Meyer lemons in a strainer after a scrub to remove wax.

I’ve always loved lemon flavored things. Lemon drops are some of my favorite candies. Not because they are sour, but because they are tart. Which is subtly different in an upscale adult way. Once I started really branching out into preserving I learned there are more types of lemons than the plain ones we get in the supermarket. There are magical, memorable yellowy-orange globes of magnificence called Meyer lemons. I became obsessed with finding them near me and realized I’ve probably overlooked them for years.

They sell them in season in special little bags with 4-6 lemons. My favorite grocer for produce has them on the exotic produce cart. Next to the lemon grass, kiwi and celery root. Now that I know what I am looking for and where to find it I’ve been working on finding better Meyers, aka organic. Of course the fancy Fresh Market carries them, and at pretty reasonable rates if I don’t purchase oodles. I imagine Trader Joes may carry them as well, and may venture to check next year.I ran into a sale at my favorite produce clearinghouse and snapped up five bags for $5 so I’ve been cramming in testing out all the recipes I’ve always wanted to try but didn’t have enough lemons for. Because you will be eating the rind in several of the preparations it is always best to use organic, as most of the pesticides end up in the rind. I’ve used conventional for years though, scrubbing the skin well with a veggie brush and vinegar wash.

Because they are only available for a short time its best to find ways to tuck them away for the cold, dreary months without their sunshiny flavor fresh in the fruit bowl. On my list is strawberry meyer lemon marmalade, meyer lemon champagne marmalade, Ginger Honey Lemon marmalade, meyer lemon curd, preserved lemons, citrus salt, and candied peel. Some of these are new to me, some I’ve done for several seasons now. Recipes will be following. Just have to locate and edit and upload the pictures. Having both a cell phone camera and a DSLR I can never remember these days if I took the time for “real” pics or just snapped one with my cell phone.

One of the best things about moving near the beach is the opportunity to forage the beach roses growing here. I fell in love with rose petal jelly (although its counterpart rose petal jam was a bit yuck) when I made it with my own roses, and the beach rose is more fragrant and purported to be more flavorful as well. Rose hips from beach roses instead of cultivated varieties are also the ones we are accustomed to in tea and jelly. So it is with glee I took my first walk to the beach to scope out the roses….and furtively gathered a couple handfuls of blooms to bring home and tuck away in the fridge.

Rose petal Jelly was my second attempt at an edible flower jelly. Lilac jelly from a recipe from Rosecommon Acres (if you follow the link, stay and enjoy a visit…she’s an amazing woman) was my first. It was pleasant enough to make me research what other pretty gem colored jars I could create. Rose and violet were the ones that caught my eye. Violets are more common in the woods than the town where we were so I went with rose, since I had three floribundae rose bushes in the yard. The pale to dark pink petals made a mid-range pink jelly that tasted of rose, but not strongly like I had hoped. It was yummy as a sweetener in hot tea or spread on a scone. I knew finding a supply of “old roses” or “beach roses” would be the next step in getting the jelly I wanted.

I found the recipe I use at LA Weekly in a farmer’s market report on edible flowers from a local farm. Here is the recipe as I use it.

Rose Petal Jelly
From: Adina Rimmon of Schaner Farms.
Yield: 4 half-pint jars

2 cups red or pink petals, washed and dried (a salad spinner works nicely)
2 cups water
3 3/4 cups sugar (white to let the flower flavor come through)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 3-oz. package pectin (powder)
4 small rosebuds

1. Place the rose petals and water in a saucepan. Heat over high heat until the water begins to boil, pushing down the roses until totally submerged. Turn off the heat, cover and allow to steep until cool. An small plate can be used to submerge the petals in the water. Weigh it down if need be.

2. Meanwhile, prepare jars and lids for canning. If not canning, prepare clean jars.

3. When the rose infusion is cool, strain and measure out 1 3/4 cups of the liquid. Pour it into a saucepan, add sugar and lemon juice (watch the color change).

