iPad Holder: Recipes have and will forever be passed down in written form. But today rather than grabbing pen and paper we cross our fingers, eyes, and toes with the promise of e-mailing the mouth watering recipe later. Foodies follow blogs like Love & Lemons, i am food blog and The Broken Bread. They save favorited recipes on apps like Pinterest and Paprika. There are a plethora of iPad holder’s that make accessing e-mails, texts, blogs, and apps (therefore cooking) in your kitchen effortless. We love the Belkin Chef Stand and Stylus for Tablets from Amazon.  It’s $32 and has an ultra-grippy rubber surface that keeps your tablet secure.  The stylus, that comes with your holder, is a clever addition enabling you to keep your screen clean, not to mention keeping your food germ free. The stand and wand are also hand-washable and case compatible.

Spice Rack: Dean & Delucca has designed a stylish way of housing your favorite herbs and spices.  Arranged in clear test tubes, corked at the top to keep them fresh.  Best yet they come with spices filled, with names atop the cork and each sit in a secure position on a metal stand.  There is also a handy spoon to scoop your spices and herbs into whatever dish you are making and whenever you run out of something you can just call Dean & Delucca customer service. You have two choices, 40 tubes for $175 (this comes with everything you could possible desire including herbs for fish, curry powder blend, rosemary, sage, french tarragon, juniper berries and more).  The other option is 21 tubes for $105 which will provide you with fresh and seasonal herbs that are also vegetarian, healthy, flavorful and unique.

Knife Block: This is an eco-friendly, bacteria resistant, bamboo knife block that is a number one best seller. It holds 10-15 knives, that conveniently sits in your drawer rather than occupying precious counter space like traditional or old-style knife blocks. This is also a safer idea if you have kids running around the house. The curved design allows for two levels of knives to be positioned in a row and you can find this on Amazon for $20, designed by Shenzhen Knives and labeled ‘In-Drawer Bamboo Knife Block’.

Utensil Holder: Rather than having a chaotic drawer crammed with spatulas, scissors and other cooking tools, consider a buying a utensil jar.  You can buy these practically everywhere you just want to make sure there is a large opening at the top and that it blends with your kitchen decor. William-Sonoma designs a French porcelain jar with a white glazed finish. Its high-fired ceramic, chip resistant and you’re looking at spending $30 for this piece. You can also find something less expensive in a wide array of sparky colors like this red, ribbed, ceramic, utensil crock from Bed Bath & Beyond.  This is both eye catching, inexpensive ($9.99) and quite useful. You may also consider finding a jar and restoring it yourself– check Pinterest for DIY ideas.

Coffee Maker: We know this is not a new idea to you, a ‘coffee maker’, but have you seen the Chemex, heat-resistant, glass, one-piece vessel? We were pretty impressed too. Place ground coffee in the cone-shaped filter at the top and pour hot water over it.  Clear, pure coffee will then drip into the glass vase and boy does it taste good! You can clean using the unbleached filter squares (which are sold separately) or by swishing hot water and soap, allowing the glass to dry upside down on a clean kitchen towel.  The polished wood collar and leather tie serves as an insulated handle.  You can purchase a 3-cup to 10-cup maker and price will depend upon size. We like the 6-cup which sells on William-Sonoma for $36.95. Be sure to read the reviews online, this a hot product right now.

Paderno Spiralizer: All hail the spiralizer! This four blade, compact and collapsable design allows for easy storage and it makes incredible and artisanal spiral cuts, shoestrings and ribbon ‘noodles’.  This is great for pasta, stir fries, salad and we love that it features a BPA-free plastic construction.  The device includes four stainless-steel blades, an angel-hair shredder, chipper, fine shredder, straight blade and pin accessory that creates an accordion cut. You can purchase this online for $50! Kick things off with a zucchini pasta, with mint pesto, and we are sure you won’t disappoint:

1 cup of firmly packed fresh mint leaves

1/3 cup of vegetable stock or canned broth

3 tbs. of grated asiago cheese, plus extra for garnish (optional)

2 large garlic clovers, cut up

2 tsp. of olive oil

3 yellow summer squashes, about 3/4 lb. total

1/4 cup chopped shallot

1 1/2 tsp. of dried thyme

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

(Use your spiralizer to cut your yellow squash and zucchini into long, narrow, ribbons). Recipe is courtesy of William Sonoma Magazine.