While perusing the shelves of a Spanish gourmet grocery store and sandwich shop in Manhattan, I stumbled upon this:  extra virgin olive oil packaged in a box—similar to a children’s juice box.

The little carton held 125 ml (about four ounces) and did not (thankfully) have a hole in which to punch a straw.  However, it did have other draws—like being a great addition to a camping trip or a picnic basket.  Thus, I purchased one little box and am now going to design a vacation around it…

These cupcake wrappers are too cool and would make any Halloween festivities that much scarier!  Simply wrap the band of decorated paper around each cupcake, after it has been baked and frosted, and you have a to-die-for dessert…

My boyfriend, who happens to be a designer, is always on the hunt for new and interesting household items. So when he came across a water-filtering pitcher to replace our “aesthetically displeasing” current model, he felt like he conquered the world. I, on the other hand, was more interested in its more eco-friendly application. Eco-friendly because the stones and charcoal used to filter the water are naturally sources and only need replacing every six months.

That’s a third less waste than the plastic filters I find myself tossing in the garbage every two months. And because the filters are made of charcoal and stones, I don’t even know that constitutes as garbage! In a year, I could have enough to line the bottom of a small aquarium! Hence, the $85 purchase. (And, yes, I did just type $85!)

Why it has taken me years to come up with this idea, I have no idea…

I have been enjoying (or at least trying very hard to) iced coffee in the morning on warm days for years.  And every time I do, I feel slightly disappointed because by the time I’m about halfway through with my beverage, I find it to be watered down and not nearly as good as it started out to be.  Thus, I have come up with coffee cubes—frozen cubes of coffee!

Here’s the how-to:

Simply brew a pot of coffee, and let cool to about room temperature.  Fill a couple of ice cubes trays full of the cooled liquid and freeze.  Next time you make iced coffee, use your coffee cubes to keep it cool and caffeinated at the same time!

Molecular gastronomy, defined in the Food Lover’s Companion as, “the application of chemistry and physics to the culinary world by using experimental lab techniques in the kitchen,” has become quite popular amongst many professional chefs and is probably the most innovative movement cooking has seen in some time.  I find the subject very intriguing, although a bit intimidating, as I am not the most seasoned chef in the way of this new form of cookery.

However, while surfing the internet, I stumbled upon this online manual—Texture:  A Guide to Hydrocolloids.  It’s a pretty cool guide to the understanding and use of ingredients like xanthan, carrangeenan, agar, etc., which are the darlings of molecular gastronomy.   And after browsing its many recipes, my intimidation of the subject has changed to inspiration!  I can’t wait to try some of them soon!

I never would have imagined that this “Fudgie the Whale” ice cream cake I received on my birthday was well known enough to have its very own wikipedia entry.  I guess it goes to show that, although I am a pastry chef who knows lots about obscure desserts, I certainly have not seen it all!

And if you have children, please be sure to celebrate at least one birthday with this frozen treat.  After eating mine this year, I realized I missed out on 28 other opportunities to have eaten a Fudgie the Whale…

While browsing a few of the many beachfront souvenir shops on the Isle of Palms, I came upon a bag of “shrimp poop.” Of course, I had to buy it. But not too worry; it was just a bag of chocolate-panned peanuts labeled “certified fresh from the producer…”

Filmmaker, Adam Pesapane (better known as PES), creates short films using found objects. Western Spaghetti is a film that is just under two minutes and features a new way of cooking spaghetti. Although I don’t recommend you follow his recipe for your next meal, I do recommend you check his films out immediately! They are too cool!

Bee Raw, a company that makes varietal honey, is now offering a box set of their nine flavors.  The flight comes complete with a one-ounce corked vial of each of the flavors, which are all hand-sealed with bees wax and set in a handmade oak block.

I have one of the sets myself and found that when I tasted the nine different flavors of honey next to one another, they were completely different but in the slightest way.  Each honey variety has a very distinct flavor with subtle nuances that are not easy to taste when trying them alone.  It was quite a learning experience!

This would be a great gift for a foodie friend or tea lover!

The microplane, a well-known tool by many professional chefs, is a great way to make zesting and grating an absolute breeze. I love using it for grating hard cheese, citrus zest and garlic. Give it a try and I’m sure you will never resort to your box grater again. (And if you are as clumsy as I am with a box grater, you’ll avoid grating your knuckles too!)