I'm not much of a cook or a baker, but one skill I have is making salads, both of the fruit and vegetable varieties. Lately I've been trying to keep a fresh example of each one in our fridge so we can enjoy them daily. I'm actually thinking of taking some salad-making tools with me on this trip, but that might be just a bit obsessive.
On a technical note, I highly recommend Kyocera ceramic knives and peelers for making salads of any sort. The blades are incredibly sharp, making slicing just about anyting a breeze, and I believe the nature of the ceramic blades does not impart any kind of taste to the food being sliced, as can sometimes happen with metal blades, especially with acidic fruits or vegetables.
I've also become enamored of the "Kyocera Adjustable Mandolin Slicer", which has a ceramic blade as well. I've always been a little leery of these things -- okay, I'll admit it, they frighten me! -- as the hand action required to use them could lead to sliced-off sections of fingers if one's attention wanders. But in the last few months I took the plunge, decided I would be extra careful, and it was most definitely worth it. This tool cuts down the slicing time for a vegetable salad by about two-thirds. In addition, it easily adjusts to four different settings for four different thicknesses of slices. And it's fun! (As long as you keep your eyes peeled, no pun intended.) -- PL
