Kitchen Gadget Girl

A few weeks ago, I posted my standard get-to-know-y’all question on Twittermoms, a new social network for moms who tweet (a description I just barely fit). I asked the other moms what their favorite kitchen gadget is, and asked them to post their blog URLs too. And here is the roundup!

Kelly from The Geek Mom and Sandy of Macaroni and Peas, love super sharp knives. Sandy is pretty sure she could not cook with out one, and Kelly is especially partial to her Santoku knife, which she says is a great all-purpose tool.

Chef Wendy Walton, aka Chef Mommy and Pam B, along with Elena from Scrappers Journal and Stacey from The Sicilian Hideaway, love their Kitchen Aid Stand Mixers. A few are new to the joys of the stand mixer, while others have been enjoying theirs for years. What is your favorite attachment? I am thinking of getting a grain mill, to grind my own flour!

Laura of Rock the Dinner Rush (the first one to respond to my forum topic!) and Alysa are both fond of their Bread Machines- they did not specify brand, do you have a favorite? And Robin of Whole Food and More uses her Vita-Mix to make peanut butter and butter from grass-fed beef, both good toppers for fresh bread. Do you people all know each other?

Spottie kind of punted on the question, not really willing to commit to any one of her many kitchen gadgets, although she gave to props to several, including her can opener, bread machine, and her ice tea maker (yes, this counts as a kitchen gadget!).

And last, but most definitely not least, Mama Grimtribe of Living Cheap Wonderfully is a big fan of her Immersion Blender, which is also one of my top-10 favorite tools! And since she is whipping up dinner for 8 every night, this tool gets a ton of use.

If you have just joined us here, what is your favorite kitchen gadget?

Photo courtesy of Kimberly Faye.

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When the opportunity comes up, my favorite choice for romantic hotels involve great food and relaxing accommodations. For two years now, when my in-laws come to visit, my husband and I have manged to sneak away for two nights to Yountville, California, just north of Napa, in the middle of wine country.

We enjoy staying at the Villagio Inn & Spa, right in downtown Yountville. The Villagio itself is a gorgeous property, Italian in style, with lovely walkways, small villa-like buildings, and rooms with private balconies. The comfort of the rooms immediately sets us at ease, and we always enjoy the fireplace and huge bathtub, no matter the weather outside.

Immediately across the street are no less than 5 excellent places to eat (Bistro Jeanty, Redd and Bouchon are three of our favorites), and the Inn is just a short walk from The French Laundry (reservations are now available through OpenTable, check here for tips & tricks). On our last visit, we tried Redd, and enjoyed their 5 course tasting menu, which they present with a twist - you must order it for the entire table, and for the two of us, they brought out 10 different tastes, so that my husband and I were able to try twice as many of their outstanding offerings!

In the mornings, after a visit to the gym next door, we enjoy a delicious champagne breakfast buffet in the main building, which includes several hot and cold dishes, fresh fruit and baked goods. When the weather is nice, we sit outside on the covered patio, over-looking the pool, and plan our day of wine tasting.

Yountville is located right off the St Helena Highway, not far from the Silverado Trail, and in that part of Napa, we enjoy visiting Consentino, Robert Sinsky, and Nickel & Nickel. In order to not totally wreck our taste buds for dinner, we limit ourselves to three wineries and usually focus on reds, unless an outstanding white or sparkling is on the tasting menu. And we are always up for bringing a bottle or two home to try sometime in the future.

When not wine tasting, Yountville has excellent paths for long walks and bike rides, and unique boutiques for my retail-therapy needs. I come home from each romantic visit to the Villagio relaxed and renewed!

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I will admit, I have not spent that much time on Etsy, not like my friend Erika, aka Plain Jane Mom, who has a whole new blog devoted to Etsy-goodness, Try Handmade. However, the other day, while browsing around the web (not sure what I was looking for, that happens sometimes), I found a cool post on Kim Vallee’s site about personalized baking stickers and stamps. I have been looking for something to put on the jars of Limoncello I made this summer, and Kim had several Etsy suggestions.

In keeping with the food theme, I went over to Etsy to see what else I could find. SugarCake has beautiful, crocheted food toys, including a set of 4 fruits, a bowl with 6 vegetables and even chocolate covered strawberries! If my daughter was even remotely interested in a play house, I would buy these little treasures for her kitchen.

For more play food treasures, I looked to Just Felt Hungry, who creates adorable play food out of, you guessed it, felt! Her designs are creative and fresh, and just in time for Halloween, Sugar Skulls. And then I get side tracked looking at these nifty meal planners. And these neat magnets with vintage fruit box labels. Oh, and this cute cupcake notecard stationary.

But back to my original quest, stickers for my Limoncello bottles - I think I am leaning towards this. Or maybe this. Or even this. What do you think?

