Category Archives: tools & gear

DIY Walnut Countertop Compost Bin

5 August 2014 by local kitchen

I’ve had a long-running battle with countertop compost bins: too big, too small, too tall, too ugly, hard to wash, heavy to maneuver; it doesn’t seem like it should be this hard, does it? I’ve tried many different approaches, from the classic fireplug version, to a Tupperware bin, an antique pickle crock, a mixing bowl & kitchen towel. They all have their issues. My biggest issue with most commercial compost bins is the shape: why tall & narrow? It doesn’t […]

Categories: tools & gear • Tags: compost, DIY, woodworking

Glass Food Storage + Giveaway Winner!

13 November 2013 by local kitchen

Plastic: it’s amazing, isn’t it? From the finest fishing line to the sturdiest industrial shelving, plastic is flexible and solid, transparent and opaque, fabric and furniture. If you consider plastic syringes, infant car seats, Kevlar body armor and a host of other applications, it’s clear that plastic saves lives. But one thing it doesn’t do well? Store food. The National Resources Defense Council has a comprehensive round-up of the problems with storing food in plastic, from environmental (“producing a 16 […]

Categories: home goods, tools & gear • Tags: food, food storage, giveaway, glass, plastics

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The 10 Best Kitchen Tools You Don’t Have

19 February 2013 by local kitchen

A funny thing happens when you write a food blog: people get the impression that you know how to cook. Because, like so many of us these days, my friends & family are scattered far and wide, I do a fair bit of traveling to keep in touch with my nearest and dearest. And because I write about food a couple of times a week, most of these folks have figured it out: I cook. Quite a bit, actually. Invariably, […]

Categories: tools & gear • Tags: cooking, food, kitchen, tools

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Food in Jars: Winner!

23 June 2012 by local kitchen

Thanks so much to everyone who entered and who shared with us their one-and-only, most important preserve of the year. I was fascinated by your responses: by far the majority favored home-canned tomatoes, whether whole, crushed, sauced or fire-roasted, and I have to agree: I go into paranoia-overstock-mode with tomatoes these days, ever since the heartbreak of the 2009 tomato blight. But for all of the tomato love, there were many of you dedicated to berry jams, sour cherries & plums, […]

Categories: canning, community, preserving, tools & gear • Tags: canning, food in jars, giveaway, preserving

Canning Tips & Tricks From Your Favorite Bloggers (+ Me!)

10 June 2012 by local kitchen

Do you remember way back in May (3 whole weeks ago) when I said that the time to prepare for preserving was now, because once the season hits, you’ll be overwhelmed? I was right. The fridge is full to overflowing with the first CSA of the season (greens, greens and more greens!), I still have Grandma’s rhubarb to work through, the European Championships and World Cup qualifying have started, and somehow, people still want me to work for a living. […]

Categories: canning, community, preserving, techniques, tools & gear • Tags: canning, cooking, preserving, techniques

A Tale of Two Dutch Ovens: Redux

22 May 2012 by local kitchen

Remember this post? The one where I lament that my Mario Batali dutch oven was, essentially, a $100 piece of crap, while my $140 Le Creuset was a thing of beauty? Well, I thought I would re-visit the LC, now that Big Blue is coming up on 2 years old, and introduce you to the latest member of the family: the 5 and 1/2-quart gorgeously graphite Staub cocotte. As you can see from the photo above, time has not left […]

Categories: tools & gear • Tags: cooking, dutch oven, food, le crueset, staub, tools

Preparing for Preserving Season

14 May 2012 by local kitchen

This weekend, in addition to enjoying the glorious weather, getting to the farmer’s market, and finally getting my hands on some rhubarb, I did something strange: I planned ahead. Planning: it’s not something I do a lot of in my everyday life. Oh, I do it all the time in my work life: plans, and contingency plans, worst-case sceanario and best-case scenario. Every conceivable outcome of a study or analysis has to be considered and planned for in order to […]

