GASTRONORMOUS

When I got married a couple years ago, I put on the registry this adorable turquoise enameled steel colander. It was bequeathed upon me by my friend Micha, and I was so grateful, because, look how cute! I adored this colander as much as one can adore a draining mechanism. The honeymoon wore off, though, as soon as I made a long thin pasta and watched helplessly as too much of it slipped through the large holes of the colander and down the drain. Later, rust spots started forming around the perimeter of the holes, and eventually the red blight infected the entire floor of the apparatus.

Armed with a gift certificate received at Christmas (yes, as in over half a year ago!), we recently visited Sur la Table with an aim to spend all of it. The first order of business was to find a colander. SLT had a collapsible silicone jobby that seemed ideal for our small kitchen, and I liked the legginess of it, but upon examination, we deemed the bowl, when extended, was not large enough to accommodate a half-pound of penne or even a full head of lettuce.

Then the OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Convertible Colander caught our eye. It is not as pretty as the enameled one, and takes up more space than the collapsible one, but is so much more practical in use. It has handles that act as a stand when folded down, but can be unfolded to stretch across your sink, so no more worries about pasta water backing up the drain and mingling with the pasta sitting in the colander on the floor of your sink (ick). We have only had it for a few weeks now, but are very pleased so far. The holes are nice and small, so no pasta will be lost, and being stainless steel, it won’t rust. It stretches easily across our standard sink, making rinsing veggies a breeze.

The only possible caveat is that it is a little pricey for a colander (though we were immune to the price tag due to the magic of our gift certificate), but overall, I give it a thumbs up! [$37.99 at Amazon; $35 at Sur la Table]

Goat’s milk ice cream? Sounds gross, right? Well, um, it is. But let’s not go blaming the goat, now. The inherent goatiness in this frozen dessert is the least of its problems.

The first problem is the price: This pint (pint!) of ice cream cost a whopping $8.99 at our neighborhood market. We bought it on a whim. It sounded interesting and exotic, and in these recessionary times, splurging on a nine-dollar pint of ice cream seems a lot more reasonable than splurging on a Maserati, or heck, even a Kindle. Plus, the flavor was molasses tipsycake with bits of oatmeal cookie, which sounds very gooey and yummy. How could we not be enticed?

Other problems with this product were many. Flavor: I like molasses as much as, if not more than, the next person, but this tasted of pure molasses and nothing but molasses. It was overly sweet and one note, except for the slightly earthy aforementioned goatiness. Texture: Not creamy in the slightest. This dessert was nothing but ice crystals with some rolled oats dispersed throughout. Oh, that’s another thing. The “oatmeal cookie” mentioned on the packaging was not represented by chunks of cookie or cookie dough, but by flakes of oatmeal that tended to stick to the tongue like so much lint.

All in all, not a pleasant experience. I would not recommend La Loo’s at any price, but especially not at $8.99 a pint. We threw out about $7-worth of it. I have a cow’s milk intolerant friend who has tried a different flavor by this company and said it was alright, so who knows. But I am not sure I will give it another chance.

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]

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.

Lots of people have lots of complaints about dining out. There are many things that bug others that aren’t a bother to me at all. Water glass not refilled enough? I happily suck on ice cubes. Waiter refills empty wine glasses when your glass is still mostly full? Dude! Drink faster! Ha! And strongly scented soap in the bathroom? Puh-lease! I am just happy if they have soap!

No, my biggest complaint has less to do with waiter attentiveness and aromatics, and more to do with “am I going to land in the ER because of this meal?”

In addition to the Department of Health-regulated basic hand-washing rules, some restaurants require their workers to wear plastic gloves when they handle food. Which is great. Except. Except when workers don the gloves and don’t take them off as they go about doing other non-food related things.

For instance, earlier this week I was in Grand Central at lunch time and I noticed the crepe preparer at the Ciao Bella counter press his gloved hand to his mustachioed face and cough into the glove! gah! He didn’t think a thing of it.

