Visitors a few weeks ago thought it would be fun to see periodic up-dates of my favorite gadget-of-the-moment, since I do like "the right tool for the job"! So, here are a few kitchen tools I would never give up:
A really good CROCK! Mine is a Gairtopf fermenting crock from Germany, made with a deep lip so you can pour water into it so that there is an air-lock while fermentation is occurring. This means no scum to gross you out while you make pickles, sauerkraut, kim chee, etc. We always have something brewing in the crock now :) Currently is the 2nd batch this year of Icicle Pickles - using English cukes and a slightly different timing schedule. My darling mother has hinted broadly that she might be willing to give me one of her mother's crocks if I promise to be very careful with it - and that's the most exciting idea! I could have 2 things fermenting at once!!!
Next up: the VITALIZER water machine! Jon really had to talk me into this, because it was (whisper) "expensive"....... But, we use it several times every single day and we love the water it whirls up. Regular (reverse osmosis-filtered already) tap water becomes a living thing with this baby! Super oxygenated, and amazingly enough, the magnets in the base "throw" the molecular structure of the H2O back into the hexagonal form that is the fingerprint of high mountain streams. Remember how that water tasted when you were hiking as a kid (before giardia tainted even the most pristine of creeks)? Yes, it's supposed to be good for your health, but mostly we use it because it tastes good... so good that we take gallons of it with us in the cooler when we travel!
Ah... my LABYRINTH rock. One of several labyrinths I have, and an easy way to use 2 minutes and mindfully un-wind. Trace the path all the way from outside to the center and then back out again, and you will be breathing deeper and feeling more focused. Someday, when Jon builds his castle, I will have a turf labyrinth to walk in the herb garden.
Mornings have become ecstasy with our discovery of the AEROPRESS. A cross between a French Press and the one cup drip method (that we snobbishly refused to give up for years!), this modern wonder of plastic and silicone makes the best cuppa joe ever!!! Rich and full, like the press, concentrated and grit-free like the drip method...... yum!
And, what would life be without the ability to grind your coffee fresh each morning? Here's our MANUAL COFFEE GRINDER - an ebay special, purchased from somewhere in Holland years ago. "16 bars of 4" is how Jon counts the turns, and those 72 cranks around fills the little glass square, and makes one perfect cup. The grinder and the aeropress are the perfect marriage of old and new :)
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Yes, these Roses love strong coffee.