Tree magnets

$10 Forest for your fridge

How cute are these little magnets?
They are made of exotic wood slices and little fake trees.
I think they would make a great hostess gift if someone has you over for a nice dinner party, or just a good any time gift to give me for existing.

You can get the trees in dark or light green, I like the dark better. More realistic and such.
I especially like the ones with layers of different wood. The description says the woods will vary but I hope they put at least one of those cool layered ones in each box of 3.

Solar system lollipops

These look so cool.
I know I don't like lollipops but I am so tempted:

$22 Solar system lollipop set

There are 10 in the set,

"Go on a voyage through our sweet solar system which tastes surprisingly delicious. This 10-piece lollipop set is completely edible and includes the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto (Yes, Pluto. Take that Mike Brown!)."

They come in guava, blackberry, cherry, cotton candy (YUCKKKK) or strawberry.
It's too bad that the different planets aren't different flavors, you have to order all of them in 1 flavor.
I'd prob get strawberry or blackberry.

The best hot sauce is Yellowbird from Austin, TX

Recently, I was down in Texas for SXSW Edu (no, not the fun music one), and I had the chance to eat many many breakfast tacos.

The little gourmet grocery store near the downtown convention center, called Royal Blue, was excellent and had the coconut water I love and also migas breakfast tacos all wrapped in foil and ready to go.
They also had a hot sauce bar where you could add things before you left, and that is where I discovered Yellowbird.

The sauce is made of habaneros, so it is definitely spicy, but it has a great fruity flavor and a thick texture like Sriracha. I loved it!
They sold it at Royal Blue for $10 but I didn't want to have to check a bag on the way home so I passed.

My last morning there, I knew it would be a while until I got the hot sauce again so I really loaded up my taco. I wrapped it back up and took it to my first session, where I sat in back and bit in.
Holy crap, I almost died. Turns out, you can't really make up for lost time by having all your hot sauce at once.

Despite that, I still loved it and when I got home I ordered some online.
The shipping costs more than the bottle of hot sauce itself, which makes me a little crazy, but it is worth it.


$8 Yellowbird Sauce

One of the best things about it is the squeeze bottle, but on their website it says they are moving to a glass bottle next month for preservation purposes. So get one now!

I was thinking of ordering a whole case now so I could have a lot of squeeze bottles, but E reminded me that I wouldn't be able to go through them very quickly and by that time the perishability which necessitates them moving to the glass might come into play.


Here are the ingredients, and why it has so much flavor:

• Carrots
• Onions
• Habanero Peppers
• Distilled Vinegar
• Tangerines
• Limes
• Garlic
• Kosher Salt
• Organic Evaporated Cane Juice (also known as organic sugar)

Caramelizing a whole lot of onions

Since I work from home, I have the luxury of doing some cooking that doesn't require much attention during the day. I took advantage of that to caramelize 5 onions.

The real trick to getting good results is just time and waiting, but I also used 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder to get it browner, and at the end I deglazed with water to get the fond at the bottom of the pan. Want to see the results?

2 min in:





30 min:


1 hr:


1.5 hr:


2 hr:





I am glad I could just do emails and calls and occasionally stir the onions. The results are so much better than the ingredients going in.

Here is what I ended up with, 5 onions became just 1 cup of caramelized mush:


Looks pretty good though, right?

I am planning on using it in this mujadarah recipe, which I am going to add some kale to just to make it superduperspecial healthy.

Pyrex Total Solution Snapware set

Another entry into the glass tupperware field is this set of Snapware with lids that snap on.
You can also write on the lids and erase the writing, which is pretty cool.

The only thing I don't like is that they are called "Total Solution" which in my mind is too close to Final Solution and genocide.

If you truly believe these storage containers haven't murdered thousands of innocents, then you can buy them on Amazon:

$44.99 Snapware total solution pyrex 18 piece set

The containers are stackable, as are the lids.
I like that the different shapes have different colors and that you can put them in any of your appliances (freezer, fridge, oven, microwave, dishwasher).

• Ideal for Baking, Serving, Storing, Reheating - Made In USA
• Pyrex Glasslock Set Includes: 4 Round & 5 Rectangle Containers - 9 Matching Lids
• BPA FREE - Microwave Safe - Freezer Safe - Dishwasher Safe - Oven Safe
• 4 Easy To Open & Close Latches - Leakproof Silicone Seal - Airtight Re-writeable Lids
• Graduated Sizes Store Inside Each Other Including Lids!

Replacing my Pyrex bowl

One of my first purchases as a new apartment dweller in Brooklyn was a set of 3 stacking pyrex bowls that I got for $15 at a yard sale.

They are yellow and have green flowers on the outside, and are white inside.
I love these bowls and have grown very attached to them, so when my biggest bowl broke last year (I will not name the husband who broke it or who broke my favorite irreplaceable water glasses too), I was upset.

