equipment

I've been living with my new refrigerator for about a month now, and I love it. What I particularly like about it are the "Biofresh" compartments - the sealed drawers with adjustable humidity for storing fresh food. (Biofresh is term used by the manufacturer, Liebherr, but other manufacturers use other terms for it.) The humidity can be set to low for meats, fish and cheeses, and high for fruit and vegetables. And, there are three big drawers - way more than a regular refrigerator.

My new refrigerator finally got installed on Friday. After some long hours of procrastination and drooling over appliance porn, I eventually went with a smaller, less-feature-rich, yet much "greener" model. (Actually two models, since we got a separate small freezer to go with the fridge.) It's not as sexy as the glamorous models in those appliance centerfolds, but it has a lot of features that suit the way I cook and shop for food.

The top black bowl is resin; the bottom two are real lacquered bowls.

Ooh, baby. This is the Sub Zero Pro 48, aka Fridge Porn.

Our old refrigerator is dying.

It's about 15 years old, so I suppose it has a right to die. Still, it depresses me to think about it. On a list of indispensable appliances in the modern household, fridges have to be near the top. When it malfunctions, it's like your heart beating irregularly. It's really stressful.

• Chef's Planet
  Wow why haven't I found this place before? Gorgeous, sleek kitchen equipment online store.

Yes my friends - Swiss stainless steel triumphs over food disaster! Here is a picture of the pot that got a little bit singed a few days ago.

It had to be soaked for about 4 days, and scrubbed a few times to get all the black bits off, but it's as good as new now and back in regular rotation.

I love cute things, but when it comes to kitchen ware it has to be practical as well as cute. Koziol is a German company that makes things that fit both requirements. They aren't as well known as the Italian company Alessi, but I think their stuff is as well designed - and, it's a lot more affordable.