4. Over medium-high heat, stir constantly until the sugar melts and the liquid comes to a full boil. Add the pectin and continue stirring. Return to a hard boil and allow to boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

5. Pour the liquid into the hot jars. When all the jars have been filled, push a rosebud into each jar, submerging them totally in the liquid. This works best if the jelly is allowed to cool a bit. I used a chopstick to help push the rosebuds into the jelly. Partially opened buds work better than completely closed ones). Wipe the jars clean and screw on the lids.

6. If canning, process for 5 minutes. Wait for the ping and check the seals.

The rose infusion becomes a brownish pink color until you hit it with the lemon juice. Then it goes back to straight pink. In the case of the beach roses its a bright, dark pink. The smell is amazing. Way better than my roses. Cracking open a jar of this in the winter is going to be superb and make me the happiest girl in the world. I made double this (in two batches) and one jar did go to my jam swap partner. A friend’s daughter loves it as well, although I think she just enjoys the rosebud floating in the pink jelly.

I think this would be good for a shortbread thumbprint cookie. As sweetener for tea or lemonade. In a signature mixed drink for a wedding. For a sparkling drink using a sodastream or similar carbonating device. Or eaten off a spoon…especially while still warm. Its just that amazing.

My second use for roses is in harvesting the rosehips. My roses did not have the proper type of hips for this. They grew them abundantly and nice large ones as well, but they never went past green. The beach roses have pretty red orange hips already and with frosts upon us I have already harvested a handful. I want to dry some to add to tea or potpourri mixes. I want to make jelly or jam out of the rest. I didn’t really gather many before the snow hit and they withered and got mushy….maybe this spring or next year.

The third thing I have done with the rose petals is make cookies. The first was a shortbread. I took it to work and made the guys from the shelf stocking team eat it. It was fabulous. Imagine a bunch of dirty, sweaty manly men eating rose petal shortbread in the breakroom. Fab-u-lous. I can’t recall the recipe I followed. And Google is not being helpful and is showing me a bunch of new, yet lovely, looking recipes. It basically comes down to adding a couple tablespoons of crushed dried rose petals and a teaspoon or so of rosewater to a regular shortbread recipe. I’m partial to ones that use powdered sugar not regular table sugar in them…and the result is a tender, flaky and flowery cookie. The second cookie was a linzer. I used raspberry/rose for this instead of straight rose. It was yummy too. And you can picture those same guys with powdered sugar all over their noses…

The last thing I want to do with them is make marshmallows. I made rose and raspberry seedless jam, but it barely set. So unless I recook it and let it cool it won’t spread very well for most things. The linzer cookies soaked up the runny jam without getting mushy, but since marshmallows are just bloomed gelatin with a sugar syrup added I think I can tinker it into the syrup and make raspberry rose marshmallows. I am attending my first seed/homemade goodies swap with the Greater Seacoast Permaculture Group and think these would be fabulous. Even if it is postponed due to weather (it was scheduled Sunday morning). That just means I have more tinker time and have to not eat them a bit longer than I’d planned. If they work out, there will be pictures and a recipe. A post-Valentine’s recipe.

We move…alot. We’ve been married for eight years and in that time we’ve lived in four homes. Two winter rentals at fabulous York Beach and two longer term rentals in neighboring towns. While we hope to move into a more permanent solution each time, we strive to organize ourselves to work better in the small spaces we dwell in and make moving more streamlined as well. This move I have been super into new totes for our things and kitchen containers for our dry goods.

We’ve owned a motley collection of plastic totes for items since before we got married. I had mismatched purple totes from my college days, as well as a large blue footlocker type and a blue and black roughneck tote. My husband had cheap black milk crates and other odds and ends. We bought a matching set of pumpkin orange Rubbermaid totes one year to organize our closet. But they filled up fast and didn’t leave anything for the living room or other areas.

