Small Space Milk: Not Just For Squares

I remember a few years back reading about how the Japanese grow watermelons inside acrylic cubes in order to produce square watermelons. These square watermelons then fit nicely into fridge compartments. This new square case-less milk container reminds me of that.

Apparently Sam’s Club is stocking these new milk containers that more efficiently use space both in your fridge and in the truck on the way to the store. It is really an innovative idea. It seems to me that the milk crate really should be extinct by now — they are a tremendous waste of plastic. I don’t know how they have survived the endless poaching by college students in search of cheep bookshelves, but they have.

The new container design will translate to a savings of 10 to 20 cents vs. the old school jug. The savings are a result of being able to fit 384 more gallons into a standard truckload. With gasoline prices soaring, the cost of transporting goods has a significant impact on a products bottom-line price.

I love innovation the saves space, money and the environment — cheers Sam’s Club.

Even More Small Space Grillin’: Baja BBQ Firepack

So by now my love of all things grilled has been well established. I just enjoying grilling — at the cottage it is a integral part of my summer.

I have also covered the fact that I prefer the flavor of charcoal vs. gas grilling. I am aware of the arguments over the environmental impact of charcoal vs. gas, but I am still a charcoal man.

Having said that, if there is a way to lessen the environmental impact of using charcoal, I’m game. That’s where Lazzari comes in with their Baja bbq Firepack. A great deal of VOCs are released by the lighter fluid commonly used to start charcoal grills. The Baja bbq Firepack eliminates the use of lighter fluid. The pack is a 100% recycled biodegradable paper pack that holds 2 pounds of natural lump charcoal. The package is formed with an integrated chimney that stokes up perfect hot coals without the use of additional chemicals.

You simply light the bottom of the pack, slap it in your grill, and let the package burn away starting the coals.

I’m all about grilling, and simple greener grilling is definitely the way to go.

Small Space Fruit Bowl: Inout

I have been eating lots of fruit lately — summer always reminds me how much I’ve let myself go over the winter. I have been trying to get in better shape later, but that’s another post.

I stumbled on the Inout fruit bowl last week. It is one of those functional things that manages to be visually appealing while performing an actual function. The Inout is a fruit bowl — it’s not really a bowl it’s more of an object. The shape is very organic with a pronounced bowl area on one side and a perforated convex area on the other. The perforated area is perfect for repining bananas.

If you eat fruit, you may as well display it stylishly.

More Small Space Grillin’: The Laptop Grill

So by now you should all know I have a serious interest in outdoor grilling. I am always on the look out for the perfect grill and grilling accessories. I have always preferred charcoal grills to gas and don’t have lots of room for a grill.

Direct Design’s Notebook Portable Grill is a real contender for a small space grill. The Notebook Grill is a light, 8 pound, small grill perfect for anyone with space concerns. The grill has a somewhat large 192 square inch cooking surface. The cooking grill is stainless steel. The rest of the grill is black weather resistant stainless steel.

Just under the steel grilling grate there are cut out handles. The best feature of this stylish grill is the ability to take the grill by the handles, after it’s cool of course, and fold it flat for storage.

The laptop Grill is a stylish grill that folds flat for easy low-volume storage making it a perfect small space grill.

Small Space Picnic Addition: Fridgefork

With Memorial Day just around the corner the official start of picnic season is not far off. I was looking over some items for outdoor grilling, general outdoor partys and summer gathering ideals for Small Space Living.

I give you the Fridgefork. The Fridgefork really is another one of those ideas I cannot believe I didn’t think of. The Fridgefork is a little stretchy silicone loop that fits around most jars and holds a condiment fork. The fork is then used to retrieve the contents of that jar, i.e. pickles, olives, peppers and the like. This handy little device keeps the utensil, the Fridgefork, from contaminating other foods. It also keeps it tidy and off the table or other questionable surfaces.

It’s a great idea and if you can just keep your cousin Billy from dropping it or chasing his sister with it, the fork will always be clean.

Small Space Spoon: Yogurt Spoon

I like yogurt. I eat it every day — sometimes several times. It’s just a good healthy convenient snack.

When I saw Nojae Park’s Yogurt Spoon I thought “wow, why has no one thought of this before?” If you have ever eaten yogurt out of those neat little single serving plastic cups, you will get this. The Yogurt Spoon is a spoon designed for eating yogurt. The trick is that the tip is a right-angled point. It’s rounded so it’s not too sharp, but it is pointed enough to get the yogurt that normally falls out side the radius of a normal spoon.

With a normal spoon it is a fairly small volume of yogurt wasted. But when I think of all the cups I recycle, that little extra yogurt adds up to a big waste. I need this spoon.

