The Berry Boxes

We are BIG berry eaters in my house, the fridge is always stocked with them.  Blueberries and blackberries are jam packed with antioxidants. Blueberries, blackberries and strawberries are  rich sources of fiber, potassium, vitamin C and are low in fat and calories. Funny thing about berries though is you have to keep them fresh and from drying out. On a trip to the grocery store, while I was in the produce section, I spotted these cool little baskets.  They were very inexpensive, considering the money I would be saving by not throwing berries in the trash can after having them for 2-3 days.  My berries are lasting about 2 weeks in these containers, that's a long life for fresh berries.  Check them out!

I found them in four different colors, red, green and yellow in the square size.  The boxes are BPA free and dishwasher safe.

 (I recommend top rack)

They are three compartment containers that come taped together.

They consist of a bottom container, a basket and a lid for storing the berries and keeping them fresh. Put your berries in the basket, rinse, drain excess water off, drop basket into the bottom container, put on the lid and "burp" it, store in the refrigerator.

Take the three pieces apart, and they go back together for storing your berries.

This purple container is the other size basket.  It's rectangle shape is perfect for storing strawberries.

Home on the Range

In case you are wondering where all the recipes on this blog evolved from, here is the place.  My beloved kitchen.  It's my favorite place to be.  I sit in here half of the day thinking of recipes, working recipes and trying them out on my family. When we built our home almost 8 years ago I paid close attention to how I wanted my kitchen to work for me.  I worked with the builder and the kitchen contractor and designed what I wanted. After moving walls and resetting appliances I hope the next family who lives in this house will love it as much as we do.

All appliances - dishwasher, 6 burner (propane) cooktop, warming drawer, double Trivection oven , and refrigerator are GE Monogram.  The range hood is a Kenmore.

This is my baking station.  I had the builder install a cabinet just for the KitchenAid mixer.  We all love the mixer, but it's big, heavy, and takes up alot of room on the counter.  The mixer sits on a spring loaded shelf. You lift it out of the cabinet and it self locks into place.  When you are done using it, unlock it and it slips right back into the cabinet.  The cabinet also came with a bottom pull out shelf for storage. Right next to this cabinet is a drawer where I keep all of my baking utensils. Under that drawer is a double cabinet, with pull out shelves, where I keep all of my baking pans and bowls.  Everything is organized and in one place.  I had a sink installed on one end of the 11 ft counter for cleanup.  On the other end are bookshelves for cookbook storage.

A closeup of the cabinet.  I also had baskets installed for towel storage, I use a lot of towels!

So this is where it all happens. I hope you liked the photos.