The Almighty Tong

Last week, i went to daiso (a huge japanese dollar store chain that has 1 store in Vancouver) and bought a tong. The label on this utilitarian utensil said "The Almighty Tong". Call me a sap but I was ready to believe.

The first time I made use of this simple kitchen implement, it was to retreive some papers that had slid behind a bookcase. The Almighty Tong did not disappoint. I was able to use the tongs as an extension of my own limited reach and grab the dangling papers.

Today, I used the tongs for their intended purpose: cooking. Inspired by this blog, I had sliced some zucchini into batons, drizzled them with some extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled them with salt and pepper. When my lovely LeCruset grill pan was hot, I used The Almighty Tong to carefully place the batons into the pan and after a few minutes, I used The Almighty Tong again, flipping each baton, revealing beautiful grill marks.

Once that job was done, I wasn't ready to put down The Almighty Tong! I reached into my hot oven and skillfully pulled out 4 piping hot baked potatoes...The Almighty Tong was really working it's magic! Once more, I felt it's power as I took out my roasting chicken thighs (smeared simply with dijon mustard and rosemary) and arranged the chicken onto a plate ready to serve.

I sincerely cannot believe that I have gone without such a tool. All bow down before The Almighty Tong!