My chopstick collection began innocently enough, just a bag of cheap restaurant-style wooden chopsticks to use and reuse at home, but I had long admired the heights of functional artistry that some chopsticks achieve: the sleek design of metal chopsticks, the colorful surface of lacquered chopsticks, the Zen feeling of carefully smoothed wooden chopsticks. They are the perfect blend of form and function.

I remember spotting these children’s chopsticks in a small toy store. They were in a simple display near the check out counter, and a bright purple camel begged to go home with me. That was eight years ago and I still have that purple camel. As our children started to grow up and feed themselves I began to collect more of these Hog Wild Chopsticks because I wanted to encourage my children to practice using chopsticks. The technique is different from standard chopsticks, just a simple squeeze, which might put off chopstick purists, but I think it’s a good start particularly for children who may have fine motor challenges.

Hog Wild Toys is an independent toy maker, and they have 32 chopstick designs to choose from.

Zoo Sticks

Farm Sticks

Fish Sticks

Dino Sticks

Besides the simplicity of use, one thing I appreciate about the design is how the ends are squared off and taper to an ribbed angle. The ribbed surface is larger than standard chopsticks, which makes it easier to grab bits of food, but I don’t think this makes them any safer than pointed chopsticks. Kids are kids and my boys have poked each other with the chopsticks on a number of occasions, and fortunately we haven’t lost an eye yet. We find the chopsticks easy to clean and they are dishwasher safe according to the company representative I spoke with, but we don’t put them in the dishwasher.

My boys enjoy using them and get excited about choosing their chopsticks for meals. The company website specifies the chopsticks are for ages 8 and up, but I’ve used them with my children as early as 5 years old, so it really depends on your child’s level of manual dexterity and whether you trust him or her with a slightly pointy object at mealtime.

[I purchased this item.]

Pros: Easy for young children to grip, wide ribbed tips make it easier to pick up food.

Cons: Can break easily if pulled in the wrong direction.

Price: starting at US$2.25 each from How Wild, have seen US$1.75 to $3.50. Shop around.

Dimensions: 10 inches/25.5 cm long

Colors: vary, 32 different animal shapes

Materials: plastic

Where to buy: Hog Wild Toys, Amazon’ target=_blank>Amazon’ target=_blank>Amazon’ target=_blank>Amazon, local small toy stores. Can also buy in bulk from Wildline.com.

Company website: www.hogwildtoys.com

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The memories of homemade ice cream tugged at me when we started having children, and I’m glad to carry on the tradition in our home. Last year Michael gave me a Cuisinart 2-quart ice cream maker and I immediately put it to good use. We found it at Costco in the stainless and black colors and saved about US$20 versus buying the all-stainless model. This type of ice cream maker has a heavy insulated bowl that must be frozen before use. Getting the bowl to the right temperature takes at least 8 hours in our freezer, and you can only make one batch before the bowl starts to be too warm. Once you’ve made a batch, you need to clean and refreeze the bowl before making another batch.

The unit comes with just four parts: the main unit, bowl, paddle, and lid. Simply put the frozen bowl into the unit, the paddle into the bowl, then put on the lid. You can pour the ice cream/gelato base right into the bowl through the whole in the lid, which is also handy for adding mix-ins at the end of churning. Cleanup is a snap, just lift out the dasher and rinse out the bowl, dasher, and lid with warm soapy water. You can wipe the exterior of the unit clean with a damp cloth.

We’ve been very pleased with the texture of the finished ice creams, though I wasn’t as happy with the gelato output, and once I read Making Artisan Gelato by Torrance Kopfer, I understood why. U.S. ice cream makers whip too much air into the mixture to achieve a true gelato texture, so to compensate at home, Kopfer recommends prefreezing the chilled custard about 30 minutes before churning. The gelato will chill faster in the maker, meaning less air gets whipped in. You may not achieve perfect gelato texture, but we found the prefreezing made our gelato better, such as this Malted Milk Gelato.

The Cuisinart ice cream freezer is perfect for our frequency of use and I give it a solid recommendation. If I made ice cream several times a week or made large batches, I would be inclined to choose a White Mountain 4-quart Ice Cream Freezer or the Cuisinart ICE-50BC which has a commercial style compressor and can churn instantly, no need to freeze the bowl, though it has only a 1.5 quart capacity. But it’s probably a good thing I don’t make that much ice cream and gelato because I’d have to spend several hours a day spinning on the bike to combat the calorie and fat count.

