Please Meet The Skinny Beet

Posted on October 12, 2011 by TheSmallBostonKitchen

Please allow me to back up and bit, to this day last year to tell you a little story…Last year at this time, if one more person told me that “things would change when I least expected it”, I was going to stab myself with a rubber spatula (okay, maybe that’s a tad dramatic). But, as it turns out, that advice was right and one year ago, today, things did change when I least expected it.

October 2010, Back Bay Social Club

It had been an awful day at work and I was debating not even going to an event at the newly opened Back Bay Social Club – sweatpants, tv and a solo glass of wine seemed much more comforting to me than socializing. But I blame the intrigue of a new restaurant as well as the suggestion that maybe it would do me well to be out and to have fun. So I went. It was raining that day as I trudged there, still debating my choice to go. But once in and settled, I was having fun. I snagged a seat at the end of a table full of bloggers and just before the food started to come out to the table, a dark haired man had arrived late and sat next to me.

I had never met him before but was instantly drawn to his friendly, laid back attitude. He introduced himself as Richard and we talked practically the whole night. He was a personal chef – something at the time I had wanted to learn more about. Once the evening had ended, we had loosely talked about meeting up for lunch sometime to talk more. It seemed like a polite offer and one that I hadn’t taken seriously until, sadly, a friend of mine passed away and I wrote this post. Earlier, that day, before I heard the news, I chose a light salad over the burger that I really wanted to order. My friend’s passing had made me realize how short life was. Why hadn’t I stopped for a moment to enjoy life, worry less and get what I really wanted to eat? A polite and sympathetic response from Richard included an invitation to get a that burger. And that’s how this story really starts..

We met at Post 390 for our first burger. He talked about what it was like to be a personal chef as well as culinary school. I, feeling like I had been at a crossroads in my life, felt like his story was so closely related to mine. I had been waiting for the answer on what to do for so long and there it was, right in front of me. I realized that I wanted to go to Culinary School. It was a Friday and I went back to work and spent the rest of the afternoon researching schools and crunching some numbers. By Sunday evening, I had completed my application and by mid-week, had sent it out.

As the story goes, I took a deep breath and quit my job this past December, went to school and graduated from the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts this May. All the while, I met up with Richard once a week, on Fridays, for a burger. It wasn’t too long before he was making me laugh so hard, I cried and we became close friends. Our hour-long lunches grew to three hour food-talking marathons. And then, it just sort of happened. I fell in love with a Burger Boy. Last month, we moved in together and today, on this one year anniversary of our meeting, we celebrate not only our meeting, but the announcement of our official venture into business together. We had been teaming up in the kitchen, and now we’re teaming up in the blogasphere as well and today we launch our joint venture, The Skinny Beet.

How did we decide on that name? In Polish, Richard’s last name translates loosely to mean “skinny”. My last name translates to mean “beet soup”. We put our hands together and came up with The Skinny Beet. We invite you to check out our new site, which will be launched later today. In the meantime, you can “like” us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter. We’re planning to use our new space as a medium to talk about our mutual passion for food. We’re going to share our lives as personal chefs and caterers as well as talk about our life at home and what we’re cooking up in our kitchen.

As today is a personally important day for us, we’ve been asked what we’re doing to celebrate..to answer that, quite simply, we’re doing what we love best – we’re spending time in the kitchen, cooking up the best food we know how to make for one of our regular clients as well as catering a dinner party this evening – and I can’t think of any better way to celebrate than that.

A Dinner to Impress: Kind-of Chicken Saltimbocca w/ Spicy Fries

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Eatliveblog

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, there is a chance you heard me bragging about this dinner the other night. I believe what I said was “the dinner I made tonight was insane! I still have the flavors dancing on my tongue.” Now, that may seem a little dramatic, but wait until you make this dinner, you’ll get it…

I put out an SOS to Twitter for dinner ideas involving chicken cutlets, and Lena mentioned she was making America’s Test Kitchen’s Chicken Saltimbocca that evening. That was all the inspiration I needed! My recipe formed in my head as I mentally took inventory of what I had in my kitchen. Unfortunately that inventory did not include sage or prosciutto, which is how we ended up with “Kind-of Chicken Saltimbocca”.

