Well, I'm not about to advocate communicating with dinner forks (or pitch forks for that matter), but a link to a Utah university student's Etsy shop, "ForkedUpArt", has been going around the blogoshpere. Attached to the link is a picture of cutlery that has been welded together to form an Iphone holder.

ForkedUpArt Iphone Holder
Source: Etsy shop

According to "Jennings Metal", the handle of the artist who operates "ForkedUpArt", the holder recently caught the attentions of TUAW: The Unofficial Apple Weblog, Macenstein, and even CNet, sparking a flurry of activity. In fact, the shop now sports an announcement about bulk purchases. Jennings Metal will even fashion custom holders.

After visiting the Etsy site, I discovered there are two models, one with a "fork head" and one with a "spoon head." The cost: $30.00 USD ($19.99 USD shipping to Canada).

Me, I like the one with a spoon head, given the feet are likewise spoons. It is a bit of symmetry that goes well with me.

But, since I haven't an Iphone to put in the holder, I'm going to pass.

Kudos to Jennings Metal on your creative product!

In November, Leela of the SheShimmers food blog, celebrated its one year anniversary with a satay-style grilled chicken recipe (featuring her mother's peanut sauce), a look at her blog's original banner (it's cute!), and a contest to win an All-Clad MC2 8-inch stainless steel skillet.

To enter, participants left comments on the blog post, explaining why they are "thankful for their father, mother, grandparent, or other guardian for being a positive influence on their lives." Since SheSimmers is a food blog, many comments involved food memories.

Here is mine:

As for the contest, my parents weren't the best cooks. They were however adventurous and tried new things.

I follow in that tradition, but their most important food lesson to me is eating as locally as possible.

When I was a child, decades before the 100 mile diet came to popularity, my parents grew a tremendous vegetable garden every summer, harvesting quite the bounty in the fall. From it, I learned what produce, grown for flavour and freshness tasted like. Be it organic or otherwise, most mega-mart (supermarket) produce is grown for shelf-life and shipping. There is a marked difference.

Growing up knowing that such vegetables as tomatoes don't have to taste like water is something I am incredibly thankful for. It is why I support local farmers today.

A week later, Random.org chose my entry to win. Several days after that, this arrived at the local post office, my being at work when it was delivered.

One well-wrapped express posted box

Inside, another box

Inside that box, warranty information, and paper...

...and, a hefty 8" pan...

...made by MetalCrafter LLC

With work normally being hectic and my trying to keep on top of the seasonal blog entries for foodiePrints, I only opened the package yesterday evening, it sitting with my stack of "to try" recipes for weeks. So, I decided to take pictures of its unboxing.

Setting the camera down in another room while I took a box cutter to the package, I originally decided to take the pan to the camera. This had me wandering room-to-room with a never-been-used-before stainless steel pan. Slightly, confused my better half asked "...and why are you wandering the house with a skillet?" Without thinking too much about it, I responded, "I'm looking for the camera!" I guess such is good confirmation that I am a food blogger...

Many thanks to fellow food blogger, Leela (with some help from Random.org), for adding a new cooking implement to foodiePrints' kitchen arsenal. It will likely see use in coming weeks, especially in preparing Christmas dinner.

Anyone want to know what a young food blogger looks like? The following is yours truly on a family friend's farm, discovering where apples come from.

Me, age 3

Several weeks ago, the LA Times published a piece on the subject of food producers and manufacturers actively pursuing endorsements from mommy bloggers. Some mommies-turned-bloggers have even been flown to events, hosted by celebrities, all expenses paid. Accordingly, mommy bloggers have become an explosively popular segment of the blogosphere. Indeed, I follow a half dozen mommy bloggers myself. Some belong to Erica Ehm's Yummy Mummy network. Many share my interests in great food and entertaining.

In a similar vein, appliance manufacturer Bosch hired a marketing firm, OgilvyOne Worldwide, and embarked on an innovative campaign, targeting social networks. Bosch had revamped its cartridge-based (called t-discs) coffee system, the Tassimo. OgilvyOne was tasked with giving away hundreds of coffee machines to anyone with significant influence, lots of connections. Together, they happened on several mommy bloggers on Twitter. What happened next is the stuff of social media dreams. The twitterverse was inundated with recommendations for who should receive a free Tassimo Coffee System next. Only those with 1000 or more followers were eligible. With mommy bloggers heavily organized and inter-networked, Tassimo Coffee Systems quickly became a convenient home appliance that brought specialty coffees home. With modern mothers often balancing having a career or running a business, being active in the community, keeping themselves fit, and raising young children, OgilvyOne found quite the niche. One mommy blogger, local Kelli Daisy (@kellidaisy), generously recommended me as a recipient for a machine.

Given that food bloggers are notorious for being critical of restaurants, food, and drink, I honestly expected OgilvyOne to "misplace" mine. Though very late arriving, I still received a red coloured machine almost a month before the Tassimo line hit stores. Incredulous, I left it in the corner of my apartment, still boxed, continuing a monogamous relationship with my single serving Black and Decker coffee machine and my beloved fair trade ground coffee from Ottawa's Bridgehead. Then, several mommy bloggers mentioned that the Tassimo coffee system was intuitive enough their young children could use it. Several, making their own hot chocolate drinks with supervision, of course.

Skeptical, I opened my package. Here is what I was couriered:

A very large box, containing another box and a lot of sealed packages

A very pleasant form letter

Many varieties of coffee and tea

Smaller box, containing the Tassimo

When unpacking the Tassimo, here is what I found:

Manuals

One handsome looking machine

A friend who witnessed the unboxing, mentioned that she recognized the machine. There is a commercial grade one in the cafeteria of the hospital she works at. She told me it makes great cups of coffee.

