Hello Vancouver, we’re coming back home for this year’s Fair at the PNE.  You can find us in our usual spot inside the Marketplace buildings in the PNE Forum. Come buy ceramic knives or watch Mike carve fruits with his ceramic knife at our booth.  To round out your day at the PNE Fair, you can walk across to Playland at the PNE and go on some rides. There are some brand new attractions this year. come and say hi. We’ll be there all day.

Save money on your admission passes when you buy them at any 7-11 or Safeway store around town.

Dates and Location

Saturday August 20 – Monday September 5, 2011
Open daily 10:30am – 10:30pm

Click here for map and directions to the PNE Fair and Playland Vancouver for the 2011 season.

Tickets

You can buy PNE tickets online here or you can get them at the door.

Hey Edmonton we’re coming back to see you at this year’s Edmonton Capital EX.  We’ve got our booth packed up and ready to do some ceramic knife demonstrations for you. Be sure to find Mike and watch him carve cute animals out of fruits and vegetables with our Keramikos ceramic knives.

We’ll have all our ceramic knives and ceramic knife gift sets available for sale at Capital EX.  Here is all the info:

Event Dates and Locations

Friday July 22 – Sunday July 31
12 noon – 12 midnight

Tickets

Only $8 for adults and $4 for kids. All ticket info for Edmonton Capital EX 2011 is here.

Directions

We’re in Rexall Place at Northlands all week.  Click here for directions and map to Rexall Place at Northlands to come see us.

Create your own eye-catching decorative fruit platter.

With summer in full swing, family reunions, BBQs and long days at the beach are all on the horizon. One of the best contributions to a group gathering in the summer is a decorative fruit platter. It’s something simple that everyone can snack from throughout the day without feeling guilty. To make it even more presentable, add a few simple fruit carvings to the plate to get a big response for little effort!

Planning Your Fruit Plate
When planning a decorative fruit plate, be sure to include a nice variety. If it’s the height of summer, you should have plenty of great options. Be sure to include staples like watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, pineapple and grapes. Include pockets of berries like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and cherries throughout the plate as well. If you have access to other fruits like mangoes, papayas and kiwis, add them to the mix too. The more variety, the better. If none of these are available, keep it simple and make a plate of sliced apples, pears and bunches of grapes that can be paired with good cheese.

Which Fruits to Carve
Choose fruit that is sturdy and will lend itself to being carved like watermelon, apples and citrus. Once you’ve become more comfortable with your carving skills you can move onto other melons, mangoes and pineapple. The key to great fruit carvings is choosing fruit that is just on the underside of ripe and having a nice, sharp knife. Without the right tools, you’ll never get the precision need to complete the task.

How to Carve Fruit for Your Platter
When first starting out, choose simple fruit carvings for your decorative platter. Watermelon baskets are a nice place to start because they only require a few steps. Use a melon baller to empty your basket and place balls, and other fruit, back inside. Citrus peel roses are another easy, but eye-catching, carving you can attempt and place around your platter. There are tons of online tutorials that you can follow along to help you achieve your perfect fruit carving.

We’ll be posting some great videos showing how to carve different fruit animals using ceramic knives. We’ll be adding them to our blog here as we finish making them.

Find your perfect fruit carving knife here!

Let us know in the comments below if there are any fruit and vegetable carvings you would like to see.

Hello Alberta! We’ll be in Calgary for the Calgary Stampede again this year.  We love all our Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer customers and are always excited to come and see you at the Stampede.  Come and say hi to us at our booth. We’ll be around to give live ceramic knife demonstrations, we’ll have special ceramic knife gift sets and will be doing some fruit and vegetable animal carvings.

Here’s  all the details:

Calgary Stampede

July 8 – 17, 2011
11am – 12 midnight

We’re inside the BMO Center (formerly the Round-Up Convention Center)

Click here for Calgary Stampede maps and directions

Throw Some Ribs on the BBQ for Father's Day

Father’s Day is Sunday June 19, 2011.

Dad’s are notoriously hard to buy gifts for, aren’t they? Year after year you rack your brain to come up with some new, unique gift that will win him over on Father’s Day, but you tend to fall back on good old standbys like a tie or maybe a fancy, new power tool. But, you know what dad’s really love? BBQ.

