Picnic Covers
If you’re eating outdoors this summer, invest in some picnic covers. These nifty little things, which come in a variety of colors and designs, ensure that you and your invited guests are the only ones feasting on your food. Take a look…
• Mesh Plate Covers at Amazon.com
Get Whipped!
Luscious sugar-free whipped cream is a luxury that you deserve. Start with a cup of heavy cream. Add 4 packets of Splenda and a teaspoon of vanilla. Put it into your Whip-it whipped cream dispenser and you will be amazed at the amount of whipped cream it makes and how long it keeps.
• Whip-It! Whipped Cream Dispenser
• iSi N2O Cream Chargers, 24-Pack
My whipped cream dispenser is always in my refrigerator, filled with sugar-free whipped cream and ready to use. It’s a cost-saving device that not only adds flavor to desserts, but a final flourish as well.
Kate and Mary Beth demonstrate how easy and fun it is to make your own whipped cream.
TopChips Maker
Crunchy, healthy chips without oil that you can make in small or large batches with everything from sweet potatoes to beets? Seriously?! I was certainly skeptical, but decided to give the kit a try. It really works — and you can see how we did it, step by step. Take a look…
• Top Chips Maker, Set of 2
Easy Carrot Curler
Patricia ran across this innocuous-looking kitchen device. I thought “Why not?” and ordered one to try out. It is an amazing vegetable garnish tool. It peels, it curls. It creates otherworldly vegetable flowers. We were so impressed at how easy to use and what beautiful carrot and daikon radishes we were able to create with it.
See our curled creations!
• Easy Carrot Curler
Mandoline
If there is one gadget in my kitchen that I truly cannot do without, it’s my slicer dicer. The correct name for it is mandoline, but I bought mine 25 years ago from a pitchman at the state fair after he dazzled the audience by shredding cabbage, slicing onions, dicing squash. Every time I hear “Mandoline,” I hear music.
I truly believe I have saved hundreds of hours over the last couple of decades by using the mandoline. See it in action in the video below!
Cut & Slash Resistant Gloves
My family is always concerned that I am going to cut myself. Amazon’s automatic recommendations that come up when you look at the mandolines includes Cut & Slash Resistant Gloves. That cracks me up! I didn’t know such things existed, but I am sure my family would be happy if I would use some, since I have an aversion to using the safety guard.
Fruit Slicer
Want to get perfectly uniform slices of a melon in the speediest way possible? This little gadget will make it happens. It’s called a Fruit Slicer (very creative title, don’t you think?) and it is amazing. Click the link to see more pictures and our video of the gadget in action.
Strawberry Huller
Look, ma! No hulls! There is no tool that removes the hulls from strawberries more effectively or efficiently than the StemGem Strawberry Huller from Amazon. Add to that the fact that it is small, cute, and inexpensive, and you have the trifecta!
Cuisinart Frozen Ice Cream Maker
Pistachio ice cream that is low carb, sugar-free, and ready in less than half an hour? Where do I sign up? I keep the chill cylinder for my Cuisinart ice cream maker in my freezer at all times. I’ve made low carb ice cream in flavors ranging from lemon to carmel pecan swirl. There is nothing that tastes better, or more decadent, and this inexpensive machine makes it all happen.
Vegetable Peeler
These Progressive brand vegetable peelers are magnetic. There are three altogether (with two pictured here) and they not only make quick work of peeling vegetables, but they stick together, making them easier to find in a drawer that is heavy-laden with cooking tools.
Handheld Julienne Tool
If I have a large quantity of vegetables or fruits to julienne, I typically pull out my mandoline. If I’m doing a small quantity, a handheld tool like this one is much more practical. It does a fine job of cutting matchstick size pieces from even the toughest vegetable
Lemon Zester Lemon Zester
Delicate pieces of citrus zest (use lemon, lime, orange) are called for in various recipes. They also make a great garnish for certain dishes, including a few drinks I’ll tell you about.
Herb Scissors
This is the closest thing to a magic trick that you’ll see in my kitchen. These are herb scissors. See the giant basil leaves and the fresh parsley? Now, with this brilliant tool you see basil ribbons and minced parsley and I swear it just took nanoseconds and a few snips. One of my very faves.
Thai Peeler
My friend Sue, the Thai chef, introduced me to this remarkable Thai peeler. Use it to remove the peel from a cucumber, carrot, or other vegetable or fruit (it works particularly well with straight-sided ones) and you end up not only with a well-peeled object, but also one that’s ready to be made into amazing-looking slices.
Two Pretty Helpers
Here are two tools whose sole function is to make the food your serve more good-looking. Use the small tool to score the sides of your vegetable (I’ve used a zucchini here). Then, place the scored zucchini into your spiral slicer and twist. As you twist, a beautiful spiral masterpiece appears! This will be a much more sustainable layout for the long run. Worth the work!
Acrylic Plate Stand
Display your loveliest decorative plate — OR use this nifty and sturdy stand to prop up your iPad so that when you’re making one of our recipes, you’ve got it right where you need it.
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