A few of my favourite kitchen things

Following in the footsteps of Mara, who first had this brilliant idea, Anna, Norm, Paola and Sandy I am going to show you a few of my favourite kitchen things.

Here are my favourite teapots, Japanese cast iron beauties. The big one is a gift from my parents on my 30th birthday, the smaller one I got subsequently from W the following Christmas. The black one can accomodate about four tea drinkers whereas the second one will suit an avid tea fanatic or two restrained élégantes.

They're really sturdy yet so beautiful and keep tea warm for quite a while. They feel quite grown up and worldly to me (two characteristics I otherwise lack!)
The pestle and mortar, so beloved by Jamie Oliver, is a souvenir I bought while holidaying on La Réunion. This is the island of one half of my ancestors, where various cultural groups live in harmony. A volcanic gem of green beauty, wild flowers and steep valleys.
This pestle and mortar is made out of volcanic stone found in the bed of a dry river. A little piece of the island, as it were.
Ah, my Peugeot pepper grinder... I love having it around, for cooking, for showing off to the occasional guests, who never fail to comment on it, usually in a positive way, but one (ex-) friend said it scared her (?!?!). I find it a delightful mix of feminine curves and phallic power. I love its glossy finish although initially I wished for a matt one. Another present of my parents.
This is my darling cookie tin, bought a few years back when we lived in Aachen, in a Dutch shop called Xenos, which I loved to visit as it had lots of bath and kitchen gimmicks, and also some exotic food items. I must confess that I bought it for my Mum, but ended up so in love with it that I couldn't bear to part with it. My mum also has a thing for vintage tins and owns many so don't worry, she can live without this one. I like to line it with a cute paper napkin and lay some home-baked biscuits or cookies. It is empty now, sadly, but won't be for long...
Silicon spatula with little hearts. Sent to me by the lovely Dani as part of the Valentine swap. Much loved and used, for cooking, frying and baking. I love the fact that it's resistant to high heat, so you can flip steaks in the frying pan with it. Great for scraping the sides of mixing bowls while making cookies or cake. I have one with Easter eggs too, courtesy of Diane. I think you can't have too many of those. Plus, I have yet to see them in shops here, which makes them extra special.


The flowers are a little wink ;) but the bowl (off white with a pink rim) is a reminder of my childhood and has a little anecdote attached to it. My parents had bought a few of these (pink- and blue rimmed, Habitat ca. 1982) for my aunt, who is a practical woman and lives in a small village in the Southwest of France, as a Christmas present. As she opened the gift, she shocked us all into silence when she said she didn't need them. I think my mum was rather annoyed at this open lack of politeness, but then, that's my aunt for you. So we took them back and I grew up with them and to this day, only this one has survived and was bequeathed on me when our household wares were split and spread across Europe.

I love the following mug. It feels very comforting due to its size, and is one of my most stylish mugs (I have 5 Simpsons mugs too, to give you an idea). I also often think of a friend to whom I gave the same one when having my cup of tea. (I bought it for myself afterwards, I liked it so much).

One of my serving dishes and the serving hands from the Living Kitchen collection. Even though the dishes are easily scratched and being a klutz, I have to give them special TLC, I enjoy using them. The hands are melamine so quite klutz-proof. I like the small dish for when I'm on my own, but they all look so fabulous and make any salad or paste dish feel quite stylish and special. Another present from W.


I've shown you mine, now show us yours!