Zing Pantry Shortcuts works in collaboration with chefs and food creators across North America to bring the secret sauce to your home cooking. We especially love Zing because it is a women-led, South Asian immigrant-owned company.
Zing’s most popular products include Hakka-ish Chili Crisp, Buzz Hot Honey and Mogambo Spiced Garlic Spread. The team recently launched Sacha-ish by Pay Chen, a familiar face and voice on TV and radio across Canada. Chen is Taiwanese-Canadian, and Sacha-ish is inspired in part by her memories of hot pot, where dipping sauces like shāchá jiàng were always a feature at the family dinner table. It offers the perfect flavour bomb for stir-fries, as well as grilled steaks and as a sandwich spread.
Ships across Canada and available in specialty gourmet food stores.
Prep-ahead meals
Cook It Wild by Chris Nuttall-Smith is the perfect companion for Canadians who love to cook outdoors. The food writer and Top Chef Canada judge has jam-packed this cookbook with 80 delicious recipes that elevate camping or cottage cooking — or backyard barbecuing, for that matter — beyond steaks, burgers and hotdogs. Dividing each recipe by prep location — home and away — means you’ll get most (if not all!) of the cooking done before a trip even begins, so you simply drop fully prepped ingredients into a pot or onto a grill and just like that, you’re dining on Cumin Lamb Kebabs with Fresh Chapatis, the simplest high-summer Cherry Tomato Pasta, or showstopping Sweet-Tangy Ribs. Available at Chapters-Indigo.
LOL microwave cleaner
The Angry Mama is an affordable microwave cleaner that makes it easy to quickly wipe away food spills and stains in just minutes. The LOL kitchen gadget uses steam to clean and disinfect the interior of your microwave using a simple combination of vinegar and water. The steam explodes out of the little lady’s head, giving you reasons to giggle next time you have to deep clean your kitchen!
Handcrafted gift baskets
Saul Good Gift Co. is our go-to when purchasing the perfect present for the foodies in our lives. Saul Good sells gift baskets called the Toronto, Vancouver and Quebec City, which feature local gourmet products made in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec. In the summer months, cute concepts like the Trinity Bellwoods Picnic, Summerhill Charcuterie, Stanley Park Picnic and Gastown Grazer make a delish gift for those looking to snack on gourmet treats in the sunshine.
