Tag: sodastream

A Few of Our Favorite Kitchen Gifts

Here are some holiday gift ideas from inexpensive stocking stuffers to luxuries for a special person's kitchen. A couple of years ago, we posted a piece about a few things we use everyday and are happy to have. That was so well received that we are adding to that collection of great gifts every holiday season.

We still love, and put to daily use, our Breville Cafe Roma Espresso Maker and Capresso Burr Coffee Grinder. You can read about why we love them in this post –

Gift Ideas: 5 Little Kitchen Luxuries We're Glad We Bought

This year, we added a simplehuman Slim Canister (we use the small size) as a waste can for our coffee grounds. Unlike the open knock boxes, it looks neater and our kitchen doesn't smell like coffee grounds all day.

Also, we love using this Tovolo Scoop & Spread Multi-purpose Spreader to clean the spent grounds out of the portafilter after we pull an espresso.

And, Penny still adores her little Kuhn Rikon 4th Burner Multi – Pot. Here are a few posts featuring that hard working kitchen favorite –

Loving This Odd Little Cooking Pot

My Silly, Little 4th Burner Multi – Pot Scores Again!

Another Trick from My Favorite, Little Cooking Pot

Ed continues to love our Sodastream even though he doesn't drink seltzer. He explains here –

How Sodastream Set Me Free!

Stocking Stuffers & Small Gifts

Sometimes it's the little things that make life easier and that make you smile when you use them.

If you have a smooth cooktop, you want a way to scrape up cooked-on spills without damage. Our answer is a Fantastic Ice Scraper with Brass Blade. It was originally meant for windshields but works great on a smooth top stove. Notice that you can buy these by the dozen if you choose. That's because you may want to give one to every friend who has a car or a smooth top!

You'll see two of these Cuisipro Foam Pump Soap Dispensers side-by-side at our kitchen sink – one for hand soap, one for dish soap. We have another in the bathroom. They are the best we've found. The suction cup holds it in place and it leans out over the sink so you are not cleaning up soap drips on the counter.

We have two sets of flexible cutting mats that we use for many purposes. The thicker set is Tovolo Flexible Cutting Mats and the lightweight set is Norpro Cut-N-Slice Flexible Cutting Mats. We plan to do an upcoming post on all the ways we use these. But, we don't really cut on them at all. We use them to contain messes. We'll peel vegetables, sweep off counters, and put them under the porta-filter for our espresso machine as we fill it. And, we even use them as placemats to protect our furniture and the large cutting board that sits on our kitchen counter.

Another great item, Chobs 2-Inch Board Protectors are on that big wood cutting board. They make it non-slip and easy to dry while sitting on the counter.

Do you have favorite kitchen items we should add to this list?

What's on your Food Lover's shopping list? Shop Amazon for all your kitchen & dining needs and support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2011-2014 Penny & Ed Cherubino, SodaStream photo Used under this creative commons license, Some rights reserved by kenworker

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A Few of Our Favorite Gifts for Wine Lovers

December 15, 2014
Bitters for My Birthday from Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters

One of my favorite birthday gifts this year was a selection of Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters to dose the SodaStream seltzer I drink all day long. Rhubarb has always been a favorite flavor for me and who wouldn't love Black Mission Fig, but the standout is the Sriracha bitters.

My current afternoon pick-me-up mixture is a slice or two of local, young ginger from Old Friends Farm with a few drops of Sriracha bitters – just the thing to keep you going through a long session of photo editing.

I'm also tinkering with bitters as a flavor enhancer in my cooking. When I master a use, I'll tell you about it right here.

My supply came from Formaggio South End. But, if you're one of our readers from elsewhere in the country, the Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters website has a list of places where you can buy their products.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a Birthday or Holiday Gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

November 6, 2013
Bitters for My Birthday from Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters

One of my favorite birthday gifts this year was a selection of Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters to dose the SodaStream seltzer I drink all day long. Rhubarb has always been a favorite flavor for me and who wouldn't love Black Mission Fig, but the standout is the Sriracha bitters.

My current afternoon pick-me-up mixture is a slice or two of local, young ginger from Old Friends Farm with a few drops of Sriracha bitters – just the thing to keep you going through a long session of photo editing.