Small Space Grillin’

I love to grill. I have mentioned before that I grill constantly at our cottage in the summer. I do not have a grill at home mostly because of the space limitations on my very small patio area.

Magma Products has some amazing small space grill solutions. These grills are designed as marine products for grilling on boats. If you have ever spent time on a yacht or a ship that involves extended stays, you know that space is extremely limited. As a result of the limited space, efficiency is of vital importance.

The Catalina Grill by Magma Products is a small, versatile grill with a large 315 square inch grilling area. The grill is very well designed and made entirely of mirror-polished stainless steel. It has several intuitive features like a flare-up reducing inner safety shell that funnels grease into a front accessible tray. For an all-stainless grill, the price at $440 is quite reasonable

The best features of these grills are the variety of mounting options. They can be mounted directly to the railing on a boat or on a small balcony.

It is now possible to have that big grill cooking in very small space with these grills by Magma Products.

Small Space Cooking: Brevill Ikon Panini Press

I love to cook. However I hate my kitchen. It’s just too small; we hope to rectify this problem soon by remodeling. In the interim, it is difficult adding new appliances that we do not have room to store.

I received my Brevill Ikon Panini Press for Christmas two years ago and I still love it. The Ikon is perfect for small kitchens its quite small at 15.5 x 12 x 6.5 inches. It is just the right size for cooking for two or one. It is heavy and well made. The outside is stainless steel and the cooking surface is cast aluminum with non-stick Teflon. The cooking is controlled with a variable temperature knob. There is a special “high sear” mode that crisps bread perfectly. Clean up is made easy by a removable drip tray, but the cooking plates are some times tricky to get clean as they are not removable.

The Ikon is perfect for grilling vegetables, chicken, fish and so much more. I can say I make an amazing Portobello on focaccia panini. The Ikon comes with a great recipe book and if you shoot over to the Williams Sonoma site or store you can get a great recipe for Peanut Butter Panini with Bananas and Honey.

If you have been thinking about getting a panini press, you can’t go wrong with the Ikon.

Small Space Self-contained Kitchen

Italian kitchens have always been more sleek and stylish than their American counterparts. Many Italian kitchen components are more like furniture than our built in cabinets. It’s not unusual for Italian renters to take their kitchens with them when they move.

Dada, an Italian Kitchen manufacturer, produces the Tivali line by Dante Bonuccelli. It is a line of completely self-contained freestanding kitchens. The can be used as room dividers or backed against a wall. They are sleek modern kitchens, which can be concealed behind smooth sliding doors that fit neatly into pockets of the unit.

There are several variations of the design with color and equipment options. One even has illuminated glass shelves.

I’d love to be able to close some stylish sliding doors to conceal my current kitchen — then I’m not sure the dishes would ever get done.

Small Space Design Perfection: Oh! My Glass

So with the triumphant return of fair weather I am caught contemplating my summer rituals.

One such ritual is sitting on the patio after work as the sun goes down and enjoying a cold beverage. I have sworn off soda of all kind. I love juice, but it has a ton of sugar. I guess this year it will be iced espresso drinks, as I continue to use my Ascaso Dream. And there is always the old stand by San Pellegrino, the king of all mineral water.

I love to sip ice cold San Pellegrino. We buy cases of the pop-top bottles. One day while shopping I found the perfect San Pell drinking companion, the Oh My Glass by Propaganda.

The Oh My Glass is the perfect plastic drinking glass, just the right size. The kicker is the bottom has a built in bottle opener. So you just need the San Pell and with this glass and you are good to go.

Alternatively, you could drink any number of other pop-top beverages with the Oh My Glass, but that is another post.

Small Space Kitchen Classic: Perfex Mills

What makes something a classic? Usually it is well constructed so it can stand the test of time. But just because something is well constructed does not make it a classic. We have an emotional connection to classic items. They possess some flair or style all their own.

Perfex mills are one such item. They are simple salt and pepper mills constructed of nickel-plated cast aluminum. The grinding blades are stainless steel so they can endure years of use. It’s easy to take every day objects like salt and pepper shakers for granted.
One need only pick up a Perfex mill to realize these are no ordinary shakers.

The Perfex mill is a classic object. These mills will likely out last their owners. I love them also because they are small objects perfect for smaller kitchens.

Small Space Spoon Clip

If your kitchen is as small as mine then you’ll appreciate this space saving device. I often find myself juggling utensils while cooking. I always seem to have a sauce covered spoon that I end up putting down in exactly the wrong place. I just don’t have the room when I have three of four pots or pans on the stove.

While shopping this weekend my wife picked up this item — the Tundeau Pot Clip Spoon Rest. She said it was perfect for our kitchen and Small Space Living. I hope she does not read this, but she was right.

