November 29, 2007

It's That Time of Year...

Gift giving time is rapidly approaching and if you’ve got a foodie on your list, I’ve got a few recommendations for you. I’m not getting anything out of endorsing these products, they’re just things I like.


Lee Valley Zesters

I use this on a daily basis to zest citrus fruit, grate frozen ginger or a hard block of parmesan. I love my zester and don’t think any kitchen is complete without one.



The Spice Depot Grinders

A few months back I was sent a Garlic Pepper grinder and a Spicy Chicken grinder to test out from the folks at The Spice Depot. They’re both empty now. I’ve used them for dry rubs on meat, seasoning at the table and as an added kick to soups and stews. I especially liked the Garlic Pepper and would imagine the Spicy Sea Salt is pretty versatile too.


Stainless Steel Pastry Scraper

The one I’ve linked to is from Williams Sonoma, but any stainless steel pastry scraper would do. Like the zester, I use this on an almost daily basis. Whenever I’m making any sort of bread, pie crust, pastry or pasta I use it to scrape my counters clean as well as cut and transport the dough. It’s beyond useful.



Real Vanilla Beans

The Arizona Vanilla company sells whole vanilla beans at dirt cheap prices on ebay. You haven’t truly tasted vanilla until you’ve made your own vanilla bean ice cream using the whole pod to flavour it instead of some artificial liquid. I never used to use real vanilla beans because I thought they were too expensive but this site proved me wrong and I love them now.



A Wooden Spoon Made of Cherry


I picked this site at random because its spoon looked most like mine. My Dad made my favourite wooden spoon out of cherry wood from my Grandparents’ orchard and it’s the spoon I reach for no matter what I’m making. Everyone needs a favourite wooden spoon.



Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home to Yours

Unless this is your first time to my blog you will already know much I adore this book and it’s wonderful author. If you don’t own Baking already, I don’t know what you’re waiting for, it’s so good you should have two of them.



Blendtec

Ok, so this isn’t really a stocking stuffer, but it may very well be my favourite kitchen item, (although I feel guilty saying that as I’m supposed to love all of my kitchen gadgets equally). If you haven’t seen the videos on Will It Blend? you certainly have to check them out. This blender can do everything and more.


If I were Oprah I'd give these all away, but sadly I'm not and I still haven't found my life sponsor so you'll just have to hope some nice person buys these for you. Now I want to know- What are some of your favourite things?


And for those of you still wondering, the answers to the riddles are:

A river.

Silence.

Fire.

A snake.

8 comments:

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Great ideas! I agree -- everyone should have a favorite wooden spoon. In fact, one of my favorite wedding presents (to give) is a "bouquet" of hand-carved wooden spoons.

Gattina Cheung said...

oh that wooden spoon immediately grabs my heart!
It is good to have poorly equipped kitchen (like mine), always have an excuse for shopping.

Patricia Scarpin said...

Bri, love the ideas!
I have brought a Microplane from my trip (we can't find it here in Brazil) and to be honest I don't know how I had lived without it till then! :)

Julie said...

Good list--now I have to ask someone to buy me a pastry scraper. And I totally agree about real vanilla--such a huge difference that it's worth the not-so-high cost.
Julie

Deborah said...

Love the list!! I actually use my pastry scraper to transfer cut veggies and such from the cutting board to the stove. It works like a charm!!

Maria said...

Thanks for the ideas! I have lots of foodies to buy for this year! Of course Dorie's book is the ideal gift for everyone!! And I love giving Microplanes as well! I didn't think of vanilla beans though, I am getting some today! Thanks!!

Anonymous said...

Maybe you can help me out with something…? I want to order all of my food online from now on because of various reasons, but I don’t know where to go for quality food. I have tried 2 companies so far, Fresh Dining, and and Celebrity Foods, but I wanna get others I can try out. Do you know of any? The main thing I’ve ordered so far is steak. I guess you can say, I’m a steak junkie. LOL!!! From what I have found out (from what I have ordered so far) I think I am able to regulate the quality of beef I buy. I hate going to a store and getting that crappy slab of beef that I have to cut down until there is like nothing left. Hahaha!!!! (its so true though) Anyhow, sorry that I made this comment so long. If you can help me out or point me in a direction where I might find more quality foods online, I would greatly appreciate it. Have a good day or night! (depending on when you read this) LOL!!!!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I want to be a recipient of your gift giving Brilyn.I want (would like)a zester!!!!..wink..wink...