“Now, this little crab holds my cooking spoon in place or keeps my pot lid in place.”
A crab-shaped silicone gadget that holds a cooking spoon or props a pot lid to vent steam, under twenty dollars.
“Rikon makes great Y-peelers that are so inexpensive that they are often sold in 3 packs.”
A sharp, inexpensive Y-peeler often sold in three-packs, with a heavy-duty Titan version for tougher jobs.
“This board cream is a natural blend of bees wax and mineral oil.”
A beeswax and mineral oil cream that conditions, seals, and protects wooden cutting boards.
“These fine woodworkers make real ones that last, look beautiful, don't wobble, and make chopping a pleasure.”
Heirloom-grade wooden cutting boards that sit flat, last for years, and make chopping a pleasure.
“I love their pots. Right size. Right weight. Right shape. Cadillac.”
Italian-made cookware with the right size, weight, and shape, easy to scrub and built to last.
“Sprinkle in a little FryAway and wait. As the oil cools, it solidifies into a flexible puck that you can toss in the trash.”
A plant-based powder that solidifies leftover frying oil into a puck you can toss in the trash, not the drain.
“Always with my supervision, my kindergartner will slice fruit or chop nuts with his special green knife.”
A child-safe knife that lets a supervised kid graduate from washing produce to slicing fruit and chopping nuts.
“Because you need to engage both hands in a lateral squeeze, it's easier on the wrists.”
A fold-flat citrus juicer with a lateral squeeze that is easier on the wrists and stays out of the drawer.
“The last jar of peanut butter I finished got super clean before I recycled it!”
A tiny scraping spatula-spoon that gets jars genuinely clean down to the last bit.
“With the Garject, you'll have a garlic press that presses unpeeled garlic and scrapes itself clean.”
A garlic press that handles unpeeled cloves and scrapes itself clean, fresh garlic without the fuss.
“The FireKylin rice paddle stands on its end (no sticky mess anywhere!) and it's made of silicone.”
A nine-dollar silicone rice paddle that stands on its end so it never makes a sticky mess on the counter.
“I really like using the Baby Nessie tea infuser for aromatics in my cooking.”
A Loch Ness-shaped tea infuser she uses to steep aromatics like sage, cloves, and cardamom in cooking.
“It's been so great for sodas that I used to top cocktails.”
A reusable cap that keeps tonic, Mexican Coke, or any carbonated mixer fresh, saving money over time.
“This year we switched from regular white kitchen towels to dark gray bar mops and, my goodness, it classed up the joint.”
Dark gray cotton bar mops that hide stains and look more put-together than standard white kitchen towels.
“Eventually, I found my way to these washable paper towels.”
Washable waffle-weave cloth paper towels with enough texture to scrub stains and absorb spills.
“The absolute best pepper mill I've ever used. Yes it's heavy, yes it's expensive, yes it could easily double as a weapon during a home invasion if needed — but it is an absolute must-have for anyone who loves flavor.”
A heavyweight, splurge-grade pepper mill — built like equipment, for serious flavor people.
“With this foldable whisk, you'll have easy storage and easy whisking. Plus, the metal wires are coated in silicone which means it won't make a scratchy noise against the mixing bowl.”
Foldable silicone-coated whisk — solves the utensil-drawer jam, won't scratch nonstick.
“Handmade aprons from Granville Island, BC. They're endlessly customizable and crafted to last.”
Handmade, customizable kitchen aprons from a small Granville Island maker — built to last.
“Incredible little ladle. Sounds weird, but for anyone who makes lots of soups, sauces, and whatnot, this thing solves a huge kitchen irritation – the different colored lip of the scoop is flexible allowing you to get in all of the nooks and crannies of any pot you're using.”
A flexible-lipped soup ladle that gets into pot corners other ladles miss — small fix, big quality-of-life win.
“Geraldine gifted me this cookbook (I think after she saw me staring at on her kitchen counter), and I squealed with delight as I flipped through the pages of beautiful photos. It's become a page-turner for me as I plan to gift cookie boxes this year to teachers and neighbors.”
Beautifully photographed cookbook of not-too-sweet Asian cookie recipes — a gifting cookbook even cookbook-skeptics page through.