Mom’s Day in the Kitchen

Kitchen gadgets aren’t just for cooking experts. Sure you can go overboard; after all, there are virtually thousands of contraptions to choose from. But here’s a list of some really useful kitchen gadgets you can buy for mom—and each one is under $50!

1. Silicone Oven Mitt: These babies are hot in kitchens right now. They can withstand temps up to 500 degrees and you can toss them in the dishwasher for an easy cleaning. Target these babies by Orka You will also find trivets made out of the same silicone, too. So useful!
2. Pepper Mill: If you’re still shaking pepper out of a plastic jar, you are missing out on a whole world of spice with fresh milled pepper. There’s tremendous variety to choose from: some are tiny and also sport a section with salt, others are 2 feet tall , and a bunch are even battery powered and do the milling for you. I prefer manual grinding with a simple twist of the wrist in a see-thru acrylic material that is easy to clean
3. Knife Sharpener: If you keep wondering why you’re ripping your tomatoes apart when slicing them, it’s because your knives are dull. I love this particular knife sharpener because it’s simple to use and it has no moving parts such as little wheels. Just three or four flicks of the blade through this and you’ll be slicing pretty again.
4. Wine Bottle Opener: Forget those crazy old fashioned corkscrews that leave you wrecking the cork and leaving bits of it in your wine. This full-proof opener works with a simple flick of the handle.
5. Silicone Basting Brush: This handy brush is wonderful when you’ve got to brush olive oil on a chicken, sweep egg white on a pie shell or a whole host of other important little tasks. Tons better than using one of those wooden brushes with bristles. Those darned bristles always shed and are nearly impossible to keep clean. Just pop the silicone brush into your dishwasher and you’ve got zilch to worry about.
6. Automatic Sugar Dispenser: If you drink coffee every day you’ll love this thing. No mess, no fuss—just push the button and an exactly measure ½ teaspoon falls into your cup of brew. Want more? Just push the button to clean; that’s it. And it’s easy to refill, too. Kinda fun for the person that needs a little taste of sugar each day, but doesn’t want to go overboard!
7. The Teastick: Perfect for that afternoon spot of tea. It holds loose tea leaves tight and allows them to steep in hot water. Must be some scones out there somewhere.

Don’t forget the flowers… especially when you see a large company like Sam’s Club get behind the Fair Trade program. They’re now offering Fair Trade flowers for sale on their website. You can read all about Fair Trade flowers here, but the important thing to know is that in addition to labor and environmental standards, a portion of the purchase price goes directly to the workers for a community development project (like a microlending program, a program to supply families with livestock, computer education, etc.)It seems that more “high-end” farms that participate, meaning that you may be getting higher quality flowers from Fair Trade farms. Really, this is a winning situation for everybody, and the fact that Sam’s Club is participating means that some very big buying decisions are being made that reward these farms that really make a difference. Check the Fair Trade Flowers website for more sources of Fair Trade flowers. Yeehaa.

And yes. there are some scones bakin’ for that afternoon tea (or breakfast for that matter!) right here from Recipezaar

Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup cold butter
1 cup raisins
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg white, additional sugar for top

1. Combine dry ingredients.
2. Cut in butter to coarse crumbs.
3. Stir in raisins and buttermilk.
4. Stir just until moistened.
5. Place on floured surface,knead a few times (6-8).
6. Pat into an 8in circle,cut into 12 wedges.
7. Place on greased cookie sheet.
8. Beat egg white until foamy, brush scones.
9. Sprinkle with sugar.
10. Bake at 400* for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Top with jam of choice

Tons more kitchen gadgets and tools here.. you’re only limited by your imagination.. or your budget and storage room.

Trot on friends, trot on.