces and are curious as to how it’s done. Great care is taken by our installers to bring you your granite countertops. They work with granite everyday and use their “know-how,” and expertise, as well as dollies to move and lift the various pieces. Small pieces are usually tipped at an angle and hand-carried into your home. Larger pieces are transported using a dolly and carefully moved into position and then gently cantilevered into place. Once the granite pieces are in place they are shimmed, leveled, and secured with silicone leaving you with a beautiful, durable countertop surface.
Thanks for reading!
Barb
Posted in Granite on September 9th, 2009 by Barb | | 0 Comments
Granite: Durable, Strong—You Bet!
Last week, Chris and I took a road trip out west, to visit some family in Montana. On our way, we stopped in the Badlands of South Dakota and visited the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
Mount Rushmore is a monumental granite sculpture by Gutzon Borglum of Presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The sculpture was constructed to represent the first 150 years of history of the USA, and attracts about 2 million visitors a year.
While there is regular maintenance of the sculpture, “the estimated erosion rate of the sculpture is 1 inch every 10,000 years.” Wow—now that is some durable granite! I don’t think there is any engineered stone out there that can match that, especially given the outdoor weather conditions.
Thanks for reading!
Barb
Following are a few photos I wanted to share from the trip:
Posted in Granite, Uncategorized on September 4th, 2009 by Barb | | 0 Comments
MIA Joins Coalition For HIRE Act of 2009 For Home Furnishings & Building Products
The MIA, Marble Institute of America, has joined forces with the building products and home furnishings coalition to support the passage of the 2009 HIRE Act, H.R. 3382, introduced by Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia. The HIRE Act would provide consumers tax deductions and credits for the purchase of home furnishings and building products used for home improvements for qualified income families.
According to Gary Distelhorst, Executive Vice President of the MIA, “The HIRE Act can provide a strong stimulus for the remodeling industry nationwide.” Those people that would otherwise forgo spending in 2009, would be more apt to spend money for home improvements with the passage of the bill.
According to the MIA Press Release on the subject, The HIRE Act of 2009 would provide the following for the next 3 years (2009-2011):
- A tax deduction of up to $2,000 per family ($1,000 per individual) for purchasing qualifying furnishing or building products for families making up to $300,000 a year ($150,000 for individuals).
- A tax credit of up to $500 per family ($250 for individual) for purchase of qualifying product and/or installation of home furnishings or building products for low income families.
- A tax credit of up to $10,000 for contractors and retailers for the purchase of qualifying home furnishings or building products for resale.
- A doubling of applicable tax deduction or credit for the purchase and/or installation of qualifying home furnishings or building products, which meet environmental standards.
Thanks for reading!
Barb
Posted in Granite, Industry News on September 1st, 2009 by Barb | | 0 Comments
