Cool Range Find a Home
Long Branch beach had put me in the mood for a little an extended break and I returned to find myself smack in the middle of a house move and a kitchen makeover, plus two kids I can no longer afford to have away at summer camp!
It’s been fun picking out bits and pieces for my (hopefully) exciting new kitchen. One of the toughest decisions, though, was deciding on a free-standing range or stove.
I needed something practical, easy to clean, with a great oven and both a low-heat simmer burner (so I no longer have to use a bain-marie, or double boiler, for melting chocolate) as well as fast-boil super-BTU’d burner (so I don’t have to twiddle thumbs for too long for my umpteenth cup of tea). Did I mention the range also had to be good looking? (more…)
Of Kids, Mystery Ailments and Jam Jars
You may have noticed I’ve stopped making excuses for long silences. Something will, and must, fall between the cracks when one juggles home, work and blogging. But I’m sorry to have kept the three of you hanging all these weeks 
On Monday, my younger boy woke up in tears because he couldn’t walk. Bewildered, I urged him to stay in bed while I got my older son ready and out the door to catch his school bus. Eventually, he got out of bed, and, I gave him an umbrella to use as a walking stick while I set up an appointment with his doctor. He couldn’t climb stairs, he could barely hoist himself onto a chair, and I later had to lift him into the car. In between banging out seven stories, I took him to four different medical establishments – his pediatrician, a lab for bloodwork, radiology, and finally, a pediatric orthopedist (or is it orthopedic pediatrician?) way out in Cedar Knolls, Morris County.
Let me tell you about that journey. (more…)
Non-Stick Pans Linked to Thyroid Disease: Whom Can I Sue and Will the Charges Stick?
The last of my formerly complete set of Circulon pans, a wedding present 11 years ago, was solemnly sent off to the Cooking Pan Graveyard recently. As I researched the best replacement for the much-used, much loved matrimonial gift, I found that Amazon offered a fabulous deal on a new range of Circulon pans, which came with a free casserole dish worth $100. It would have been foolish to have let it slip. The purchase took place without a hitch – shopping online, time and money saved, prompt doorstep delivery, feet and nails intact.
The new pans, heatable to 400F (as high as I generally need the oven to go), are practically self-clean. Before I’ve picked up the sponge and doused it with washing-up liquid, the caked-up food has fallen off and the pan is, well, like new again. I hypnotically go through the motions still, of washing, as a matter of habit, as the pans themselves are bright and brimming with confidence.
So, I should be really, really happy.
But no, a dark cloud, reeking of burnt plastic, looms on the horizon. (more…)
Best Thing … Since Bread was Last Sliced
Are you (like me) a klutz? Have you been avoiding sharpening your knives for fear of adding unwitting bits of meat to that chopped salad? Are you fed up of slicing stubborn heads of cabbage with spoons in knives’ clothing?
In the old days (2008 to be precise) in Canada, despite a fear of sharp objects, I would happily wait for the eerie music of our neighborhood Knife Sharpening Guy, whose tunes were only a touch less sinister than those of the Ice Cream Man and of Psycho’s shower scene (coincidence that a sharp shiny object is involved in the latter??) Thereupon I would grab my 20 once-super-sharp German kitchen knives and a stash of spare Ikea knives - NOT by the blade end – and rush down the two flights of steep stairs to the street, across it and up to KSG’s van, sighing with relief that I had made it without tripping and falling upon all 30 knives, (more…)
The Recession-Safe Cuppa (or Caffeine-Pumped Delusion?)
In Toronto, where we last lived, we were extremely fortunate to have The Remarkable Bean at the bottom of our street – a charming neighbourhood cafe where they roasted and ground the finest coffee beans, and baked the most heavenly blueberry muffins I’ve ever had. It was a delight making the brief walk to savour its sights and scents on the streetcar-visited Queen St, which itself was home to a treasury of quaint shops and restaurants.
At the Bean I’d meet our stalwart family friend, Rob, and we’d dissect one of the above muffins ingredient by ingredient, later feverishly attempting to replicate them at home for the kids. We both had excellent results, although I really need one of those giant North Amerian muffin trays to get it down pat!
And so, Richard and I would get our just-ground remarkable beans and make the coffee fresh in our cafetierre, the good old low-tech way. Sadly, we have yet to spy a Bean-equivalent in our New Jersey neighbourhood and Richard’s had scant time to make coffee in the morning before he joins the throng of NYC commuters. Instead, he gets one at work – a detour which puts the household budget back about $60 a month (closer to $90 with my less-regular habit thrown in) and not necessarily providing the satisfaction of a home brew.
Enter the Krups Dolce Gusto coffee maker and a handy Bloomingdale’s coupon – we are now the proud owners of one of these caffeine-spouting ducks. With all the savings on offer to lure bean addicts, Richard figures the 15-bar coffeehouse-strength machine (which incidentally produces a very attractive cuppa with a layer of foam on top that’s very fit to drink) will pay for itself in three months. My latte macchiato was so delicious I frantically scoured the box for its calorie content, expecting to find all my optimism ground to bean dust. Thankfully, it was a neat 90 calories.
Meanwhile, we can have a perfect latte, cappucino, cafe lungo, iced coffee or espresso (and the kids a choccacino) whenever we feel like it. A tasty deal at *25-50c a cup, I say!
*25c for the coffee pod, another 25c for milk (if using)
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