Picture courtesy of Rob Qld.

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Wow, that sounds a little over the top for this post, but hopefully the title won’t scare you away.

It has been 5 months now since starting this blogging endeavor, and I thought I would write a bit about the way things work in my kitchen, how I make decisions, the foods and tools and books that I gravitate towards when cooking for my family. I also thought it might be a nice idea to lay down some ground rules about how I cook.

Oh goodie, another whole post about me!

Let’s start with ingredients:

Butter - I use unsalted butter, preferably organic, but I usually buy what is on sale.
Salt - Baleine Sea Salt Fine Crystals.
Cinnamon - Not my favorite spice, I prefer to substitute ginger or nutmeg if it makes sense in the recipe.
Nutmeg - no, I don’t grind my own, the stuff from Trader Joes is fine with me (not that I don’t have a nutmeg grinder, I am KGG for goodness sakes!).
Milk - Nonfat, unless a recipe calls for something else. Always organic. Same with most of my dairy, if it makes financial sense.
Whole Ground Flaxseed Meal - I add this almost all my baked goods, using it to justify baking cookies each week.
Sour Cream - Daisy Light Sour Cream is the preferred brand in my house - not sure why, just like the way it tastes.
Meat and Cheese - I tend to by organic or local if possible, except if the prices scare me. Some weeks they do, some weeks they don’t.
Rice - I use brown rice in all my recipes.
Beets - are always roasted, 400F, 1 hour 15 minutes, then peeled and sliced, sprinkled with balsamic vinegar or tossed with manouri cheese. I am starting to experiment with other ways to use beets, but this is the way we like the best.
Tomato products - I buy the lowest salt version I can find, or use a jar of home canned stuff.
Canned beans (not canned green beans, I don’t buy canned veggies) - again, lowest salt version I can find.
Chicken Broth - I am partial to Swanson’s Natural Goodness in the 14oz can or 32oz carton.
Peanut Butter - all natural in this house. Nothing with palm kernel oil. Creamy and chunky are equally good.
Flour - King Arthur from Trader Joes, and I measure all my flour for baking. Sometimes the scoop & sweep method if I am in a hurry.
Brown Sugar - Light Brown Sugar in the resealable bag is my favorite, I avoid the box as it is cumbersome to measure and pack.
Chocolate - I will buy the best I can afford. These days, I like Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet, Scharffen Berger 99% Cacao Unsweetened and Dagoba Organic Cacao Powder.
Coffee - We are a Peet’s family, through and through. We even take it camping.
Mushrooms - we don’t cook with them in this house - I made a vow on my wedding day to substitute green chile for mushrooms in any recipe calling for them. My husband recommends this to all families, even if you do like mushrooms.

High Fructose Corn Syrup and Hydrogenated Oils have no place in my home. I am a fastidious label reader and will not purchase anything with those items. My husband will, however, but I am training him. Usually means a couple phone calls from the store as he shops and looks at labels.

We don’t buy sodas, we avoid lots of processed foods, we buy mostly whole grain breads and crackers and I like to buy organic fruits and veggies, especially the thin-skinned varieties. In my shopping basket every week is milk, eggs, yogurt, fruit and bread. Our veggies are delivered weekly through a CSA called Two Small Farms. Meat protein is an occasional purchase, we try to have fish 1-2 times a week.

And, my husband and I are completely fine with the double standard in our house - after the kids go to bed, we have been known to break out the ice cream and chocolate while we veg out in front of the television. One of the joys of being an adult.

Now, onto cookbooks.

Lately, I find myself going to the Food Blog Search when I need a new recipe, but these are the books I find myself turning too again and again:

Crazy Plates and Looney Spoons, by Janet & Greta Podleski
Everyday Food, Great Food Fast, from the kitchens of Martha Stewart Living
American Heart Association Cookbook
Martha Stewart’s Cookies
Cookies and Brownies, by Alice Medrich
Chez Panisse Vegetables, by Alice Waters
The Victory Garden Cookbook, by Marian Morash
How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman
Whole Grain Baking, by King Arthur Flour

Plus scads of recipes I have cut out from Sunset, Cooking Light, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Everyday Food, and Real Simple. I also look up recipes on Recipe Source and Epicurious. I tend to avoid recipes that used pre-packaged mixes, preferring to make things from scratch, although I have been known to make Death by Chocolate Cake when the mood strikes.

A favorite party trick is to prepare completely new recipes when we have guests over for dinner. I like the challenge and who better to try to new recipes on. So far, no one has gone away hungry or dissatisfied.

My family is fairly tolerant of my cooking, and at dinner, while not catering to specific preferences, I do try to ensure that there is at least one dish that we have had before, along with several others, and allow everyone to choose what they eat. We sit down and eat as a family 5-6 nights a week, and have been doing that since my oldest started eating solids.