I'm also tinkering with bitters as a flavor enhancer in my cooking. When I master a use, I'll tell you about it right here.

My supply came from Formaggio South End. But, if you're one of our readers from elsewhere in the country, the Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters website has a list of places where you can buy their products.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a Birthday or Holiday Gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

November 6, 2013
Bitters for My Birthday from Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters

One of my favorite birthday gifts this year was a selection of Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters to dose the SodaStream seltzer I drink all day long. Rhubarb has always been a favorite flavor for me and who wouldn't love Black Mission Fig, but the standout is the Sriracha bitters.

My current afternoon pick-me-up mixture is a slice or two of local, young ginger from Old Friends Farm with a few drops of Sriracha bitters – just the thing to keep you going through a long session of photo editing.

I'm also tinkering with bitters as a flavor enhancer in my cooking. When I master a use, I'll tell you about it right here.

My supply came from Formaggio South End. But, if you're one of our readers from elsewhere in the country, the Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters website has a list of places where you can buy their products.

Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a Birthday or Holiday Gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

Details:

Words: Penny Cherubino
Photography: © 2013 Penny Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

November 6, 2013
Flavor Your Home-Made Seltzer

Seltzer is my drink of choice and I'm a fussy drinker. Ed told you a while ago how much he loves our Soda Stream Soda Maker. He used to lug those cases of selzer for me, now I just make it with my SodaStream.

I like my seltzer very fizzy and with a touch of tart flavor. My favorite water flavor profile has always been a few dashes of Angostura Bitters and a squeeze of fresh lime. In summer I may switch to cucumber.

Lately, I've been experimenting with the ever growing selection of bitters that the cocktail culture has brought to the market. I like some of the Fee Brothers Bitters flavors, lime is my current favorite.

Update October 2015: My new favorite bitters addition is Bittermens Boston Bittahs. I'll do a new post about this bitters and the company who makes it soon, but for now, give it a try if you see it on local shelves or do as I do when I can't find it and buy it from Amazon.

Over the weekend a friend and I discussed alternative ways to add flavor without sweetness to seltzer. She put me onto a bit of pomegranate molasses or flavored tea to the glass. (Thanks Liz!)

Our conversation sent me searching for new ideas. And, I found a great blog, Former Chef with some wonderful ideas for flavored seltzers. I can't wait to try this ginger mix. Thank you, Chef Kristina! Keep those great flavors coming our way!

Tummy Tamer Soda Syrup; Orange, Mint, Ginger and Anise

Homemade Ginger Syrup and the SodaStream Soda Maker

Home Made Key Lime Syrup

(Be sure to explore the archives when you visit Former Chef, there's lots of great food information on those pages!)

Ed is a straight water guy. No flavor or bubbles needed. But, he was always willing to indulge my love of sparkle. And, I'm sure he's happy now that he only has to carry tiny bottles of bitters to keep me supplied with my favorite flavors.

Related Posts:

Cool as a Cucumber Summer Sips

How Sodastream Set Me Free!

What's on your food lover's shopping list?

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

February 29, 2012
How Sodastream Set Me Free!

If you’re tired of hauling bottles or cans of that favorite carbonated beverage, a SodaStream soda maker just might set you free! It certainly has lightened my load. We used to buy the largest cases of sparkling water we could find– easier on the budget, not on the back.

Then, one of our smartest friends told us about SodaStream. (Thank you Liz!) This one compact device lets us carbonate bottle after bottle, each in a matter of seconds, using our choice of water while controlling the amount of fizz.

There’s no need to store bottles, and we never run out when hosting a party. Pre-packaged flavorings are available, although it’s easy, and sometimes preferable, to add your own. (Penny adds a dash of bitters!)

Power is supplied by a convenient CO₂ canister that can be exchanged for re-charge (keep at least two cylinders on hand to rotate).

We’ve had our Sodastream for about six months. It’s one of those products that’s simple, convenient, and really works. How often does that happen?

Amazon can ship a SodaStream kit to get you started.

Details:
Words: Ed Cherubino
Photography: Used under this creative commons license, Some rights reserved by kenworker

Link to the close up bottle with bubbles

Link to the hand working the machine

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

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