And there you are. Back to the office. No hot coffee. Or maybe the microwave is. way. over. there. Plus you gotta pass that weird guy that has a desk on the way . (“HEEEEYYY.”)
So, you forgo hot coffee and sit alone staring at a computer screen. At least your phone is charged. OR IS IT?
Vegetable spiralizer. Veggie spiralizer. Veggie spirals. Vegetable spiral. Just a few years ago, these words would not be found together. Now, of course, spiral cutters are popular and that means all these words can be found all jumbled together — kinda like a pile of veggie noodles on your plate.
The Gusteaux Quadghetti 4-blade Spiralizer is a new, affordable spiral slicer that comes with four different blades (3mm, 5mm, 10mm and 70 mm). Capable of making spiral cuts on a variety of different vegetables, the kitchen gadget makes it easy to put a new twist on otherwise ordinary meals. And if a new spin on food isn’t enough of a mouthful, saying ‘Gusteaux Quadghetti Spiralizer’ 3 times fast (well, better make that 4) certainly is.
There comes a time in every hot dog’s existence that it comes time to be eaten. Some enjoy a long, extended life, perpetually spinning on some Kwik-E-Mart hot dog rack. Others succumb to a fate where existence ends in a blink of an eye. Or, more specifically, the blink of hot dog eating contest champion Joey Chestnut’s eyes. Last year, the man ate 61 hot dogs and he holds the record for eating 69 hot dogs. He has won eight years in a row. That’s a lot of hot dogs!
It’s probably not a good idea to try to keep pace this Fourth of July — and I doubt many of you have 70 hot dogs for each person hanging out in the fridge — but there is a benefit (actually many) to eating hot dogs the good old fashioned way: hot dog buns!
Th Knox Hot Dog Steamer with 2 Bun Warmers is a home hot dog maker that also warms hot dog buns. The funny-looking kitchen gadget cooks a batch of six hot dogs in about eight minutes. That’s not fast enough to keep up with our nation’s hot dog champs, but consider that a good thing!
***Update*** What?! They eat the buns too in these contests? Insanity. Please ignore the above and instead pretend there is a joke about cooking six hot dogs for only two buns.
Forget spiral slicers, veggie splitters are what it’s all about now. The Water Spinach Splitter looks to bring to the masses a specialized kitchen gadget that creates a neat garnish quickly and easily.
Product Description:
Water spinach (rau muong in Vietnamese, ong choy in Cantonese) is a super popular green vegetable in Southeast Asia and Southern China, where it grows literally like a weed. The tender leaves and tops are boiled and stir-fried. The tougher, hollow stems (about 1/4 inch wide) are resourcefully split so that they’re easier to chew.
In the Vietnamese kitchen, the shreds of stems are soaked in water until curly and crunchy. There’s just a slight grassy flavor in the stems, which are enjoyed mostly for their nutritional value and texture.
Typically, the shreds are lightly dressed with a vinaigrette for a salad or set out as a noodle soup garnish for guests who want to add extra crunch and fiber to their meal. (Eating too much of the stems, however, may lead to constipation.) Indeed, there’s little waste when you’re feeding lots of people.
A knife is traditionally used to split the stems, but the modern water spinach splitter (dao che rau muong, literally “knife for splitting water spinach”) works much better and saves time.
For a more personal take, check out Wandering Chopsticks for a nice little story of discovery and enjoyment.
Kitchen prep work requires some elbow grease; chopping, slicing, mixing and cutting can be hard work. Ah, but the work is worth it when a delicious meal is the result. Still, sometimes cooking can seem like a marathon. One that requires endurance. Such as the Endurance Vintage Nutgrinder.
The 1.25-cup glass jar has a stainless steel hopper and a hand crank for manual nut grinding. It even has measurement markings along the side, so you can keep track of the progress — assuming you don’t stop for a ground nut snack along the way!