Our dining room table is the first thing you see when entering our house - we did that on purpose, food is important as is feeding our family and friends.

Wow, that is a lot of information - for an introvert, I feel as though I have over-shared. Any questions? Let me know!

P.S. I am working on finding a decent picture of myself to post, so you can put a face with a name. For now, please enjoy a picture of carrots from a recent risotto recipe!

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I set aside our regular Cookie Thursday for a special Debate-themed food update. Tonight I am sitting with other women, watching the debate together. Naturally, we were asked to bring an appetizer and I, Kitchen Gadget Girl, was totally stumped! How do you show your party (political, that is) alliance through your choice of appetizers?

Joe Biden is from Scranton, Pennsylvania - in addition to the ubiquitous Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches, Pennsylvania is also known for their large Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish communities. Back to basics, people - chicken pot pie, pickles, canning, homemade pie. Yum. Pretty much the way Kitchen Gadget Girl likes to cook!

Idaho, birthplace of Sarah Palin, is known for potatoes and trout. Maybe a baked potato bar with melted Velveeta and BacoBits. Alaska is full of fresh fish and wonderful produce, especially from the MatSu Valley - I know how I would cook a fresh piece of salmon or halibut, I wonder if Governor Palin has a favorite method?

Slashfood has a nice list from last week’s presidential debate, and Yum Sugar has a fun slide show of current campaign-themed food, including Baskin Robbins Flavor Debate and Jones Soda Campaign Cola.

Personally, a glass of wine is all I need to enjoy tonight’s debate. Sadly, I would have to give up my comfy couch seat to get one!

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Last night, I was invited by Brittany Gilbert from Eye on Blogs (favorite gadget: George Foreman Grill, although she recommends the one with removable plates, which sadly she does not have) to a blogger meet-up in San Francisco, at the KPIX studios. Ooh, the fun! The food! The adult beverages!

Alas, I find these events difficult, as I am by nature an introvert.

No really. I am. Honest.

So, to avoid cowering in the corner like a loser, I walk around and meet people and ask them about their favorite kitchen gadget. Here is my roundup from last evening:

Laura from The Smart Moms Network pulled her favorite gadget out of her purse (folks, that is dedication!) - a Double Hinged Wine Opener (looks just like a parrot when it is closed). And Analise, who I met towards the end of the evening, is a big fan of her Crockpot (me too! I am drooling over this slow cooker from Cuisinart).

Andy from Jook Warrior, who I met while talking with Biggie of Lunch In A Box (favorite gadget: Rubberized Shelf Liners) is a fan of Henckels Take Apart Kitchen Shears. Andy uses them for everything from cutting apart chicken to snipping herbs. Samantha, who was also talking with Andy, but has no blog (the horror!) loves her Cuisinart food processor.

Do you need a color consultant who cooks? Rachel of Hue Consulting, is a big fan of her Double Sided Melon Baller with the grippy handle. I have one of those too, my kids love all kinds of round foods. While talking with Rachel, I met Patrick of Housing Crash News, and he likes his Zyliss Salad Spinner. Rachel and I both agreed spinning lettuce in the Zyliss is a lot like starting a lawnmower!

Alison, representing her sister’s Texas Word Tangle blog, loves her Onion Goggles. And Mario, from Bay Area Investment Real Estate (who worked at Taco Bell in high school, cutting tomatoes) recommends his Serrated Tomato Slicer. Perfect timing, given that tomatoes are everywhere in the farmer’s markets now.

Jessica from It’s My Life, wanted me to know that her most used kitchen gadget is a KitchenAid Stand Mixer, but her new favorite is really her Panini Press. And Danielle from Apartment Therapy is wild about her Silpat (note: these come in many different sizes). She also gave me a crazy recipe for a spread to put atop peanut butter that I am eager to try out!

Sharon, the Blogger Queen, gushed about the Magic Bullet, an infomercial-based kitchen gadget (Really? Sounds suspiciously like something else altogether!), a device that claims to do “Any job in 10 seconds or less”. Wow, does that come in a husband model? Seriously though, Sharon said it is her favorite as she can whip up personalized smoothies on the fly for her family.

I met the two founders of Lookiloos, a super-popular website and blog devoted to sneak peaks inside local homes. Sheila loves her Apple Corer (a secret favorite of several other bloggers) and Desiree counts on her Electric Food Slicer to feed her 4 boys.

And last but not least, I went all the way to the City just to chat with a couple of moms from my neighborhood, Charlene of Shine and Crazed Parent, who is a big fan of her Mini Cuisinart Chopper, and Beth of TechMamas who claims that she is loves her very low-tech, old-time Rice Cooker, and is afraid of pots and pans. And stupid me, I totally forgot to ask Stefania from CityMama her favorite kitchen gadget. Ah well, there is always next time!

