Best of 2003: Gone to pot

It's currently 14 degrees here in Cleveland. You hear that? Four-teen. I'm in a friggin' God-forsaken frozen wasteland.

It's times like this when a hot stove not only means staving off hunger, but keeping your fingers from turning blue. Don't even think of taking that beanie off my head.

At least we have got some really good new pots this year to put on aforementioned hot stove. Like this frying pan. The last non-stick skillet died a slow and sticky death. After a couple weeks of scraping fried rice off the bottom, we got this great big heavy 12-inch omelette pan, made by Calphalon, from (where else?) Target. Finally, a frying pan big enough to cook all the bacon Foodgoat wants.


And just this Christmas, Foodgoat received from his brother this 8-quart, non-stick Calphalon stock pot. It's the biggest pot we have now, perfect for all our new soup adventures. Especially good for making more dumplings than than ever before (think of the paprikash! think of the vadas! Mmmmm). Slick, huh?


Another good reason to stand over the stove: coffee. The French press we got a few months ago? Turned us recreational users into craven addicts. Add freshly ground coffee beans and hot water to this thing, and you gotta a junkie for a blogger.


Of course, I can't spend all my time over the stove. But I still need to be warmed up on the insdie. Enter a gift from last Christmas from my brother: a travel thermos. (Okay, technically it was 2002, but whatever, I'll what I want!). Seriously, it's been a godsend, keeping coffee, tea, calamansi (not altogether though) hot for hours. Through road trips and the flu season, it was good to have.


And finally, it's not a kitchen item, but today it's most appropriate: the electric blanket my mom sent me this year. Along with that beanie, it's the only way I'm going to make it until April.