A Few of My Favourite Things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens;
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens;
Brown paper packages tied up with strings;
These are a few of my favorite things.

Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels;
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles;
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings;
These are a few of my favorite things.

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes;
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes;
Silver-white winters that melt into springs;
These are a few of my favorite things.

When the dog bites,
When the bee stings,
When I’m feeling sad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don’t feel so bad.

Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers

When Mara challenged all her bloging friends to disclose and describe our favourite kitchen items I thought completing the task would be a doddle.  How silly of me.  The task was actually very tricky, electrical items weren’t allowed so my beloved Kitchen Aid food mixer and blender couldn’t be included, and I have only recently refurbished my kitchen so it is full of memory inducing items – which ones should I choose? 

After much deliberation here are the items which have the most sentimental meaning to me:

Olive Oil Decanter & Pinocchio

These items are relatively new to me but hold a wonderful key to my memory.  They were gifts to me whilst in Italy on holiday.  The handmade decanter is from Deruta, a small hillside town in Perugia a province of Umbria, which is famous for it’s ceramics.  My Italian language skills aren’t brilliant, although they are improving.  The conversation I had with the artist who decorated this decanter will be forever in my mind, somehow through odd words of Italian and English and lots of non verbal signs we managed to discuss what design I wanted, when it could be collected and how much it would cost.  Hard going, but very worth it.

Pinocchio was a gift from my parents, bought in Assisi at a dedicated Pinocchio store where they were hand carved and painted.  The skill observed was amazing.  Truly stunning.  He’s now become a kind of good luck sign for the kitchen, or perhaps I should say la Lucina.

Spice Unit

I absolutely love my ‘spice unit’ which was custom made for our kitchen.  We had our kitchen refurbished last year and this was one of my many specifications.

The spice tins are from The Spice Shop in London, who are I have to say a delightful company with excellent service and produce.  I currently have 49 spices/herbs on here and many of them were gifts from my lovely friend Francesca in Israel.  I love getting parcels of spices from her as there is always something delightful to be had.

The little tea pot was a gift from Edda as part of a Nigella swap (run through her forum but by forum members independent of the administrative staff).  It’s so pretty and almost all my guests comment on it.

The paprika tins are from Ronda in Spain and although now long since empty they remain there as mementos of many a happy holiday there.  As does the ‘Madrid pot’ which was in fact bought in Nerja (Spain) charity store for 1 €, what a bargain.

The little ruby stone was a gift from Het a friend of mine in Holland, as a good luck gift for the new kitchen.  As all has gone well so far I can only assume that it has worked well.  Thank you Het!!

All Purpose Pot & Utensils

The all purpose pot is from Nigella Lawson’s Living Kitchen collection, an amazingly attractive selection of kitchenware.  I coveted the pot (which is actually a couscoussiere) but I denied myself the joy of buying it for a long time due to the expense.  Then the incentive came along in the form of a signed copy of Feast: Food That Celebrates Life (Nigella Lawson) when a certain amount of money was spent at an on-line store – hence I leaped at the chance to get the book, the pot and a few other items too.  I never need much of a push when it comes kitchenware and books.

My utensils are housed in an old pasta pot which I bought at a Church fête several years ago.  The implement with a tartan bow is a spurtle from Australia, sent by my good friend Sally.  It’s hand carved and the thought that went into getting me one was enough to bring me to tears, good, happy tears though.  The generosity of my friends never fails to astonish me. 

Last but not least …

My two faithful friends Eric and Murphy the Irish Setters. They’re never far from me when I’m in the kitchen. No doubt, more interested in searching for food scraps (which they don’t get from the table) than learning any cookery skills, lol, but it’s always a pleasure to have them with me. 

Thank you to Mara for this challenge, it’s been a great deal of fun and very thought provoking.