GASTRONORMOUS

Robots are either a little but scary or unbearbly adorable (and no, I do not suffer from WALL-E fever!), and this little guy definitely falls in the latter category. He might not cook your food for you, but he can tell you when to take it out of the oven, which is helpful indeed.

I might just pick one up on the way home as we are in need of a timer (We do have one. It is from IKEA—a sleek digital number that sticks to the fridge. Problem is that after a couple weeks of owning it, half the digital readout stopped working so you sort of have to take a leap of faith that you are going to be told when to take the soufflé out of the oven. And one doesn’t need one’s souffles to be even more stressful than they need to be, does one?) [$25]

I love these martini glasses. They are the perfect combination of old-fashioned looks and new-fangled technology. According to the Sur La Table website, this crystal ware is fortified with titanium and zirconium (rather than lead) to help it resist chips and breaks. Plus! these are dishwasher safe! Betchya can’t say that for grandma’s Waterford. [$78 for a set of 6]

Years ago, after noticing my mom had recipe cards and recipes cut out from magazines and newspapers stuffed into several drawers in her kitchen, I decided to make her a catch-all recipe binder to hold all these fluttering bits of very useful paper. I bought a little 3-ring binder and a bunch of plastic photo sleeves and painstakingly drew pictures and stenciled headings for every page of the binder. It looked cute when it was empty, but the problem came when I noticed after a year or so that a folded-up 8×10 page of a magazine didn’t fit so well in the two 3×4 spaces provided in each page. (I must say I think my Mom loved the book I made, but between you and I, probably more for the thought and effort than the actually usefulness of it–though you’d have to ask her to know for sure.)

In walks TasteBook to resolve the sloppiness that ensues with a truly do-it-yourself recipe book. You can type in your own recipes, download your own photos, or use recipes and photos from a host of cooking websites (including, I was thrilled to see, Epicurious), pick your cover photo and recipe book title, and a beautiful, glossy binder-book full of your favorites is sent to your doorstep! Sure, this is not an effortless proposal, but would be a lot less effort than doing it totally from scratch, and will be a lot more user-friedly besides. Another great feature is that because it is in binder-form, you can add more recipes over time (up to 100).

Unfortunately, gift certificates are not yet available for the service, though you can purchase the book and have it sent to someone, then they can suppliment it with their own recipes. Overall, a neat idea! [$19.95--$34.95]

The gods of gastronomy forgive me: I don’t really like Mario Batali. There is something about him–his manner–that makes me uncomfortable. I can’t put my finger on it. But, well, I do like his food. And I like a lot of his recipes. And, it turns out, I like the products that have his name on it. They have style (and not orange clogs sort of style. Please, no. Like actual good design).

Like this enameled cast iron baking dish for instance. It is just plain, well, cute in an old-school sort of way. I may warm up (pun intended) to you yet, Mario. [$39.99, on sale, at Cooking.com]

I admit this is not the “sexiest” product out there, but it can’t be more practical. I received this 3-container set from my Aunt and Uncle at my wedding shower. They went daringly off-list, and I am better organized in the kitchen for it.

Lock & Lock containers have clean lines, stack easily, are truly air tight, and, best of all, are dishwasher (and freezer) safe! I say yea! for no more warped lids! [$13.49 for this 6-piece set]

These cool baskets are made by women in villages in the Virunga/Bwindi region in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda. The pictured baskets are meant to hold tea, bread, and spices, respectively. Not only are they versatile (if you don’t want to use the tea or spice baskets in your kitchen, they would be great in the bathroom–think cotton balls–or to hold jewelery on your dresser, for instance), but they also help these artisan women to support themselves and their families.

To learn more about the Virunga Artisans, go to this website. To order the baskets, go to Body Time (this company also make great bath and body products!!)

Isn’t this the cutest? I saw this hedgehog-shaped Veg Hog vegetable brush at Target a while back and while I already had a sturdy vegetable brush in my kitchen drawer, I just couldn’t resist. It is made by a company called Boston Warehouse as a part of their the Animal House line that contains a bunch of equally adorable kitchen tools. The monkey peeler is especially cute.