[I purchased this item.]

Pros: The price is right, doesn’t take up much room, easy to operate and clean, gets the ice cream and sorbet texture right. Also comes in a smaller, cheaper 1.5-quart size.

Cons: Must put bowl in the freezer at least 24 hours before making ice cream, extra step required to get best gelato texture, additional freezer bowls are costly but helpful.

Price: US$50-80 for the unit, US$40-45 for extra freezer bowl, recommend shopping around

Dimensions: 8-1/4” x 8” x 11-1/4”

Materials: The model from Amazon and other stores has a brushed stainless steel exterior, while the less expensive version from Costco and BJs is brushed stainless with black plastic as above.

Warranty: 3 years limited

Where to buy: Amazon.com, Costco, BJs, Sam’s Club, Bed Bath and Beyond, Chefs Catalog, Williams-Sonoma, and other stores

Company website: http://www.cuisinart.com/

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When Michael and I went to Hawaii last year, I had my first opportunity to try Hawaiian shave ice, a favorite treat of locals and visitors alike, and we returned home with hope that we might find a machine that could replicate the shave ice we had on that vacation while staying within a family budget. We didn’t want a snow cone machine, as the texture is completely different. Traditional U.S. snow cones have ball shaped pieces of ice, but shave ice is flaky like snow flakes and is light on the tongue.

After much searching, we decided to try an ice shaver we spotted at Target, the Back to Basics Electric Ice Shaver. The kit is very reasonably priced at US$19.99 and comes with the shaver machine, two ice molds, four paper cups and four spoon straws. The flavored syrups were sold separately in a three-pack assortment for US$8.99. Silicone cone cups are also sold separately for US$4.99.

Each round plastic ice molds hold 1 cup (240 ml) of water and makes about two cones if you don’t pile the ice high. If you want to pile up a big rounded mound of ice, you’ll only get one cone per mold plus a little extra. For our family of five we use three ice rounds each time, which keeps the servings at a perfect size for our young boys.

We found the machine very easy to use. Out of the box it’s in three pieces: base, blade assembly, and the top (with the motor). Just snap the round blade assembly in place, make the ice, put it into the shaving area, place the motor on top, and press the big blue top button.

The underside of the motor has a rotating metal plate that grips the ice and spins it across the blade.

The blue knob on the base allows you to choose coarse or fine shavings. We like the coarse shavings, but of course that is a matter of personal preference.

The shaving process goes quickly, taking less than 30 seconds to fill a cone. The ice did spray around a bit, but it’s just water and easy to clean up. The machine does not completely shave out each round, leaving about 1/8-inch (3 mm) of ice once it stops shaving. We tried stacking leftover rounds of ice and shaving them, but obviously there is no friction between the pieces of ice, so they just slice around without shaving.

The blue arm that holds the cones is removable so you could use a bowl or cup instead of a cone if desired.

We have only had the ice shaver for about one month, so I can’t speak to the long-term durability, but based on our observations we think it’s a good family size machine. If you are planning to use this at a party, we suggest having at least one more unit and lots of ice rounds or bagged ice to keep up with demand. The machine will work with ice cubes or bagged ice, though the texture is not as flaky because the ice cubes don’t compress evenly like the rounds.

The syrups have a fake fruit taste, but you could make your own by straining fresh fruit juices and mixing with a simple syrup with flavors like mango lime, watermelon, lemon blueberry, strawberry, cherry, raspberry, lemon lime, pineapple, and passion fruit.

Overall, we like the ice shaver for the flaky ice texture, ease of use, and affordable price.

[I purchased this item.]

Pros: Flaky ice, easy to use, affordable.

Cons: Ice disks are relatively small. Have to make several ice disks in advance if making shave ice for a crowd. Ice rounds don’t shave down completely.

Price: US$19.99 retail

Dimensions: 8.5″ x 7.5″ x 13”

Colors: white and blue

Materials: plastic

Warranty: 1 year limited

Where to buy: Target, Amazon

Company website: www.focuselectrics.com

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Our house came with a pantry which really wasn’t anything more than a tiny closet between the garage and the kitchen, and it barely held my baking supplies never mind any canned goods. In desperation we converted the coat closet into a pantry and installed some heavy duty shelves in there to hold canned goods, pasta, etc., but that meant we lost space for coats, shoes, bike helmets, roller blades, kids play equipment, etc. It’s all been hanging around on wall hooks or laying on the floor and blocking traffic to the laundry room.

