Brownies and Zucchini

Full Disclosure:  I was invited to a blogger event at Orange Tree imports to check out the store, and chat.  I also received an awesome swag at the event.  I am not being otherwise compensated for this post, and the opinions are (as always) 100% my own!

I’m a sucker for random kitchen gadgets.  If I could have a knife, or spatula, or spoon for each particular spreading, cutting, or chopping job, I would.  Because of this, it should be no surprise that one of my favorite stores in town is Orange Tree Imports. They have been a Monroe Street staple for over 35 years, and one of my favorite places in town to shop for kitchen things, gourmet foods, and gifts for myself and others.  They are local, filled to the brim with fun, functional, and hard to find items, and a must stop for anyone shopping on Monroe Street.

Last week I attended a Food Blogger gathering at Orange Tree.  It was a great time!  I got to sip wine, and eat some tasty treats while chatting with other bloggers about our favorite foodie things.  All the while I was making a mental list of some of my favorite things in the store to share with you!  Some of which I already own and are amazing, and other things that I would love to have and will be going on my Christmas list! (Even if you aren’t interested in what I would get, stick around for a fun contest at the end of the post!)

In no particular order, here is what I would buy if I had $100 to spend on gadgets at Orange Tree Imports:

Twixit Bag Clips – $9.98 – I LOVE these.  I use them to seal up everything – bags of chips, coffee, chocolate chips, frozen foods, and more.  The smaller sizes in particular come in handy when using a larger chip clip would be a bit excessive.  (like on a bag of chocolate chips.)

Wilton Icing Colors – $11.99 – Ok, so these are maybe just on the edge of being considered a “gadget” but they definitely are one of my recent favorite kitchen things.  A few years ago I took a cake decorating class and one of the most valuable (and easiest) pieces of information that I took away from it was to use gel food colorings.  Not only does it not thin out your icing, but they also make much brighter and more saturated colors. Yes, they are a bit more expensive than what you could buy other liquid food coloring for, but you use a lot less, so they last a lot longer.

Burton Egg Perfect Color Changing Egg Timer – $7.50 – I know this seems a bit ridiculous and unnecessary, but I’ve written before about how I use one of these gadgets to make sure my hard boiled eggs are properly cooked.  It works so well and it makes things so much easier.  Definitely something worth having if you are new to boiling eggs, or just unsure about yourself with cooking techniques like I am.

The Cheese Knife– $15.98 – I had never seen this before, but I feel like I totally need one.  This plastic knife is specially molded in a way that the cheese won’t stick to it!  It does seem a little pricey, but apparently it is one of Orange Tree’s best sellers, and it is so unique I can see why!

OXO Stainless  Liquiseal Travel Mug – $19.98 – This is my favorite travel coffee mug ever.  It keeps liquid warm for many hours, and most importantly it seals REALLY well.  I trust it to not spill or leak so much that on occasion I put it in my purse and don’t worry about it leaking all over anything.  I have this version, and the plastic version, and I like them both.

Lunch Buddies Condiment Container Set – $3.99 – These things are so cute!  Again, maybe on the edge of what a kitchen is, but they seem so handy to have.  Not only for packing a lunch, but also to for travel.  I can also see them being used for storage of homemade dressing.

Le Creuset Butter Crock – $29.99 – I hadn’t ever really seen anything like this until we were all wandering through the store.  Well, that’s not true.  I’m sure I had seen it before but had no idea that it was used for a particular thing.  It is an airtight vessel that keeps the butter soft but also prevents it from spoiling.

The total for all of those things: $99.41.

So, why $100? Because YOU could buy all of these things with a $100 gift certificate that you win from Orange Tree Imports! How do you win it?  Let me give you some more details.

Stop by Orange Tree Imports sometime between today and December 15th and enter to win! Yep, its as simple as that.  And when you enter, be sure to write down that you heard about the contest on my blog because there is a blogger contest going on, too! Might as well do some shopping while you are there, too 🙂

Local Madison friends, head on down to Monroe Street and stop at Orange Tree Imports and enter for your chance to win $100!

So tell me, what is your favorite kitchen gadget??

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Filed under: Words Tagged: | kitchen gadgets, madison, Orange Tree Imports