These bristles were longer and more pliable than the short stiff ones of my existing brush, so I thought it wouldn’t be totally redundant. But once I got it home, I had a hard time thinking what you can use a soft vegetable brush for. The Veg Hog wouldn’t be able to stand up to a potato or carrot, for instance.

Last night, though, I had a bit of a Eureka moment when I was struggling to pick the silk out of an ear of corn. I put the Veg Hog to work, and it did a pretty good job of cleaning the silk out from between the rows without damaging the kernels. I imagine it might also work to gently clean mushrooms, but I haven’t put that theory to test yet.

I am not a fan of most single-use kitchen tools and appliances, but for me anyway, the awesome cutosity of the Veg Hog trumps its limited usefulness to earn a place in my kitchen arsenal. [$9.99 at Target]

Rachel’s yogurt has become one of my favorite weekday breakfasts. It comes in unusual flavors, such as pomegranate-açai and plum-honey-lavender (pictured), and all of them I have tried have been delicious. It is smooth, creamy, not too sweet, and actually tastes authentically of fruit (and/or herbs and other flavors, as in the case of the pictured flavor), which you can’t say for many artificially flavored and overly sweet yogurts out there.

The yogurt was originally a UK brand, but now has a US division (under the parent White Wave Foods), and is made in Colorado with lowfat milk from non-rbST treated cows. Plus, the packaging is cute!

It isn’t easy to find, and isn’t as cheap as Dannon, but if you ever happen across it, do yourself a delicious favor and buy some! [$1.39 at Fresh Garden market in Fort Greene, Brooklyn]

No, this title doesn’t refer to a New Realist still life painting, it refers to a kooky Japanese soda. With a marble in it.

This clear soda is called Ramuné, and is “fruit flavored,” if you believe the menu of the Japanese restaurant from which I ordered it (and if you believe wikipedia, it is supposed to be lemon-lime flavored and “ramuné” is actually a sort of transliteration of the word “lemonade”. A-dor-A-ble!). It actually has more of a vague bubble-gummy flavor, similar to champagne cola, which will be familiar to you if you frequent Latin markets.

As new-fangled and, shall we say, futuristic, as the soda looks, it actually has been around at least since just before World War II when its popularity with Japanese navymen increased its trendiness among the general population in Japan.

Why it has never been all the rage here in America, I have no idea. Maybe it is too complicated a refreshment (the instructions to consume the beverage involve six steps), or maybe it is too dangerous (have you ever seen a soda bottle with a caution symbol and four bulleted points of possible danger underneath?).

Despite the peril involved in opening it (the marble acts as a seal at the top of the bottle and you must push it down with some force to dislodge it), it was actually a rather enjoyable beverage, not just in flavor, but in the employment of all these senses; it is unexpectedly amusing to see and hear the marble roll noisily around in the bottle and to engage in the challenge of trying to drink the soda without the marble stopping up the bottle.

I wouldn’t say this is a soda I would turn to regularly for thirst abatement, but it is a fun novelty drink. In fact, my co-workers at lunch were covetous of it. I suspect next time we order from this restaurant, there will be Ramunés all ’round.

Instructions for Ramuné:

1. Serve Ramuné drink chilled.
2. Remove the plastic film from the top.
3. Pop out the center from the cap, which will be used to open the bottle.
4. Place the opener at the top of the bottle and press down firmly.
5. Drink with the indented neck side facing down to trap the marble. [Gast. note: this doesn't necessarily ensure marble-free drinking!]
6. Enjoy the drink. [I love that they put this in the instructions. You must enjoy it!]

Cautions for Ramuné:

• Ask an adult to open the bottle for you. [There is indeed an element of danger in this.]
• Do not try to remove the marble from the bottle to avoid an injury. [But can you try to remove it for some other reason?]
• Do not place the cap, opener or marble in your mouth.
• Do not store this product in the freezer or expose to high temperatures.

You can now make the fanciest cornbread in town (weren’t you just saying that is a goal you were set on achieving?) with this non-stick pan with scalloped, square cups. Some ingenious engineering ensures your schmancy apps and desserts turn out beautifully: each cup has plate covering a hole in the bottom, so after baking you can pop the treats out easily! I bet you could use this to make really neat frozen desserts too. [$19.95 from Kitchen etc.]