After considering several options, including expanding the pantry (which would have been frightfully expensive), we decided to add some cabinets to the kitchen in a couple locations, and the first would be to add a floating island. There are many types of premade and custom islands on the market, and our heads were spinning as we looked at all the options. We wanted a cabinet that:

• would compliment or come close to matching the existing cabinets,
• had granite or stainless steel top,
• had sturdy locking wheels,
• cost less than $1000, and
• measured 36 inches long and 24-inches deep (Most were 18 inches deep and not stable enough to withstand the onslaught of three little boys.)

The KraftMaid Floating Island Base, available via special order from major home improvement centers and other cabinet retailers, met almost all of our criteria and stayed within our budget. We saw a floor model at Lowe’s and had a chance to check out all the features. Michael noted the size and sturdiness of the wheels and even spun it around fast to see if it would tip over (thinking about our boys running through the kitchen and bumping into it), but it stayed upright without the slightest hint of leaning, and that was the final selling point.

Cost for the cabinet varies according to whatever options you choose:

• width (24, 30, or 36 inches)
• style of cabinet (regular or mission)
• top or no top
• style of doors
• number of doors (2 one one side or 4 front and back)
• number of drawers

The ordering process was fairly simple. We sat down with a cabinet specialist and went through all the options. We chose the 36-inch width with the butcher block top, though we did ask about granite and stainless. The only other option is to order without a top if we wanted granite or stainless, but Lowe’s wouldn’t special order a top in either of those because the size was too small for the minimum order. So we would have to find someone that would make one especially for us as a small order, which would have been out of our budget.

For the rest of the options, we chose one wide drawer, matched our cabinet doors and closely matched the finish, and chose to have doors just on one side. The final price was $912.00. We saved some money by choosing one drawer on top and having doors on just one side, but that was offset by the price of the cabinet door style, which was at the high end.

The cabinet arrived about five weeks after we placed our order and was shipped with the base assembled and the wheels and butcher block top separate. It had a small gouge in one side of the frame and one of the wheel locks was broken. Lowe’s didn’t knock the price down any and said we would have to return the whole thing and wait for a replacement, though they would replace the wheel if we just wanted to do that, which is what we decided to do. That was in January and we still haven’t received the replacement wheel, so that has been a little discouraging. Though it’s not rough by any means, the butcher block top wasn’t sanded as smooth as we would like, so we’re going to buff it some weekend.

Overall we have been very pleased with the cabinet. It looks great in the kitchen and is functional and versatile. It’s great for storage and can also work as extra serving space for parties, and the large wheels make it easy to move around. It’s become my baking center, with plenty of space in the wide drawer for my four half sheet pans, other baking pans, measuring cups and spoons, rolling pin, etc. The pull out shelf in the bottom holds all of the flours and sugars, and the top shelf (not pull out) holds the rest of the baking supplies, I just organize them in plastic bins that I can pull out for easy access. The 24×36 butcher block top provides plenty of room to roll pastry or shape breads and keeps the flour mess away from the cooktop in the main island. My sister came for a visit a few weekends ago and after seeing it has decided she needs one for her kitchen to help with storage as well.

Care of the cabinet has been easy, we just wipe down the surfaces with hot soapy water and season the butcher block top with homemade beeswax paste.

Pros: Sturdy, three size options, two drawer options, many door style and color options to match existing cabinets, pullout bottom shelf, large locking wheels , not likely to tip over.

Cons: No materials choices for the top, purchase drawer and door pulls separately, owner installs pulls and butcher block, 4 weeks delivery time.

Price:  Varies depending on width, style of cabinet, door style and wood type, top or no top, and number of drawers and doors.

Dimensions: Available in 24, 30, and 36-inch widths, 24 inches deep, 36 inches tall (with wheels); wheels measure 4 inches diameter x 2-1/4 inches wide.

Colors/Styles: Over 100 door style options, many finish options, check with your local dealer.

Materials: The top is butcher block. The cabinet frame is is plywood with veneer, doors are solid wood (cherry, maple, hickory, oak, birch).