This summer as I wanted to purchase some totes to organize my sewing stuff (so that the husband didn’t have issues distinguishing it from his sewing stuff) I found some nice clear Sterilite totes with tan tops. They came in five sizes from shallow to deep in both small and large sizes. And they are modular. So the smaller ones stack two across on the bigger ones. Perfect right? This fall I saw some clear purple ones in the same style and picked up a couple only to find they were on clearance. So I went right back into Walmart and bought a couple more. At almost half off why not get more? This pre-spring they came in as regular priced items right after Christmas but before Valentines Day. I bought a couple smaller ones, since I had only found the large ones before. Right now though, they are back on clearance. So I’ve been snatching them up as I find them. On my day off I bought eight from the farthest Walmart in the area without going completely out of my way. I think we may have enough to finish repacking the house out of the remaining cardboard boxes and random tote bags. If not the husband has requested clear ones. They also come in opaque tan and opaque purple. The tan/clear line is regularly priced and carried normally, the purple are on clearance. We finished the dining room and living room this weekend, the kitchen last month, the bedroom is free of boxes except some clothes and the spare room is only half boxes-the other half is the orange totes. I have until May to get things done to move out to a new place.

Moving into the kitchen: I have had the same set of stainless steel and plastic containers for flour and sugar since we got married. They looked pretty in the store but between the rubber gasket holding flour and the sticky residue from our crap gas stove getting on everything I owned in the kitchen they looked like junk and performed even worse. I have been looking for something stylish that would work well for years. I had finally given up and Googled what would fit a 5lb bag of flour or sugar and came across the Sistema Bakery system. Which would work, but wouldn’t look shiny and flashy on the counter. A couple weeks later (I kid you not) I came across them at Home Goods and immediately snatched up two large and two medium ones. With white clips unfortunately, but you get what you find at Home Goods, you know? I am in love. The gaskets are tight. They have a 1cup measure thats fairly accurate compared to my Kitchenaid and nameless cup sets. You can see through them perfectly. And they come in all sorts of sizes, including split containers. They are also modular, which is keen for fitting in weird cabinet sizes. I bought some of the split ones to move my sprinkle collection into. The sea air is refreshing, but it gets into everything and keeping moisture out is a big concern.

I also picked up a split large lunch container set on clearance, its a clear and magenta color. It came with one mini container and a little water bottle. I’ve been using it for snacks at work. Veggies in one side, cracker packs in the other. Hummus in the tiny container. Its adorable and fits enough for an adult easily. Not as sure about the sandwich or microwave plate sets, but they look neat. They also make a steamer set. I picked up a yogurt parfait cup also in clear and magenta. It has a nesting spoon, a bottom section for yogurt and a top section for granola or fruit. Haven’t used it yet, but I have no doubt it will acquit itself with perfection. All these have been reasonably priced, although I think the bigger containers have gone up in the last shipment. I swear I paid $4.99 for my medium, but the cracked one I found the other day was marked $5.99.

I also bought the husband the cereal keeper. Nothing is worse than stale, soggy cereal. Since the local Tupperware lady stalked me for three years the last time we made contact I decided it was safer to just grab one of these for our Raisin Bran. This is in a clear and cornflower blue color. So far its worked out perfectly as well. Two of the smaller boxes of Raisin Bran fit inside, but I bought the biggest one they had.

There are also several “sets” of containers. I’ve seen the sixteen piece and the twenty piece in clear and blue, as well as the triple packs of tiny containers for lunches. I’d love to snag a couple of the bakery packs to fill out the things I want to store and have a couple spares for “just in case” Right now I have one for white flour, whole wheat flour, white rice, pancake mix, white sugar, confectioners sugar, and cornmeal. I want one for brown sugar, kosher salt, brown rice, couscous and granola. Possibly a little round one for my pectin (Ball flex batch). Plus I’ve got another couple colors of sprinkles to get contained, and another couple I’m missing which will need contained after I find them. But Home Goods has thwarted me on bringing in the brand and size I normally buy in the correct colors…..lol.

When we have counter space to spare, money to waste and time to get it all done I want the All Clad container set for the counter. Whether I put sugar, flour and oatmeal or whatever in them is another story, they would probably end up with dog biscuits and cookies instead. But they are pretty swanky looking and I’ve yet to own an All Clad item I didn’t like or that made me want to change something about it…

So today I took the plunge and bought a Kitchenaid stand mixer from work (Target). I am now the proud (mostly) owner of a KSM95 in Tangerine. Which is one of the colors we had this summer as a special color. Cost=$299.99 originally, clearance at $149.99 minus my 10% team discount and 5% redcard discount. While I would rather have white than the tangerine color, I figure it will be ages before I find another K mixer at this price. It should do me ok until I can afford to buy the raspberry ice beauty of my dreams. Its a 4.5qt, 300watt. It comes with a stainless bowl, but I just talked to the KA support peeps and the beautiful glass 5qt bowl will fit it perfectly. Which means I can have a nice shiny, made in the US clear bowl for about half of what I paid for it. Guess whats going on my Christmas list? I also think I will likely paint it. Which won’t give me the same pink as the raspberry ice, but I already own a lovely pink or turquoise which would work. There are also textured paints and such which would be keen.

