The Beater Blade +

Now here’s a brilliant gadget:  the Beater Blade + (KA-TH) shown here is a paddle attachment made for tilt-head Kitchenaid stand mixers. If you don’t have this mixer, don’t despair as they carry different paddle models for different stand mixers. What is so special about this plastic paddle as opposed to the Kitchenaid solid-built paddle? Well the external sides of the paddle are actually flexible and are meant to act as a spatula so that there is no need to scrape the sides of the bowl when mixing. It also has an extra center prong that ensures that the mixture will have an even consistency. It’s great for making buttercream, icing, cake batters, and best of all, my favorite cheesecake! Here is the Mascarpone Cheesecake being made with the new beater.

    

I just can’t believe that something so delicious and smooth was so easy and quick with this gadget. So if you use your stand mixer frequently, I definitely recommend the BeaterBlade+.

My Newest Gadget Rave

In my last post, I mentioned that I purchased the Tomato Wiz. You must be thinking that I like tomatoes. Tomatoes are okay but I usually buy them canned. So why would I want this gadget? Well, what's kind of similar to a tomato? A strawberry, of course! Well, the stem part anyways. We eat lots of strawberries so this gadget could be a time-saver. Look what this amazing gadget can do to those delicate berries:

It removed the stem and the tart, firm part as well as the fuzzy filling of the strawberry in one twist of the gadget. I hulled this big colander of strawberries in less than 5 minutes! And no mess! My sister thought it was cool so I gave her one of the Tomato Wiz. I will be going to pick up another pack soon. So worth the $1.20 for 2.

My Newest Additions to the Gadget Drawer

For the last month or two I've been making some gadget purchases. I've lumped them up in this post.

Someone gave me a 50% off coupon for one regular priced item at Michaels. I just couldn't resist so I picked up this cute set of animal silicone baking cups by Wilton. I think the kiddies will go wild (no pun intended) when they see their next cupcake treat.














I've been dipping my feet into Bento accessories (remember the egg molds?). Here's the rice molds:


I got this from a store called Silk Living Warehouse.










I also have this fascination with restaurant supply stores. I know, I'm crazy. My cousin wanted to pick up some things there and when I heard she was going, I jumped at the opportunity (I know, no surprise). Why do I do this to myself!?! I guess I could have gone crazy there but luckily I paced myself and picked up only a few items. Pastry bags, a piping tip, a coupler, a decorating comb, a set of measuring spoons (again! You can never have too many), and a Tomato Wiz (I'll tell you more about it in another post).














You know what, I'm going to make another trip out to Nella Cutlery. I'm going to pick up some more pastry tips, couplers, Tomato Wiz (I gave one to my sister) and some wooden spoons. That's my list but, if you know me, I won't be sticking to it!

Antique Juicer

Isn't this a beauty? You might say, "What's so special about it? You could go out and get an electric juicer with all the bells and whistles or perhaps a citrus juicer that you might hold in your hand."

But this one holds special meaning to me. This belonged to my parents, well actually, my dad. He passed away over 3 years ago. Before my mom sold the house and moved in with us, my siblings and I were faced with packing up our childhood home filled with over 30 years of memories and belongings. My brother, sister, and I each had our own home by now and we didn't need more things to pack into our homes. We sorted through everything and kept what we wanted and the rest went to Goodwill. There were only 3 things that I wanted and, of course, this juicer was one of them. Every time I look at this piece, I am filled with the memories of my father. I picture him making fresh orange juice for us when we were little. No other juicer could ever replace this as I'm sure you'll agree. And IMO, it still does the best job at juicing lemons and oranges.

Dinosaur Pancakes

A couple of weeks ago I purchased a Dinosaur Pancake and Cookie Mold set off of eBay. It came in a set of 5 and I thought it was cute. My boys really like dinosaurs and I thought they would enjoy eating their dinosaur-shaped pancakes.

