Cool Products 2008: Veggie Stuff at the Housewares Show

My shoulders and feet are sore and I’m nursing a junk food hangover – trade show season has begun. I spent yesterday at the International Home and Housewares Show at McCormick Place in Chicago. (Sidenote: What is up with the miserable food selection there?)

I feel like I only saw a fraction of the products on display (the show is massive), but here are a few of my favorites:

The Smood masher from Australia’s Dreamfarm is designed to trap potatoes or other mashables in its collapsible circular spring and smooth them quickly and easily. I was surprised by how springy it actually is. It’s available for order on Dreamfarm’s site ($19.95), or at Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea locations in Chicago.

These may just be loofahs, but there’s a big sustainable effort behind Loofah-Art’s products. Made from sustainable materials grown by self-employed farmers, the loofahs are 100 percent biodegradable and, get this, loofah is actually a vegetable itself. Plus, the vegetable designs are pretty adorable. Available at EcoBags ($2.99).

The Reisenthel Carry Bag was a hot product introduced at last year’s show and, according to one of their reps, one of the most copied. I really wanted one last summer, as a perfect farmer’s market carryall, and with the new patterns introduced at this year’s show, I don’t know how I’ll resist. Available at Reusable Bags ($39.95).

OK, so this one is a bit of an indulgence. I generally try to avoid super-specific, not-so-necessary gadgets mostly because storage space in my kitchen is pretty limited. But, here’s the thing, I *hate* chopping garlic. I always manage to get garlic all over my hands, and I haven’t had better luck with garlic presses, which are such a pain to clean. The Garlic Twist only has two molded plastic pieces with no hard-to-clean crevices, and I like that it allows for some variation. Place peeled garlic inside and twist – less for chunkier pieces and more for a finer mince. It works with ginger, too. Available at William Glen ( $14.98 ) and at The Chopping Block in Chicago.