Two new food blogs worth bookmarking

Two very different new food blogs have caught my eye recently, for very different reasons.

That’s not lettuce is written very much the way its creator Melissa Yen thinks about food: Constantly and from every angle. Our too infrequent conversations may occasionally veer away from food, but they always hurry back. Buying it, growing it, making it [at home or for paying customers], enjoying it [in restaurants or at the tables of friends and family]…

A former owner of the much missed Vella Cafe here in Chicago, Melissa’s first food job in a long line of them was in her aunt’s restaurant when she was eleven. She’s also been involved in the Logan Square Farmers Market. So when she says that thing that all food bloggers say, “I am someone who is absolutely passionate about food,” I think she has a little more history to back up those words than some of us do—certainly than I do. Continue reading “Two new food blogs worth bookmarking” →

Two frozen yogurts from one maker do two very different things, deliciously

haagen-dazs-frozen-yogurt

In a classic ’60s TV commercial, a wife asks her husband, “What was wrong with the chicken?” He answers simply, “It’s not steak.”

For years, frozen yogurt has had a similar problem. It’s not ice cream. It doesn’t have the same creamy texture and mouthfeel. Or in trying to mask the lack of fatty richness, it goes overboard with sweetness.

But trying to get frozen yogurt right is a noble cause. Making a satisfying frozen treat with fewer calories, less fat and—more important—less saturated fat than ice cream has been the holy grail of many companies. Some have come close, making frozen yogurts that aren’t bad when you want something cold, creamy and sweet stuff_we_like_too without going crazy caloriewise and fatwise. But ultimately, at least for us, they still leave us craving ice cream. Finally, we think, Häagen-Dazs has gotten it right. Continue reading “Two frozen yogurts from one maker do two very different things, deliciously” →

Stop your wining: Fun, practical wine bottle stoppers for when you’ve had enough

cb-stoppers

Seems everywhere you turn these days, you read about the benefits of drinking a glass of wine or two a day. But assuming the standard four to six ounces per glass, how do you keep the other four to five glasses still in the bottle fresh once you’ve had your daily dose?

Back in college, assuming any wine was actually left in the bottle, we’d just try to jam the cork back in the bottle—assuming the “cork” wasn’t actually a screw cap. The only problem was that, once released from the bottle, the cork would often expand, making getting it back in the bottle neck an often futile [or at the very least, inelegant] exercise.

stuff_we_like_small Crate and Barrel offers some decidedly more stylish solutions. Continue reading “Stop your wining: Fun, practical wine bottle stoppers for when you’ve had enough” →

“Paper or plastic?” Say “Neither,” stylishly.

blue-q-bags

These days, most of us carry reusable bags when we shop. [And if you don’t, get on it!] For everyday shopping needs, the compact, square-bottomed grocery-bag-sized jobs are perfect. They’re easy for baggers to pack and small enough to not get too heavy. But sometimes you want something bigger and, well, cooler. Blue Q to the rescue.

stuff_we_like_small Pittsfield, Massachusetts-based Blue Q makes a dazzling array of durable, commodious “shoppers,” as their site calls them. The bags are about 16″ x 16″ x 6″—plenty big for farmers market or flea market runs. Designs range from fun to quirky, stylish, retro, hippie/bohemian and downright girly pretty, most with a healthy dash of subversive smartass thrown in for good measure. Continue reading ““Paper or plastic?” Say “Neither,” stylishly.” →

Six great new ideas for the kitchen from the International Home + Housewares Show

The International Home + Housewares Show was in Chicago this week. Here are a half dozen cool new tools and treats we saw there—plus a peek at some things yet to come.

The annual show at McCormick Place is the centerpiece of the International Housewares Association’s efforts to promote the housewares industry, attracting the world’s largest audience of home goods and housewares professionals, more than 60,000 every year. Both the exhibitors and the attendees reflect the global reach of the association. As Marion and I walked around the dine + design section of the show, we were on the lookout for interesting new tools, gadgets and ideas for home cooks. We weren’t disappointed.

1. Garlic Twist, NexTrend Products

I’ve never been a big fan of garlic presses. Too messy and too much garlic left behind in the press for me. So when it comes to chopping or mincing a clove or two of garlic, I’m all about doing it by hand. But when you need a lot of garlic? Or for that matter, any amount of minced or chopped ginger? Now you’re talking serious work.

Enter the Garlic Twist. Throw in a couple/few cloves of peeled garlic, twist it back and forth until they’re chopped to the desired consistency—from chopped to finely minced. That’s all impressive enough, but when we saw the inventor of the Garlic Twist demonstrating it at the show, I wanted to see it work on fresh ginger. We love cooking with fresh ginger, but chopping or mincing this fibrous root is time consuming. Not a problem. He threw a few chunks of ginger, complete with peel, into it, twisted it a handful of times and it was beautifully minced.

Clean up is easy too. Just throw it in the top shelf of the dishwasher. Finding the Garlic Twist is a little tougher. It’s available on a handful of websites, including Amazon.com, and at all Williams-Sonoma stores. Check the Garlic Twist website for details.

