Another idea for those of you who want better places than the counter to store your knives:

http://kitchen.apartmenttherapy.com/food/cutlery/whats-the-deal-with-magnetic-knife-strips-007445

I heart mine and the comments I get occasionally about it.

I thought briefly about getting one of those BUT I need to keep my knives out of site/out of mind for my little one. She loves to help me cook in the kitchen and I think a magnetic strip full of pretty, shiny knives would just be too tempting for her to grab one if I turned my head for a split second!  :-\

Good point.
Even I am intreigued by shiny pretty things...  ;)

This is more of a year-round wish list than a Christmas list, just ideas for any reason/occasion  :)

Vitamix
Tea kettle
4 quart crock pot
pizza stone
dutch oven
frying pan with cover
Tea pot

Ummmm....that's all I can remember for now....

I saw some food network tv show about pizza where the chef talked about pizza stones and he said you can just go to home depot and get one of those stone slabs  (like you would make a little sidewalk out of) for like a buck and it works the exact same way.. i don't remember which type of stone he suggested but it might be worth checking out.

Yabbit, I see that you also want a dutch oven for Christmas. I've never owned one and was wondering (after a quick Google search) if I should be looking for dutch ovens made out of a certain material (is cast iron best? or ceramic?). Can you (or anyone else) let me now what I should be considering (price, material, size, etc.)?

Thanks!!

I'm old fashioned; go with cast iron. Wash it out, season it and NEVER PUT SOAP IN IT. Just very hot water.

I don't think you can get cast iron here without paying the earth. Sigh. I can get a nonstick one for $50. I don't want a nonstick one, and I can't afford or make friends with Le Creuset ware (everything sticks!) but I guess I'll get stuck with the cheapie. Being on a fixed income will do that.  ::)

For Christmas I would like my parents to accept me being a vegetarian. I know that I won't be able to become vegan until they can at least handle vegetarianism.

On a more material note...

I have no idea. I know I want the season three House DVD set. I need my list soon for my birthday as well.

NEW KNIVES! Ones that are super sharp that I'll be able to keep when I go to college. And a knofe sharpener. I know I'll be back to this thread.

I also recently decided that for christmas I'll be giving out donations to local charities or knitting things to donate in the name of some of my friends. I do like the idea of buying reusable grocery bags for people though. Those might be good gifts for my parentals.

Owalker - last year's holidays, my mom bought 20 trees from here: http://www.treesforlife.org/project/moringa/default.en.asp and I thought it was the coolest gift ever!!

That is an awesome idea, dinkfeet! I love that stuff! Sort of along the same lines, has anyone ever heard of Farm Sanctuary's Adopt-a-Turkey Project?? http://www.adoptaturkey.org/

I "adopted" (more like sponsored) a turkey last year for Thanksgiving! Sort of like my pledge to fund them instead of eat them! :) They don't have too many turkeys, and I think it's only like $20, so I'm sure a lot of people "adopt" the same turkey, but I was just happy to donate. And they sent me a cute little "framed" (with cardboard) picture of my turkey! ;D It's on my desk, and it's a good conversation piece, and also gives me an opportunity to make people think about what they're eating...

I really want an immersion blender for making soups this winter.

I really want an immersion blender for making soups this winter.

Get the one with the whisk attachment and the chopper box...well worth the investment because they go in the DW and much easier to use than the food processor.