Five Things in My Kitchen

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efused to die. Not that fruit flies are the worst infestations to deal with (fire ants, wasps, rats come to mind as worse problems to have), but after several weeks of swatting them away we built a trap. Red wine, a slice of ripe banana, and a few drops of dish soap in a glass have proved to be amazingly effective. And, I like to think the little dudes and dudettes go in a red wine haze that eases their passing.</p><figure id="dcad"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*TDBT5fWF7KVjxebi9NEwyw.png"><figcaption>For when I get the urge to throw knives… [Image: Nikki Tate]</figcaption></figure><h2 id="6bbf">3. The Magnetic Knife Rack</h2><p id="c832">The two magnetic knife racks in the kitchen are so cool. The magnets are way stronger than you’d think — I can release a knife close to the rack and <i>bam, </i>it flies out of my hand and thunks into place alongside the others! It’s creepy and fun and all good unless I think about an intruder breaking in one night and selecting a weapon from those on display… Don’t go there, Nikki. Just don’t go there.</p><figure id="06d4"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*PfPzIS3E-vH6CUBEw_iuDA.png"><figcaption>Even in this day and age of texting and emails, I still love to send (and receive) postcards. [Image: Nikki Tate]</figcaption></figure><h2 id="a587">4. A Postcard from San Francisco</h2><p id="e262">One of my favourite cities in the world! I was lucky enough to ha

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ve a brief (a few hours) visit to San Francisco last year with my daughter and I sent this postcard to my hubby at home along with a message saying we need to go back to SF together. Each time I see the card I’m reminded there was a time before COVID when we were able to travel freely and there will be a time in the future when such trips will be possible again… I. Can’t. Wait.</p><figure id="8b8a"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*hLTJwaFHVr-LIHt84QEKpg.png"><figcaption>Not all salt is created equal. [Image: Nikki Tate]</figcaption></figure><h2 id="a9be">5. Last Grains of Salt</h2><p id="2397">Speaking of fond memories and great trips, I brought this most excellent salt back from the Camargue in France last year. Back in Canmore, we conducted blind taste tests comparing this gourmet salt and regular table salt and the difference was remarkable. Who knew?</p><figure id="91af"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*Qztmg5OTzuzqP6YpEosoDw.png"><figcaption>Too hot to handle… [Image: Nikki Tate]</figcaption></figure><h2 id="62a3">Bonus: Random Garage Sale Find</h2><p id="2ee7">I suspect this isn’t actually edible, but it looks cool sitting on the counter. I think it lends an air of ‘foodie’ to the place. And, for 25 cents, how could we go wrong?</p><p id="dd56"><i>Want to play along? Tag me in your ‘Five Things’ photo essay. I’d love to see what goodies you have in your kitchen…</i></p></article></body>

1. The Kitchen Witch

My husband brought a kitchen witch to our joint kitchen when we fused households. I assumed it was an Italian tradition, but it turns out there’s some debate over where the idea to have a good luck witch in the kitchen actually originated. There are many references to German and Scandinavian kitchen witches, which is ironic as my German mother had a deep aversion to spending any time in the kitchen. Maybe that’s because she didn’t have a witch hanging around to encourage her.

I must confess I can’t decide whether our witch is cute or kind of scary. Not as scary as the knives (see #3) but creepy in a staring-doll kind of way.

Low tech fruit fly attraction system… [Image: Nikki Tate]

2. The Fruit Fly Graveyard

We rarely have trouble with fruit flies here in the cool, rarified air of the Rockies. Recently, though — clouds of them emerged from the compost pail under the sink and, once released, they refused to die. Not that fruit flies are the worst infestations to deal with (fire ants, wasps, rats come to mind as worse problems to have), but after several weeks of swatting them away we built a trap. Red wine, a slice of ripe banana, and a few drops of dish soap in a glass have proved to be amazingly effective. And, I like to think the little dudes and dudettes go in a red wine haze that eases their passing.

For when I get the urge to throw knives… [Image: Nikki Tate]

3. The Magnetic Knife Rack

The two magnetic knife racks in the kitchen are so cool. The magnets are way stronger than you’d think — I can release a knife close to the rack and bam, it flies out of my hand and thunks into place alongside the others! It’s creepy and fun and all good unless I think about an intruder breaking in one night and selecting a weapon from those on display… Don’t go there, Nikki. Just don’t go there.

Even in this day and age of texting and emails, I still love to send (and receive) postcards. [Image: Nikki Tate]

4. A Postcard from San Francisco

One of my favourite cities in the world! I was lucky enough to have a brief (a few hours) visit to San Francisco last year with my daughter and I sent this postcard to my hubby at home along with a message saying we need to go back to SF together. Each time I see the card I’m reminded there was a time before COVID when we were able to travel freely and there will be a time in the future when such trips will be possible again… I. Can’t. Wait.

Not all salt is created equal. [Image: Nikki Tate]

5. Last Grains of Salt

Speaking of fond memories and great trips, I brought this most excellent salt back from the Camargue in France last year. Back in Canmore, we conducted blind taste tests comparing this gourmet salt and regular table salt and the difference was remarkable. Who knew?

Too hot to handle… [Image: Nikki Tate]

Bonus: Random Garage Sale Find

I suspect this isn’t actually edible, but it looks cool sitting on the counter. I think it lends an air of ‘foodie’ to the place. And, for 25 cents, how could we go wrong?

Want to play along? Tag me in your ‘Five Things’ photo essay. I’d love to see what goodies you have in your kitchen…

Five Things…