Monday, August 4, 2008

I Have Gadgets and I'm Not Afraid to Use Them








Yes indeedy folks, you heard right. I finally got hold of my Christmas Gift Card my mother had sent to me via my sister. but somehow that poor card got a HUGE detour. I finally got it while I was in Miami having my spinal surgery. So, when I was well enough to leave the house, my hubby took me and the children and off to Bed, Bath & Beyond we went. The first thing my daughter and I determined(since she helps out tremendously in the kitchen) was what we needed most. And straight out of the bull pen was a knife. And Viola, you see it above, we purchased one of Rachael Ray's more accessible knives. not too large and not to small. It is just right. So mom, thinking she knows what she is doing, breaks the poor little knife in. Well low and behold, that thing is sharp, and I have the cut to prove it. Yep. I was slicing carrots, so I thought it was just carrot juice...oh so no. that was blood and it was coming form my finger. Once we realized just how sharp it was and handled it with much more care, we have learned to love that thing. Sharp knives are essential in any kitchen.




Now this little gift was not something I was necessarily in the market for, but you have to understand two things. 1) We use garlic in everything, even in our cereal...nah, just kidding, but we do go through tons of garlic...no Vampires here. 2) The one I was currently using was so small that I could not put a clove of garlic inside, unless I chopped it in half. One clove. So you see my dilemma. Now I can practically put an entire head of garlic in there now. Ahhh, modern technology.



And last but certainly not least, we went with a microplaner. We debated about this one. Since my daughter is the chief cookie maker, we almost purchased a silicone mat, but decided on this. We can use this for so many things other than lemon zest, so the microplane jumped into our cart. All in all it was a good day for gadget shopping.

This is what gets me about people. Everyone knows I love being in the kitchen. So why get me anything other than something that goes in the kitchen. I could actually place my bed in there, that is how much I love being in my kitchen...and yes, even the cleaning up part. I love cooking and eating. I cannot thank my mother enough for getting me this Gift Card, even though it took nearly 8 months for me to get it and decide what we actually needed. But we now have a happier kitchen. And all of you readers are invited over for a meal so I can use all of said items mentioned above.








3 comments:

Skippy said...

It's amazing how that mircoplane just jumped in our cart. But yeah I really like RR knife that thing could cut a penny in half!

Denise Punger MD IBCLC said...

I'm glad to see you on this side of your surgery. What is a microplane? What does it do besides zest?

The Cooking Lady said...

Mostly it does just zest, which is just a very fine grate. It is used mostly for citrus skins, and fresh nutmeg. Think of it is a super fine grater.

We are ridding our home of bottled dressing, so this will come in handy here, due to the fact that MAny a homemade dessing calls for fresh lemon zest and we love lemons in this home.

But to answer your question, they are mainly used for fine grating/zesting, unless there is something I have not been made aware of to date.