Here’s a couple ideas that caught my fancy in searching from home:

Valspar Premium Enamel Spray Paint in GLOSS TROPICAL OASIS 85089

  Rustoleum Hammered Spray Paint in Silver Hammered 245219

  Valspar Silk Spray Paint in BRIGHT PINK 66300

  Valspar Silk Spray Paint in PETROL BLUE 66301

  Valspar Glitter Spray Paint in TRANSPARENT SILVER  66501

Since the kitchen is currently filled with bags of everything from drink mixers to utensil holders and cereal I have nowhere to put the new mixer, let alone to use it. My goal this evening is to unpack and put away enough to find the Barefoot Contessa Marshmallow Mixes my mom gave me a couple years ago I’ve tucked away for just such an occasion. Which is a good thing as it seems to not be sold anymore….it is of course expired but being gelatin and sugar and some preservatives I have no worry as to it working just fine.  Here’s a link to a 2009 review on Serious Eats: click for review.

Of course there are many more things I have bookmarked which start with “attach the paddle to your stand mixer” so I will have many more things to make coming into the holiday season….but marshmallows have been the one thing I’ve been dying to make that the $10 hand mixer my mother-in-law bought me when we got married just isn’t going to handle. Saw a KA hand mixer on clearance at work as well…next price drop it may come home as well….

So I set about blanching, peeling and chopping the nectarines. And adding the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and grated ginger cubes. I cooked it down, added a pouch of liquid pectin following the recipe online from Certo Nectarine Jam. I then brought it back to a boil again and cooked to the gel point. Then I strained the solid chunks into jars, topped them off with the liquid and poured the rest of the liquid into the leftover jars. Which gave me a couple jars or preserves with big chunky pieces perfect for ice cream or yogurt and a couple jars of pretty jelly (with some blueberry seeds in it-those things are teeny). Normally I would mash the fruit more or cook it farther, but I was kind of tired and trying to get them canned before the move. So that I have my jars ready to ship next week.

Certo Nectarine Jam

yield=about 4 pints

4 1/2 cups prepared fruit

1/4 cup lemon juice

7 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp butter

1 pouch Certo liquid fruit pectin

Gingered Blueberry Nectarine Preserves

yield=about 3 1/2 pints

3 cup blueberries

3 cup chopped, pitted, peeled nectarines

6 cup sugar (4 white, 2 demerra)

8 tsp ginger grated (8 cubes Dorot)

1/2 cup lemon juice

2tblsp candied ginger minced (I use The Ginger People brand bits)

1 pouch Certo liquid pectin

Processing time: 10mins

The jelly didn’t set for almost 72 hours and is still a bit soft, but it should be superb after popped in the fridge. Its a nice warm gingery layer over the blueberry and nectarine. The color is a beautiful purpley tone with a warm red base.  I’ll try to get some pics tomorrow in the sunlight. The indoor ones are grainy and icky.

We got lucky with this rental as its through a friend of the family. We almost missed out on it, but the other interested party missed out instead. So we will get to spend the winter on the other side of the beachfront from where we spent it last time. It will cost less though, which is a nice bonus. We loved living at the beach in the “off” season. The spring was especially nice….since it gets plenty warm before move out day and we are close enough to walk.

We will be trying to shed some “stuff” in the moving. Selling the lovely sectional couch my mother-in-law gifted us when she got remarried, the roll-top desk we bought but don’t have a use for since its not computer friendly, and possibly the dresser and mis-matched end tables. The kitchen table and bed will be going with us. I love my kitchen table, which also came from my mother-in-law. Its pretty, solid wood and just big enough when the leaves are out and its folded down. But plenty big with the leaves in and all folded out. Its to versatile to sell and have to replace down the road with an antique or expensive modern piece.