For some reason my mind would not let go of serving my dinner with spicy fries, even though I was confused about the combination, and not sure it would work. Maybe it is just because I have habaneros on the brain. But boy did it ever work! This is a dinner I will be remembering for a long, long time, you know, the kind that makes you sad when it is gone…

Kind-of Chicken Saltimbocca

Ingredients

5 or 6 chicken cutlets
Paprika
Adobo Seasoning (or seasoning salt if you don’t have Adobo)
Pepper
4 oz Cream Cheese (I used reduced fat)
10 oz frozen spinach (thawed and squeezed of excess juice)
1 large garlic clove (peeled)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Juice of 1 lemon
14oz Chicken Broth
You will also need toothpicks (woods, not plastic)

Directions:

In a food processor or blender, combine spinach, cream cheese and garlic clove
Pulse until well mixed
Sprinkle both sides of each chicken cutlet with paprika, Adobo and pepper (use your judgement in how much seasoning you like)
Take 1 heaping tablespoon of spinach mixture and place it at the beginning of one long end of a cutlet.
Roll the cutlet over the spinach until you get to the other end of the cutlet
Secure this end with a toothpick
Close both sides of the chicken roll-up using a toothpick for each side
Heat olive oil in a large frying pan with high sides
When oil is hot, add chicken rolls
Brown chicken rolls on each side, about 3 – 5 minutes
Add chicken broth and lemon juice to the pan
Use a wooden spoon to stir up any of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan
Bring to a boil
Cover and allow to boil slowly for 20 minutes
Remove chicken from pan. Place on a plate and cover with foil
With lid removed, allow sauce to boil rapidly for about 5 -10 minutes or until it has reduced to half (make sure to keep an eye on it and stir frequently)
Remove the toothpicks from your chicken rolls
Plate chicken with sauce drizzled over the top, and extra sauce on the side

Spicy Fries

Ingredients:

2 large Idaho Potatoes (washed well)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 habanero (washed, seeds removed, sliced)
1 garlic clove (peeled and diced)
1/2 tsp Adobo Seasoning (or seasoning salt)
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Paprika

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
Cut potatoes into shoe-string sized fries
Rinse potatoes well
Place cut potatoes, habaneros and garlic in a bowl or a large ziplock bag
Drizzle olive oil over potatoes
In a bowl, mix together the seasonings
Sprinkle seasoning mixture over the potatoes
Mix everything very well (or shake if using a bag)
Place potatoes in a 2 quart casserole pan
Bake for 15 minutes, stir and repeat until potatoes are desired “doneness”
Cooking time will depend on the cut of your potato and the dish you use, but should take about 40 minutes
I give mine a 5 minute broil at the end to make them crispier. If you do this, make sure to keep an eye on them because they will burn fast!

Purple Sweet Potato Vegetable Soup with Sausage

Posted on September 22, 2011 by TheSmallBostonKitchen

I have always loved the start of fall – and I even welcome the realization that flip-flops can no longer be my default choice of footwear and I have to reach for a sweater instead of a tank top. To me, there’s something so renewing and enticing about the change in seasons. Ripe summer berries are no longer present in my grocery bag and instead, I’m creating meals that are based around root vegetables and at least once a week, a big pot of soup or stew is simmering away on my stove.

Oh soup. How I love thee.

I’ve always thought that the trick to a really great soup (besides ample simmer time and seasoning it properly) is to add at least one surprising ingredient or component to the mix. Bonus points if there are two, but it shouldn’t be much more than that. Soup, after all, should be kept simple, but that doesn’t mean that it has to be boring. I find that the addition of a few surprise ingredients is what keeps things interesting and begs people to ask the question, in between hearty slurps and satisfied grins, what is in here?

With this soup, the two elements of surprise are purple sweet potatoes, which taste like regular sweet potatoes but are purple (fun!), and Harissa, a spicy paste of mixed peppers and spices that hail from Africa. (For the locals: both of these items can be found at Russo’s in Watertown.) Fear not if you can’t find these two ingredients though, a regular sweet potato will do just fine and you can swap the Harissa for another spicy component – chipotle or any hot sauce you may have on hand. But if you can find this duo, give them a try. Not only are the colors fantastic, but the flavors are really something.

This soup gets it’s hardiness from a wide array of vegetables – sweet potatoes, leeks, carrots, parsnips and spinach, its richness from two sweet Italian sausage links and its body from lentils that were thrown in at the last minute to help thicken it up. When making this soup, I suggest you make extra; you’ll want to enjoy the leftovers.

