My Favorite Things: Magnetic Paint Primer

Back in 2011, I was inspired by Oprah's "Favorite Things" episode to do my own version highlighting some of my favorite kitchen and cooking-related items that make great gifts during the holdays.  This year, I've decided to expand the idea to include some general household and organizing items that I find useful or indispensable.  Happy Holidays!

Today's favorite thing is kind of crafty.  It's called magnetic primer for painted walls.

Photo borrowed from The Interwebs since our project isn't done yet ;-)

Awhile back, my wife and I decided to renovate a small nook in our dining room into a "Family Central" with a small writing desk, a laptop, and some sort of wall-mounted paper-hanging device to keep track of the various bits of paper and things we need to track the family's activities and obligations.  We didn't really want a chalkboard wall, a whiteboard, or a cork board, so what could we use?

I'd remembered seening a Rustoleum product used on This Old House that was a primer filled with iron shavings.  You simply paint several coats on the wall and then go over it with your regular latex paint.  The end result is a section of wall that looks entirely normal except magnets will stick to it.  Brilliant!

It turns out the Rustoleum product has pretty bad reviews.  People report it is hard to work with, requires paint thinner cleanup, and magnets don't stick very well.  I found another product by MagnaMagic that's much more expensive but had much better reviews and cleans-up with water.  Win-win!

Unfortunately, we haven't finished the project yet, so I can't show you a photo.  But I did put a little on a paint stirrer and I was impressed by its magnetic power after only a single coat dried.  I think it's going to work really well!

You could really get creative with this stuff.  Paint small sections of it on objects and you can stick magnets to them.  Make children's toys and learning devices with little sheets of wood.  I've considered putting it on a couple of doors at kid height so my daughter will stop putting scotch tape all over the woodwork.  I've also thought that a few carefully-placed stripes of it horizontally all the way around a teenager's bedroom or a classroom might make it easier and less-damaging to hang posters and artwork without thumbtacks or tape.  Every wall would be a hidden gallery wall.

Disclaimer:  All opinions on these products are my own and I've purchased these items myself or received them as gifts from friends and family.  I don't even receive a kickback from Amazon for the links, so feel free to buy from your favorite local kitchen supplier.  They'll appreciate the business!

My Favorite Things: Joy Tea

Back in 2011, I was inspired by Oprah's "Favorite Things" episode to do my own version highlighting some of my favorite kitchen and cooking-related items that make great gifts during the holdays.  This year, I've decided to expand the idea to include some general household and organizing items that I find useful or indispensable.  Happy Holidays!

I'm a daily tea drinker and I go through phases where I'll drink fancy or flavored teas and then revert back to plain old supermarket black tea for awhile.  I generally don't like fruit or herbal teas that have no real green or black tea in them.  One thing I seem to never tire of, however, is a blend called "Joy" that is available at Starbucks every holiday season.

Joy is not your typical Christmas blend of cinnamon and spices.  Instead, it's a blend of Black, Green, and Oolong teas with a hint of apricot essence.  I absolutely love this as an everyday drinking tea.  Unfortunately, when it first came out, it was made by Tazo (owned by Starbucks) and was only available in Starbucks and only during the holiday season.  When Starbucks bought Teavana about two years ago, they had Teavana re-blend it (it tastes even better) and sold it for a higher price-point under the Teavana brand, still only at Starbucks and occasionally, you could find it on Amazon.

I fully admit to splurging and stocking-up on this stuff every year so I could drink it well into the summer before I'd run out (it makes a great iced tea, as well!).  Then, I'd have to wait till it showed-up in stores again.

As it happens, I'm not the only one who loves Joy, so Teavana took the same recipe, renamed it "Rev Up Wellness Tea" and started selling it by the ounce in their retail shops year-round!  It also appears they're selling it under the Joy moniker in Teavana stores and online this holiday season.

Disclaimer:  All opinions on these products are my own and I've purchased these items myself or received them as gifts from friends and family.  I don't even receive a kickback from Amazon for the links, so feel free to buy from your favorite local kitchen supplier.  They'll appreciate the business!

My Favorite Things: Bar Mops

Back in 2011, I was inspired by Oprah's "Favorite Things" episode to do my own version highlighting some of my favorite kitchen and cooking-related items that make great gifts during the holdays.  This year, I've decided to expand the idea to include some general household and organizing items that I find useful or indispensable.  Happy Holidays!

