Three Progressive nifty kitchen gadgets

I enjoy cooking with the right tools. There are always new gadgets coming around. Some that I find useless, others can be great but do not interested me because I developed a technique over the years that I am pleased with.

Others kitchen tools are fun to have while a select group makes it to the must-have category. I will go as far as to replace mine with these but if I have to get new ones these three by Progressive will make my short list.

The Pop-Out Measuring Cups

First of all, the numbers are written for an aging population in mind and the fact that kids want to help you in the kitchen. These silicone cups are flexible, which allows you to push out the ingredients instead of having to scrape them. The Pop-Out Measuring Cups nest for storage like the traditional measuring cups.

Categories: COOKING tools DINING

posted @ Wednesday, August 01, 2007 9:26 AM | Feedback (1)

Five cool kitchen gadgets for the Hostess who has everything

New more efficient food preparation tools pop up constantly. If you are invited by someone that like to cook and you do not know what to bring as a hostess gift, why not take a look at the best of the crop in specialized kitchen tools. My hostess gift ideas are all under 30 dollars.

I select Sur La Table online store because they got a nice selection. You can also stop at a local shop that specialized in fine cooking. I like to support my local independent retailers because these small shop owners are often passionate and they bring us more innovative and well designed products.

Vegetable brushes are often awkward to hold. This one called Chef'n Palm Vegetable Brush let you slip your middle finger so that the head rests in your palm. At $4.95 USD each, you can stock up a few Chef'n Palm Vegetable brushes and get helpers at the food preparation station.

Categories: COOKING tools ALL occasions HOSTESS gifts DINING GIFT IDEAS

posted @ Thursday, June 21, 2007 10:59 AM | Feedback (5)

Any hostess needs at least one tasteful apron

I have a love affair with aprons since I started to cook in my teens. But finding a good looking one is a hard task. My love affair with aprons is well known fact. My brother gave me one or two aprons over the years for Christmas or my birthday. He even got me a practical gardening apron that I use when I planting my flower boxes.

I discover domistyle long time ago in a Sweetspot.ca newsletter. I fall in love with their funky aprons right away. Two young women started domistyle out of unfulfilled desires. Like me, Jessica and Vanessa did not find in stores aprons that were cool enough for a stylish hostess. They create two lines for women in 2003. Since them, they add a fun collection for kids.

Called Fresh and Funky, their two collections are best described with the words sleek, sophisticated, feminine and fun. Canadian and US retailers are listed on their web site. The aprons are sold for $39 CAD, the mini-aprons are at $32 and the kid aprons at $30.

Categories: LINENS DINING KIDS products

posted @ Wednesday, March 07, 2007 3:07 PM | Feedback (0)

Casual luxury in household linens with Simrin

Dish towels are a necessity but we indulge ourselves by getting groovy ones. If you put them on display in your kitchen, the typical brands from Wal-Mart or the supermarkets won’t do.

Household linens can set the mood of a table and a kitchen. If you dinnerware are monochromatic without patterns, you can use geometric, organic, bold graphic textiles for your tablecloths and napkins. This is part of the new wave to set up a table.

Finding cool dish towels that are part of larger household linen collections is a dream comes true. That is what you got with Simrin. Introduced last year, we did not know yet of any stores that carry the brands. Hostess with the Mostess blog, a fan, discovers that you can get the surya collection at Plum Party. Tablecloths, table runners, napkins and kitchen towels are available in chartreuse, aqua, brown and orange.