During a recent trip to visit my husband Phil’s extended family in Illinois, I was introduced to my two new favorite kitchen gadgets. My new yellow, enameled metal, lemon squeezer is by far the easiest and most efficient hand juicer I have ever tried. (To be fair I have only used a few others, but they all paled in comparison.) I looked at a few different brands and settled on the one that had the smallest holes at the bottom, to discourage rogue seeds from invading my juice. Aunt Cyndy has three of these magic juicers in different sizes and colors, orange for oranges, yellow for lemons, and green for limes. Since my drawer space is rather limited, I opted for the mid sized, aka lemon squeezer. It works like a charm on both lemons and limes, and I’m sure I could use it for other small citrus fruits like tangerines or clementines if I got the urge. It is also super easy to use (cut your fruit in half, stick it in cut side down, and squeeze), and cleans up without much effort, either by hand or in the dishwasher. I have been using it regularly to flavor salads, make guacamole, season quesedillas, and give my water some kick.

The second new must have item in my kitchen is a zester/grater. Having spent my formative years in zestless home, I had no idea how much of a difference a little zest could make. Juice is flavorful, but it is also wet, and sometime you just don’t need anymore liquid. That is where zest steps in and saves the day. It adds a powerful punch on the flavor scale, without altering the entire composition of your dish. This was particularly useful when making guacamole for my husband whose running comment during taste-tests was, “It could use more lime.” It came with a hard plastic frame that slips over the metal grater for storage.

Much thanks is owed to Aunt Cyndy, who introduced me to a more flavorful world. I’m sure Phil extends his thanks as well.

Here is a recipe for Limy Guacamole that features both of my new fun tools.