When I worked in the restaurant industry, one of the things I got to really appreciate were "Bar Mops."  They're simple white terrycloth towels that are used to wipe-up all manner of spills and kitchen messes, clean countertops, and even serve as makeshift potholders (albeit not as safe).

Bar mops are really a workhorse in the commercial kitchen and replace most of what paper towels usually do in a home kitchen.  The reason they're able to do this is because they're usually provided by a linen company that drops-off a few bundles each week and picks-up the dirty grimy greasy ones to be commercially cleaned so they're as good as new.

It turns out that Bar Mops are easy to get for your home kitchen.  They're usually sold by the stack (6 or more per package) as "Automotive Detailing Towels" in the automotive section of your favorite box store or wholesale warehouse.  At less than 50 cents each, even if they only last a handful of uses, they're still a better bargain than blowing through rolls of paper towels.  Also, they keep the grease out of your good kitchen towels so they stay absorbent for drying dishes.

There is one caveat.  It's difficult to reproduce the cleaning power of a commercial linen laundry when trying to clean your bar mops at home.  I've found that a heavy-duty degreaser detergent like this extremely effective, natural orange oil one from PurePro or less espensive but smellier Simple Green Citrus work pretty well and extend the life of your bar mops.  Just add a quarter cup of the PurePro in place of detergent or a quarter cup of Simple Green in addition to detergent and a half-cup of bleach in the bleach dispensor of your washer.  Wash on warm, not cold or hot.  I typically keep a bucket or a basket in the kitchen just for bar mops and cloth napkins and I do a batch of bar mops when I've accumulated enough.

Disclaimer:  All opinions on these products are my own and I've purchased these items myself or received them as gifts from friends and family.  I don't even receive a kickback from Amazon for the links, so feel free to buy from your favorite local kitchen supplier.  They'll appreciate the business!

Favorite Things: Gallon and Half-Gallon Mason Jars

Back in 2011, I was inspired by Oprah's "Favorite Things" episode to do my own version highlighting some of my favorite kitchen and cooking-related items that make great gifts during the holdays.  This year, I've decided to expand the idea to include some general household and organizing items that I find useful or indispensable.  Happy Holidays!

When you get into canning, you very quickly find other uses for the dozens of canning jars you always have lying around the house and you start to realize how truly versatile, eco-friendly, and air-tight a good glass jar can be.

Today's Favorite Things are large gallon and half-gallon storage jars.

One of my favorite uses for these is to keep dry goods fresh and organized in the pantry.  I'll often buy 2 or 3 packages of our favorite crackers or cookies at a time when they're on sale and as soon as the package gets moved from the bulk storage closet to the everyday pantry or kitchen shelves, it gets opened and dumped into a clean jar.  Same goes for beans, cereal, baking supplies, and other dry items that need to be air-tight.  No more miscellaneous-sized boxes, bags, and bag clips!

If you happen to shop in the Whole Foods bulk aisle, these are indispensable.  If your state laws permit it, you can even bring the jars with you to the market and fill them directly from the bins.  Just be sure to stop by the service desk to have them weighed first so you don't pay for the weight of the jar.

I also use them for storing juices, stocks, and liquids in the refrigerator and for organizing and storing candy around the holidays.  My daughter has a huge gallon jar filled with her Halloween stash stored on a shelf within easy reach and out of the way.

Disclaimer:  All opinions on these products are my own and I've purchased these items myself or received them as gifts from friends and family.  I don't even receive a kickback from Amazon for the links, so feel free to buy from your favorite local kitchen supplier.  They'll appreciate the business!

My Favorite Things: Electric Kettle

Back in 2011, I was inspired by Oprah's "Favorite Things" episode to do my own version highlighting some of my favorite kitchen and cooking-related items that make great gifts during the holdays.  This year, I've decided to expand the idea to include some general household and organizing items that I find useful or indispensable.  Happy Holidays!

Today's Favorite Thing is a cordless electric kettle.  I like this Hamilton Beach model for its clear glass carafe, affordable price point, and the convenient and easy-to-use design of the switch (which turns-off when the water hits the boiling point).