I bought another that I saw at an antiques but ended up accidentally buying the middle bowl size instead of the largest one.

Now on Etsy and Amazon there are a few people selling what I think is the right one, and I want to jump on it, but just the shipping is more than I paid for the whole set initially!
I guess this is what happens when you get attached; you pay for it.

My pattern is called Shenandoah, in case you are interested, and there are really great full sets on Etsy as well.



$9 Shenandoah pyrex bowl with chips (+$10 shipping)
This looks like the best option



$16 Pyrex bowl 8 3/4" size (+$15 shipping)
I'm a little skeptical that this is the biggest size


$30 pyrex 2 1/4 mixing bowl (+15.50 shipping)
This is the most expensive option and it is from Amazon, but I am reasonably confident it is the right size.

DIY woodburning spoons project

I happen to own a soldering iron, and since I don't have room or the set up to do some real stained glass work and don't know how to do electronic work, I figured I should put it to some other use.

I've been itching for a craft recently, and I remembered my days of using a woodburning tool in 4th grade to make a sign for my door, and thought that the soldering iron might be the right shape.
So I googled around and it looks like indeed there are many of us out there who are using soldering irons and woodburning pens interchangeably.
Some people say one is hotter, some say the other. I say who cares, let's burn stuff!

What is wood around here?
Well, the floors and the furniture but I don't think that would be an excellent place to start. Nor would NYU appreciate it.

I do have a bunch of wooden kitchen utensils, though. And while I use my flat wooden spatulas often, I use my wooden spoons less. So if I screwed them up I wouldn't be too upset.
Also they came from Ikea for $1 so I could easily get new ones.

Here are my utensils before:


Here is my soldering iron:


Here is my first spoon during:



Close up with neck band added:


Here are all 3 spoons after. (front)


(and back)



My hand got crampy from holding the tool, so I decided to do the flat ones later.

As you can tell, I went geometric for the first design, then on the second spoon I started with more lines and added dots, then tried for a bluebell flower on the back.
The third design was inspired by henna patterns. I am least happy with the way that one came out.
 I think I like the first one best.
What do you think?

The first thing I did to each spoon was draw lines around the edge of the head of the spoon. This helped  me steady my hand and also think about what I was going to draw.
I freehanded all the designs but I bet you could use a ruler and even draw pencil lines ahead of time if you wanted. You definitely can't erase the wood burning.
Well, maybe if you had a lot of sandpaper and a lot of time. And you didn't mind a skinnier utensil.

Going with the grain of the wood was much easier than crossing it. It was hard to drag the tool straight without it getting caught on the wood and burning holes deeper in some places than others.

One unexpected bonus of doing this burning was that my spoons had been chipped and not quite round anymore, and I used the soldering iron to burn off some of the rough parts and reshape them a little.

I am keeping my little experiments here, but I think in the future these would be great gifts. You could burn people's initials on them or helpfully label them as spoons (cooking is confusing).

Cork tray

This cool tray is made of cork and goes inside the neck of a wine bottle.


$51 Module R Cork tray

I think it would be a great addition to a party table. It's also a good way of using random bottles you've been saving for sentimental reasons or because you are sure you are going to get around to a craft with it someday...

It's a neat design and would make a great wedding or housewarming gift, too.

Glass Tupperware

As I have written before, I'm am on the glass tupperware or glass food storage wagon.
Might as well use a non-porous material that has been around for centuries when in doubt.

That previous deal doesn't seem to be available anymore, but these are!

One thing that annoys me about all glass container sets is that they pretend you are getting more than you are by counting lids and containers as separate pieces. Do you really think I can't see that the 10 piece set is only 5 containers? That is bullshit.
I will tell you how many there really are.
 
$18 Set of 7 Pyrex containers with lids
This is an awesome deal, and pyrex can go from the fridge to the oven (though I'd prob let it warm to room temp before doing that to avoid shocking the glass)




$17.98 Set of 5 Pyrex containers with lids
Same price but 2 fewer than the set above? Why would I show you these? Well, these are bigger.





 
$29.98 Anchor Hocking set of 10 glass containers
These cover a range of sizes and would be a good starter set if you wanted to overhaul and throw out your plastic tupperware.

I am slowly replacing what we have.

Two grocery tips I am going to try

1. Wash your berries in a dilute vinegar solution to keep them from getting moldy

2. Freeze fresh herbs in oil for later use
I'm always getting annoyed that I don't use herbs fast enough before they get brown or yucky.

Dipped Pitcher

$13 (on sale from $19) Dipped pitcher from West Elm

I like the clean look of this pitcher. All white would have been boring, as would all blue, but the dipped layer looks fresh and much nicer.

