Kitchen Tools That Resemble Pets I Want, Part I.

It's been quiet here.
Even my usual quiet-time posting fallback, the NYC waterways, have had some disturbances, and the time just hasn't been right. But even as I work on other projects, I continue to cook and bake and think about making a home. I've struggled this year with the content of this writing, with domesticity in general and mine in specific. There's a lot that can go unsaid. But even as I've been quiet here, some nice people have continued to send me interesting products and books to enjoy and review, and I wanted to take a moment to highlight a few of these.

The first was a gift from NewMetro Design, a Rose Levy Beranbaum line Rose ZestN'est Zester.

As you can see, it has the endearing proportions of a miniature hedgehog, and in fact that's one of my favorite things about it. It's friendly to the hand and aesthetically pleasing. As a tool, it does its job well--the blade is sharp and the little capture bowl is convenient for certain types of fine cheese, spices and zesting, especially in large amounts. I could see its best use being in grating or zesting a large quantity of something in a small space. For small quantities, it's a little less convenient because of the bother of fiddling with all the parts (cover, shield, etc...) when I could just whip out the larger Microplane stick grater.

This is not my hedgehog picture. I did not take it. There are no hedgehogs in NYC.

Back to that hedgehog thing, though, because it's not the least of my concerns. Miniature hedgehogs are the greatest and they're illegal pets in NYC (probably) and that's really too bad. At least I have my ZestN'est.