A few weeks ago, I went to burger joint in Fort Greene. As we ate, I watched as one of guys from the kitchen come out, and, still wearing his rubber food-prep gloves, move tables and chairs around. He then went back behind the counter to continue preparing food. Then, a couple days ago, as I walked by the same restaurant and saw a different guy from the kitchen out in front, talking on a cell phone wearing his plastic gloves! (In fairness, he could have replaced the gloves after returning inside. But I would assume if new gloves were in the plan, he would have taken the old ones off before going outside on a hot day to make a call.) I only hope the workers here take their gloves off before using the restroom!

I have witnessed countless other similar incidents (running gloved hands through hair, handling cash with gloved hands, etc.). What are these people thinking? Are they under the mistaken impression that they are meant to wear gloves in order to protect their hands from the food? Honestly, I don’t get it.

I would rather have my food prepared by someone with meticulously clean un-gloved hands than by someone wearing gloves they never take off. Am I being unreasonable? If you have any observations that might enlighten us (or horror stories of your own), please let share them in the comments below!

There are a couple of knife sharpening guys who roll around Brooklyn in old-school delivery trucks, ringing brass bells to announce their presence (it is amusing to watch adults wielding knives and scissors running after the knife man with all the excitement of children running after the ice cream truck). Having these reminders of yesteryear is one of the neat things about living in Brooklyn, but also, they happen to sharpen the hell out of cutlery. The other night I got frustrated with how my knife was slipping dangerously on the onions I was chopping, and lamented the knife truck’s absence when I needed it most.

Then I remembered I had this Anolon knife sharpener. I bought it ages ago, but neglected to use it until that evening. After seeing what a difference the sharpened knife made in slicing onions, I wondered what took me so long. The sharpener is a snap to use, just fill it with water and pull your knife through each of the three slots several times. It took mere minutes, and made a huge difference in the sharpness of the blade.

My knives may not have the steeley edge they would after a meeting with the knife truck, but in the meantime, this will more than just do.

No, I am not holding these jams hostage, though the paper does supply proof this was breakfast today.

I am a big fan of the big Sunday brunch, but this morning I opted for a modest breakfast of 2 pieces of toast with two different jams, one a cloudberry jam I bought at the new Brooklyn IKEA yesterday and the other a ginger spread I had on hand.

I had heard of cloudberries, but had never tasted the exotic fruit, and I was excited to try this jam. At first taste, it was reminiscent of raspberry jam, though with less tartness. But then came the crunch of the copious seeds, which it turns out have quite a bitter flavor. Maybe it is an acquired taste (and texture), but I am not sure I am crazy about this jam. Without the lingering bitterness imparted by the seeds, it would be a nice accompaniment to my morning toast.

The ginger spread, on the other hand, is incredible. Thick, spicy, and sweet, it is perfect for those who like a little sugar and spice in the morning. This spread is great on buttered toast, a bagel with a cream cheese schmear, or on pancakes. It is a versatile spread, and one should not feel obligated to use it only at breakfast. I originally bought it as an accompaniment to a cheese plate I was putting together for guests. It was really amazing with the aged gouda and even the goat cheese. There are tons of other ways to use it; it is great with peanut butter; it would be yummy heated up and poured over ice cream; and I am sort of interested in the idea of incorporating it into savory dishes. On top of every thing else it has going for it, the jar is really cute! It is shaped like–what else?–a mini ginger jar!

Ginger People ginger spread [$3.99]
Hafi cloudberry preserves [$2.99 at IKEA, $9.00 (yikes!) at L'Epicerie]

To make amends for the unhealthy lunch from yesterday, last night I made a simple salad with a vinaigrette I threw together using some unusual components.

I put into the salad an array of vegetables I had on hand: greens, scallions, peppadews, some beautiful, lumpy radishes from the farmers market, and a bit of parmesan.

For the vinaigrette, I used mandarin-flavored olive oil, a freebie a received when I bought some other items at O & Co. last week. I wisked it with some of the sweet-spicy brine from the aforemetioned peppadews, some white balsamic, a small dab of red pepper paste, salt, and pepper. When I tasted it, the dressing was a bit too orangey, so I added in some plain olive oil to tone it town a bit.

The dressing with the touch of orange was really delicious and refreshing on the salad–perfect for a light summer meal. This vinaigrette would work really well on a spinach-orange-avocado salad, too. The mandarin oil is really versatile; It would be delicious in many chicken dishes, and I look forward to using it in a dessert. Maybe a mandarin olive oil pound cake? ideas, anyone?