The only issue is that it isn't that big. I am continually frustrated by how small most pitchers are!
This one is about 8" tall. I want one that holds more cups!

Anyway, cute pitcher.

Fancy Bar Trunk

$16,000 Waterford Crystal Bar Trunk

Whoaaaa

The rosewood interior is crazy beautiful.
I think you'd really have to like drinking to own something like this, which puts me out of the running.

Also, you'd have to have a nice liquor collection, because I don't think this would look as classy with warm Natty Ices in there. Though the crystal would class up whatever special alcohol you had (coughFOURLOKOcough).

State-shaped cast iron pans

$150 (Rhode Island)- $2,500 (Texas) Cast iron pans in the shape of states (plus shipping)

Thanks to Kate for the link!

So these are what they look like--pans shaped like each one of the United States.

Would you want a state skillet?
Would you want one in the shape of your current state, your home state, or your favorite vacation state?
My home state, Massachusetts ($250), wouldn't be very practical to cook anything in because it is small and narrow and weird.
What if you are from one of the square states? Wouldn't it be a stretch to pretend that they made it just for you? I mean, I see that the handles are offset and angled, but still.

I think these are really cool to look at, but I probably wouldn't get one.
There are some people I can think of who have a lot of state pride and would probably love to cook steaks in the oven on that big Texas pan, but I don't think that's the norm.

You can order them "raw" or pre-seasoned for an extra $30.

Each pan comes with a magnetic display hanger, so I guess they might be meant more for art than use.

I guess they could be fun to bake and serve something like spinach and artichoke dip.

Groupon deal on Molecular Cocktail kit

$29 Molecule-R cocktail r-evolution kit (was $77)
Available on Groupon through Sunday

This kit comes with a bunch of additives in pre-measured packets and a recipe book so you can make crazy cocktails with foam and gel things and generally impress your friends as they get drunk.

Save the most impressive drink for last so everyone's like WHOOoooaaaaaa

Sign up through my link and I'll get some credit!

Fun kitchen items from ThinkGeek

$12.99 Equal measure cup
"Laboratory-grade borosilicate glass with the standard ounce and milliliter graduation-marks, but if you look closer - you'll find marks for "volume of half a human brain," and "water in a cumulus cloud the size of a bus."
Holds 20 ounces, or as many grains of flour as there are people on Earth "

$14.99 Splash of milk bowl
This is silicone and not porcelain like I at first thought (and hoped), but I guess that means it is safer for kids

$15.99 Bacon candle
Wake your household up with the smell of bacon, and when they get into the kitchen surprise them with a bowl of kale instead :(

$19.99 Mushroom growing kit
Guys, this is getting ridiculous. I have posted mushroom kits and cheese kits a bunch of times now and STILL no one has gotten me one. Get on top of this.

$24.99 Personal pie kit
This comes with the lollipop sticks and the display and pan to cook the pies in. You make them yourself though, which I guess could be fun but I kind of just want a pie already.

Etsy Find of the Day: Vintage milkshake maker

$20 Vintage yellow Van Wyck drink mixer

Do you know someone who wants to open an old fashioned soda shop? Or decorate some retro restaurant?
This would be perfect.
It's not working, but it is colorful and instantly recognizable. 

Maybe you could just put it above the cabinets where you can't reach and everything is basically for show anyway?

Rubik's cube mug

$12.99 Rubik's cube mug

This is just fun.
I wonder if it would be hard to drink from.

Glass tupperware containers

$24.99 Anchor Hocking 10 piece glass bowl and lid set

These are way better than the plastic deli containers you usually pack your lunch in.
I have been wanting to switch to glass for a little while, but it seemed expensive and annoying, and I'm lazy.

These are cheap and stackable though, so it makes it easier.

I like the see through lids that let you check out what is going on inside.
Maybe these will convince me to switch, the only issue left is that they are heavier than the plastic ones.

Drink fountain as outdoor lighting?

$29.99 Wedding drink fountain

Ok, so this is supposed to be for serving champagne or cocktails at a party, but I think it would look pretty as the centerpiece on an outdoor picnic table at night.

Wouldn't it be fun?
You'd have to have an outdoor outlet, and it's probably flimsy plastic so you couldn't leave it out all the time.
A garden party, with some water in this?
Or lemonade? Or pink champagne?

Even just to look at and not drink from, it would be nice.

Sheet Pan from Restaurant Supply store

How do you get the best baking pan and covering out there for under $10?
You go to a restaurant supply store (or the website of one).

1. Buy this sturdy, non-warping pan

$5.39 half sheet pan

2. Buy these pre-cut parchment paper slips

$4.49 12" x 16" parchment paper sheets

3. Bake me things

4. Give them to me so I can eat them.

THE END