The Pot Clip is an ingenious little device that clips on the edge of a pot and holds the business end of the spoon over the pot to nullify drips — so simple so perfect. Also, it is available in a wide assortment of colors.

If you have a small space kitchen this little clip is for you.

Small Space Caffeine: Ascaso Dream UPDATE

So I went out and purchased all the items I needed to be a professional home Barista. I headed out to Williams Sonoma. I was able to get a great steaming pitcher there, but that was about it. I did love the Apilco espresso cups they have, but I thought $76.oo for 4 was a bit steep.

Since I still needed a few other things, I headed to The Strip District — the commercial market area of the city where I should have gone to in the first place. I purchased very comparable espresso cups made by Schmidt in Brazil for way less than the Williams Sonoma cups — only a couple of dollars each. In the Strip I also found Pyrex shot glasses and a frothing thermometer.

I promptly returned home and started consuming espresso. The Dream makes quite a nice espresso. I was able to produce amazing crema, which surprised me in a home machine.

I made a mocha for my wife and I think she liked it. I’ll continue to update on the use of the Dream and let you know how it holds up.

Picnic Perfect

I love trunks of all kinds, especially large steamer trunks. There is something romantic and nostalgic about trunks. They remind me how even mundane things, like travel, use to be more elegant.

I also love picnics. So when I saw The Picnic Trunk by Pinel & Pinel, I of course fell in love with it. It is a rather large 37.4 inches high and it weighs a hefty 88lbs. It does have wheels to facilitate easier travel. The small space connection here is the amazing organization of the Picnic Trunk. It’s simply perfect utilization of space.

The Picnic Trunk comes fully equipped with everything you would need for a perfect picnic. I do mean everything: plates, silverware, ice bucket and even a truffle slicer. The trunk lid becomes a table and there are stylish folding chairs contained within.

This amazing trunk has it all and when your done it neatly stores all your picnic gear until you need it again. The only thing I can see that is missing would be someone to serve the food.

Small Space Kitchen Set: My Pro Kitchen

My kitchen is too small. I also have too much stuff. I need to divest myself of lots of unused kitchen items.

Recently I found My Pro Kitchen. My Pro Kitchen is a web site that sells the My Pro Kitchen Set. It is a set of 36 must have items for an instant well-equipped kitchen.

I find the idea intriguing — 36 pieces and the set really does include nearly everything you would need to cook a vast array of meals. I also like that the items are all from commercial restaurant suppliers. So you are getting good quality industrial pieces. Now don’t expect to see brand names in the set.

It’s a perfect starter kitchen set for anyone moving into his or her first apartment or home. The My Pro Kitchen Set is also a study in minimalism. If you could downsize your kitchen to 36 pieces, wouldn’t that be a great thing.

Small Space Caffeine: Ascaso Dream Espresso Machine

I love coffee, specifically espresso. At one time I had a pretty serious habit, some days eight shots before noon. I have somewhat weaned myself off the juice. That is until now.

I just purchased an Ascaso Dream. I had the opportunity to purchase the machine at an obscenely low price. The machine retails for $850 – $700. I have found refurbish units on the web for $499. The unit I purchased was an open box, but when all was said and done I paid $160.49 — that’s a pretty good machine.

The machine is very highly rated on coffee geek — check out a review here. I have yet to fire it up; I just cleaned it and set it up. As soon as I am able, I’ll let you know what I think.

I am hopeful that more high quality caffeine will keep me bouncing around and writing more — we’ll see how it all works out.

Small Space Espresso: The Atomic and La Sorrentina

love coffee, probably too much. I, at one time, had quite a serious espresso habit — often consuming eight to twelve shots most days. I have been able to wean myself off, ok not off, but down to a more acceptable level.

I have been looking at home espresso machines for some time. On many occasions, have come close to purchasing machines. Several factors have prevented me from buying. Not the least of which is the size and ugliness of many of the candidates. When I do find a machine that looks good, they are either too big or have bad reviews.

When I first came across the Atomic, I was impressed by it’s beauty. This machine is truly the perfect union of function and form. This machine was originally designed in the UK in the 1940’s. It looks like an object from the atomic age. It has a curved organic shape that fits much of the design of that era.

The machine is like many archetypes — simplistic in its design. It is essentially a small boiler that sits on a gas stove. Water inside the boiler becomes steam and is either directed through the filter group or the steam wand.

The Atomic can be purchased used, but they are highly collectible and sought after. There is also a new contemporary incarnation of the machine, La Sorrentina.

The La Sorrentina is very well made to the same specifications as the originals. No detail is left out; it has brass screws and bakelite knobs. This machine is constructed to last a lifetime. This may the perfect small space living espresso machine.