Bananza


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Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

– You ESers has a field day with our favorite new unitasker, the bananza. debbie koenig:

I love that it’s a “hand-held” banana slicer. Obvs so much more convenient than those bulky room-sized ones.

Britannia, however, is not making fun:

I kinda want one, don’t judge.

– And kitchen geek stands up for parsley as a garnish:

Used to be right there with you on the parsley garnish; but I’ve mellowed a bit. I’m anti curly-parsley and bad parsley but I think fresh flat leaf has its place. Garnish breaks down just like ingredients in the recipe, complementing or contrasting. Your current recipe and Rocco’s example go with the complementing camp. I often use parsley and/or cilantro in dishes that have neither to provide a fresh herb contrast to whatever dish I’m serving. Think about osso bucco and tell me gremolata is out of place as a garnish cutting the richness of the dish.

Finally, flickr user arenamontanas deserves a huge round of applause for somehow providing the perfect photo for this post.

Thanks for simmering with us — see ya next week!

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An Ode to a Clear Kitchen

It’s hard for me to say anything but “NO” when I see this gadget. How could there be anything more unnecessary than a banana slicer?

We pack our lives with things and stuff. And things and stuff. And things and stuff. The kitchen is the recipient of many of our purchases, from the crucial cast iron pot to the you’ll-use-it-once Dough-Nu-Matic Automatic Dougnut Machine. I scroll through friends’ wedding registries knowing the happy couple will never use half the knives in their over-priced set. And of course that famed waffle maker will never leave its box. Maybe for their first anniversary, a cute breakfast-in-bed, but then it will lead a lonely life in the corner of a dark closet.

And then there’s this fucking thing. This Bananza. Calling to our desire for a quick fix. For an easy way out. This device won’t help you eat more bananas. It won’t help you lose weight. You’ll realize this device isn’t any easier than using a knife. This device will clog up your drawer just like the avocado slicer and pitter. This device will remind you that stuff is just stuff. And more stuff doesn’t create anything but a mess.

And no, my lovely boyfriend, this doesn’t mean I won’t come home from my trip to Seattle without more items to fill the kitchen. I just bought apple smoked fleur de seul, in fact. But I thought writing this ode to a clear kitchen might ease the pain of new friends coming back with me.

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