I’ll be sorting through the cupboards for expired food, stuff we can’t possibly use after the “best by” dates. I did it once a couple months ago, but not everything. This will cover the snacks and cereals as well as the sauces, spices and condiments. A friend will be allowed to pick through the culled items, as she’s not terribly picky like my husband. Also being looked through are the canned goods. Anything I’ve decided I didn’t like will be dumped or pawned off at work so I can move clean, empty jars and not uneaten preserves. With any luck I will have a nicer kitchen and will need the jars empty so I can refill them.

Papers, books, magazines and other miscellaneous goods will be sorted as well. Some tossed, some donated, and some set aside for a yard sale. I’m thinking if I can get everything sorted and tagged we can have an indoor sale after the place is empty. Then we’ll just have the furniture we’re selling and the goods. Everything not sold can be packed up to donate.

I’ve been bringing boxes home from work, mostly from my department. Not banana boxes (which are annoying with that empty space on the bottom) but ground beef boxes with nice handles, egg boxes with nice handles and a small size, cracker boxes, etc. Some deep produce boxes with no lids have come home to hold yard sale goods as well. Nice and sturdy and free. Organization by price makes for easier selling, especially if everything ends up on the floor.

I am bringing my blueberry bushes in their 5gallon buckets. I am bringing my strawberries in their fake wine barrel planters. I am thinking about digging up some of the perennials and bushes (I have three roses and three lilacs I am attached to). If we decide against it there will be a dig-your-own plant sale at the yard sale. We will actually be selling the yard…lol. But the plants were all furnished by us and as such belong to me to do with as I please before the bank takes over….we put too much effort into the yard to just leave it for someone else to profit by after we are gone. At $5 a plant I will make enough to put away for a future garden, and still offer a bargain, since they are two year old plants and many were 2gallon plants-normally $10 or more each. We’ll clean out the deck boxes and probably bring the window boxes, but leave the planter bases. It will depend on the new place and if we think we can bring them with us without ruining the yard.

I’m looking forward to the chance to grow and become a lighter person by getting rid of stuff we don’t need. Weeding through the clutter we accumulate and hold onto. Making it easier to move again in the spring…possibly for the last time.

Pomegranates are a BIG love of mine. With a husband who can’t stand still and likes to snack at times, its the perfect solution. It keeps his hands busy, it rewards him almost instantaneously, and I don’t have to cook him nachos or something. I fell in love with pomegranates back in college I believe. Something my best friend Elaine ate most likely. They used to go on sale for $1 each, but then they became trendy and cool and there was a premium on them. Now you are lucky to get them for twice that in season. Which happens to coincide with the winter holidays here. Making this a perfect gift. Its homemade, bright-deep red in color, and can be fancied up with a bit of ribbon and a pretty label. Of course the addition of raspberries pretty much assures this won’t be local for one side of the country or the other….unless you live in Cali and can get greenhouse out of season berries. You could always freeze some raspberries in season and make this later on. Which would be the preferable thing for me. Or buy some. The jam I made with Cascadian Farm brand frozen berries is still one of my best to date. This recipe is adapted from one I saw and fell in love with on Green Kitchen Stories here.

Pomegranate Raspberry Thyme Jam Recipe

makes 6-8 quarter pint jars

3 pomegranates
one pint carton raspberries (or equivalent in frozen)
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 handful fresh thyme (I left mine on the stems and removed it before jarring)
1 cup sugar

1. Prepare jars in water bath canner.
   
2. Seed your pomegranates. This is best done in a large bowl of water. The pith and membranes float and can be easily sorted from the fruit. You loose some juice this way, but it is negligible to me at this point. It may be a bigger loss if you aren’t adept at this yet.
3. Transfer fruit to large pot, add raspberries, thyme and sugar. Bring to a boil.
4. Boil until set point, using the frozen plate method or your preferred method.
5. Add lemon juice and stir to combine. (this is where I fished out the thyme)
6. Ladle into jars, wipe rims and adjust two piece caps finger tight.
7. Process ten minutes. Allow to settle overnight before removing bands and storing for a year in the pantry.

