Storm of Thoughts

Another New (Kitchen) Toy

I love kitchen items. (Or, as Sharon at Mom Generations would call them, kitchen gadgets. ) Most cooks can never get enough of fun new appliances, tools, bakeware, and all the rest. Which is why I’m so happy with my newest toy.

I’ve always been a fan of Le Creuset. I’ve spent a lot of time on the website, in Williams-Sonoma and Sur la Table, and even in the outlet shops admiring them. Of course, they are special pieces. After all, they’re expensive. And heavy. Oh so heavy.

But I have found that they are very worth it. I am a Le Creuset convert.

I got two small baking dishes from my mom, and have used them now for several different meals. Immediately I noticed benefits, like the fact that food heats up evenly and quickly. Plus, they are so easy to clean, you feel like you have a maid. (Which means a lot coming from someone without a dishwasher). No matter what I bake onto them (cheese that has burned into the corners after leftovers were reheated several times, bits of tortilla from enchiladas, etc.), they immediately come off. Soak them, and you barely have to lift the sponge; you simply will them off and your dish is cleaned.

Not to mention, they’re so pretty. What’s more fun than choosing a bright turquoise dish in a kitchen full of boring blacks, silvers, and whites?

And yes - they are heavy. I might not want an entire kitchen full of them. But I intend to use the ones I do have all the time, even after my arms are tired from lifting them. They’re that good.

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Wordless Wednesday: A New Toy

This actually deserves a few words. This is my new Cuisinart immersion blender, which I got (from my mom) for my birthday. In this picture, it was hard at work blending up tomato soup (which is going to be delicious with sandwiches tonight). And not only did it work incredibly well but, as you can see from the picture, it is CORDLESS. Which is incredible. I can blend my soup at the table, at the stove, in front of the TV, in the backyard, or anywhere else I feel like blending soup (or other foods). Every piece is detachable with the push of a button (but can’t accidentally detach itself), and I was amazed to find a plug is actually hidden in the base and easily slides out to charge. (Since I skipped reading the instruction booklet, each new feature I discovered was unexpected and thus especially exciting.) Plus, it also comes with a whisk attachment as well as a measuring/mixing cup (which resembles a mini food processor) that you can chop into. (And so a mini food processor is now off my wish list.) And I’ve never had an easier time cleaning a kitchen product.

My new toy made me very happy.

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