Warranty: lifetime from the manufacturer

Where to buy: Lowe’s, Home Depot, other cabinet sellers

Company website: www.kraftmaid.com

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I recently had an opportunity to try out one of the santoku knives from the folks at New West KnifeWorks in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I’d had my eye on one for some time and gladly took them up on their offer. My grandfather had an astonishing knife collection when he was alive, and I remember him showing my father all his new finds from flea markets and auctions. Even though I don’t collect knives as my grandfather did, the appreciation for good knives filtered down to me, and I do believe my grandfather would have enjoyed this knife.

New West KnifeWorks designs the knives, the blades are manufactured in Seki, Japan (the home of modern Japanese cutlery production), and the handles and knife blocks are hand made in Wyoming. The characteristic dimpled surface of the santoku blade is designed to reduce drag as you slice through meats and vegetables, allowing the perfect cuts required for Japanese cooking. I’ve seen several translations for the Japanese word santoku, usually “three virtues,” “three good things,” or “three uses,” all referring to the tasks the blade was designed for: slicing, dicing, and mincing. These blades are designed for fine kitchen work, and it performs beautifully. Don’t use this for hard objects such as bones, ice, or other frozen items as the blade isn’t designed for that kind of abuse. Stick with a cleaver for that type of work.

The Fusionwood Santoku knife is a truly terrific tool to work with. I do a fair amount of Asian cooking, which often requires very thin perfect slices of meat or vegetables, and the santoku is up to the task, slicing easily with no sticking or shredding. The knife weighs 8-3/4 ounces (247 g), making it substantially heavier than the 5 ounces (142 g) Chicago Cutlery santoku knife I’ve been working with. That doesn’t sound like much, but it does make a difference. The heft required a little adjusting on my part, but I soon came to enjoy the substantial feel.

The handle is beautiful and feels good in my hand. The company offers several different handle colors in the Fusionwood style as well as other colors for the Phoenix style.

Each knife comes with its own leather sheath to protect the blade. Care for the knife as you would any other good knife, using a knife steel to maintain the edge. Use only wooden or soft plastic cutting boards. Hand wash in soapy water and dry immediately; never wash in a dishwasher or soak for long periods in water. The company has a lifetime guarantee for home use and offers a full “tune-up” program; just mail in the knife along with return shipping cost of $5 and they will re-polish and re-sharpen free of charge.

I’m impressed with the quality of the knife and appreciate that it’s a piece of functional art for the kitchen. The price is higher than some high quality santoku blades but less than others, and after using it for a while I can say it’s worth the cost. These knives make fine gifts for cooking devotees, chefs, and knife collectors.

[Received sample from the manufacturer.]

Pros: Very sharp, durable, holds an edge, easy to hone, elegant wood handles, comes with leather sheath.

Cons: High carbon-steel content in blade requires some care to maintain finish. Not designed to cut ice, frozen items, or bones.

Price: $159 for the Fusionwood Santoku (all knives priced according to size and materials)

Dimensions: blade 7 inches, overall 12 inches

Colors: handles available in a variety of colors

Materials: blades made from high-carbon stainless steel, handles made from hardwood veneers

Warranty: lifetime for non-commercial use, “full tune-up” available free of charge

Company website: New West KnifeWorks

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We like to grill year round, but occasionally it’s too cold to grill outdoors, even for us, and we find a grill pan for indoor use very useful. We’ve had our share of grill pans, many of which were disappointing. I recently had the opportunity to test a Scanpan grill pan courtesy of the company, and I have to say this is hands down the best grill pan we’ve ever used.

The pan is made from heavy cast aluminum and is coated with a ceramic-titanium nonstick surface that really doesn’t stick to food. Unlike traditional nonstick pans, this pan is PFOA free, making it safe to cook on for many years. The handle is cast 18/10 stainless steel and stays cool longer than others we’ve used, though the pan comes with a separate fitted handle cover that functions as a potholder.

For our first test, I cooked salmon steaks with a miso ginger marinade, and the fish didn’t stick at all, even without any oil on the pan. We had perfect grill marks and the fish just glided on the surface. The second test was with boneless skinless chicken breasts marinated in soy sauce and spices, with similar results. The chicken cooked up nice and juicy, and again with perfect grill marks and no sticking.

Clean up was a breeze, we just added some water to the pan and let it sit for a few minutes, then poured it out and scrubbed with a plastic brush and some warm soapy water.

The pan has a 10.25 inches/26 cm square cooking surface, plenty of room to grill at least 3 large chicken breasts or 4 or more smaller breasts. This is a pan that should last a lifetime, and the only downside I can see is the price tag, though one could consider it an investment as this would likely be the only grill pan you would ever need.

