Cool Tool

I absolutely LUV fresh vegetables! My most favorite way to ingest them is in salad form. We lived in Valdez, Alaska for a time. While it may be hands down one of the most beautiful places in the world; it's no mecca for fresh food of any sort. Everything comes by truck from Anchorage by truck over Thompson Pass (a six hour drive on a good day) or by barge. Either way, things aren't at their peak of flavor once they arrive in that fair village. In fact, most stores in the lower 48 would send that produce to the compost bin once it reached that condition. To top it off, the cash you fork over for these sad offerings is astronomical! So I used to do my very best to prolong the shelf-life (or fridge-life) of my pricey, precious tidbits. The only thing I could come up with was using reams and reams of paper towels to dry the lettuce as regular cloth towels were too heavy, and the nearest kitchen specialty shop was in Anchorage. I wasn't yet shopping online, because of my phobia of all things tech-y! (Silly, I know.) So a couple of years later we moved to Los Anchorage, as some of the old sourdoughs "affectionately" call it. They hold a bazaar each weekend during the summer dubbed "The Down-Town Market." There you can find anything from live plants to live belly dancers; from beautiful hand made pottery to tacky Alaskana touristy keep-sakes. All varieties of crappy carnival fare to graze on (though I do highly recommend the halibut tacos! Teh awesome!) There are also commercial vendors who hawk items such as pet supplies, embroidered ball caps, all sorts of clothes and Tupperware. This is where I found the bestest gadget ever! It's their version of a salad spinner, and OMG I love it! The proprietress only had one, and while I wasn't crazy about the colours, red and white fast-food joint graphic IMO, I was thrilled by the design. It was geared, no cord to wear out and break and LARGE- just what I had decided was best for us from my research. Woo-Hoo!!! Ensalada Nirvana! So happy! I know; I'm a freak! ;)