Categories: preserving, spring, tools & gear • Tags: canning, planning, preserving

A Tale of Two Dutch Ovens

8 January 2011 by local kitchen

Note: For an update to this post, and some discussion of the new Staub, check out A Tale of Two Dutch Ovens: Redux. The hullabaloo of the holidays is behind us and a foot of snow is blanketing the hillsides here in New York. It’s the perfect time for soups, stews, long, slow braises that keep the kitchen warm and smelling delightful all day long, right? Well, maybe you already have your trusty Dutch oven all primed for a long & […]

Categories: tools & gear • Tags: cooking, dutch oven, le creuset, mario batali

Space Solutions: Magnetic Spice Tins

12 December 2010 by local kitchen

Not exactly revolutionary, right? Most anyone who has ever decided that something must be done about the spice drawer/cabinet/bowl/debacle has considered a magnetic spice rack. And, if you’re anything like me, after a moment of sticker shock, you promptly went scurrying off after a different idea that wasn’t going to cost a month’s rent. Chances are, if you cook, you have more than, say, six spices to store (if you don’t, than spice storage is probably not a problem). I must […]

Categories: herbs, Space Solutions, tools & gear • Tags: cooking, food, kitchen, spice rack, tools & gear

Gifts: New Baby

20 October 2010 by local kitchen

I give a lot of gifts. It’s hard to say that without sounding “Yay, me!” but, honestly, I enjoy it; I’m one of those people who never shows up at your house without something in hand, who (usually) remembers birthdays & anniversarys, and who lives for Christmas. Before my canning days (when I also had a steady income) my gifts were more traditional: wine, truffles or dessert as a hostess gift; adorable baby clothes for a new baby or a shower; […]

Categories: community, gifts, tools & gear • Tags: canning, cooking, food, local

Labels: A Tutorial

14 October 2010 by local kitchen

I get a lot of questions, comments and compliments about my jar labels: if I buy them (and where!) or if I make them (and how??). I’m very flattered and I want everyone to be able to create their own inexpensive, not-so-labor-intensive, yet pretty labels for her (or his!) fabulous canned goods. Because, after all, presentation is everything in cooking: when I give jars as gifts, I get as many oohs and ahhs over the labels on the jars as I do over […]

Categories: canning, techniques, tools & gear • Tags: canning, techniques

Crock-Pot African Chicken

10 October 2010 by local kitchen

My friend Nadine very generously gave me a Crock-Pot for my birthday, and while I’ve never really lusted after one (I didn’t know they were so sleek and modern now; I remember too well my Mom’s enormous brown crockery Crock-Pot that weighed about 30 pounds and sat unused in the cabinet over the stove), I’m getting excited about the possibility of Crock-Pot apple butter, or pumpkin butter, maybe even ketchup before tomatoes disappear for the season. But as a test run, […]

Categories: chicken, crock-pot, tools & gear, year round • Tags: chicken, cooking, local, recipes

Local Fizzy

6 January 2010 by local kitchen

My name is Kaela and I’m an addict. Dedicated local eater that I am, there has always been one item on my grocery list that I can’t live without. One that you can’t find at any farmer’s market, is heavy to ship, requires a lot of packaging, and the closest local source is Maine. What is it, you ask (breathlessly), what magical food item is so important that you sacrifice your values, and the environment, to ship it from Maine? Sparkling […]

Categories: 100% local, tools & gear • Tags: cooking, food, local

Behold The Glory…

27 June 2009 by local kitchen

…of our new chest freezer! Yes, despite our renter’s fear of “what if this couch/bookcase/kayak/chest freezer doesn’t fit in our next place?”, we bit the bullet and bought a small chest freezer this year, just in time for berry, cherry, and buttload-of-leafy-greens season. It’s tucked into the garage, nicely fitting between the shelving that holds canned goods, canning jars & supplies, and the bins that hold ice climbing & camping gear. My we are eclectic aren’t we? After three seasons […]

Categories: tools & gear • Tags: cooking, food, local, recipes