I haven’t cracked open a jar of this, although I did enjoy the “leftover” half jar with English Muffins at work. Much to the continued chagrin of some of my coworkers….they don’t quite believe I make it myself. I know they think I spoon Stonewall Kitchen into my own jars and pretend. Lol. The flavor on this is fresh and fruity and clean, with the depth of flavor from the infusion of thyme to brighten it up a bit.

So I’ve set about to count and organize the seeds I have, so I can focus on what I want to order and acquire for the season. I dug out the bucket with my partial packets and clearance seeds from Reny’s this past summer( at five to twenty-five cents each for veggies, herbs and flowers I couldn’t resist a couple-dozen). And the couple I’ve bought this summer. Here’s what I have laying around the house right now unopened:
Self-Saved in 2011
Sugar Pumpkins
Tumbling Toms Tomatoes(purchased at Wentworth Greenhouse)
Black Krim Tomatoes
Yellow Pear Tomatoes (from organic heirloom Burpee seed)
Packed for 2012
(2) 300mg Heirloom True lavender-lavandula officinalis
(1) 300mg Lavender Lady-lavandula angustifolia
(1) 160mg Purple Ruffles Basil
(1) 75mg Tumbler Hybrind Tomato
(1) 3g Heirloom Cinderella Pumpkin
(1) 1g Jack-be-Little Pumpkin
(1) 3g Green Patty Pan Squash
(1) 2g Heirloom Homemade Pickles Cucumber-cucumis sativus
(2) 29g Heirloom Royal Burgundy Bean
Packed for 2011
(1) 210mg Sweet Basil
(1) 1.5g Long Island Mammoth Dill
(1) 160mg Purple Ruffles Basil-ocimum basilicum
(1) 300mg Moss Curled Parsley
(1) 100mg Chives
(1) 6g Dwarf Gray Sugar Pea
(1) 1.8g Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce
(1) 800mg Green Salad Bowl Lettuce
(1) 1.35g French Breakfast Radish
(1) 200mg Black Beauty Eggplant
(1) 900mg National Pickling Cucumber
(1) 700mg Imperial 45 Cantaloupe
(1) 4g Black Beauty Squash
(1) 3g Green Patty Pan Squash
(1) 3g Spaghetti Squash
(1) 3.75g Table Queen Acorn Squash
(1) 1g Crimson Sweet Watermelon
(1) 600mg Sugar Baby Watermelon
(1) 175mg Rutgers Select Tomato
(1) 725mg Large Red Cherry Tomato
(1) Long White Cucumber
(1) 2.5g Italian Salad Blend
Packed for 2010
(1) 2g Chantenay Carrot-short n sweet
(2) 4.5g White Icicle Radish
(1) 1oz Heirloom Mammoth Mmelting Sugar Pea
(1) 20g Early Glow Hybrid Sweet Corn
(1) 14g Ruby Queen Hybrid Sweet Corn

Here’s what I have thats been opened and partially used:
(1) Long Island Mammoth Dill
(1) Tiny Tim Tomato-from Ebay 2009
(1) Purple Haze Carrot-from Ebay 2009
(1) Purple Jalapeno Pepper-from Ebay 2010
(1) Rosa Bianca Eggplant-from Ebay 2010
(1) Early White Scallop Squash-from Ebay 2010
(1) Heirloom Tom Thumb Lettuce
(1) Charentais Melon
(1) Grey Belle Watermelon
(1) Orange Tendersweet Watermelon
(1) Sugar Baby Watermelon
(1) Cherry Belle Radish
(1) Crimson Giant Radish
(1) Cocozelle Squash
(1) Early Prolific Straighneck Squash
(1) Spaghetti Squash
(1) unknown fancy zucchini squash-silvery
(1) Carolina Hybrid Cucumber
(1) Black Beauty Eggplant

I also have a dozen or so varieties of flower seeds from phlox to moonflowers. Including pansy, petunia and columbine seeds I saved myself.