2. Scoop & Sift Flour Sifter, Cuisipro

We’re big fans of the smart design of Cuisipro kitchen tools—their silicone locking tongs have become indispensible in our kitchen, for instance. So we weren’t surprised that they had a number of intriguing new things in their booth at the Housewares Show. Including this Scoop and Sift Flour Sifter. Continue reading “Six great new ideas for the kitchen from the International Home + Housewares Show” →

Stuff we like: Thomas Light Multi-Grain English Muffins

Okay, is there anyone out there who still doesn’t know that fiber is good for you? The list of health benefits just keeps growing. But besides all that, fiber also helps you feel full longer. This is especially good at breakfast, because it helps you power through ’til lunch [and for all of you who still don’t believe in eating breakfast, that’s a whole other post].

Well, Thomas has taken its famous English muffin and fibered it up bigtime, while shaving off a few calories. A single Thomas Light Multi-Grain English Muffin provides 8 grams of fiber, about 1/3 of your daily needs. All with a mere 100 calories, 1 gram of fat [2% of your recommended daily value] and no trans fats or high fructose corn syrup. By comparison, their original English muffin—a slightly heftier 120 calories, but still only 1 gram of fat—delivers only 4% of your daily fiber needs.

And they taste great. Here are a few ideas for enjoying them. If you can think of others, join in with a comment at the end. Continue reading “Stuff we like: Thomas Light Multi-Grain English Muffins” →

Small Bites: Dishing it up, second helpings and cleaning up after

The old adage that you “eat with your eyes” too is so ingrained in our collective mindset that you’ll find more than 12 million results for that phrase on Google. Whether you’re a home cook or a professional chef, chances are you’re always looking for ways to improve the visual appeal of your meals. And if you’re a food blogger, you’re always on the prowl for new dishes and accessories to mix it up in your photos.

New York magazine to the rescue! In a recent edition of Shop-A-Matic on their website, they featured an impressive 135 plates, bowls and assorted dishes, conveniently arranged by price. And most of these finds aren’t exclusive to New York; you’ll find them online and in-store at places like IKEA, Pier 1, CB2 and—in the case of the $8, 11-inch plate shown here—Urban Outfitters.

Second Helping: Arugula Salad with Peaches and Goat Cheese

Last year was a stellar one for peaches. And while they may not be quite as wonderful this year, peaches are still an iconic taste of summer. So before the season draws to a close, try this Arugula Salad with Peaches and Goat Cheese. It combines sweet, savory and creamy notes in a delicious, lively first course. A second helping from the Blue Kitchen archives, it was first posted in August 2007.

Stuff we like: Bon Ami

With all the new cleaning products available for the kitchen, one of our favorites has been around since 1886. Bon Ami, French for good friend, really is a good friend in the kitchen. The original Bon Ami Cleaning Powder, a blend of feldspar and soap, can be used on everything from windows to porcelain, tile and even nonstick surfaces.

Bon Ami Polishing Cleanser, the one we use, is a blend of biodegradable detergent and calcite and feldspar mineral abrasives. It’s perfect for tougher jobs, like “dried on splatters and spills, burned-on grease, baked-on food, and sticky messes,” according to the website. Whichever you choose, both labels proudly and rightly proclaim, “Hasn’t Scratched Yet!” We use the Polishing Cleanser on the stovetop, counters, pots and pans… just not on nonstick. Best of all, neither Bon Ami product contains chlorine, perfumes or dyes. Turns out they were green back when it was only a color.

Cool tool: DIREKT Whisk

Don’t you love when you find a kitchen tool that not only works great, but is dirt cheap? This whisk is one of those tools. Unlike regular balloon whisks, which are great for mixing big bowls of stuff, this one concentrates lots of mixing action in a small area. Its flat mixing head makes it perfect for whisking something into shallow liquid in a sauté pan, for instance.

I’ve seen similar versions made of tightly coiled metal, but the business end of the DIREKT Whisk is made of heat-resistant plastic—that means it won’t scratch non-stick surfaces. Its long, curving stainless handle keeps your knuckles out of harm’s way. And at a mere $1.99 at IKEA, it’s a steal. Unfortunately, while they show it on their website, you can only buy it in the store—by the time you add shipping and handling to a two buck item, I guess they figure it’s not worth it. Although personally, it would be to me.

I used it a few nights ago when I was making a chicken and mushroom dish with a sauce. The sauce wasn’t thickening, so I browned some flour in a little butter and olive oil in a separate skillet. When I added water and started stirring, it immediately became a mass of tiny lumps. My first solution was to let loose with an impressive string of curse words [if you’ve read About Blue Kitchen, you already know that’s my first solution anytime something goes wrong in the kitchen]. When that didn’t work, I grabbed the DIREKT Whisk. In moments, it tamed the lumps into a velvety smooth liquid that I was then able to whisk into the mustard cream sauce I was making.

Okay, your turn. What modest little kitchen tool makes you glad you bought it [or made it, inherited it or got it as a gift] every time you reach for it? We’re not talking big ticket items here—no Viking ranges or even food processors. Just something basic and cheap but utterly indispensable for what it does for you.