Disclosure: Using the Amazon affiliate links above supports Kitchen Gadget Girl at no additional cost to you.

Photo courtesy of Egan Snow

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Strawberries, hulled by my daughter, ready to eat

September 2008

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My friend Suzy came over for lunch yesterday, and I served a lovely (if I do say so myself!) ladies’ lunch, including a Farro, Avocado, Cucumber and Cherry Tomato Salad, along with open-faced Proscuitto, Manchego and Fig Tartines. I was rushing home from an appointment, so did not have time to prepare the butter and fig preserves ahead of time.

When it came time for lunch, I laid out all the Tartine ingredients, with the idea that we would make our own. Unfortunately, the butter was very cold (straight from the fridge) and the baguette was lovely and soft. You can see my problem. So, my big question is:

Do you leave your butter out (if so, how) or do you refrigerate?

I used Photo Dropper to find this Creative Commons licensed photo on Flickr, courtesy of josh-n.

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Sorry for the lengthy absence, I have been gallivanting around Alaska with the family. In my absence, Biggie from Lunch in a Box posted a coupon for Reusablebags.com, one of my favorite stores for environmentally sensitive materials including Laptop Lunchboxes and many different styles of reusable shopping bags.

A few years ago I bought a set of organic cotton produce bags, and while I love them in theory, in practice they make it hard for the checker to do their jobs. I put my produce in, cinch the bag up tight so my local and seasonal fruit does not go anywhere, and then when we get to the check out line, the checker has to open the bags to see what is inside. Adds a bit of work to the process of checking out.

One thing I found on Reusable Bags that I love are the Reisenthel Mini Maxi Shoppers. Anytime I take a trip, this bag goes with me - in Alaska, we used it as our snack bag, toting around healthy options to keep the kids happy. In Paris, I have taken it shopping at farmer’s markets and the Bon Marche. Along the same lines, a friend used Envirosax for party favors for her son’s 7th birthday.

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Enough shopping! Another exciting development while I was gone was that Elaine from Wonderstruck left me an award:

Interestingly enough, there is some exciting broo-ha-ha about this award, Michele at With Hearts and Hands, A Quilting Journey, sums it up quite nicely in Brillante Weblog Premio: Hoax Award? In the end, she decides these awards are created to build links and relationships, so in that spirit, I give you 7 current favorites:

buttonwillowsix

Stacey Snacks

Stuff Jen Says

A Thinking Stomach

Italy Logue

The Garden of Eating

Eat Local Challenge

For the nominees here are the rules:
1) Add the logo of the award to your blog
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

How’s that?! The first day of school, and I have already given you homework

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This week was a great food week in my life.

In addition to being featured in the Food & Drink section of the August 6th Almanac (for my jam making, no less!), I also had a lovely evening out on Monday, listening to Cook Jesse Cool (favorite gadget: 8″ tongs) in conversation with Jen Maiser, of the Eat Local Challenge, sponsored by the Commonwealth Club of California. Jen then invited me to join a group of food bloggers for dinner at Tamarine, and I was fortunate enough to eat with Sam, Jeanne (favorite gadget: knife sharpener), and Stephanie (favorite gadget: Microplaner, no wait, burr grinder, no wait, Ikea Varde countertops), as well as several Chowhounds who came down from San Francisco to support Jen. Melanie (favorite gadget: Kitchen Aid Dishwasher) guided the dinner and the wine, and I must say, it was joyful to be sitting with a group of folks who enjoyed talking about the food on the table, food as entertainment.

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Back in 1996, when my then-boyfriend-now-husband and I planned our first trip to New York, we pulled out a piece of graph paper, created columns for each day of our trip, and the first thing we planned out was where to eat. Once those large items were in place, we could figure out the rest of our sightseeing.

Telling this story to our family garners giggles and snickers. Telling this story to the food bloggers around the table on Monday garnered knowing looks and nodding heads of agreement. Of course you would plan out where to eat on your vacation. Duh, doesn’t everyone do that?

That, and the great desserts, sealed the evening for me.

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When I went to BlogHer last month, I was really unaware the depth and strength of the food blogger community. After meeting several and lunching with several more, I realized that I am mostly out of my league and these folks are the true experts.

My goal for the next while is to absorb as much as I can, spending lots of time reading food blogs and building my understanding of the network. Fortunately, from the 25 blogs I have added to my reader, I am sure I will learn much.

And in the meantime, I thank the bloggers I have met thus far who have helped me along in my quest for world domination, wait, I mean food knowledge. Biggie, Amy and Kayln, thank you for your links. Jen, thank you for including me at your dinner party. And to all the other food bloggers I have met, thank you for your welcome!

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