Purple Sweet Potato Vegetable Soup with Sausage

- 2 Sweet Sausage Links, casings removed
- 1 purple sweet potato, peeled and cubed
- 3-4 parsnips, chopped
- 1 large carrot, sliced into thick rounds
- 1 leek, white part only, washed and thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup lentils, rinsed
- 1/2 bag baby spinach
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- Harissa – to taste
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling
- Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat a large stock pot on medium-high heat. Drizzle olive oil and add sausage. Allow it to brown on all side and break it up into small bits. Add all of the vegetables (except the spinach) and cover generously with water and add the rosemary. Season the water with salt and add the Harissa to taste, cover and let simmer (do not boil). Just before the vegetables are done, add the lentils and let them simmer until just done. Add the spinach, check for seasoning before serving.

Things to do in the Fall in New England

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Eatliveblog

First, the winner of the Yogi Support is: Daniel Neely! Congrats Daniel, I will email you today!

____________________________________________________________

Fall in New England is something you really can’t even fully appreciate unless you see it in person. The air is crisp, clean and cool. The sky is bright blue. The trees turn colors that can’t even be described. In a word, it really is just beautiful.

So, how do you make the best of Fall in New England? Here is a list of my personal must experience activities between the end of September and November in New England.

Life is Good Festival (9/24 – 9/25/11), Canton, MA:

Honestly, there is no better way to celebrate this weather than with an outdoor music festival.

The Life is good Festival is a one-of-a-kind fundraiser event taking place the weekend of September 24th & 25th at Prowse Farm in Canton, MA. The festival is a two-day celebration of music and optimism, featuring three stages of nationally known musical talent, hands-on games, interactive arts activities, and the “Good Kids” zone — home to the top acts in kids entertainment. 100% of Life is good’s profits from the Festival will go towards The Life is good Playmakers, helping kids overcome life-threatening challenges such as violence, illness and extreme poverty.

Plus, our personal favorite Martin Sexton is playing. Don’t know who Martin is? Well, you should, so head to the Life is Good Festival!

Apple Picking: Russell Orchards, Ipswich, MA:

Apple picking is the quintessential New England Fall activity. But you want to make sure you choose the right location. The truth is, its hard to go wrong when picking an orchard. Any day spent in beautiful autumn weather amongst produce you pick yourself is a good day. Here is a great list of all the orchards in MA.

But for my 2 cents worth, Russell Orchard is the place to go. Besides being spread out so you don’t feel like you are stuck in a herd, Russell also has the best cider donuts you can find. You can actually watch them being made! If you haven’t had a fresh (still hot) out of the oven cider donut…well….go get one!

And once you are done apple picking. Let the cooking and eating begin!

Wachusett Mountain Fall Festivals 10/15 – 10/16 & 10/22 – 10/23

This is actually my VERY favorite activity in New England. Put aside the fun craft fair that is always there. Put aside the great food and vendors that are always there. Lets focus on what I think is the highlight of Fall. The ski lift through the foliage. You have got to experience this at least once in your life time. It is a 5 -10 minute ride to the top of the mountain surrounded by vibrant, colorful nature.

Once at the top of the mountain, you have the option to get off the lift and head to the mountain lookout, and even hike around…if you are dressed for it

If you asked me about one fall activity you MUST do while in New England. This is definitely it!

The Head of the Charles 10/22 – 10/23, Cambridge, MA

You know you have seen a million movies where the Ivy League kids are rowing through picturesque Harvard Square. Well, during the Head of the Charles Festival you can see it in real life! Watch as the best of the best from all over the world compete in this premier crew event. While the races are happening, stroll along the Charles and catch some live music, all types of free samples from various brands, craft and food vendors.

Halloween in Salem, MA

Now, I have never been to the main Halloween night street festival in Salem. From everything I have heard it is quite a bit like Mardi Gras. Honestly, I have outgrown that type of thing. BUT, there are so many fun activities surrounding the event! The entire month of October in Salem is something to behold. The ghost tours, the haunted houses, the street fairs…it is all worth the drive to this ghostly town!

