The Guide to Kitchen Essentials Having the right "stuff" in our kitchens means everything... inside this guide you'll find the best cookware, gadgets, accessories, small appliances, and more - but, no gimmicks, of course. Get inspired to make and share good, clean food. Content, product testing and layout by Borden Communications + Design
There are more products available today than ever before that are designed to make our lives “easier,� many of which are to help us out in the kitchen. But if you have a drawer filled with utensils that serve one single purpose, doesn't it take you more time to rummage through everything to find that banana slicer, and then put everything back into the drawer, than it would to have just used a regular ol' knife? Buying the right stuff means less clutter in our kitchens, our lives, and the landfills, using fewer resources, more money in our wallets, and more tools that actually serve us, rather than aggravate us. If we simplify, it's easier to find what we are looking for when we need it. Plus, having the right tools means we won't need lots of little gimmicks; Just a great, inspiring space to make and share good, clean food.
What should you buy for your kitchen, Local or Organic? It's amazing to me that people argue organic vs. local when it comes to their food. Is organic only for those who don't want toxins in their bodies, and local is reserved only for environmentalists who weigh their food miles? It's actually best that we all strive to be eating local AND organic food, by choosing what's in season. Our grandparents ate “organically” and locally, and they cleaned without chemicals too. Wow, that makes sense! I always got along famously with my grandparents so, as they are amazed with the “progress” of our world, I am interested in some regression back to how they lived as kids it's great that we have a lot to share and learn from each other. Now, let's nip this argument in the locally grown, organically cultivated bud and move forward (or was that backwards?). Why Local? It's fresher - shorter time from farm to table It's tastier - do your own taste test…as an aside, if your food needs to travel far, t's bred to withstand a longer shelf life and is usually picked before it's fully ripe It's healthier - retains more nutrients and has less preservatives and additives because long distance travel is not required It's environmentally sound - long distance travel requires more packaging, refrigeration, fuel to get to table, and generates more waste and pollution (did you ever wonder how produce arrives from Mexico without bruises and without being rotten?) It's cheaper - less middlemen, less marketing and less transportation costs It's neighbourly - money stays in your community, creates jobs and supports local farmers Why Organic? It's tastier - again I suggest doing your own taste test…but without all of the synthetics, it's just pure unaltered delicious food It's healthier - higher levels of vitamins and minerals and less exposure to chemicals and synthetics It's environmentally sound - my farmer friends have given me lots of reasons, but simply, crops grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and GMOs mean fewer of these items are being produced and fewer are being released into our soil and water Keep in mind, your money is your voice. With every dollar you spend, you are telling that farmer or that restaurant or that supermarket or that company to make more of the same. So, YOUR wise choices are a benefit to us all!
Cookware + Bakeware It’s just as important to consider what you are cooking with or on, as it is to choose healthful ingredients. Avoid non-stick coatings, and cook on safe surfaces that won’t leach into your homemade, clean cuisine.
Bake and cook in glass like this and you can
Cast iron is one of the original nonstick cooking
easily and safely go from the oven, to the table,
surfaces. They last forever, and they don’t have
to the fridge, and back again. Yes, they come in a
any nasty PFOA’s (google if you don’t know why
variety of shapes and sizes to bake all of your
we should be avoiding them!) so you won’t be
loaves, casseroles, pies, and more!
eating, or inhaling any toxic sprays or coatings.
Pyrex Glass Bakeware www.pyrex.com
Lodge Seasoned Cast Iron www.lodgemfg.com
A great pot can shorten your cooking time
People have been cooking with stoneware for
(really!), and make your life (or at least your meal
thousands of years. Why? It’s heavy duty,
prep) easier. Salad master claims their cookware
distributes heat evenly, and is free of toxins, so
allows you to cook your food quickly and evenly,
you can bake even crispier fries, or your gram’s
and protects the quality, purity, and flavour.
cookies exactly the same way she made ‘em!
Salad Master www.saladmaster.com
Hartstone Pottery www.hartstonepottery.com
www.lisabordenworks.com
Useful Gadgets If you have great, useful gadgets & not too many of them (important!) , you’ll never need to reach far into cupboards or drawers for these easy to use (and easy to clean!) tools.
The faster you peel your potatoes, the better,
The last thing any of us need is more plastic in
right? We agree with chefs that a straight blade
our kitchen, in our lives, and in our world. So,
peels faster than anything else. This stainless
let’s get it out! Glass is definitely the safest bet,
peeler also has a side cutter to remove blemishes,
and the only way to be sure you are only adding
and make decorative cuts into fruits and veggies.
what your recipe is asking for.
Stainless Steel Peeler
Anchor Hocking
www.swissmar.ca
www.anchorhocking.com
Whether you are mixing or serving hot or cold, it
Take your fave raw veggies and spiralize them
is important to not put any toxic materials into
into delicious (carb-free and fat-free!) noodles or
your food (and not to scratch your pots and
slice them in just minutes. Raw zucchini turns
pans!). Try these utensils made from beachwood
into amazing spaghetti the kids will even eat. It’s
from sustainably managed forests.
safe enough (and fun) for kids to use too.
