
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 29, 1995                   TAG: 9511290026
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ALMENA HUGHES FOOD EDITOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

FOOD GIFTS AND GADGETS RANGE FROM GOOD TO GOOFY

Lunch at a restaurant with a couple of friends seemed like a perfect opportunity to test out a new food gadget I'd recently received in the mail. So, making much ado about an item on one of my companion's plates, I asked if I might sample it.

"Well, sure," he agreed, too polite to ask why I didn't just go get some of the entree for myself from the buffet table. I told him he didn't need to pass me his dish as, barely able to suppress my mirth, I whipped out my handy-dandy "ALAN'S X-TENDA FORK" - which telescopes from a standard fork length of about 6 inches to almost two feet - and plucked the morsel from my astonished table mate's plate.

The last few weeks here at the office have been like Christmas morning on steroids, with unsolicited merchandise regularly arriving for consideration as holiday gifts. Here are a few of the more interesting entries:

The X-Tenda Fork, touted as a perfect gift for anyone who eats - especially off other people's plates - was created by Alan Lowenfels, who for 15 years was president of Hotel Bar Butter. If this gadget doesn't start a conversation, check your companion's pulse. Other possible uses suggested in the fork's tongue-in-cheek press package include: scratch your back; wear it as kinetic jewelry; lead tour groups; or lay it on someone's shoulder and bestow a culinary blessing. To get one, fork over $10 plus $3.50 postage and handling to: Alan's X-Tenda Fork, 130 Garth Road, #138, Scarsdale, N.Y. 10583 or call (800) 557-1445.

I'd never thought it especially difficult to get chopped ingredients from board to bowl without dropping them all over the floor, but admittedly, the funnel-shaped "CUT-N-SCOOP," made it easier to do. The sturdy plastic-like polyacrylite cutting boards are odor-free, dishwasher safe and won't dull knives. They come in clear, white or granite, sized 9.5x12 inches (about $6 to $10) or 11x14 inches (about $10 to $15) and are available at many retailers and gourmet shops, or can be ordered through Decorator House products, (800) 527-5197.

"HOT POT DECALS" are a cool and practical idea. The small, peel-off mylar decals are applied to surfaces such as pots, pans, oven door, toaster, or mugs that are sometimes hot and sometimes not. When the appliance's surface temperature reaches 135,F, the decals change from black to red, giving a visual warning of the hazard, then return to black when the surface is again cool. The top-rack dishwasher-safe stick-ons are estimated to last about a year with normal use. A sheet of four costs $2. Send payment plus a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the Burn Prevention Group, 6724 Bluffridge Parkway, Indianapolis, Ind. 46278-1853.

Most of the more than 600 products in MO HOTTA-MO BETTA's catalog are hot. A cool offering from the spicy-condiments purveyors, though, is its blank-verse, seed-embedded greeting cards, which can be planted to yield Aji, New Mexican Green, Fips or Fiesta chili pepper plants. The biodegradable cards, with a watercolor sketch of the corresponding pepper, run about $4 each. Call (800) 462-3220.

The foody items in SHARE OUR STRENGTH's 10-page catalog fittingly help feed the poor and hungry. Featured are beautiful books, calendars, kitchen accessories, clothing and jewelry, such as "place-setting pins" or a "fruit and veggie watch" that would make especially nice gifts for, say, a food editor. To get a catalog or to place an order, call (800) 222-1767.

CLAY BAKERS' pots, of the flower variety, baked up cute little loaves of bread that drew rave reviews from my discriminating (chuckle) staff of volunteer tasters. The four-inch Holiday Hearth Pot that I tested is one of several possible groupings of the ceramic-glazed flower pot baking/serving dishes. They're at major retailers and gourmet shops, or call (800) 401-2529.

Finally, if you think the electrical power failures that hit the valley a couple of weeks ago portend things to come, a nonelectrical cooking source might strike you as hot. Single-eye portable butane-powered countertop cookers from Glow Master (at Valley Restaurant Equipment, Roanoke) and Max Burton (at Provisions Gourmet, Hunting Hills) cost in the $60 -$65 range.

Twenty-five shopping days remain until Christmas. But who's counting?

by CNB