kitchen gadgets | Bewitching Kitchen

This post is dedicated to Eha, one of my most supportive readers, hoping she will soon join the online world again and be back to brighten my blogging world..

In My Kitchen posts are hosted by Sherry, from Sherry’s Pickings. Please visit her site to see what everybody else is sharing this month. I join four times each year, on the first day of January, April, July and October. If you are a food blogger, consider taking part of this fun event. It is chance to share those little things you bought or received as gifts and that make your life in the kitchen easier.

In our kitchen…

A little tiny blue frying pan I found at Marshall’s. It somehow jumped into my shopping cart and refused to leave! Odd how these things happen, right? It is perfect to fry a single egg…

In our kitchen…

These are pizza pans that you can use either to bake the dough in a super hot oven, or to serve pizzas straight from the grill, which is what we normally do. I was always struggling to find ways to get multiple pizzas served and cut, and these pans are fantastic for that. Order info here.

In our kitchen…

A very timid attempt at cappuccino-art… We cannot quite make those beautiful patterns with the foam, but using the icing needle to pull some details on a blob of foam was not that hard…

In our kitchen…

Three small rolling pins from Poland were added to my collection, they were from this store at etsy. I have not yet put them to use… so many cookies, so little time!

In our kitchen…

A Wilton collapsible silicone bowl, perfect for candy melts and chocolate… You can find it here. Of course, the color called my name really loud.

In our kitchen…

Fleur de Lis wax stamp, ordering info here. I have recently blogged about using these stamps not only for chocolate but also for fondant (see posts here and here), so I got a new one to play with. You cannot go wrong with a Fleur de Lis!

In our kitchen…

Isn’t that the coolest gadget? You can make your own sprinkles in all sorts of colors. Cookie Countess has many shapes available, you can get tempted with a click here.

In our kitchen…

An electrical spiralizer from Hamilton Beach… I am really in love with it, works much better than the hand-cranked ones I’ve tried over the years. You can find it on eBay (if you are lucky) or that place to order all things desired (click here for amazon). I love to spiralize 3 medium zucchini, leave the spirals in the fridge inside the plastic container that comes with the machine and have it ready for my meal.

In our kitchen… a few things from our trip to France and Spain

These crackers are absolutely amazing and I wish we could find the exact same kind in the US. They were sold at a tiny grocery store near the house we stayed in Avignon. They made it back to Manhattan, KS although a little beaten by the plane ride. Still tasty, though! NOTE ADDED AFTER PUBLICATION: they are available at amazon and I am now a happy camper… Check it out here.

How can you go to Provence and not stock up on the real deal? We have enough Herbes de Provence to last for a while…

From a great street market in Barcelona, I could finally get wonderful saffron, as my reserves were getting dangerously low…

And now, it is time to allow those who own tails
(and are not afraid to wag them) to bark their piece…

Life was going smoothly in the Kingdom of Tatarrax once the weather warmed up… We worked hard in training, doing all the routines we excel at, from shaking to rolling over, laying down, twirling, high-fiving (well, that one only The Royal really gets)…

Ziggy Star Barker often demands her training to involve more sophisticated machines, but so far her wishes have not been granted.

She also got in considerable amount of trouble because her hunting instincts, particularly good at all things insects caused quite a bit of commotion late one night in the backyard…

Speaking of the backyard, we worked hard to inspect all the work The Dominant Alpha Human made in the backyard, making sure all the dirt he hauled in was properly leveled and “seasoned”.

Our brother Grumpy Osky is no help for that. He is partial to air-conditioned spaces and leather sofas. We are afraid to death of him, but truth is we think he does not know how to have fun.

We ate well, took our beauty sleeps several hours each day, enjoying all the amenities The Kingdom has to offer…

And we are now proud to be a team of two dashing through the golf course with our humans…

And we are lobbying for a new competition for the Olympic games: The Synchronous Roll-over on Grass! We should take Gold.

But then, chaos, tragedy, horror came out of nowhere! The three most dreadful words in canine universe: LUGGAGE… TRIP… KENNEL!!!!

It was A Nightmare on Tatarrax Street. Our sordid humans seemed quite sad when they abandoned us. I think I even caught glimpse of tears on Zenless’ face, but truth is, we gathered evidence of their crimes. We have solid, undeniable proof that the two of them actually HAD FUN while we were locked in the Depths of Hell. You don’t believe us? Get a load of this:

SO. MUCH. SUFFERING.

Soooooo, in light of these recent developments, we introduce and will be enforcing
THE NEW RULES OF THE KINGDOM.

