Taking a tip from fine dining

Started last year by two friends with MBA s and backgrounds in branding, marketing, and start - up companies, the local restaurant chain Stone Hearth Pizza serves a good pie made with great ingredients. General manager Michael Ehlenfeldt, who worked at Hamersley's Bistro for over a decade, says that sourcing ingredients for fine dining and for items like pizza (above) with spicy banana peppers and homemade sausage ($11.50) "is really not all that different." Ehlenfeldt still buys goods from local and regional producers, he just orders for the three pizza shops in higher volume. With plans to target what co-owner Jonathan Schwarz calls "underserved suburban markets," Ehlenfeldt's cheese, meat, and veggie producers won't be the only ones happy to hear when another Stone Hearth springs up. Stone Hearth Pizza, 57 Leonard St., Belmont, 617-484-1700; 519A Boston Post Rd., Sudbury, 978-443-5550; 974 Great Plain Ave., Needham, 781-433-0600. -- LEIGH BELANGER

Naturally clean

Mrs. Meyer is a real person. Thelma A. Meyer is a 74-year-old retired homemaker and mother of nine who keeps both her house in Iowa, and her camper in Arizona -- where she and husband Vern spend winters -- spic and span. In 2001, her daughter Monica Nassis founded Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day, inspired by her mother's crack housekeeping skills, and the flowers and herbs in her garden. Nassis makes aroma therapeutic household cleaners in geranium, lemon verbena, lavender, and especially for spring cleaning, a new honeysuckle scent. There are countertop sprays, dish soaps, handwashing soaps, and more. If only Mrs. Meyer herself would come over and do the work. Available at Economy Hardware, 438 Mass Ave., Cambridge, 617-864-3300; Charles Street Supply, 54 Charles St,. 617-367-9046; Debra's Natural Gourmet, 98 Commonwealth Ave., Concord, 978-371-7573; Container Store, 1265 Worcester St., Natick, 508-655-8500; Fruit Center Marketplace, 79 Water St., Hingham, 781-749-7332. -- JONATHAN LEVITT

A touch of flavor

There is good reason why squeeze bottles have become extensions of chefs' hands. With a quick and easy squirt, a ho-hum dish can be transformed into a blue-plate special. Besides making a stylish addition to your table, Garnishing Sauces (about $6 for 9 ounces) will instantly upgrade your cooking. Packed by Terrapin Ridge, a family - run business in Freeport, Ill., the plastic squeeze bottles come in an assortment of flavors including cranberry horseradish, kalamata feta, roasted tomato, hot wasabi, and roasted yellow pepper. Spicy chipotle is the most popular. Made with a nicely-balanced blend of smoky chipotle, vinegar, orange juice, and mustard, it will give an assertive kick to french fries, burgers, even scrambled eggs, or turn an ordinary chili into a four-alarm treat. Available at Sur La Table, The Mall at Chestnut Hill, 199 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill, 617-244-0213, Idylwilde Farms, 366 Central St., Acton, 978-263-5943 or go to terrapinridge.com.-- JEAN KRESSY

Dream catcher

Some kitchen inventions can change our lives forever. Like the Microplane for grating cheese, the Oxo silicone sink strainer ($6.99) has made washing dishes less frustrating. Say goodbye to those wire sink strainers that unnecessarily catch every bit of citrus pulp, making them impossible to clean, and no loose wires that poke into your fingers. Gently pull on its center post to invert the waste into the trash or garbage disposal. A stainless steel rim, lined with silicon, nestles seamlessly into the sink basin. Dishwashing is thankless work. Best to make it as painless as possible. Available at Linens 'n Things locations or go to lnt.com. -- JILL SANTOPIETRO