What I will pick up as a minimum:
Cherokee Purple Tomato
some variety of paste tomato
some variety of grape/cherry tomato
another color of patty pan squash-maybe two (they come in yellow, white and green)
round squash types
some snap peas
rosemary
cilantro
some radishes
maybe some garlic or onion starts

I’m planning on purchasing a little inside greenhouse to help start my plants this season. Maybe a grow light. With any luck I can grow some extra seedlings to swap or sell. With such a mild spring so far I can’t wait to get started and figure out how to organize the garden. I want to try the three sisters method if I get a plot. It seems to do well for lots of people and the decreased weeding sounds good.

1. A Knife Set
We currently have the Forum set from Chicago Cutlery. Our bread knife has a loose piece in the handle (it rattles) and we snapped the paring knife a couple years into owning it. But its held up well to our crappy care and the only real complaint I have is how light it is. While browsing at Walmart I picked up a chef’s knife from the Fusion set…and fell in love. Its a blended design with metal surrounded by a poly textured handle to help with grip. Its stylish in design, has a real heft in the hand, and comes in santoku and partuko as well as the knives I am already used to. It comes in an 18 piece set, which includes 8 steak knives and 10 other knives. Plus its on clearance at our local Walmart.

2. Cutting Boards
I have the same thin cutting mats and plastic board I used in college. The board is warped, and although I’ve replaces the mats a couple times, they are pretty shabby quickly. I’ve been looking at a real wood board for some time now, and I find few meet my standards. The first one I’ve found in ages they sell at Reny’s for just about $50. It weighs as much as a large cast iron skillet and is real 100% hardwood made in Maine. They are striped in pretty patterns using the wood colors….

Target sells a beautiful endcut of blackened bamboo board….but its not on their website to feature here. At just under $30 its a nice choice and would fit with the colors of our plates. Its a bit big for current use though.
Also from Target are this proteak cutting board, which is a lovely type of wood (teak) with a beautiful background of sustainable and responsible agriculture. Its got a nice juice canal to keep all the juice from fruit from getting all over my counter and a hole to hang it out of the way when not in use.

I did see a similar shaped board at Home Goods, but it was simply hardwood and not as lovely of a piece.
3. Bulk Spice Storage
Since I tend to use different spices these days, and buy them loose when possible a new type of spice storage is warranted. A set of matching containers would be nicer than the reused bottles from other spices I have been using, since the plastic caps tend to keep the flavor and aroma of the old spice in them. This set by Libbey from Target looks like it would fit the bill nicely.

4. Rice Maker/Steamer
I could live on rice alone. I did for quite a bit of my time in college….at least for meals at the dorm. Of course that was reheated from the local Chinese restaurant, and thus amazing. Cooking on the stove isn’t nearly as easy but a nice rice maker would solve all that, as well as allow me to steam veggies to go with the rice.
5. A New Brita Pitcher
We’ve had our cheap white one forever, and we really don’t need the space saving design to stick it in the fridge…it sets on the counter and is used mostly for water for the dogs….so a pretty container would be preferable. I’d love the new Bobble pitcher but can’t say I want to spend the extra $2 per refill filter right now.

6. Pet Mats for the Dog Dishes
Not really a kitchen item, except for the fact that our dogs eat in the kitchen since it has tile floors and not carpet. They have kitchen mats under their dishes now so they don’t slide and keep water spills from traveling far, but this would probably work better. And its pink.

And while it doesn’t come in red, Boris would probably deal with the green color.
7. Sodastream
I really, really want one of these. I even managed to snag a $20 off coupon, but we ran out before I had a chance to buy one. We’re not so sure about the soda flavors, but as far as sparkling water and being able to carbonate syrups and such I make myself this will be tops.

8. A Kitchenaid Mixer that Helps Save the Boobies
Every good cook needs a Kitchenaid mixer. When I saw the raspberry ice color from their Susan G Komen collection, I knew this was the one for me. With a 5qt capacity and 325watts of power we could create beautiful things together….especially with all the lovely attachments from grinders to ice cream makers. Plus it is available from target so I could get my employee discount.