Hot Chocolate at LA Burdick, Cambridge, MA

Warning: This hot chocolate is NOT for the faint of heart, or just the “casual” chocolate enthusiast. This hot chocolate is for the crazies. The ones who dream about drinking chocolate from Willy Wonka’s chocolate waterfall. Personally, I can only handle the demi size, it is that intense. You can choose from skim, low-fat, whole or soy milk and then white, milk or dark chocolate. Even with skim milk, this chocolate will knock you off of your feet and warm your soul!

And that is my summary of New England must see Fall events! What is your favorite Fall activity?

Blueberry Dessert

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Yogurt and Berries

Totally sharing a family recipe here today! Hope that’s OK Nanny! Some recipes are just too delicious not to share

I mentioned this one a week or so ago. I brought this to Tina and Mal’s Pig roast!

Everyone seemed to really like it, and of course everyone was asking what it was. Well, in my family we call it “Blueberry Dessert”.

Not very descript, but those two words can get anyone in my family excited!

Basically, it’s a 4-layer dessert:

graham cracker crust bottom
a cheesecake-y layer
a blueberry layer
and a whipped cream/marshmallow topping

Sounds pretty good right?

I’ll give you both versions…the original, and my adjustments. Now a days, the original version is just a bit too sweet for my taste, so I like to cut back on the sugar where I can.

I made “my” version for the pig roast, and don’t think anyone missed the sugar based on the reactions

Blueberry Dessert

Layer 1: Graham Cracker Crust

24 Graham Crackers (and by 24, that means 12 full sheets. i.e. a s’mores is technically made with 2 graham crackers or 1 full sheet…you follow??)
1/4 cup butter, melted

I cut back to 3T and add 1T of water

1/4 cup sugar

I leave this out. In my opinion graham crackers are sweet enough as is.

Place crackers in a food processor and pulse until crushed. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until all combined. [If you don’t have a food processor, place grahams in a large ziploc bag and, using a rolling pin, roll them out/crush them until they are a course sand consistency. Then mix all ingredients together in a bowl.]

Pour crust out into a 9×13 pan (I like to spray it with cooking spray first), and press crust evenly into the bottom of the pan.

Bake at 350 for 12-14 min.

While the crust is baking, getting working on the next layer.

Layer 2: Cream Cheese

1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened at room temp

I used reduced fat/Neufchatel cream cheese

1 cup sugar

I use 2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

Beat all ingredients until creamy. Pour over your crust once it’s out of the oven. Now put the whole thing back in the oven (still at 350) for 15-20 min, until slightly browned.

(well mine wasn’t really browned, but it was set)

Once Layer 2 is baked, you can now turn off the oven and let this cool.

Layer 3: The Blueberries

1 can blueberry pie filling
add in fresh blueberries (optional)

OR, make your own blueberry filling, which is what I do:

1 1/2 – 2 pints of fresh blueberries (or a bag of frozen)
water
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/4 sugar (or more to taste)
1 T corn starch

Place berries into a medium sauce pan. Add enough water to come just about halfway up the blueberries. Place pan over med-high heat until boiling.

Reduce heat to med-med low, add sugar and lemon juice. Cook for 10-15 min or until blueberries start to break down. Mix the cornstarch with 1T of water to dissolve it before adding to the berries. Bring the heat back up a bit, to get the mixture boiling again. Pour in the cornstarch/water while whisking the mixture at the same time until it’s thoroughly mixed in.

Continue cooking for 4-5 more minutes, until it’s cooked down a little more. The mixture will also thicken up as it cools.

Once cool, pour over the other layers.

Layer 4 – Whipped Cream/Marshmallow

1/4 lb marshmallows (about 1/2 of a typical bag)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream

Add marshmallows and milk to the top bowl of a double boiler set to med-high heat. Cook until marshmallows melt and the mixture is smooth.

Let this cool!! It may separate as it cools, that happened to me, and it was fine.

Then, whip heavy cream in a separate bowl on medium speed until it thickens up/stiffens to whipped cream consistency. This takes just a few minutes depending on your mixer. I just use a handheld mixer for this.

Take this whipped cream and add it to the COOLED marshmallow mixture. Fold in. If you had separation issues, just take your mixer and whip this together for another minute or two. That worked for me.

Spread final layer on top. Chill at least 1 hour in the fridge before serving

I had to go back for seconds.