I don't just use this thing for tea.  It's so fast at heating-up water that I often use it to pre-heat water I plan to boil for cooking (such as pasta), extra water for risotto, and even hot water to top-off the canning kettle.  It's great for making instant oatmeal, softening noodles, preparing instant noodle dishes like Ramen or Easy Mac, or heating water for a pour-over coffee maker like a Chemex.

Disclaimer:  All opinions on these products are my own and I've purchased these items myself or received them as gifts from friends and family.  I don't even receive a kickback from Amazon for the links, so feel free to buy from your favorite local kitchen supplier.  They'll appreciate the business!

My Favorite Things: Meat Grinder

 Back in 2011, I was inspired by Oprah's "Favorite Things" episode to do my own version highlighting some of my favorite kitchen and cooking-related items that make great gifts during the holdays.  This year, I've decided to expand the idea to include some general household and organizing items that I find useful or indispensable.  Happy Holidays!

Ground meat used to be a thrifty cut to feed your family, but not anymore.  Most supermarkets now charge extra for pre-ground meat and you can save up to three dollars a pound if you're willing to buy whole chunks of meat and grind it yourself.  At Whole Foods, for example, it's usually $5.99 per pound for ground dark-meat turkey, but if you ask for whole boneless skinless turkey thighs (which they have in the backroom), they're just $3.99 per pound.

It's for this reason that today's Favorite Thing is the food-grinder attachment for my KitchenAid Stand Mixer.

If you don't own a KitchenAid mixer, there are stand-alone grinder appliances that are comparable in price.  If you don't grind often, you may even consider finding an old hand-crank cast metal model in a consignment shop or antique store.


Disclaimer:  All opinions on these products are my own and I've purchased these items myself or received them as gifts from friends and family.  I don't even receive a kickback from Amazon for the links, so feel free to buy from your favorite local kitchen supplier.  They'll appreciate the business!

My Favorite Things: Inexpensive Stamped-Blade Knives

Back in 2011, I was inspired by Oprah's "Favorite Things" episode to do my own version highlighting some of my favorite kitchen and cooking-related items that make great gifts during the holdays.  This year, I've decided to expand the idea to include some general household and organizing items that I find useful or indispensable.  Happy Holidays!
 
Today's favorite thing is actually a collection of things.  And those things are inexpensive stamped-blade knives.

The best knife for anyone is the knife you're comfortable using every day.  There's no sense in spending hundreds of dollars on a German-made forged knife if it's not a comfortable extension of your hand.  I've been using inexpensive Rada Cutlery knives for years and every time I try to upgrade to a better (read: more expensive) knife, I find myself gravitating back to my old stamped-blade knife.

And why not?  They're cheap, lightweight, slice nice and thinly, and many of them hold their sharpness better than the best Wustoff carving knife.  Plus, you can get away with using inexpensive manual sharpening devices that take just a little of the soft metal off and bend your blade back to a true point instead of spending money on expensive electric sharpeners or professional sharpening services.

Here are some of my favorites:

Rada Cutlery
My family discovered these at a flea market in Pennsylvania some years ago.  Now, they're thankfully available online.  These are my go-to knives for just about everything.  They also make one of the sharpest vegetable peelers you'll ever own.

The one downside of the Rada knives is that they traditionally came with a "silver" handle that tarnishes easily when exposed to acids.  If you put it in the dishwasher, expect the handle to be permanently black within 2-3 washings.  I left one in a salad bowl once exposed to salad dressing and it also discolored.  They make most of their knives with black plastic handles now, so I recommend buying those when you can find them.

• Rada Regular Paring Knife
• Rada  8" French Chef's Knife
• Rada 10" Bread Knife - This thing is so sharp it'll slice right through your finger and bone before you feel it.  Be careful!
• Rada Bagel Knife - A great all-purpose bread knife for smaller loaves.
• Rada Large Vegetable Peeler

Wustoff Stamped Paring Knives
I happened upon these at Sur La Table as I was at the checkout counter.   They were marked something like 3 for $20.  One thing about paring knives is that they come in a variety of lengths and shapes and you really need to find the shape and length that's comfortable in your hand.  I like a spear-point stamped knife, which is hard to come by.  This one fits the bill and is awesome

• Wustoff 3" Spear-Point Paring Knife

Victorinox Stamped Cutlery
Victorinox is world-famous for creating the "Real" Swiss Army Knife, but they also make some pretty darned good kitchen knives, too.  Their commercial-grade stamped knives with plastic handles may not look pretty, but they continually hold their own against $200 knives in product reviews and tests from Cook's Illustrated and other publications.