[I received a sample from the manufacturer.]

Pros: Nonstick, PFOA free, dishwasher safe, oven safe to 500° F/260° C, suitable for most cooktops (excluding induction), safe to use with metal spatulas.

Cons: Pricey

Price: $165 retail, shop around for sales

Dimensions: 10.25-inch/26 cm square cooking surface, 19 inches/49 cm long with handle

Materials: heavy duty pressure cast aluminum base, titanium-ceramic nonstick surface, 18/10 stainless steel handle

Warranty: lifetime

Where to buy: Amazon.com, Sur La Table, Chefs Catalog

Company website: www.scanpan.com

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A few months ago I received a weekly email from BlogHer with their picks for great deals and fabulous freebies, and one item caught my eye: the Share Senseo program. For just the cost of shipping, you get a free single-serve coffeemaker, free bag of coffee pods, and free pod canister. Since I’m the only coffee drinker in the family, I thought this might be worth a try. I applied for the program (yes, you have to fill out a questionnaire and receiving one is not guaranteed) and a few weeks later I received an email stating that a Senseo was on it’s way to me. For purposes of disclosure, I was under no obligation to blog about the coffee maker, so this review is written of my own free will.

The Senseo is supposed to give a European style coffee with a foamy crema layer on top, so the coffee is forced out under pressure rather than dripping. When it arrived, I set it up immediately and read the directions to make sure I didn’t break it on my first run. The machine has a water reservoir that attaches to the back and has lines showing you the minimum and maximum fill. The front has two small spouts where the coffee comes out. The lid raises up and you put a pod holder in the machine, then add one or two pods depending on how much coffee you want to make. The cup area will hold a regular coffee cup or larger mug, but it’s forward design will not accommodate all mug styles, so check your mug before turning on the machine.

The Senseo comes with two pod holders, a single and a double. Use the single pod for one regular size cup and two pods for one mug or two regular size cups. I tried various settings, experimenting with coffee output and flavor. The company sent the dark roast at my request, which I found fairly bitter. I prefer my coffee on the medium to mild side, not black, and for my taste using just one pod with my mug works well. The price for the coffee pods runs around $4.99 per bag of 16 to 18 pods at Target. That equates to just under 4 ounces up to 4.5 ounces, making this some pretty pricey coffee.

The one thing that really annoys me about the machine is the rule about not using loose ground coffee. I have my favorite types of coffee that I want to use because I like the flavor and because the pods are expensive, but Senseo does not come with a unit that allows that. It will only work with pods, and they have language in the owners manual stating:

“In order to avoid damage, use only SENSEO™ coffee pods that have been specifically designed for your SENSEO™ coffee machine for a pure, smooth taste.”

This type of recommendation is not unusual for these types of devices because they want to sell you coffee pods, but I did not want to give up my favorite coffee for the convenience of using this particular machine. I did some research and found some Senseo owners trying to make their own pods. I really did not want to go there. I also found refillable pods, but it seemed like the method had mixed reviews; people loved it or they hated it. After more research I found a third-party device called the CoffeeDuck which allows me to use my own coffee. It’s basically a one cup pod holder with a strainer lid that you lay on top of the coffee. You fill the holder with your favorite coffee then place the lid on top. It takes some practice to figure out the perfect amount to give the same results as a pod because the coffee is loose and not compacted like the pods, but it worked in the end and I use it every day. I also like the fact that it’s a permanent filter rather than disposable like the pods, making it a more environmentally friendly option. If you really like the pods and want to try other varieties, there are a number of websites that sell pods designed for the Senseo, just do a search for “Senseo pods.” I have not used any of those sites and cannot make a recommendation as to which are better.

I’ve seen various types of single cup coffee makers and have been tempted, but the price tag always kept me away. The Senseo line starts at $69.99 retail for the basic model, so this isn’t exactly cheap, but it’s not the same as an inexpensive 4-cup drip coffee maker. For a coffee maker that puts out a decent crema layer, which the Senseo does, this is a pretty good value.

[I received this free from the manufacturer, but I paid $14.95 for the shipping.]

