We’re always on the lookout for interesting (and fun) additions to our kitchen. A few weeks ago we found these lovely little melamine spoons at a local kitchen shop. Apparently they’re made by a company called Kitchen Basics. These fantastic little spoons are great for serving all sorts of things and kids love them. My only complaint so far is that they only come in four colours and I wish they had a few more.

Buy them at Golda’s kitchen:

Melamine Spoon – Yellow -$0.75
Melamine Spoon – Lime -$0.75
Melamine Spoon – Orange -$0.75
Melamine Spoon – Red (no luck)

Located at the back of Bite Groceteria (which is worth a post in its own right) you’ll find the Knifewear Hamono-ya (cutting store). Kevin Kent (owner and former chef at the River Cafe) is wonderfully enthusiastic and brings his unique charm to showing off some of the best knives I’ve ever had the pleasure of trying. Kevin spoke with my wife and I for quite a while, showing off each knife with obvious pleasure and a wealth of knowledge. I only hope to be able to buy one or two from him in the coming years. I strongly advise you to get down there and take a look…

Knifewear
1212a 9 Ave. SE
Calgary, Alberta
(403)514 0577

In January I outlined the requirements for the perfect mug, and we thought we had found an appropriate candidate for our kitchen. It turns out that it’s almost impossible to get individual Sengware mugs in Canada. I even went as far as to email Sengware directly to see if they might make an exception and ship orders to the north, they didn’t even bother to write me back.(Boo!)

So, we’ve been without mugs for the better part of six months (other than the few Christmas mugs we’ve borrowed from family) trying to find a suitable subsitute to the Sengware mugs we thought we had found. This week my wife found some lovely mugs at Pottery Barn of all places. The mugs are part of their Sausalito ridged dinnerware collection and they meet all of our requirements. Colour me happy!

Lucky me! I’ve been searching for an unseasoned cast iron frying pan for ages and my mother-in-law found a 10 inch Griswold in an antiques shop. (Apparently Griswold is quite the collectors item.) I didn’t realise how difficult it would be to find unseasoned pans. Lodge and Wagner, the main manufacturers are pretty tough to get a hold of in Canada and if you do find them they’re of the preseasoned variety. I’ve found a few pans made in China, but they all seemed a little rough and cheap. I guess with cast iron they just don’t make them like they used to.

To store our spices and other dried goods we’ve always had a plan to use jars rather than tupperware or other plastic to store our goods. Now that we’ve got a pantry big enough to hold them we’ve been trying to make our plan a reality but ran into a brick wall when trying to find jars outside of canning season. The other evening we got very lucky, someone had left behind a treasure trove of canning goods in a friends basement, and needless to say they’ve been relocated to a very happy home. All in, there are about 100 jars of different sizes. More than enough to cover our pantry needs. Thanks guys!

One quick trip to the grocery store and we’ve got our pantry back up to full strength. We’re very happy with the result.

It’s almost impossible to find “good” unseasoned cast iron frying pans anymore. I’ve been searching all over town and they’re (almost) impossible to find. Apparently there are two manufacturers that still supply quality versions, Lodge and Wagner and I’ve been told that Lodge has stopped producing the unseasoned ones. Some stores (Superstore) have unseasoned pans made in China but they seem a little cheap and rough.  Although most stores carry the pre-seasoned variety, usually the Lodge Logic pans, I still wanted to season my own.

Luckily my mother-in-law keeps her eyes open in antique shops and managed to find a great 10 inch Griswold pan.  Apparently the Griswold pans are quite the collectors items.  Lucky me!  I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to find a good one.

Brown Betty Teapot

Bodum Assam 6-Cup Tea Press

Stainless Steel Double Walled Tea Pot; Suavo

Sorapot by Joey Roth

After much searching I decided on the amazing Staub La Theiere Round Teapot. Even though the price is a bit steep (groan), it’s worth every cent. It keeps it’s heat forever and doubles as both kettle and pot…not to mention it looks great on the stove top. I was lucky to find one here in Calgary and just in time for Christmas. Merry Christmas to me!

Update: As I usually keep searching after I’ve bought something I’m going to continue the list of beautiful teapots and kettles.

Chantal whistling tea kettle