For someone who makes salad almost every day, I’m not sure why it took me so long to purchase this $20 kitchen gadget. I can tell you that after spinning one batch of lettuce and herbs, I’m hooked. I don’t even know how I survived without it! Drying lettuce on a towel no more!

It produced nice crisp greens that even after being refrigerated for days, still stayed crunchy and ready for lunch-time salads.

This, along with my new wok, are still sitting on the kitchen table, homeless and willing to settle for a less-than-ideal home…I’m hoping to find one for them soon or something else has got to go.

Do you have a cheap, but can’t-live-without kitchen gadget?

My kitchen is brimming with all sorts of kitchen gadgets: large and small, useful and pointless but I’m starting to think that I may have a problem when I can’t even find room for a tofu press that I got at the Natural Products Expo West show last month. This gadget falls under the useful category so it can’t be stuffed on the top shelf of the cabinet, I need it accessible! It might be time to ditch the George Foreman…

As I was taking a quiz about tofu I was telling some of the people at the Nasoya booth that I love tofu, but hate the process of draining and pressing. Much to my surprise, my correct answers scored me a tofu press! I didn’t even know such things existed! (And only at Expo do you win a tofu press as a prize)

The tofu press has a spring that presses the tofu and the water rises to the top and you simply pour the water out. It couldn’t be easier to use! I recently made some Sweet & Spicy Mustard tofu – pressed, marinated and baked!

Sweet & Spicy Mustard Tofu

• 1 block organic tofu
• 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp Mustard Girl Sweet & Fancy Mustard
• 1 Tbsp agave
• pepper and red pepper flakes

Cut pressed tofu into triangle pieces. Mix mustards, agave, peppers and marinate tofu for at least a half-hour. Bake at 375° F for about 45 minutes, turning once half-way through, until tofu is browned and crispy!

Any new kitchen gadgets that you are loving?