• Victorinox 3.25" Paring Knife
• Victorinox Fibrox 8" Chef's Knife
• Victorinox Fibrox 7" Granton-Edged Santoku (Japanese-style Chef's Knife)

Manual Sharpener
This sharpener from Rada works excellent on any stamped blade.  It may not look like much, but a few quick swipes every few times you use your knife and it'll slice through a tomato like its nobody's business.  No need for an electric sharpener or a silly honing steel.

• Rada Knife Sharpener

Disclaimer:  All opinions on these products are my own and I've purchased these items myself or received them as gifts from friends and family.  I don't even receive a kickback from Amazon for the links, so feel free to buy from your favorite local kitchen supplier.  They'll appreciate the business!

My Favorite Things: Dashboard Mount for Phone

Back in 2011, I was inspired by Oprah's "Favorite Things" episode to do my own version highlighting some of my favorite kitchen and cooking-related items that make great gifts during the holdays.  This year, I've decided to expand the idea to include some general household and organizing items that I find useful or indispensable.  Happy Holidays!


Today's favorite thing is the iOttie Car Mount Holder for Smartphones.

I have an older vehicle that is equipped with a USB port to play music through the radio but it doesn't handle other smartphone functions like voice dialing and GPS the way modern bluetooth-enabled cars do.

Enter the iOttie dash-mount.  This is a great little gadget.  It comes with a crank-to-tighten suction cup that's assisted by a washable reusable sticky membrane so that it adheres even to the most textured dashboards without damaging it (aside from possible fade spots).  It can also be mounted from the windshield as shown.  It has spring-loaded clips that let you snap your phone in quickly and be on your way.  The arm is adjustable in several directions to accommodate different angled dashes that are close or far away from the driver.

I have this installed in my Honda Fit, which has an awkwardly shaped dash.  When I get in, I snap my phone into the mount, plug-in the USB cable, and head off on my way.  Since it's an iPhone, I can use the hands-free "Hey, Siri," feature to dial, ask for GPS directions, send or have text messages read to me, and use it as a speaker phone.  It's close enough to my face that I can hear the caller through the phone's speaker and the microphone can pick-up my voice beautifully.  No extra gadgets!

I highly recommend everyone have one of these, even if you have a bluetooth-enabled car.  It's a great low-tech way to get some hands-free features out of your phone and keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road.

Disclaimer:  All opinions on these products are my own and I've purchased these items myself or received them as gifts from friends and family.  I don't even receive a kickback from Amazon for the links, so feel free to buy from your favorite local kitchen supplier.  They'll appreciate the business!

My Favorite Things: Sandwich Knife

Back in 2011, I was inspired by Oprah's "Favorite Things" episode to do my own version highlighting some of my favorite kitchen and cooking-related items that make great gifts during the holdays.  This year, I've decided to expand the idea to include some general household and organizing items that I find useful or indispensable.  Happy Holidays!

My first favorite thing is something I admit to having a love-fear relationship with.  It's the Kuhn Rikon Sandwich Knife.

I ordered this knife after seeing it demonstrated, of all places, on QVC.

Remember those 1980's infomercials for Ginsu knives where they saw through everything including aluminum cans with the knife and then slice a tomato cleanly with the same knife?  This knife is the Ginsu's crazy cousin who invents things in the basement.

I love how this knife has a large paddle shape on one side that just begs to be dipped into a jar of mayo to spread on your bread and a nice sharp blade for not only slicing the sandwich in half when you're done but also for prepping vegetables and fixings that will go in your sandwich.

I need to caution you, though.  This knife is EXTREMELY SHARP.  I'm talking wicked sharp.  I sliced my finger open just trying to put the knife back in its holder (always point the blade away from you when doing this, by the way).  But it's an awesome knife if you treat it with respect and care.  No fancy Martin Yan moves with this one, okay?  Okay.  :-)

Disclaimer:  All opinions on these products are my own and I've purchased these items myself or received them as gifts from friends and family.  I don't even receive a kickback from Amazon for the links, so feel free to buy from your favorite local kitchen supplier.  They'll appreciate the business!