This is a great dessert to bring to a party! Everyone I know that has tried it, has loved it. My family goes nuts for it. It’s a winner

Duckfat, Portland, ME

Posted on July 25, 2011 by DeliciousDishings

On the way back from the wedding, we just had to stop in at Duckfat in Portland, ME to see what all the fuss is about. Receiving a lot of buzz from all sorts of publications (i.e. Food and Wine, Travel and Leisure, Martha Stewart and Oprah, to name a few) this quirky little spot attracts quite the crowd. Arriving around 1 PM, we waited about 20 minutes for two seats along the wall in the dimly lit and very cozy dining room, which had walls that were coated with quirky magnetic poetry, providing endless amounts of fun while we waited.

We placed our order and went for what they are most famous for – large fries and a vanilla milkshake (an obvious healthy choice, of course). After playing with the magnetic poetry for a bit, a tall cone of golden, salty fries was placed in front of us, accompanied by a cute, little glass jar of truffle ketchup.

Truffle Ketchup

The fries were outstanding and some of the best fries I’ve ever had. Golden brown and crispy on the outside with a soft potatoey center, I could see what all the hype was about. They were salted perfectly with a blended salt mixture and the best part to me was that each fry had a slightly different texture to it. All were crispy on the outside but some were softer in the inside while others were more dense. It was a welcome variation in textures that kept things interesting. Duckfat fries are also fried in duckfat (hence the name) and to my knowledge, I haven’t had a duckfat fry before. While I can’t say my palate noticed a huge flavor difference, there was a little indescribable something special there that made these fries seem more luxurious.

Vanilla Bean Milkshake

Our milkshake arrived to us just as we were reaching the bottom of the cone of fries. Served in a traditional milkshake glass, it had thick chunks of ice cream running through it and it was dotted with vanilla beans. Oddly enough, the milkshake was a disappointment. The fries were executed so perfectly and packed with so much flavor, the milkshake seemed to pale in comparison and lacked a strong vanilla flavor that I was hoping for.

While I think that there’s a big world of food and restaurants out there to experience, should I find myself in Portland again, I would certainly return for the fries (and skip the milkshake).

A Catered Affair – HeyWire Burgers

Posted on July 22, 2011 by TheSmallBostonKitchen

Grilled Portabellas

One of the cool things about my job is that my “office” keeps changing. Last weekend we were cooking beef tenderloin out of a countryside home in Maine. A couple nights earlier, we were grilling up burgers and chicken at a rooftop party in Cambridge. If there’s anything I love as much as the cooking itself, it’s the change in venue and excitement of the challenges that go along with each event.

The Rooftop Venue

This past Thursday, HeyWire hired Burger Boy and I to cater their open house rooftop party, serving up – what other than – burgers! We showed up at their office, armed with trays full of hand packed patties, burger condiments, bags full of buns and we got right to work, cooking for the 60-100 people that we had expected. With one grill it was tricky to cook everything but we were feeling good. Here’s a peek at our menu:

Argentinian Steakhouse Burger

Cilantro-Mint Chimichurri, Fresh Sea Salted Tomatoes

The Bacon Burger

Caramelized Bacon Jam, American Cheese

Spice Rubbed Chicken Kebabs

Cilantro-Citrus Mustard Marinade

Portabella Mushroom Sandwiches

Whipped Red Pepper and Goad Cheese Spread, Olive Oil Ciabatta

I was able to snap a couple of pictures at the beginning of the event but then, we were swamped by masses of hungry party goers and sadly, not a picture of a burger was taken.

Sea Salted Tomatoes, ready for the burgers!

One of the biggest challenges we have as caterers is being able to predict the amount of food needed. We base our numbers on the information that we’re given and what the client wants. In this case, the client anticipated 60-100 guests and we had a fixed budget to work with. At one point I was able to look up from my burger assembling station and assumed that twice the number of people showed and all were hungry – HeyWire knows how to throw a party! At one point, I couldn’t help but feel like I was on an episode of the Next Food Network Star. I had a mob of people huddled around me, watching me furiously assemble burgers and shouting out questions. “What’s in the bacon jam!?” “How did you make it?” “What’s Chimichurri?” It was a little overwhelming but exciting at the same time to have so many people interested in the food that we were preparing.

Chicken ready for the grill

I’ll consider it a compliment that 190 sliders were polished off within the first 45 minutes! The chicken was next to go (we had 10 lbs of it) and the mushroom sandwiches got finished before they even hit the table. We were amazed at how quickly the food got devoured and we were flattered by the compliments. Special thanks to HeyWire for hosting such a fun event!

