My Sharp Little Friend

I am proud to introduce you to my latest acquisition, The Mighty Mandoline! It had been on my I-want-this-so-much list for quite a while, and my parents offered that it be their birthday gift to me. My sister and I paid a little Saturday morning visit to Dehillerin and picked it up, in addition to, I'll admit, a few other thingies that we really needed too.

I came home and immediately put it to good use (after reluctantly making myself peruse the instructions -- who has time for that?), making beautiful julienned zucchini (what else?) for a marinated zucchini and goat cheese salad I was taking to a potluck dinner at Pascale's (recipe on its way).

With its sharp blade, its ribbed blade and its set of four little "combs" of varying widths, my mandoline offers infinite possibilities, and it certainly promises endless hours of fun and entertainment, as I fill the kitchen with tiny bits of vegetables in all shapes, colors and sizes.

I am particularly baffled by the crinkle-cut method, and I must warn you, it is very much possible that I enter a mandatory phase of crinkle-cutting everything I lay my hands on.

When my parents sent a cheque for me to buy my present, my father included a little cartoon. It shows an Italian cook playing the mandoline, and saying : "Per la cucina, ma qué, y a rien dé tel qu'ouna bella mandolina!" (in mock-Italian : "for the kitchen, nothing beats a beautiful mandoline!"). I have to agree.

Merci Papa et Maman!