When we were putting together our registry before getting married, I was inexplicably thrilled to register for a melon baller. I have no explanation for this. In the nearly 6 years we’ve been married, I think I’ve used that thing … Read More
Until this weekend, I’d never before put chocolate chips in my pancakes. It was…life changing. I mean, HOW had I not put chocolate chips in my pancakes? Maybe not the brightest crayon. These were delicious. A little lighter than with … Read More
This afternoon, I finally sat down and constructed my Valentine’s Day meal plan. I’m kind of ridiculously excited to steal Mel’s idea this year of having a little family candlelit dinner. I think the kids will be stoked. There’s a … Read More
A couple of weeks ago, I was attending a bridal shower. We had a few errands to run in the morning, but I figured we had plenty of time until the afternoon shower. Until I remembered I had offered to … Read More
I’ve mentioned before that we have homemade pizza most Friday nights around here. We tend to keep things pretty standard with either a basic tomato sauce or pesto. We had some red bell peppers sitting around last week, though, so … Read More
We are the luckiest and have a fireplace in our place and maybe it’s our favorite thing about our place. It goes without saying that we eat a lot of s’mores around here. It took me a while but I … Read More
I can’t for the life of me find where now, but sometime in early December, I saw an image of a leather skirt. With a sequin border. And it was gorgeous. And somewhere in the range of super pricey to … Read More
Told’ya it was coming. I’ve been sensing the anticipation all over the InterPlace. In no particular order because that would be like choosing between children. Click the picture for the recipe! So glad to have finally found a chile I … Read More
Here’s everything I read in 2013. Â In no particular order, my… Â Five Favorite: OH, this was tough. Â I read some great books this year, especially right at the end. Bomb: The Race to Build – and Steal – … Read More
Now that I’m on a 2013 review streak, I can’t stop. Sickness. Look for books and recipes to come. Also, this obviously only includes the outfits that were blogged. Which was…not many. With that rousing intro! 5 My beloved stretchy pencil … Read More
I kind of have a thing for jars (who doesn’t?). Baby food jars, mason jars, little Boston round bottles…total sucker. Here’s a list of 5 easy bottled gifts that take a couple minutes each, max. 1. Homemade Vanilla. There are … Read More
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in December 2013 and was updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness in October 2023. Will you be spending Christmas in DC either as a tourist or as a local? The holidays in Washington DC … Read More
Even with cooking most days, I find I tend to use the same instruments pretty frequently. Here’s a little list of some of the things I find most useful, not including staples like can openers and measuring cups/spoons.
You’ll note that my beloved Kitchenaid is not on there. Especially since I make my pizza and bread dough by hand, I really don’t use it much for cooking, and mostly just for baking.
Another glaring omission: my food processor. Reason? I forgot. Until after I’d put everything together, and it was nearly midnight. I’m sorry. But just know – I LOVE MY FOOD PROCESSOR. I had (have) a mini prep that, for years, I thought to be sufficient (and it it is perfect for pesto and such). But my food processor! I just got it maybe 6 months ago and it has improved the quality of my kitchen life immeasurably. Grating cheese? A breeze. Putting together a quick pie dough when I don’t feel like crumbling the butter by hand? Takes two seconds. It’s the best.
Without further disclaiming, the top 10 essentials of my vegetarian kitchen:
1. Wusthof Santoku Knife – If I could pick only one kitchen item to keep, it would be this knife. Although I have several other excellent knives, this is the one I reach for 90% of the time. If you only have one knife, get a great chef’s knife. Beyond that, I’m rather fond of my small serrated knife, paring knife, and bread knife, all from Cutco. I also love this big ole cutting board from Ikea. Plenty of room for all my veggies and all the scraps.
2. A Roasting Pan (I think this one is pretty, although mine is some random old metal one) – Not just for carnivores. Because what else do you do with all those random CSA veggies but roast them to death?
3. A Pizza Stone and Peel (again, not ones I own but look nice) – With how often we eat homemade pizza, it’s really nice having these on hand.
4. A Microplane Grater – Grating cheese is, by far, my least favorite kitchen task. I loathe it. The good stuff always breaks and you always have that little nubby end and always are thisclose to tearing apart your fingers. I finally got one of these about a year ago and I still don’t like it, but it is SO much more tolerable.
5. A Large Pot – Nothing is worse than realizing halfway through cooking that your pot is too small. This All-Clad 4-qt. one is almost always big enough and has been my bread and butter. It is almost always the one I reach for and still looks brand new. It’s the best.
6. A Cast Iron Pan (similar to ours) – A random old cast iron is one of the very few kitchen things that survived from Dan’s bachelor days. The great thing about cast irons is that they need not be fancy or expensive. Any cheapo version is probably fine if you season it well yourself, and they just get better and smoother with age. I love our 12″ one, and it’s great as a nonstick pan or for caramelizing onions or, my favorite, for making crispy grilled cheese.
7. Kitchen Shears – Not sure where kitchen shears had been all my life, but they come in handy in so many ways I never realized. Cutting up clementines for the baby, cutting greens/herbs, etc. etc.
8. Spatulas (don’t you love the yellow?)- Somehow, no matter how many I have, I never have enough spatulas. I love having a big ole wide one for flipping things, a metal one for heavier duty jobs, a small cookie one, and several silicone ones for stirring and sauteeing various veggies (I prefer the inflexible ones to the bendy ones both for veggies and baking).
9. Blender and Immersion Blender – Look, if you made me choose, the immersion blender will always win. It’s just the best for soups and that’s slightly more important than smoothies. BUT! We make a lot of smoothies and I don’t really prefer making them in single serve portions. So I looove having a really terrific blender, as well. We had that immersion blender up until a few months ago when it gave up the ghost and we got a slightly cheaper model of the same brand. It’s WAY less powerful and I will probably go back to my beloved standby soon enough here.
10. Slow Cooker – My fave. Love her. Also, loved paying $20 at Target on Black Friday for it.
What are your favorite kitchen gadgets?
