It's always great fun to peruse your favorite kitchen shops for the latest in cooking gadgets. There are always wonderful new innovations for doing "this" and "that" in the kitchen. In fact, in no time at all, you can rack up quite a bill! A few weeks ago, I was feeling the urge for just such a looky-loo, and sauntered into Across the Way in Moraga. There I found all sorts of interesting items, a few of which I picked up for gifts. But, you know how that goes ... one for my friend ... and one for me! Soon I was celebrating my own birthday in addition to that of my two good friends, only my birthday was still months away. The very next day, some invisible hand guided me to Sur La Table, where I found a few more intriguing gizmos. Oh my ... trouble again.
Not to worry, because these little adventures produced some very interesting items to share with you, from a collapsible cutting board, to an "Herb Savor" and a pair of herb scissors. Why, they've even created a serrated plastic lettuce knife that won't turn your green leaves brown!
All of these items seemed to come in handy as I was preparing this week's recipe, a Mediterranean summer salad. Actually, I am not sure how I ever lived without the herb scissors-they are amazing! You can "chiffonade" (finely shred) to your heart's content.
The recipe calls for many items you can pick up at the farmers' market, which is held every Sunday in Moraga and, with last week's season openers in Lafayette and Orinda, you can now visit your favorite farmers on Thursdays and Saturdays, too. You will need some celery, basil, garbanzo beans, tomatoes, green onions, Greek olives and feta cheese, in addition to fresh-squeezed lemon juice and a drizzle of your favorite olive oil. This recipe is a farmers' market bonanza.
Kitchen Gadgets Chop2Pot ($15)
The innovative cutting board by Joseph-Joseph comes in a rainbow of colors from hot pink and orange, to lime green, black, red, white and blue. It is designed to lay flat for cutting and then folds along polypropylene hinges to form a chute for sliding diced ingredients into pots, pans or bowls. It is dishwasher safe. The price is approximately $15 and it can be purchased through Amazon.com or at Sur La Table, among other locations, I am sure. This is a very handy cutting board. Herb-savor ($33) What do you do with fresh herbs once you've used what the recipe calls for? If you're like me, you either put them in a Ziploc in the refrigerator, or for things like parsley, basil, cilantro or mint, I usually fill a glass with water, plop in the unused part of the bunch, and decorate my windowsill. Still, this only lasts a short time before the leaves start turning moldy or mushy. Though I am still experimenting with the Herb-savor by Prepara, so far it has kept my bunch of cilantro looking as fresh as the day I bought it. My first attempt with a beautiful bunch of basil was a disaster. Failing to read the directions, (who knew?) I did not pat my herbs dry before storing them. My basil went moldy immediately. The Herb-savor stores the herbs in a vertical position in a cabinet, and the stems dip into a water-filled well below. It only holds one bunch at a time due to limited space. It is available at Across the Way in Moraga and costs about $33. For more information please visit: http://www.prepara.com/herb_savor.php. The Onion Saver ($4.99) So often a recipe calls for half of an onion. What do you do with the other half? I usually double up on the baggies and then hope it won't smell up the refrigerator! The Onion Saver by Hutzler is a nifty little onion-shaped container, designed for storing cut onions. It comes in the red or the yellow onion color and it actually looks pretty much just like an onion! And, it works very well. I gave my mom and my sister one for stocking gifts this year and they raved about it, so ... you've got it ... I bought myself one! This is available at Across the Way, and just about any good kitchen shop, or online at: http://www.4thegrill.com/hak7059.html. Plastic Serrated Lettuce Knife ($4.99)
This plastic knife by OXO Good Grips cuts through lettuce without leaving the tell-tale dark stains you see the next day from metal knives. Okay, I found one stain, but for the most part, it seemed to work as promised. It doesn't have the sharpest edge, but it does work its way through a head of Romaine just fine. I like to use Romaine for chopped salads, but often chop more than I need, so it's nice to be able to store it without having it turn brown everywhere. The knife is safe to use on non-stick pans and claims to cut well through cakes and brownies. I have not tried the brownies, but it works perfectly on cake! And, this is one knife you can toss into the dishwasher. I found this one at Across the Way, too. Herb Scissors ($11) This may be the best $11 I have ever spent. Made by RSVP International, these herb scissors take all of the work out of cutting up herbs, especially the leafy varieties like basil, mint, cilantro and parsley. Simply stack your herbs and snip away. The innovative blade design features a set of five sharp, three-inch stainless steel blades that, when closed together, allow you to cut, chop or mince herbs directly into a pan or over a plate for garnishing. These scissors create the perfect basil chiffonade for this week's featured recipe-Mediterranean Summer Salad. They also work well on chives, dill, fennel, sage or green onions. I have not tried them yet on the smaller-leaved herbs like tarragon, oregano, savory or marjoram, but the company indicates they do work well on these herbs, too. I cannot thank Susan Marconi of Across the Way enough for recommending these nifty scissors! For more information about RSVP products, please visit: http://www.rsvp-intl.com.
Mediterranean Summer Salad
Mediterranean Summer Salad Photo Susie Iventosch
This recipe originally came to me as a Greek vegan salad, but honestly, Greek salad without feta is like pancakes without syrup! I always add a good, tangy feta cheese, which is the perfect complement to the rest of the ingredients. This salad is dressed with a scant amount of olive oil and quite a helping of lemon juice. The seasoning derives from very thinly sliced basil and green onions. You may wish to further season with salt and pepper. Ingredients (Makes 6 side salads)
1/16-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans),
rinsed and drained
4 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
3 celery stalks, finely diced (the darker green
the celery, the more flavorful)
2 green onions, finely diced
(use your new herb scissors)
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
16 basil leaves, chiffonade (again, use your new herb scissors, or roll leaves tightly and thinly slice into strips)
1-2 tablespoon olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
1/4-1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste Directions
Combine the chickpeas in a large bowl with the remaining
ingredients. Toss well and taste for seasoning. Serve at room
temperature or chilled. Can be made several hours in advance.
Not to worry, because these little adventures produced some very interesting items to share with you, from a collapsible cutting board, to an "Herb Savor" and a pair of herb scissors. Why, they've even created a serrated plastic lettuce knife that won't turn your green leaves brown!
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA