A quick word on Baker’s Twine
I have a bit of an obsession with baker’s twine. I ordered 4 huge spools of it a few months ago and I am looking around for more. Now I’m no crafty, but even I can think of a million uses. In fact, we seem to be using it in some shape or form at least once a day (yesterday my daughter used it to make some bunting for her dolls house). Great for gift wrapping instead of ribbon, just team with brown butcher paper… It is also beautiful for wrapping baked goods. It adds a nostalgic, rustic look that is simple and classic. Traditional red and white baker’s twine is perfect but I am totally smitten with these delicious, eye-popping colors from The Twinery.
- Sara
Lark in Dayelsford
One place I always recommend (sometimes even insist!) our visitors to Melbourne see is the picturesque town of Dayelsford. Dayelsford is a village in rural Victoria in the heart of the Wombat Forest; so pretty, so quaint, peaceful & dignified, just as a spar town should be, but with the hippest cafes, shops and restaurants you can imagine! There are several things you must do when visiting this adorable town — have your tarot read, take in the local markets, stroll through the forest, visit the mineral spas (the Shire boasts the highest concentration of mineral springs in the country together with an equally large array of therapists) AND stop by Lark to indulge in some retail therapy! (more…)
MadeIt for unique handmade finds
Packed to the rafters with local designers and craftspeople, MadeIt is a virtual craft market containing a wealth of handmade housewares and goodies. It is my go-to source when I want something unique, affordable and hand-crafted. It is similar to Etsy but supports only local Australian talent.
What I love about the site, apart from the fact that everything is handmade and local, is that it brings you, in one spot, everything you can’t buy at your local shopping mall. It takes the legwork out of shopping for those unique, handmade goodies which I love to buy but can take me forever to look for. And of course there is something gratifying about buying a locally made gift, supporting your local economy. (more…)
Third Drawer Down
I do appreciate a nice tea towel… and I’m fussy with mine. Perhaps it relates to my textile obsession. Nonetheless, I like them to be made of good quality linen, aesthetically pleasing… and generally I find, the more use they get, the better they look. Now, because of this ‘pseudo fetish’, much to my husband’s amusement, and at times sheer frustration, I am always scouring the shops for tea towels.
Recently looking out of the car window at the lovely window shop display, waiting for the traffic lights to change…
Me in passenger seat: ‘Wow, is that…are they…my goodness I think they are tea towels!’
Husband in driver seat: ‘No, no darling, that’s just a painting…’
Me: ‘No husband, I really don’t think so… they look like linen… I’m sure they are tea towels. Yes, yes they ARE tea towels! Quick…STOP! I’ll be really quick!’
Husband rolls eyes and pulls over. And that was how I came to acquire 3 tea towels from Third Drawer Down. (more…)
Meri Meri Cupcake Kits
How cute are these cupcake kits!!!! What a simple solution to make you look like a baking rock star! Meri Meri has something for just about every occasion and the quality is just beautiful. Now that the coldest months are rolling into the city I like doing cooking projects in the afternoon to deal with those often painfully long hours between the “end-of-school” and the “start-of-dinner”. There are tons of other really adorable and creative things on the website as well — invitations, thank you cards and notepads. And speaking of cupcakes… I want one.
-Dina
A Hearty Breakfast for Valentine’s Day!
With Valentine’s Day approaching soon, I couldn’t resist purchasing this amazingly cool heart shaped frying pan. I’m not yet sure whether I’ll serve the pancakes or the eggs, or maybe both… But I’m positive my family will love them (and me)!
I got mine from this shop here in the Netherlands, but it’s — among other places — also available from this UK website.
xxx Esther
Tess, a tasteful stool
Like many households with children, we are the proud owner of an Ikea Bekvam step stool, which lives in our kitchen and is used all the time. It helps the kids reach the counter, it helps our Peruvian sitter to reach the upper cabinets (mounted extra high to accommodate tall Dutch genes), and it helps me to reach the upper, upper cabinets that even tall Dutch girls can’t reach!
A handy gadget, this Bekvam. It’s not, however, the most original piece of interior (hear the architect speaking?), and to be honest, mine is so much in need of a layer of paint that I hardly dare to display it in my kitchen!
Thankfully we now have the beautiful, modern, fresh, and well-designed Tess stool in the house. A lovely addition to our household! It’s being used in the bathroom to brush teeth, dragged to the kitchen when there’s a threat of a fight over the Bekvam, and used as a side table or stool where and whenever needed. (more…)
Gift ideas for the Mini Master Chef
My family is in the grip of ‘Masterchef’ fever! My kids are so enthused by this reality television program that I practically have my youngest deriding me for not making the terrine for his school lunch. And while the downside for me is that the bar has been raised (my rather unspectacular cooking now looks even more… unspectacular), the show has reinforced the value of good eating, team-building and the importance of accepting constructive criticism. My daughter particularly has been caught by the cooking bug. This morning she made us a lovely, albeit slightly burnt dish of scrambled eggs, grilled tomato, and baby spinach — we devoured it… every char-grilled morsel!