The view from the grill

Giveaway: $10 Toward Subs At Betty Ann’s Or Pauli’s

Posted on July 22, 2011 by DeliciousDishings

Eversave is having a sandwich showdown! Today’s save is $5 for $10 worth of subs and sandwiches at Betty Ann’s Sub Shop in Danvers, Mass., or Pauli’s in Boston’s North End.

Courtesy of Eversave

Courtesy of Eversave

I’m giving away one of these saves plus $5 in save rewards!

To enter to win, leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite sandwich shop. And please note which save you would like if you win.

For another chance to win, tweet “I want to win free sandwiches from @EversaveBOS and @DeliciousDish!” and leave me a separate comment letting me know that you tweeted.

If you don’t already, please like Eversave on Facebook and follow them on Twitter!

You have until 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, July 24, 2011, to enter. Please make sure you leave me some way to contact you if you don’t automatically link back to a blog with contact info.

Also, check out Eversave’s Facebook page for a fun contest where you can win a Cusinart panini press!

Mango Melon Smoothie

Posted on July 21, 2011 by EatwellwithJanel

Beginning this month, I’ll be participating in the Recipe ReDux, which is a new cooking challenge founded by three dietitian pals. Believing that healthy eating should be (and can be) delicious, the aim with the ReDux is to reinvent the idea of healthy eating with a taste-first approach. Each month there will be a different food theme and on the 21st of each month, all the ReDux-ers will have our recipes posted within that theme. At the bottom of each post, you can click on the link to the other “ReDuxers” and see what delicious dishes they have created. This week’s theme is beverages!

Since Funk and I are huge smoothie drinkers, I knew that’d be my beverage of choice for the ReDux recipe. Throughout the winter, we’ll typically make fruit smoothies with frozen fruit (thank goodness Trader Joe’s has a great selection – berries, pineapple, mango galore). But in the summer, I’ve been experimenting a bit more with stone fruits, melons, and tropical coconut flavors.

I had a nice ripe honeydew melon sitting on my kitchen table and when I woke up to an already-hot summer Sunday morning recently, I new I wanted to churn it into an ice cold, refreshing smoothie to start my morning.

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh or frozen mango, cubed

2+ cups honeydew melon, cubed

1 tray of ice cubes

Blend and sip! Our Vitamix pulverizes the ice cubes like magic, but if your blender isn’t so crushing, you might be better off just blending the frozen mango and honeydew.

It was refreshing, sweet, and a nice break from the usual frozen berry smoothie. I think this would also be divine with some fresh pineapple cubes blended in. Or maybe turn it into an adult beverage by mixing in some rum and topping it with a paper umbrella!

What foods do you enjoy to stay cool in the summer?

A New Dishwasher for the SBK!

Posted on July 20, 2011 by TheSmallBostonKitchen

Last week, I couldn’t help but feel I have a kitchen fairy godmother. I had just been complaining, and I mean really complaining about how annoying it is to do dishes. You see, my Small Boston Kitchen wasn’t blessed with a dishwasher and sometimes I feel like I spend more time washing dishes and cleaning my kitchen than I actually spend preparing the meal itself. It’s annoying, but I’m a kind of a neat freak when it comes to my kitchen, so I deal with the hours of washing and scrubbing and drying because it means I get to do what I love best, and in clean space.

Getting back to last week and my kitchen fairy godmother, out of the blue I received an email from a representative at Air and Water Inc.. They wanted to see if I was interested in testing out the NewAir ADW-2600W portable dishwasher, and get this, it’s specially designed for small kitchens! Like a kid on Christmas morning I eagerly opened up the packaging to reveal a shiny new dishwasher. It’s white exterior reveals plenty of room to hold six place settings.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the person to call when there’s some assembling needed or fixing required but the dishwasher was surprisingly easy to assemble. It was just a matter of plugging in some cords and I was on my way to clean dishes. It has 5 different settings, Heavy, Normal, Light, Speed Wash and Soak and runs quietly, which is an added perk.

I find that most city dwellers are in similar situations. Our buildings are small and for those that like to cook it’s a pain to clean up. Having a mini dishwasher around takes the pain out of it and puts the emphases in the kitchen back to where it should be…the cooking.