New Kitchen Additions

Yet one more good thing to come out of no longer living with my previous roommate is that I needed to purchase some basic kitchen items. Why is this a good thing? Well, my previous roommate had measuring cups and spoons, so I didn't buy any. But I feel quite strongly that, just because something is functional, it doesn't mean that it can't be beautiful as well. I've always been more interested in functional art than in paintings and sculptures. Not surprisingly, my previous roommate didn't have much of an imagination in this area. Her cups and spoons were utilitarian, to say the least.

When Moocow came up to visit before my move and made donut muffins for me for the first time, we had to borrow some milk from my landlady downstairs. She gave me the milk in a really cute ceramic, 1-cup measuring cup; red on the outside, cream on the inside. Moocow and I both coveted that cup. I spent a long time looking for something similar, and finally came across ceramic measuring cup sets made by Pfaltzgraff. I bought a set for Moocow, as a sort of start-of-pastry-school present, and I got a set for myself.
Ever since I first watched Giada de Laurentis' cooking show, Every Day Italian, on the Food Network I have been coveting her measuring spoons. Rustic, classic and classy, these porcelain measuring spoons do require a little more care in their use, but using them is pure pleasure.
I got the measuring spoons and these two extremely cute, extremely simple pots de creme from Fantes. Pots de creme refers to both the custard-like dessert, and the little ceramic pots that they're served in. I can't remember how I came across reference to these, but this website has a lot of information and recipes. Now that I have the little pots, I can't wait to try some!