Sometimes a girl needs kitchen inspiration on the cheap, and that’s when a visit to Ichiban Kan is in order. No high-end pans or cutlery to be found here. Instead, the small store in San Francisco’s Japantown is stuffed full of cheap but super-cute goods for the kitchen and the rest of the house. The store is probably best known for carrying inexpensive bento boxes in a wide range of colors and sizes.

Below are just a few samples examples of little toys for the kitchen:

Boiled Egg Mold

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The Butterfinger Buzz is a new variety from the candy maker that contains 40 mg of caffeine per piece (there are two pieces of candy in each package).  According to the website the candy will only be available through April 2009, so if you want to taste, better do it soon.

But how does it taste? Actually, I was surprised, it’s rather rich. In a side by side comparison with the original Butterfinger, the Buzz (pictured right, and regular on the left) has a more intense and full flavor. The color is a deeper, brighter orange, too. Though I suspect that was a deliberate decision.

I found mine at a Walgreens, they are also available at 7-eleven. Yeah, they have an annoying media campaign and Facebook page, but I’m simply going to ignore that and enjoy the candy+caffeine concoction.

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I’ve seen recipes lately that call for goat cheese icing, but I wanted to attempt an entire recipe–cake and icing–using only goat dairy. My first attempt at an icing was all goat cheese and the result was simply too much goat flavor. I didn’t use goat butter simply because the grocery store didn’t have any. The final recipe uses a cupcake batter based on buttermilk cake, and the icing combines both goat cheese and cream cheese–resulting in a tart, almost lemon yogurt flavor.

Pre-heat oven to 350°F

Cupcake Batter
1/2 cup softened butter, unsalted
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp lemon extract
2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup goat milk (plus 2 tblsp fresh lemon juice)

In small bowl combine goat milk and lemon juice, set aside for 5-10 minutes.

In mixer, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy; beat in eggs, 1 at a time.  Add lemon zest and extract.

In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Stir dry ingredients into butter mixture, alternating with goat milk in 2 batches.

Use ice cream scoop to fill cupcake tins. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes. Let cool and ice.

Goat Cheese Icing
8 oz. plain goat cheese
3 oz. plain cream cheese
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar (slightly more if needed)
juice of 1/2 lemon
zest of 2 lemons

Beat goat cheese and cream cheese until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add sugar and beat on high for another minute. Add in lelmon juice and rind and beat until combined. Mix in more sugar, by the tablespoon, if mixture is too loose or too tart.

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The New May Wah on Clement St. has frozen, whole durians.  I suspect they have one box (as the box contains less fruit each time I’ve walked by this week) and when they are gone, they’re gone. I considered picking one up to taste, but it’s a good 6 or 7 pounds–a bit pricey for what will no doubt be just one bite.

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