BBQ Favourites for Father’s Day
A big family BBQ is a the perfect way to let your dad know you care. Sure, you can still get him that tie or cordless drill, but when you accompany that gift with a classic BBQ dinner, you’ll really show him you care. There are a ton of great grilling options and what you decide to cook up should be based on what your dad loves. Is he always looking for excuses to cook up a steak? Does he order ribs every time you’re out at a restaurant? Or maybe your dad would rather have a few options to choose from like a rotisserie chicken and seared pork loin. Whatever his preference, make sure you have a number of sides to complement the main course.

Mastering the Grill for Father’s Day
Before you dive into your BBQ’d feast, you’ll want to make sure you’ve mastered the art of grilling. You don’t have to cook a bunch of test run meals; just make sure you check the approximate grilling times for the meat or vegetable you’ve chosen. Nothing ruins a BBQ more than a meal that’s been burnt to a crisp. When the time’s right, slice into your meat with a sharp knife to make sure it’s done. And don’t make your dad work for his supper – be sure to have plenty of good knives on hand so he can make quick work of digging into his special meal!

Homemade BBQ Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup ketchup
• 2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp smoked sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Mix all ingredients together in a small saucepan and cook over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes until thickened. Let cool and use on all of your BBQ favourites!

Don’t Forget Dessert!
Try one of these desserts to round out your Father’s Day dinner:

• Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
• Chocolate Lava Cake

Spring sale – we are offering 10% off all online orders (website only) and FREE SHIPPING from now until May 18, 2011.

Sale starts today in our webstore here Keramikos Kitchen ceramic knives.

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

This year, instead of the standard flowers you give your mom each Mother’s Day, consider a gift that she’ll get real use out of. A great Mother’s Day gift idea for moms who love to cook is a tool they use every day: knives.

How to Choose the Right Ceramic Knife for Your Mom
Determining which knife is the right one for your mom depends on the kind of cooking she does – as well as which knives she might already own. Every cook should have a reliable chef’s knife, but it might not be something your mom has purchased for herself. With a new ceramic chef’s knife, she’ll take her cooking to the next level. Holiday dinners will never be the same. If she has a chef’s knife, consider getting her a set of knives of different sizes to round out her collection. Does your mom love to bake? A great set of paring knives may be the perfect Mother’s Day gift - and will guarantee she’ll keep baking up a storm!

Make it a Mother’s Day Gift Basket
Make your Mother’s Day gift a little more personal by creating a cooking-themed gift basket. Supplement your choice of knife with rare ingredients like exotic spices, fancy oils and vinegars, and interesting grains and pastas. Choose an international cuisine to theme your basket around, or pick a favorite recipe that you think your mom would love and buy her the ingredients and tools she’ll need to make it. Don’t forget to include a printed copy of the recipe! No one knows your mom better than you, so really tailor your gift to her personal tastes.

A Gift Every Mom Will Love
With the bounty of the summer growing season just around the corner, a great addition to any Mother’s Day gift is a double blade chopper. It’ll make short work of fresh herbs, which can then be added to pretty much everything your mom wants to cook. Basil for pastas and salads, mint for lemonade and desserts, tarragon for omelets and bruschetta – the possibilities are endless.

Potato Gruyere Gratin for Easter Dinner

With just a week away until Easter, it’s time to start planning which Easter recipes you’ll break out for your big feast. Take a cue from what’s plentiful this spring when deciding what to cook – fresh fruit and vegetables will always make for a more impressive meal than canned.

Easter Dinner Recipes
Whether you decide to cook a turkey, a ham or opt for a vegetarian Easter dinner, you’ll also need a few good side dishes. Easter recipes should feature as many spring favorites as possible. Trade in tired Brussels sprouts for grilled or roasted asparagus. Swap out mashed potatoes for a rich, mouth-watering gratin. Leave the stuffing off the menu and instead pick up a fresh loaf of multi-grain or sourdough bread that can be warmed and served with herb butter. For perfectly chopped herbs for any dish, try using a double blade chopper!

Easter Recipe Prep
Just like Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner, you’ll want to do a certain amount of prep ahead of the big day. If you’ll be serving herb butter, chop your fresh herbs and mix with your butter a few days in advance to let the flavours meld. Thyme, rosemary and even a little lemon zest are great options for this. Bake your dessert the day before – you may even have pre-chopped rhubarb hiding in your freezer that you can use.