A friend recently introduced me to a great children’s cooking website called Wholesome Productions which creates a fabulous range of children’s cooking kits. They also sell party cooking kits for those brave enough to host their own kid’s cooking party. (more…)
Cookie Cutters
Cookie baking is big in our house, especially when the weather is grim like today, and as you can see from the picture we’ve started to collect quite a variety of cutters. My son loves picking out which ones to use (currently the bear and the lion are particular favourites). I pick cutters up from all sorts of places but I do find Cakes Cookies and Crafts Shop a corker — especially as they usually offer 4 for the price of 3. Cox & Cox also do some good ones (but more on them later as they definitely deserve their own post).
Today however we used our new kid-friendly cutters
Trip to Ikea
I went to Ikea today to get some frames and came back with some frames (although I nearly forgot them), two Lidan laundry baskets, cute paper napkins, a plant for in the bathroom (Pogonatherum, an old favourite), two little stuffed mice for the children, a dish-washing brush, a set of three small wooden boxes with lids for in the bathroom (it desperately needs to be re-organized – as always), a selection of cool looking Swedish juices and knackerbröt, a wicker basket to keep my herbs on the balcony, and the apple slicer ‘Charm‘ (pictured), that I’ve already tested and I can truly recommend.
I kept myself from buying another Norrebo storage bench (on sale now), 4-for-the-price-of-one Daim chocolate bars, more hooded towels and the Plocka plates that have a space for a small bowl and would be super-cute for breakfast.
I might go back tomorrow…
xxx Esther
Bambu Give-away!
An important factor in raising children is, as we are all well aware, teaching them to eat healthy and responsibly. Offering your kids a varied diet with fresh, organic ingredients (and trying to make them eat it too) is one of the big challenges of parenthood! These days however, we have discovered that ’eating healthy’ isn’t just limited to the food ingredients we use. No, the tableware we all serve it on is absolutely of equal importance!
The bowls and utensils from Bambu are completely toxic-free, extremely beautiful AND non breakable, which makes them very suitable for use with children. All the products are made from 100% organically-grown bamboo, and the bowls have a natural, matte lacquer in wonderful bright colours, derived from, who could have thought, the cashew nut tree. A safe bet, and cool looking too!
The very stylish Joslyn from the hip eco-boutique Shakshuka has kindly offered a complete Bambu set to one lucky Babyccino reader. The set will contain (as pictured): a mini-me bowl of your colour choice, a spork (we love it), one set of infant utensils and one set of kid’s utensils.
Just leave a comment below by Sunday, July 26th in which you give us your best tip for eating healthily (weather it’s a recipe, a trick or simply a product). The best tip will win, AND will be published on Babyccino!
Good luck!
xxx Esther
THIS GIVE-AWAY IS NOW CLOSED!
Cooking by kids, no kidding!
Although she says she´ll be a princess, I think my 4-year-old daughter might become a chef. She loves going to the supermarket, she loves helping me prepare the food, and she loves to eat (most of) it. When I brought home a few items from the Berghoff children’s cooking line the other day I must have nurtured this thought; I’ve rarely seen my daughter more excited!
The Berghoff children’s cooking line is one of the coolest kids’ products I’ve seen in a while. The concept is simple: there is a little induction stove, super-easy to use (on/off, high/low). There’s a selection of pans in different sizes, all with big, plastic handles that won’t get hot and with a big plastic Sheriff Duck knob. Very sweet. And there’s a selection of cook’s utensils, like a chef’s hat, an apron, a knife block (plastic) and more, all equally cute and decorated with the signature Sheriff Duck character. Now, of course the principle of induction is smart because the plate heats only the pan, not the plate itself (although it will be hot for a short while because of the heat of the pan above it). A parent should always be supervising, obviously, but I’ve been cooking with my daughter and she can do a lot herself! Yesterday for instance she made a salad of green peas (which she cooked herself), goat’s cheese, raspberries and basil, with a dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Very yummy, I must say! (more…)
Smoothie maker
A while ago I was sitting in my neighbour’s kitchen and spotted some brown bananas. Thinking of Courtney’s delicious banana bread recipe, I asked her if I could have the bananas if she was planning to throw them out (I knew she wouldn’t make banana bread herself – it’s not common at all here in the Netherlands)! She kindly refused, explaining that they had a family addiction to smoothies, so every over-ripe banana was very much needed!
Smoothies? It started to make me think:
- Smoothies are yummy
- Smoothies are healthy
- I finally found the excuse to buy one of those cool blenders!!!
So, the next weekend I convinced my husband that for the health of our family we needed a KitchenAid blender. (I admit, I completely went for the look of it; I didn’t read one review and didn’t compare prices!) And I love it.
