How Cute Is This?

In February I spent the weekend in Houston with 20 personal chefs, most whom I had not met before. We had a weekend of laughter, sharing, great food, and friendship. Sharon, our hostess extraordinaire, planned our day trips around various ethnic markets as well as other foodie stores. One of the stores that we visited was Phoenicia Specially Foods. It is an amazing market with imports of international gourmet foods. Much of what they sell is Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and North African with a smattering of foods from other countries. They are known for their fresh baked artisan breads, which "fall from the sky" and award winning pastries.

I could have wandered the isles for hours, but unfortunately we didn't have that much time. I did manage to pick up some fresh made pita bread, sesame bars, of which I have found an online site where I can order it them, several kinds of baklava and mamoul, all of which got eaten before I could take any photos! Sorry! I also found this really cute rainbow mortar and pestle.

Isn't is just the cutest thing you've ever seen? It's almost too cute to use, but I did actually grind rosemary in it the other day for a recipe I was preparing.

I just love fun kitchen gadgets. Don't you?