9. Lodge Dutch Oven
We don’t have one, everyone needs more cast iron….enough said. Although I am torn between the 5qt and 7qt, I love the new handle design which is meant to allow a hotpad covered hand into it better. The older style, an enameled version or even the one with a skillet instead of a lid would do just as well though. So long as its Lodge and not made in China.

10. Weck Canning Jars
Any size would be great. They seem like they would be splendid fun to have to use at home.

11. Hot Cocoa and Iced Tea Spoons
We have been using the same set from the dollar store for years and they are about done…I think we only have half of what we started with. I saw this cute hot cocoa spoon in the Crate&Barrel catalog but waited too long to think about getting a couple. No longer available online through the catalog, although people who live near stores may still find them in stock.

Not sure what I’d want in an iced tea spoon….I think the set of flatware we have made one…but I can’t recall.
12. Floating Spice Ball
I bought a baby solid food feeder to use for spices in my jams and pickles, but I worry about the safety of heating it up all the time. This would be way better and meant for the job.

13. Ginger Grater
I use ginger alot more in jams than I thought I would, and have definitely wondered about the fibery yucky things….this solves that problem for me. And apparently its been used by AB. What more can you say for a gadget than AB has one? That means its a multi-tasker.

14. Vintage Canning Items
I would love to have a glass funnel. Plastic is all well and good, but as a scientist you just can’t beat glass. I also have been scouring the local thrift stores for bale top jars, Ball jars that can be frozen in and Grolsch or swing top bottles.
15. Spices and Herbs for Cooking
Not everything I want grows close to home and some things would be better tasting from better sources.
Crystallized ginger from the Ginger People. I bought a jar of the baking chips awhile ago and they are way zestier than the stuff I buy elsewhere. Already in small bits I can just add them and enjoy. Any size would be awesome, as would the minced ginger.

Lavender is something I used this year, but the blend I bought from the orchard seemed to have lots of sticks and bits of non-flower in it. Getting it local (or close to) would be awesome.

Sour cherries, organic meyer lemons, organic cara cara oranges, or other organic citrus would be awesome. A trip to pick local peaches, berries or apples (along with help doing so) would be great.
Spices in bulk, especially organic. Cinnamon stick, whole cloves, whole allspice, whole star anise, whole nutmeg, whole cardamom. As well as fresh dill heads, dill seed, mustard seed, celery seed, whole peppercorns, garlic heads, tumeric and canning salt.
Vanilla beans would be great as well. I am down to my last two bottles of extract. And while they will be amazing, being five years old, I will need to get the next batch in the works so I have some ready when they are gone. I can’t go back to commercial extracts ever again. Arizona Vanilla Company is where I got my last batch from, but I would be willing to test other beans, so long as they are grade A or non-extract only level beans. A sampler would be splendid. I got bourbon beans last time.

16. Tattler Lids
While I am not sure I would replace all my lids with these (cause in all honesty then I would be relying on people to return both a lid and a jar) I would love to play with these and see how much I could replace my stock recipe batches with them. After all some things I remake to have enough on hand and these would be perfect to mark the “keeps” versus the “gives” when it comes time to sort.

17. Burr coffee grinder
Cause after I have all those wonderful whole spices I have to grind them somehow and a grinder is way safer than a grater for my fingers.

18. Empty Bottles for Extracts
Once you make the extract you have to give it away in a pretty bottle right? These come in a 1.4oz size which would be perfect.

So while I could have puttered forever I didn’t allow myself to get too wound up in perfecting things. The scrapbook paper isn’t perfect, since the jars have sloping sides, only really noticed when you try to fit a tube of paper around them flush. Some scrapes from the pliers on the metal chain left a bit of silver showing. The LL Bean ornament hangs a bit low. Some things I can keep in mind for next year perhaps. I am proud of them as they each are unique enough to showcase and match the profile I wanted the jam to have.

I really wanted to research and put together a canning jar of sugar cookie mix. Coupled with a small jar of jam it would have made the perfect DIY thumbprint cookie kit, bundled in a basket with a wooden spoon perhaps. Or maybe lintzer cookies, with a spoon and some cookie cutters? Some things to think of going forward while I select homemade goodies to gift this season (three already went out as a Yankee Swap at the Blue Knights Holiday Party).