Finding no fair trade cartridges, I didn't think my determination would be objective if I tested it, so I went looking for a connoisseur.

Bosch, if you are reading this blog entry, please know that I want to write a fair review, so I loaned the Tassimo and gave all of the coffee to a friend who runs a hair salon, called Celebrity Hair Design. He and his staff will be comparing it and the coffee it makes to their Hamilton Beach coffee machine. It too is single serving.

Do check back for their observations in a couple weeks.

For reference, here is what a Tassimo coffee system and cartridges cost during a promotion at Staples Business Depot effective November 19, 2009. These prices were copied from an in-store display.

• Bosch Tassimo Coffee Brewer: $139.82
• Tassimo Nabob Cappuccino: $6.83
• Tassimo Nabob Colombian: $5.96
• Tassimo Nabob Latte: $6.83
• Tassimo Starbucks House Blend: $10.94
• Tassimo Suchard Hot Chocolate: $5.96
• Tassimo Twinings Green Tea: $3.26

Using chopsticks is so second nature to me that, when I somehow got hold of a pair of ball point pens during a staff meeting, I started picking up and moving around loose objects without thinking. This slightly irked one of my colleagues, so I had to sheepishly replace the pens on the table and go back to pretending to pay attention. In high school, I spun pens. It could have been worse.

That said, I recently had to teach someone how to use chopsticks. As a lefty, it is no easy task to teach a right handed person how to eat with a pair of sticks. After some practice, my guest burst out laughing when our plates were served and I reached for a fork. I pointed out that as a native born Ottawan, I have the ability to choose whichever eating implement I feel is more efficient. It's not cheating when you're hungry.

Case in point, I've been known to eat a bowl of poutine with a pair of chopsticks and a slurp. Chopsticks allow me to portion every fry with the right amount of gravy and cheese. Try doing that with a plastic fork...

But, there are times when I need a fork and I only have chopsticks. Introducing the latest "why the heck didn't I think of that" innovation, this time from artist and metal designer Jaroslav Kucera.

Ultimate Chopstick Implement
Source: Daily What c/o Random Pictures' Live Journal

Dubbed the "Chopstick Aid", Kucera's fork attachment was picked up by Serious Eats earlier this afternoon. Clicking the link from Serious Eats to Live Journal, the first comment points out that it is probably easier to learn how to use chopsticks. You know what? As someone who has been using chopsticks for a couple decades, when the noodles are super slippery or the dumplings are unwieldy, I'll take a fork any day.

Kucera goes one step further, he also has a spoon attachment on his website.

Chopstick Fork and Spoon
Its design dates back to 2006.

Those of you who know me know that I go around a netbook on my back and a smart phone on my hip. These attachments are boons for the urban backpack. I would love to be able to carry a full complement of cutlery in my Mountain Equipment Co-op shoulder bag.

I'm true urbanite, so I can only assume that these would be great for camping as well.

I'm off to figure out how to import a pair :)

This just in: Speaking of Serious Eats, here's are frugal recipe ($8 USD) for something that very closely resembles poutine, only the fries are baked, cheese is used instead of cheese curds, and it is served with roasted garlic.

When asked to suggest the perfect house warming gift, I usually answer with an amalgam of oft-overlooked yet indispensable things for the kitchen: magnetic fridge clips, a swivel head vegetable peeler, an ergonomic pizza cutter, a full tang metal ice cream scoop, a full length apron, pot holders, and a quality pair of oven mitts.

As someone who spends too much time in the kitchen, I treasure a good pair of oven mitts. They keep all the hot things from burning my fingers and all the cold things from giving me frostbite. Here's a couple that have caught my fancy of late:

In 2005, the manufacturer behind such products as selectively limbless ginger bread cookie cutters and pink girl chopstick connectors, released Hot Head insulated oven mitts.

Hot Head by Fred
Source: The Just Cool Design blog

Entitled, "Hot Head" by Fred, the food-grade silicone mitts are meant for small one-handed jobs. They resemble copy written Disney characters and double as a napkin holders if placed on their backsides. I adore the frog Hot Head that my dear friends Caro and Richard gave me for my 29th birthday. .

Frog Hot Head

Frog's Backside

Frog as a Napkin Holder
It sits beside my convection toaster when not posing with the 2008 Edition of Cheap Eats Ottawa. I've named it Kermit, for obvious reasons

For those recipients that see the world in pixels, how about a pair of "Clicking Cursor Hand Kitchen Mitts." As Gizmodo's Mark Wilson writes, those of us schooled in using the World Wide Web would love to translate the point, click, copy and paste mentality into kitchen. The mitts from bazardesign.com are as close as we're gonna get!

Clicking Kitchen Mitts
source: bazardesign.com c/o craziestgadgets.com and the mighty gizmodo

Now, there are a few Alton Brown fans who are equally as utilitarian as he is and would prefer to have fingers on their oven mitts. If you have a recipient that fits into this category, may I suggest "Cowhide Driver's Gloves with Keystone Thumb" from e-rags.com?

Welder's Gloves
Source: e-rags.com

They are available in pigskin, deerskin and goatskin. Options include unlined or lined with fleece, thermal, Thinsulate or Kevlar. According to the retailer, they are ideal for construction, masonry, agricultural or iron/steel work, mining or foundry, transportation and electrical work. If so, they can definitely handle a pot or two coming out of the oven.

Eccentricities aside, please choose quality oven mitts for you and yours. Burned hands cannot make good eats!

This just in: Waka waka hot head by Fred released.

Pacman Hot Head by Fred
Source: Perpetual Kid c/o gizmodo

What can I say? It speaks to the hours I spend chasing blue ghosts on my old Atari 500!