From the category archives:

Gadgets, Tools & Utensils

Artisan Bread a la Larry {Cool Kit Involved ~ Product Review}

Thumbnail image for Artisan Bread a la Larry {Cool Kit Involved ~ Product Review}

What makes Larry happy? Awesome artisan bread. We call it “heroin,” he loves it so much. He claims as a kid to have often consumed the better part of a loaf of French bread right after school.  So “Leave It To Beaver” of him.

Read Full Story

No Purse Necessary; Time For My Scottevest!

Thumbnail image for No Purse Necessary; Time For My Scottevest!

I’m not the backpack type. At my age, they look dumb. And they seriously tweak my back. For times that I want/need to carry a lot of stuff purse-free (like Paris), I’ve used my Scottevest trench coat. Yet what about hot, sweaty travel? Now I have THE RIGHT VEST.

Read Full Story

5 Kitchen Remodel Ideas I’d Recommend; 2 I’d Skip

Thumbnail image for 5 Kitchen Remodel Ideas I’d Recommend; 2 I’d Skip

Julia Child had a kooky kitchen feature: a pegboard with the outline of her pots to precisely hang them in their proper places. Functionality, love it. Three times in my married life, we’ve torn a kitchen to the studs. One was our commercial building (renovated a 50-year-old Hungarian restaurant into offices and professional test kitchen). [...]

Read Full Story

My Treasured Travel Souvenirs

Thumbnail image for My Treasured Travel Souvenirs

This morning, while emptying the dishwasher, I took an appreciative look at one of my treasures – my Iowa State Fair 2006 pancake syrup pitcher (#7 in the photo). Love that little thing. It works well, and started me thinking… to me, there are only two kinds of travel souvenirs worth buying. Stuff to wear, [...]

Read Full Story

Product Review: Très Chic Trench Coat for Road Warriors

Thumbnail image for Product Review: Très Chic Trench Coat for Road Warriors

I’m “posing,” my face had just been done by a Lancôme makeup artist (he was in-between model appointments) at a Vogue-sponsored studio at our lovely Hotel de Crillon, Paris. I felt pretty! Note the trench coat – if you are a road warrior, read on.

Read Full Story

Wine Cork Trivets ~ A Larry Craft

Thumbnail image for Wine Cork Trivets ~ A Larry Craft

Larry will be quick to inform you that the collection of wine corks in the tall glass cylinder in our family room is not ALL CORKS (final photo below). There are bricks inside to keep it from toppling. Nevertheless, there were PLENTY of corks available for his craft project, sparked by a sighting at a [...]

Read Full Story

Funky But Really Useful Household Thingy

Thumbnail image for Funky But Really Useful Household Thingy

About the De Odor Works “thingy” — it starts with Home Economics 1-0-1: rubbing smelly hands (wet) on a stainless steel sink eradicates odors like fish, garlic, mildewy-rubber-glove-insides. Yup, true. But it only works with stainless steel. If you have teenagers or other smelly critters in your household, unfortunately you cannot rub their entire bodies inside your [...]

Read Full Story

Travel Drip Coffee Pot

Thumbnail image for Travel Drip Coffee Pot

We’re in prep mode for an adventure to Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia. We have all the gizmos and whiz bang thingies road warriors have, but maybe YOU don’t have one of these. Not only is it a travel sized coffee pot, it is DRIP. Great for places with no in-room hot water pots. Not so [...]

Read Full Story

Happy Birthday to Me, Thanks Larry

Thumbnail image for Happy Birthday to Me, Thanks Larry

Larry has been treating me almost daily with birthday gifts.  I sort of stretch this celebration out as long as I can, and today’s goodie was a whisk.  It’s Worth It. This silicone beauty is a Butterfly by Kuhn Rikon, Switzerland.  Feels great in the hand. It took just a couple of whooshes through my [...]

Read Full Story

10 Favorite Foodie Swag Items

Thumbnail image for 10 Favorite Foodie Swag Items

This post isn’t about “free products” companies send bloggers in the hopes of scoring positive reviews.  Today I’m writing about what’s known in the biz as “trinkets and trash” – goodies from food companies at the hundreds of trade shows and conferences I’ve attended, lugged home via overstuffed suitcases to outfit my kitchen with their [...]

Read Full Story

What Is This Teensy Serving Utensil?

Thumbnail image for What Is This Teensy Serving Utensil?

Polishing silverware from Aunt Dede’s estate in preparation for a dinner party here, I discovered this tiny 4-inch long slotted serving piece.  Of course, I could google around and discover it’s truth but it would be more fun to ask out there… what is it? OK, I hear the collective SHE DOES WHAT???  Yes, I [...]

Read Full Story

My Third Egg Cooker

Thumbnail image for My Third Egg Cooker

I burned out the first two with use. Almost daily, I have poached eggs with this Oster Egg Cooker. And at least once a week, I hard cook a supply of eggs. For Easter, the machine was working hard. But these gadgets take practice, pretty easy to overcook eggs in it, and this third one [...]

Read Full Story

Yogurt Maker

Thumbnail image for Yogurt Maker

Some kitchen gadgets are questionable whether one could live without them.   I could probably live without a little yogurt maker.  Throughout history, few cultures had them, yet yogurt is one of the oldest foods we have. The need to make my own yogurt isn’t terribly strong; I’ve turned the process into a weekend puttering ritual.  [...]

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Read Full Story