Beachwood Cooking Utensils
Vegetable Spiral Slicer
www.noplastic.ca
http://amzn.to/Zvp7aD
www.lisabordenworks.com
Super Storage There’s so much plastic in storage these days, it’s sickening, literally. It’s easier than ever to quit buying plastic wrap and containers when there are so many great options (for on the go too!).
Your food stays fresh and ready to go with you in
This reusable, fluid, and air resistant beeswax
these reusable, airtight containers. These glass
coated wrap keeps your leftovers fresh and
goods are incredibly affordable, freezer and
delicious. It’s Canadian made (yay!), reusable and
dishwasher safe, and the thick glass makes them
compostable, so you can say goodbye to toxic,
durable and chip-resistant too.
wasteful, expensive plastic wrap forever!
Frigoverre www.trudeaucorp.com
Abeego www.abeego.ca
Fill these paper bags with anything from fruits
These jars are perfect for storing fresh juice,
and veg, to fresh baked breads, even your
homemade salad dressings, and canning
favourite house plant. They feel like leather, and
preserves! We love them even more than mason
wash like fabric, and are made from virgin fibre
jars because they’re easy to stack, pour from, and
from cultivation, not through deforestation.
the reusable glass lids aren’t lined with BPA!
Uashmama www.uashmama.com
Weck www.weckcanada.ca
www.lisabordenworks.com
Table Toppers After prepping and preparing your local, organic ingredients, present your dishes to your family and friends with tableware that is as conscious and unique as your meals themselves.
These artful drinking glasses are handmade from
Sourcing flatware that isn’t made in China wasn’t
the bottom half of old wine bottles! Wine Punts
easy. Liberty Tabletop says they are the last
recycles thousands of wine bottles each month.
flatware manufacturer in the USA. They use
Every single glass is inspected so you can feel
recycled 18/8 stainless steel, and operations run
good about doing good with every sip you take.
off hydro-electric power from Niagara Falls!
Wine Punts www.winepunts.com
Liberty Tabletop www.libertytabletop.com
Stay clean and tidy with organic cotton napkins.
Don’t you find that food is simply more delicious
Madder Root’s linens are printed and sewn in
when eaten off of a pretty plate? (We think so!).
Maine with organic materials and solvent free
These sea glass designs are handcrafted in the
water based inks. They’re great for every day
USA in a LEED certified facility, and a portion of
use, hostess gifts, and picnics too!
the proceeds go to local and national charities.
Madder Root www.etsy.com/shop/madderroot
Riverside Design Group www.riversidedesigns.com
www.lisabordenworks.com
Small Appliances Cooking time with these efficient, multitasking, compact appliances over your large"standard" kitchen appliance is life changing and brilliant. Trust us.
Make your own nutrient dense compost fertilizer
A slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, and yogurt
from your own food waste and table scraps. The
maker all in one! It’s made from unglazed Zisha
Ultra is automatic, energy efficient, and emits no
clay (so no plastic, chems, aluminum or lead
trashy odours. You can tuck it away in cabinet,
touches your food!) and it preserves your food’s
but we’d rather leave it out on display.
nutrients, enzymes, and vitamins too.
Nature Mill www.naturemill.com
VitaClay Smart Organic Multicooker www.vitaclaychef.com
We finally found an incredible counter top oven
You may not realize that you need this appliance,
that isn’t coated with a non-stick lining! This
but you really do. You really, really do. It’s fully
convection oven also has full steaming capability
automatic (once you add the ingredients) making
cutting cooking time as much as 40%. Steam,
it a smooth and easy process to whip up drinks,
poach, bake, and broil to perfection!
hot soups and cool ice creams in just seconds.
Cuisinart Combo Steam + Convection Oven www.cuisinart.ca
Blendtec Designer Series www.blendtec.com
www.lisabordenworks.com
More Small Appliances There’s no need to overpay for prepared foods when these great appliances make it quick and easy to whip up homemade snacks, chips, dips, and sips.
Dehydration is the healthiest, easiest and most
The water from fruits and veggies is delicious
economical way to preserve foods. With this
and full of healthy benefits, but don’t buy the
dehydrator, you can make fruit and kale chips in
stuff filled with added sugars and preservatives.
no time! A fun and healthy idea for any party
Make your own (with organic produce of course)
menu, and the inserts pull out for easy clean up.
so you know exactly what’s in it!
Excalibur Dehydrator www.excaliburdehydrator.com
Omega Juicer www.omegajuicers.com
Mix, grate, and chop it up with your trusty food
This jar is a genius for whipping up recipes like
processor. This reliable appliance makes tedious
nut and seed butters, dips, salad dressings, and
tasks seem like a breeze, saving you time and
baby foods. Simply add ingredients and twist the
energy that you can spend instead enjoying your
lid while the blend cycle is running to achieve a
meal and your amazing dinner company.
perfect blend every time.