The bottom line:

Pros: brews quickly, easy clean up, convenient

Cons: not all coffee cup shapes fit under the machine spout, must purchase third-party device (the CoffeeDuck or other refillable filters) to use your own favorite type of coffee

Cost: $69.99 retail for the basic model, shop around for better deals; coffee retails for around $5.00 per bag of 16 to 18 pods

Warranty: two years

Where to buy: Amazon.com, Target, Wal-Mart, Drugstore.com

Company Website: www.senseo.com

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Today I noticed Amazon has the Lodge version in the very nice Island Spice color on sale for 55% off, so you can get it for a great price at $34.99 with Free Super Saver Shipping. This one will not last long!

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With five mouths to feed, having some oversize cookware can come in handy, especially when trying to crank out breakfast. Sunday mornings the kids are swirling around the kitchen proclaiming how hungry they are even though I’ve just given them a banana and milk to tide them over until the pancakes or waffles are ready. When it was just the two of us I made pancakes in my round 8-inch cast iron skillet without any problem, but now that the Three Amigos have joined the family, I can’t be bothered with small pans that only cook two or three pancakes at a time.

I tried out an extra large electric griddle, but the heat was very uneven because the coils simply didn’t cover enough surface area and the thing was just huge, so both washing and storage were a problem. Of course dropping it one day didn’t help performance. I studied these Lodge griddles/grill pans for a while thinking it would work well, but our old gas stove had burners with different BTUs aligned, making even heating even more difficult when spanning two burners. So I held off, but when we moved last spring and realized the cooktop had burners with the same BTUs on one side, I ordered the grill/griddle pan.

The pan is pre-seasoned, so you don’t have to deal with that step, but it’s not a nonstick pan. I highly recommend spraying the pan with a canola oil spray each time you use it, especially if you use both sides because the stove/cooktop will cook away the seasoning on the side facing the burner. One night in January I had started some steaks on the outdoor grill only to have the tank run out, so I quickly brought them indoors thinking I could finish them on the grill pan. Since I usually use the griddle side, the grill side had basically been wiped clean of any seasoning, and I had to spray quite a bit to keep the steaks from sticking. I also have cooked fish, chicken, burgers, and hot dogs on the grill side, and all but the hot dogs had a tendency to stick unless I sprayed well.

The pan fits our gas cooktop burners fine, but the design of our burner grates doesn’t work well with the pan design. In the photo below, note the ridge that runs around the two cutout handles. That ridge sits right on the spoke of the burner grate and balances precariously, actually tilting from side to side as I cook. I finally realized I could slightly rotate the burner grates and the ridge would rest on two spokes instead of one. That helped a lot, but it was annoying until I solved the problem.

Despite the fact that cast iron is an excellent conductor of heat, there are some cold spots and I have to move things around when cooking to keep them cooking evenly, but that is pretty much inevitable when spanning multiple burners. The flames only reach so far, and even after a good preheat and cooking time, there are still spots between the two burners that do not get as hot as directly over the flames.

This is a heavy, heavy pan. My biggest worry is dropping it on my foot or one of the boys’ feet or on the tile floor because it will do some damage if it falls. We store it in the island and have that cabinet locked so the boys don’t pull it out. Take care when lifting it!

Retail price is $64.95, but shop around. I found mine for almost half that price when Amazon had them for around $35.00. The free shipping was an extra bonus for something this heavy.

[I purchased this item myself.]

The bottom line:

Pros: holds heat, can cook 4 or 5 pancakes at a time

Cons: very heavy; the ridge in the handles raises it off the burners and may cause it to tilt from side to side, cold spots almost inevitable when spanning two burners;

Cost: retail $64.95, shop around for good deals

Where to buy: Amazon.com, Target, other online retailers

Company Website: www.lodgemfg.com

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We did eventually lose the basil due to a combination of factors: the whiteflies, and the pump. The pumps tend to get clogged with roots and sometimes even residue or debris from the nutrient tablets as they don’t always dissolve completely. I followed the instructions to clean out the filter and the pump, but it never started up again and mold and mildew began to grow in the tank. A huge disappointment, to be sure. The cost to replace the pump is $9.95, which is pretty reasonable given the importance of the pump. I do think that the filter is pretty flimsy and wonder if there isn’t a better solution for an item that probably costs pennies to manufacture. I’m looking into a filter that will still allow enough water to pass through but does a better job of keeping out the roots and the nutrient debris.

You might also be interested in these reviews:

AeroGarden (12/5/2007)

AeroGarden Part 2 (12/13/2007)

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