So, I decided that this morning I would put the molds to work. I preheated my Kitchenaid non-stick griddle pan. This is great for the task at hand. My cook-top has a bridge burner so it heats the griddle evenly (well, if only it lay perfectly flat on my ceramic cook-top stove) and I can cook six good sized pancakes at a time. I sprayed the griddle and the dinosaur molds with olive oil from one of my newest gadget purchases, the oil sprayer pump. As the pan was warming, I prepared my pancake batter. I used 1 cup of Krusteaz pancake mix and 1/4 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips, but to make it a little healthier, I added 1/4 cup of baby cereal (the baby refuses to eat it) and 1/2 cup of quick oats. Because I added more dry ingredients I added 1/3 C more of water than the directions called for. I used a small ladle and poured the batter into the molds. As they cooked I noticed that they were thick. Next time I will use more water. So onto flipping these guys. They were stuck to the molds! So I used a silicone spatula to push them out. Oops...there goes his foot, oh and there goes a tail...Yup. That happened to two of the dinosaurs. Thankfully the other three stayed intact. I was surprised that they didn't burn with all the time I spent working them out of their molds.

The dinosaur pancakes were a hit with the boys but now I'm stuck with cleaning the mess. Look at all those nook and crannies I'll have to get into. I hope my sons will love me all the more for the trouble I went through to make them this prehistoric breakfast.


Update: I have washed them and it was not as bad as I had thought. Hooray for easy cleanup!

My drawers of shame and more

...my kitchen gadget and tools drawers:

Drawer 1

Drawer 2

Actually, I guess I have no shame. Believe it or not, I have more scattered throughout my kitchen cupboards as well as in boxes in the basement. But, that still doesn't stop me from buying more! Over the past two weeks I have accumulated more kitchen stuff:

Silicone bakeware that can double as molds and a brownie heart-shaped cutter (the blue pans are by President's Choice, the rest are Wilton). My four year old started school this year and these will be great for class parties and events. All were on sale for 40% off. I've used the Bite Size Brownie Squares pan. I must say the clean-up was not fun. Getting into all the square edges and corners was tough. The instructions says not to scratch it so I had to be delicate too. The Teddy Bear cups and Square Baking Cups are going to be for baking cupcakes as well as be used for making Bentos (I am starting a new hobby). As for the green Flower mold, well, that is my favorite shape so I HAD to HAVE it.

I had a Buy One Get the Second for 50% off coupon for Foogo products from Kitchen Stuff Plus. Walking into that store is hazardous to my wallet and my junk, I mean, gadget drawer. I couldn't just leave with the Foogo sippy cup and food jar for my daughter. Me going into a kitchen store is like a child going into a candy shop. I couldn't resist buying. So here's my loot: measuring cups and spoons (you can never have too many), candy/deep fryer thermometer, oil sprayer pump, a peeler that can cut julienne strips, and the best ceramic stove top cleaner ever. Not pictured here is the instant-read meat thermometer which I actually opened and used (a gadget that got used! Woohoo!). So what's the worst thing that could happen when checking out of the store? Giving me a 25% off one item card for my next visit!!!!! They sure know my type well. Oh, the temptation.

On a different note, yesterday was Girlfriend Day and it's the best kind of day that a mom can have. It was almost like a mini-vacation. A spa, if you will...well, not quite, but just as rejuvenating. Yeah, I don't get out much, not these last four and half years that's for sure (since the birth of my firstborn). I've been dying to go to Panera Bread in Richmond Hill since I drove by it a month ago. It was perfect because one of my dearest friends lives right around the corner from there. So the three of us, with my baby daughter in tow, went to check this place out. The foodie in me was drooling as we pulled into the parking lot. Panera Bread did not disappoint. I ordered half of a Turkey Artichoke Hot Panini with a small order of Broccoli Cheddar Soup. It was served with slice of their warm Multigrain Baguette. Delish! Although we were full, their dessert display was too yummy to pass up. I ordered a Cobblestone (their Raisin Cinnamon Bread cut in cubes baked with apples and molasses with icing drizzled on top). One of my girlfriends ordered the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Yummy - I was pleasantly surprised that there was cornmeal in it. My other girlfriend ordered the Cheese Danish and it was the better dessert of the three. I ordered a coffee to go with my dessert. It was too strong and left me sleepless last night. So what is my review of Panera Bread? Great food, great service (although you order it and bring it to your own table), and great atmosphere. I would definitely go back and highly recommend it to anyone who loves bread.

Upon leaving, I felt guilty for leaving the hubby and two boys behind so I picked up 4 ginormous Chipper Cookies for them: (clockwise from top-right) Chocolate Chipper, Nutty Oatmeal Raisin, Nutty Chocolate Chipper, and Chocolate Duet with Walnuts. They were very happy to see me and I missed them too. A mommy needs some time and space to herself sometimes and Girlfriend Dates are the way to do it.