Discovery Time: Cooking & Baking Gadgets, American Style

1. GARLIC BAKER

Living with my American husband has introduced me to different things American women-wives and mothers do have (and use) in their kitchen as compared to how things are done back home in the Philippines. Living together as a couple coming from different cultures makes daily life a fun filled time for “discovery times” especially when I am introducing new dishes on the table and vice versa!

One evening mid part of last year, while sipping our wine, husband said his Italian mom (but American born) used to "bake garlic" for hours and hours when he was a kid and the scent of it up to now, remains to be the sweetest memory of his childhood! I was curious, of course. I wanted to bring back that scent so I asked,

"How did she bake garlic-as in bake like a cake-or did she just dump the cloves in the pan and let them bake for hours?"

"No,” he added, “Mom used a special gadget called GARLIC BAKER and she put on the whole garlic head there and then placed the garlic baker in the oven for about an hour or two.”

I replied, “Wow! That’s a lot of time to bake a garlic!”

“Yeah," he said, “but it tasted really good!” Seeing the inner child coming out of his system and apparently quite happy I decided one day I am going to bake one for him and buy this stuff. He continued,

“And while baking, it just smelled really wonderful- imagine the scent of terra cotta and the garlic baking inside the oven.”

(My translation: Wow the scent of earth and garlic in the oven…isn’t that a bit weird? I was laughing impishly)

One day, we were walking along Union Square in San Francisco and we happened to be in one of the branches of Sur la Table. In there, husband was delighted to see a GARLIC BAKER! Immediately, he called me then presto- I saw it at last, cha-ran! I was expecting something bigger but when we came near it, it was just a simple terra-cotta container with a cover and a plate. The holder (which is garlic shaped) is cute but the price isn’t really cute, ngeek! Anyhow, so we got the larger one of the two types on display. Once home, I was very excited and tried using it ASAP and baked in it, read the instruction and started the work! Wow! Well, I’d say, it was creamy and tasted good. But I love crunchy and crispy food and having grown up in the Philippines where we sautéed garlic in oil, this creamy garlic was a bit new for me. I guess I am still in the process of developing my tastte for it! And what does the old saying goes? MEN LOVE THE FOOD THEIR MOTHERS COOKED FOR THEM IN THEIR CHILDHOOD. Can't beat that!


2. BROWN SUGAR SAVER

Still in the same shop (Sur La Table)~I encountered this “Brown Sugar Saver” over the counter and wondered, "what is this?" So I found out that this keeps sugar soft and flavorful as the day one bought it. Wow! It helps retain its fresh taste and keeps it from getting rock hard bricks. Brown sugar stays moist to keep true molasses flavor with the help of this gadget (we never had this in the Philippines, being a tropical country- in the summer, brown sugar melts on it own-we don't need this gadget in the Philippines...haha).

In its literature found in the packet it said, “just soak disk in water, pat dry and slip into bag or canister. Keeps coconut, raisins or cookies fresh, too. Terra cotta disk is 2 1/4" diameter.” Of course, I got 2! I for me and one for my little sister Balloon who loves to bake and cook like me!

2. BREAD WARMER

I saw this one two weeks ago in the same shop (Sur la Table). I was trying not to be an impulsive/compulsive buyer so I didn’t get one. But it seems to make baking bread to be more interesting to me if I got one like this! And I was imagining how nice to have it- warm my bread covered with linen in the bowl or basket…then fine dining and drinking becomes a real treat for husband and I! Anyhow, luckily I got one yesterday at the yard sale- brand new and cheap at $1.00 only, as opposed to the pricey tag in Sur la Table. As it is, it warms the bread. The trick is to bake it at 350 degrees oven for a few minutes then place it underneath your baguette or sourdough, cover it with linen,et voila, your bread (home baked or bought) should be perfect! The magic of east-west marriage is here. We deal with a lot of things related to adjustments and flexibility yet we gel. The whole dynamic of this marriage is to blend two cultures and it works and it all starts from the kitchen- from gadgets, to utensils- ingredients to a multitude of things!