Easter Dinner Presentation
Casual or formal, any Easter dinner can benefit from a few personal touches. Fresh cut flowers like tulips or daffodils will brighten up your dinner table, as will brightly colored napkins. These affordable accessories will make your meal all the more memorable.

Potato Gruyere Gratin Recipe for Easter

Ingredients

• 1/2 pounds Yukon potatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup cream
• 2 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
• Butter to grease the pan

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9- by 12-inch baking dish with butter. Slice the potatoes as thinly as you can and arrange them in a layer, overlapping the edges slightly. Add a sparse later of onion and then sprinkle with salt, freshly ground pepper and a third of the cheese. Repeat this process with remaining ingredients, but reserve the last third of your cheese for later.

Carefully pour the cream over the potatoes. It should come up to the bottom of the top layer of potatoes; add more if this was not enough. Bake it for about an hour. Halfway through the baking time, take the gratin dish out of the oven and gently press the potatoes flat to keep them moist. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the gratin for the last 15 minutes of baking. The gratin is done when the potatoes are soft and the top is golden brown.

Try Cooking With Rhubarb This Spring

Traditionally used in desserts like cakes, pies and crumbles, rhubarb recipes can be used for sweet and savory dishes alike. As we enter rhubarb season, here are a few ways you might incorporate this tart ingredient into your spring kitchen.

How to Pick Rhubarb
When looking to pick the best rhubarb, pay attention to the thickness of the stems, as well as their crispness. The thicker the stem, the tougher the rhubarb will be. Ideally, you want to pick out slender, firm stalks. If rhubarb stalks are in any way floppy, they’re most likely old and will not yield the tastiest results. Rhubarb stems range in color from pale green to dark pink – the rosier the hue, the sweeter the rhubarb will be. When you get your rhubarb home, keep it in your vegetable crisper for up to one week.

Cooking Rhubarb
Rhubarb adds a delicious tang to sweet treats, and when cooked takes on an almost buttery texture. Because of its composition, rhubarb is also a terrific addition to chutneys or compotes that complement a number of grilled or roast meats. On it’s own, rhubarb can also be stewed and served alongside breakfast dishes like pancakes, waffles or oatmeal.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Ingredients:

FILLING

• 5 stalks rhubarb; 1/4 inch slices
• 4 cups sliced strawberries
• Juice of one small lemon
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

TOPPING

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 2/3 cup rolled oats
• 2/3 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Add the rhubarb and strawberries to a large bowl, tossing with the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Squeeze in lemon juice and stir to combine. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl combine all the topping ingredients, except the almonds. Using a wooden spoon, stir everything until clumps form.
3. Spread fruit filling evenly in a 9×13 glass baking dish. Using your hands, scatter the topping over the fruit filling. Top with sliced almonds.
4. Bake for 45 minutes until the topping is golden and the fruit filling is bubbling. Cool slightly and serve with whipped and ice cream.

Rhubarb gives apple sauce a satisfying tartness – check out this recipe!

A Bamboo Cutting Board Needs Regular Care

One of the most used items in a kitchen is the cutting board. You turn to it every day, sometimes for every meal. From soups to sandwiches, a cutting board is used as often your knives. A bamboo cutting board is one of the most reliable chopping blocks you can own, but after putting it through the rounds of daily chopping, do you know how to properly care for it?

Benefits of Bamboo
Bamboo cutting boards are superior to other cutting boards for a number of reasons. Besides the environmental benefit to buying a cutting board made from a sustainable material, bamboo boards won’t absorb odors or stain the way plastic cutting boards do. Often made from laminated strips of bamboo, these boards don’t absorb water the way other wooden chopping boards do, which makes them less prone to warping. Their durability means you’ll have a bamboo board for much longer than any other type of cutting board.

Bamboo Cutting Board Care
Care for a bamboo cutting board in pretty straight forward. It is best to hand wash a bamboo board and dry right away. Although they are less prone to water absorption, it’s still best to dry them as soon as possible to ensure their longevity. Apply a bamboo oil to your board approximately once a month. Most kitchen stores carry butcher block oil and often will one specifically for bamboo. Apply the oil all over the board with a cotton cloth and let stand for 20 minutes. Wipe off any excess oil and let dry completely before using again.

Learn more about bamboo cutting boards!