OXO has a great blogger outreach program, and, as part of it, a couple of weeks ago the Accidental Locavore got a nice, big, white box in the mail from them. It was originally supposed to be a mandolin, but somewhere it turned into a set of lock-top storage containers (disclosure notice: these were sent to me by OXO for free). Initially, not getting a second mandolin was disappointing (the very good one I have was the first gift my husband gave me—pretty cool, right?), but as time has elapsed and I’ve had a chance to use these containers, the Locavore has grown fiercely protective of them.
OXO sent two sets, each consisting of a large square container, two small square ones and two tiny squares. At first glance, the little minis seemed essentially useless, but boy was I wrong! These have become my go-to containers, holding fresh snipped chives from the garden, a leaky packet of piment d’espelette, a small amount of vinaigrette for the smoked trout salad and anything else I might usually toss into a Ziploc bag, like lemon slices for iced tea. Besides being extremely useful (and BPA free), they manage to assuage my guilt for ruining the environment by overusing plastic bags.
Even the larger one manages to be useful in an unexpected way. After years of translucent storage containers (no glass containers in the city, no place to store them), with opaque tops, it’s amazing how much guessing it takes out when you can see clearly on all sides! The tops are in two pieces, which might be a little over-designed, however nothing leaked when I was enthusiastically shaking the salad dressing to emulsify it. Even though the lids seal tightly, they pop on and off pretty easily, a good thing for sometimes wet or slippery hands!
So, if they sound good to you, you’re going to have to buy them for yourself (and try the little guys, you’ll be amazed at how often you reach for them). OXO sent me two sets and I was supposed to send one to a reader as a give-away (does the one I gave to Zhu Zhu count?), however, as per usual, I didn’t read the directions and one set is in use in each house…oops! Comment and let me know what great uses you find for them, especially the little ones!
