Naked, baby!

Not me. Jamie Oliver. You know, the British chef who took the world by storm with his TV show The Naked Chef? He wasn't really naked -- he just is a simple cook who doesn't fuss up his dishes with a lot of sauces and fancy schmancy stuff.

I love him.

He has a new show, Jamie at Home, on the Food Network. He wears Wellingtons, lives in an old stone cottage, and runs to the back garden to get fresh ingredients for his creations.

The other day he smoked two salmon fillets in a biscuit (cookie) tin. On chicken wire. So cool. Now I need a biscuit tin. LOL

Anyway, in my neverending quest for the coolest kitchen gadgets that are actually useful and which don't take up a lot of space, I give you .... The Flavour Shaker! Invented by Jamie and sure to set the culinary world afire, it is a nifty little gadget with a ceramic ball inside. You shake up whatever you've put into it (peppercorns, herbs, spices, oil, etc) and it blends the flavors and produces lovely spice rubs, marinades and all manner of delicious additions to your own healthy cooking.

Available at Amazon.com for about $35 plus $11 shipping (it ships from the UK), I highly recommend it.

And no, I don't own one. But soon, soon, it will be mine. LOL

In other culinary news, I spent my gift card at Bed, Bath & Beyond on Sunday. It was $25 but using a couple of 20% off coupons and a $5 off your order coupon I saved more than $10. Sweet.

I bought: stainless steel measuring cups (the welds broke on my last set), a microplane (which I am most excited about ... I know, sad), and a green marble mortar and pestle set (which will do until the Flavour Shaker arrives).

And, last geeky thing (for now, anyway): when my mom and dad were here my mom bought me a label maker. *Sigh* It's a DYMO LetraTag. It prints italics, underlines, outlines, and has all kinds of cool tapes ... including magnetic, metallic, clear, and my very favorite ... iron on. Yep. I am totally stoked about it. Thanks Mom!