Now, having just entered the world of smoothie making, I’ve discovered it’s an art by itself! There are a million recipes to find; you can use fruit, (soy)milk, yogurt, frozen berries, nuts, tofu, cereal, even egg whites!
Robot Set
I always find it hard getting presents for boys, as I only have girls and I don’t really know what little boys like. This melanine dining set with a cute robot design by Chaise Longue is one of my favourite presents for little guys. I found it when Courtney’s oldest son was obsessed with robots and have gifted it several times since. The boys have always loved it.
In fact, I like a lot of the Chaise Longue melamine sets, bibs and placemats. The designs are cute and I love melamine as it is seriously indestructible. I don’t know about you but in my house, more often than not, plate and cups don’t stay on the table!
Chaise Longue deliver anywhere in Europe. In the USA the company trades under the name of Baby Cie. The collection is not quite the same but it is equally as cute!
- Emilie
Bowl from Holland
When I was working in NY city, about 5 years ago, my office was located around the corner from a lovely kitchen supply shop, the name of which I’ve long since forgotten. On one of the rare, short lunch breaks I was allowed, I picked up a wooden salad bowl made out of one single piece of wood. Beautiful. And as I am writing this, my husband is fixing us a quick salad in the very same salad bowl! We use it almost every single day, and it is still one of the most beautiful kitchen utensils we own. And there’s a very sweet detail on the bottom of the bowl: an imprint of a wooden clog and the name of the manufacturer ‘Holland Mill’, from Holland, Michigan. A bit of patriotism, after all?
xxx Esther
Jamie Oliver
I’ve already admitted to not being very innovative in the kitchen. I’m pretty good with simple recipes, and I’m even better with clear instructions, but I’m not great with throwing things into a pot and creating dinner on a whim.
This is why I love Jamie. He makes cooking seem easy. In both his television programs and in his cookbooks, he talks to you like he’s talking to a friend in his kitchen. He makes it look totally obvious. He’ll say things like…’throw whatever ‘veg’ you want in the pot — it doesn’t matter, or ‘it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t look perfect, it’s about the taste’, ‘throw a handful of this on that, add a good slug of olive oil, a nob of butter’, etc.
Nothing too fancy. Good, hearty and wholesome meals. Simple and easy.
I’ve just added to my collection of Jamie Oliver cookbooks with his latest one, Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life
-Courtney
Crushed!
Yesterday I bought myself a little present that, after immediate testing, has become one of those kitchen utensils you wonder how the rest of the world manages to live without! This garlic crusher by Dutch designer Ineke Hans for Royal VKB is super simple and at the same time incredibly ingenious.
Use the flat part to crush the garlic, skin and all. Remove the skin with your hands (much easier than trying to do it un-crushed). If desired, roll the ribbed part over the garlic to mince it even further. The garlic paste will of course stick between the ribs. Just use your fingers to get it out. Smelly hands by now? Don’t worry. Clean the stainless steel crusher under running water and, using the utensil as a bar of soap, the odor will disappear like magic. Magic! It’s brilliant. Available at Bijzonder Mooi!
xxx Esther
Ikea hacking
We all love Ikea, don’t we? It’s pretty cool, modern and most of the things are practical and durable. But the planetary success of this furniture maker means that homes all over the world are filled with the same pieces. I don’t mind so much if everyone else has the ivar bookcase, or the benno cd storage unit or the expedit storage system. But you might, and so do other people. That is why a new branch of DIY was invented, and it’s called ‘Ikea hacking’.
I discovered Ikea Hacker a few months ago while browsing the internet and I have been following its updates regularly. The site collects the ideas and projects of people who have found new ways of using Ikea pieces. Some are simple, just different ways of using a product, while some are serious DIY projects. But they’re all interesting to look at — it’s amazing what people can come up with for a benno cd tower, or an expedit or the ivar! (more…)
An easy life
I’m all for an easy life at the moment. It could be because I’ve just moved home and am up to my eyeballs in boxes. Or it could be because I’m rushed off my feet at work. But when I saw this product I thought, “yes, yes, yes”.
One of the reasons I stopped pureeing food was because it took so bloomin’ long to spoon the quantities into ice cubes. It took FOREVER. But this clever little invention from Qubies means you can just pour your pureed food into the tray and the little plastic device separates it for you. Finally, an invention that is really going to save me time.
-Natalie
Place mats for everybody
On my last trip to IKEA I bought these new (at least to me) round place-mats, named Panna. They are made of a plastic with a rubbery feel and come in very nice colours.
They are different in shape (and feel) from the usual plastic place mats and with the unevenly ribbed surface look even a bit more sophisticated!
They are ideal for kids as they’re wipe-clean and that means that the table will look nice and a more grown-up than before. They were a hit in our family; my three-year old has even ditched his Thomas place mat to fit in with his parents!
I still have not tried, but I think they would look great even over a regular tablecloth, below each plate, as they would add colour and make your table setting a little more special.
-Michela
