In Search Of...

Measuring cups.

I didn't bring my old ones back from NC... they were cheap-o dollar store ones that somehow got something nasty on the outside of the 1 c measure. (Why is it that plastic can get stuff on it that won't wash off? Baffling!)

I need to bake some more bread, so yesterday I decided to up the search for nice measuring cups that aren't incredibly expensive. All the ones I'd found previously I either didn't like (I'd like to get a permanent set, rather than another temporary set), or I waited, thinking I might get some for Christmas or my birthday. Well, I wasn't given any before I moved in, so I started keeping my eyes open.

There weren't *any* at Dollarama... even though I want a permanent set, I thought I'd look to see what they had anyway. Dollarama frequently has reasonable stuff.

I can't remember if there were ones at the grocery store... if there were, it was ones I don't like. I think they may have been the thick plastic ones where the smaller cups are really wide and shallow, which makes measuring accurately and without spilling more challenging.

Lee Valley has really nice ones, but they're a ways to drive, and I need them before this weekend.

Yesterday I stopped at the fancy kitchen store on the way home. They had several sets. I almost choked when I saw the price on the first set: $45!!! The $40 set was really nice, but really... $40?!? WTF?!? The $30 ones had a design I don't like (they were either shallow, or oval and shallow, I can't remember for sure), and the one reasonably priced set was a plastic set for a bit under $10, but was also shallow (and possibly oval too). Uh... I decided to keep trying.

Downtown, I went into The Bay. The $30 set was really nice, but $30 is still well over what I want to pay. Really, I'm looking for some really basic metal ones that should sell for about $10. I'm willing to pay $20 for the Lee Valley set, but that's only because it's a really nice set, *and* has two more cups than standard. What's up with all the $30+ measuring cup sets? (Especially the poorly designed ones?!?) The Bay also had a $10 metal set, but it was oval and shallow, and another set the same shape but in thick plastic and under $10. I almost went for that metal set, but I really don't like shallow measuring cups, and the oval shape is just bizarre. (What's up with all the oval measuring cups?)

I decided to try the attached mall. I found the one lonely cooking store... and everything was on deep discount! Yay! ...Except that they didn't have *any* dry measuring cups. (WTF?!?) The dollar store in the mall also only had the liquid kind.

For now, I'm borrowing a few from my mom. This weekend I'm borrowing the car, and will get that Lee Valley set. Buying measuring cups should *not* be this difficult!

Note to measuring cup designers and manufacturers: shallow measuring cups are *stupid*... don't do it just so that they all nest exactly. Also, don't add rims around the bottom (or similar "junk") that make them difficult to wash... I really don't want to be shoving dishcloths into crevices where things stick. Nice, smooth, flat surfaces are *much* easier to wash. Making them oval might make them fit into more containers, but then that makes them more likely to spill stuff all over the counter when you're trying to transfer the contents to a stand mixer. *Please* just stick to round ones?

Pasta bowls.

Didn't I have any in NC? If so, where are they? Did I not bring them back?

Ironing board.

I should probably get one. I'm not sure if my iron came up north with me too. I'm thinking not... I haven't encountered it yet, and I seem to remember the cheap-o model I used to have would burn my fingers with the steam leaking around the edges (between the plate and the rest of the iron), and I think that's why I left it behind.