The Bee in Me

There were several 'bee' related gifts received over the holidays which I know will give me countless hours of fun down the road and I thought that you might enjoy a closer look. The first is my new honeycomb rolling pin. Isn't it bee-utiful? It came with a recipe for sugar cookies but I'm also keen to see how it performs on pie dough - I think it would make a gorgeous looking crust.

To help out in that regard, Anne gave me these very cool dough thickness rails. I hadn't seen them before but she recently picked up a set for herself and loves them.

It is three pairs of 18" silicone strips of different thickness to help you make perfect pies & tarts, galettes & tartlets, and cookies, of course. I recently noticed that they are distributed by Rose Levy Beranbaum who is the author of one of my favourite Christmas cookie cookbooks, so I'm thinking that is a very good sign.

There was another 'bee' gift from Betty - a beautifully embroidered apron. I've mentioned before that my sister Frances started a blog a few years ago (L'Abeille Française - The French Bee) to share her adventures of travels to France. Recently, she decided to create a line of goods for the home and this Queen Bee apron was the first item that she launched. It is beautifully embroidered, a nice weight and I really like the way the strap runs up through two gussets to the neckline to give you a perfect fit - I haven't seen one made like this before. It will be very well used.

Not surprisingly, Frances also did her gift giving with bees in mind. She gave me another product from her online boutique - a beautiful printed copper Honey Bee pillow which works perfectly in our living room. The colour is so rich; my photo doesn't do it justice.

The last goodie is not bee related at all, but you just know that if there's going to be baking there's going to have to be some cleanup, too. Dana, a client of Betty's, is an international director with Epicure and that's where she found these Swedish dish cloths. These are totally new to me, but they are terrific. I've long bemoaned the disappearance of the traditional woven dishcloths that we grew up with but I think that I've found a new love.

Invented in 1949 in - you guessed it - Sweden, they are made from wood cellulose and cotton. Who knew? They clean up beautifully - I loved using it and found myself looking for surfaces to try it on. And, they are biodegradable! Sorry if that sounds like an infomercial but I was more than pleasantly surprised by them. I tend to wash my dishes by hand, using the dishwasher only occasionally, and these little beauties will make that task even more enjoyable....M