Cuisinart www.cuisinart.ca
Blendtec Twister Jar www.blendtec.com
www.lisabordenworks.com
Real Clean Whether you are tidying before your meal or on cleaning duty afterwards, you want your home to be truly clean. Replace every conventional cleaner under the kitchen sink and in the laundry room with NOTHING (well, maybe not nothing, but as close to it as possible!). You do NOT have to sacrifice the cleanliness of your home.
Scrub well with these copper threads that gently
It doesn’t need to cost a fortune to keep the
removes cooking grime on your pots, pans, sink,
kitchen clean. Microfibre cloths and water do a
and stove, and even safe on glass and stainless
remarkable job lifting any dirt, bacteria, or grime
steel. It’s double layered for strength and just
left behind. They’re economical, machine
throw in the washing machine for a fresh start.
washable, and can be used over and over.
Bürstenhaus Redecker
E-Cloth
shop.redecker.de
www.ecloth.com
Most cleaners pollute our homes with chemicals
If you’ve ever struggled to get the inside of your
that we inhale and absorb all day long (causing
bottles and tumblers nice and clean, this is the
headaches, itchy skin, and much more). You can
brush for you. Simply place the long end inside
easily and inexpensively make your own truly
the bottle and squeeze the handle to clean both
natural and smart cleaners with safe ingredients.
the inside and the outside effortlessly.
Full Circle
Full Circle
www.fullcirclehome.com
www.fullcirclehome.com
www.lisabordenworks.com
Artful Accessories The kitchen is a place to feel inspired and be creative, so give it as much flavour and flare as the food you’re plating, and keep it green and toxin-free.
How many plastic straws get thrown out each
If food is art, then this natural slate board is the
day? (It’s scary!). Strawesome’s reusable glass
perfect canvas. So much so, it even comes along
straws are safe and toxin-free, and come with a
with soapstone chalk to write directly on the
lifetime guarantee - that’s how committed this
slate to identify what you’re serving, or scribble a
company is to their functional works of art.
tasty greeting for your guests.
Strawesome www.strawesome.com
Brooklyn Slate Company www.brooklynslate.com
Whoever thought something practical couldn’t
Sure, drying your dishes isn’t always fun, but you
also be fun and stylish, obviously hasn’t seen
can make it look fun and be conscious about it
these organic cotton oven mitts. Stay cool, and
too. Growing cotton uses more insecticides than
protected with something you’ll feel good, and
any other major crop! Choosing organic is a
look really good, slipping your hands into.
much safer choice for our health, and our future.
Ochre & Ocre www.ochreandocre.com
Ferm www.ferm-living.com
www.lisabordenworks.com
On The Kitchen Bookshelf You don’t need to be vegan to enjoy these books (we don’t like labels, and we don’t like “mock” food!), you just need to appreciate simple, quick, clean recipes & perspective!
Terry Walters delivers super simple, incredible
Ditch the calorie counting and fad diets, and
tasting, plant based recipes that work with the
discover how much fun you can have when you
season we’re living in. She gives approachable,
UnDiet! Meghan’s vibrant, inspirational message
healthful, and nutritious information that
will help you find your way to true health - trust
satisfies our craving for easy, real, clean food.
us, this IS the way to eat and live life!
Eat Clean, Live Well www.terrywalters.net
UnDiet www.meghantelpner.com
We can’t imagine a healthier cook book by a
Find out what’s good for personal health, what’s
better chef (and person). These tempting dishes
good for the planet, and what tastes great. Learn
are bold, innovative, fresh, easy and above all
how to find your way around a farmers' market,
delicious. Both vegans and non-vegans will find
how to cook with the least amount of energy,
them absolutely delicious.
and how to eat locally, even in winter!
Vegan Everyday www.dougmcnish.com
The Conscious Kitchen www.alexandrazissu.com
www.lisabordenworks.com
From Here to There What happens in the kitchen, doesn’t usually stay in the kitchen (or start in the kitchen), so choose great reusables to bring your food home from the market or with you wherever you go.
We’ve all been there, when we’re at the market
Why use a single-use zipper baggies when there’s
and realize we’ve forgotten to bring our reusable
something safer, reusable, and better looking?
bags. Problem solved with these bags that roll up
These are made in the USA, certified food-safe,
into tiny balls to leave in your purse, briefcase, or
bpa-free, phthalate-free, pvc-free, lead-free, and
in your car. (Easier to fold than a pair of socks!)
can be personalized with your own designs.
Flip & Tumble www.flipandtumble.com
Neat-os www.neat-os.com
These tempered glass sandwich, snack, and dip
This basket can handle it all. It has a tearproof
containers can go anywhere you go. And with
fabric, sturdy frame, collapsible soft rubber
colourful lids, you can easily tell whose snack is
handle, and the whole thing folds flat so it can
whose. Smart Clips lock and secure food inside,
be tucked away in a trunk or front hall. Perfect
so you don’t have to worry about spills or leaks.
for markets, picnics, or to carry potluck dishes!
Wean Green www.weangreen.com
Reisenthal www.reisenthelUSA.com
www.lisabordenworks.com
Find out what we do. It's good. www.bordencom.com