Rule #1: no more shaving of my beautiful fur, and I shall be allowed to roll on rugs right after they’ve been vacuumed. That’s when they are at their best!

Rule #2: The Red Pillow belongs to Star, and so does the sofa where said pillow is resting. When she is done with her beauty sleep, Humans might be allowed to profit from that piece of furniture.

Rule #3: A bandana shall be part of my daily outfit, and the color scheme should change to match upcoming holidays and/or seasons.

Rule #4: When The Prince requests sampling of treats, The Prince shall get sampling of treats. Same rule applies to his siblings, including The Grumpiest.

Rule #5: The Higher Territory should be open to our visits as often as we feel like it.

Rule #6: Once in the Higher Territory, bed prohibitions shall be a thing of the past.

With these new rules in place, we feel that The Kingdom of Tatarrax is getting closer and closer to paradise! And yes, we forgive you for leaving us behind. How could we not?

That’s all for now, friends, see you in October!

ONE YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen, Summer 2023

TWO YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, Summer 2022

THREE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, July 2021

FOUR YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, July 2020

FIVE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, June 2019

SIX YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen – July 2018

SEVEN YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, July 2017

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Secret Recipe Club: Falafel and a Bonus Recipe

NINE YEARS AGO: Chocolate Toffee Banana Bread

TEN YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, June 2014

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Baked Coconut and “The Brazilian Kitchen”

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Honey-Glazed Chicken Legs

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: French-Style Rolls

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Chicken Breasts, Coffee, and Serendipity

Inspired by Celia, and her monthly edition of “In My Kitchen”, I join this virtual party once again with this post.

In my kitchen lives a rice cooker (working on quinoa in this photo)…

When we were in Los Angeles, cooking in the nano-house had a few challenges. One of the things we bought to help us out was a small rice cooker. At first, I did not want to bring it back to our regular home, thinking there would be no need for it. But, the truth is, this little gem of an appliance makes life so easy! I don’t remember last time I cooked rice on the stove top. I rinse the rice in the insert of the cooker, fill it with the appropriate amount of water, season with salt, and flip the switch on. Farro? No problem… Quinoa? Perfect every time. I am so glad Phil twisted my arm to bring it with us! ;-

… and speaking of quinoa, I must show you one of my favorite gadgets ever! I bought it many years ago, a simple serving utensil labeled as a couscous server. It is perfect for couscous, but I also use it to fluff rice, quinoa, and other grains. Here it is, sitting next to two very recent acquisitions: an ice cream scoop on the far right (also great to portion muffin and cupcake batters), and a cookie dough dispenser in the center. The cookie scoop will be highlighted in a post in the near future, Nutella drop cookies… (nothing like a little self-advertising!).

Cookies… I’ve been on a cookie mood lately.   Even got a couple of special molds, to make one of my favorite types of cookie – spicy, sweet, crisp, addictive. Stay tuned! 😉

From cookies, let’s talk tea…   While having lunch with my dear friend Cindy at Couscous Cafe, we were both blown away by how good their hot Moroccan tea was. I am not too wild about sweetened tea, but at some point I stopped paying attention to how much tea I was pouring for myself. I probably drank 90% of the teapot, leaving Cindy to watch, certainly a bit frustrated with my rude manners. It was just too good! They had a tea set for sale, and I brought it home.

In my kitchen… a bowl of farmer’s market yellow cherry tomatoes, plump, sweet, juicy, totally delicious! I love to incorporate them in recipes, but sometimes I just grab one and pop in my mouth, no salt, nothing. Just its pure flavor.

In my kitchen… a great thing that unfortunately will come to an end. This Trader Joe’s kalamata olive oil will be enjoyed to the very last drop. It traveled all the way from L.A. with us, and now I wish I had brought two bottles. Or three…   (sigh)

In my kitchen… a sign of the times. Fall is the season of apples, and with apples come apple cider. Great stuff, that I had not tried until Phil introduced me to it. We always go through several bottles this time of the year. And, for a change of pace, I intend to follow the footsteps of Fer, from Chucrute com Salsicha, and brew some tea using cider as the basis. She mentioned it recently in her blog. Those who read Portuguese (or you can always use Google translate) can take a look at her post here.

and, finally… in my kitchen these days, an attempt at organization. I’ve decided to keep only my issues of Fine Cooking. All other publications I will read, cut out the recipes that appeal to me, and glue them in a notebook. The rest: recycle bin. I’ve tried many methods to organize my recipes before, with very limited success. But, no big deal, I have a lot of fun trying! What matters is the journey, not the destination. Right? 😉