Five things the kitchen team loves this month

Fab frugal fare

Over 1.2 billion people live in poverty worldwide. That means $1.75 has to cover all the meals for one person for one day. As part of Live Below the Line week, an international program that builds awareness around extreme poverty, we created a day’s worth of healthy, satisfying and delicious recipes — all for well under a toonie.

Gourmet goodies in the mail

We love exotic ingredients like fresh turmeric, lime leaves and long peppercorns but sometimes have a hard time finding them. Now — at last! — we have an exceptional online supplier. Vancouver’s South China Seas offers specialty herbs (like dried curry leaves) and spices and spice blends like za’atar as well as kitchen gear and cookbooks, all delivered to your door so you can get cooking.

Summer sipping

There’s something so appealing about this cute cocktail shaker and the way it seems to bring warm weather a little bit closer. Shake up a batch of our favourite lemon martinis to get in the mood for patio season.

Cocktail shaker, $30, Indigo.

An egg-cellent cookbook

The humble egg is the most versatile ingredient in the kitchen, yet eggs can still be intimidating to cook. The brilliant how-to photos and enticing recipes (like soba noodle salad with soft eggs and kale, and crispy lemon eggs and avocado on toast) in Eggs on Top will have you serving eggs for weeknight suppers in no time.

Eggs on Top, Andrea Slonecker, $30.

Spring colours in the kitchen

It’s been 20 years since Microplane first introduced its revolutionary zester. A must-have in every kitchen (including ours), this indispensable tool now comes in a range of cheerful new colours.

Zester, $18, Microplane.